The Coop BJJ
LA's most original BJJ concept was hiding behind a generic Squarespace template.
The Coop BJJ is the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu co-op in Los Angeles — founded by two black belts in Palms and Culver City, run by its members, priced only to cover expenses, and guided by a community of 30+ brown and black belt members rather than a single instructor. It's a genuinely radical concept in a sport dominated by top-down gym hierarchies. The problem was that nothing about the old Squarespace site communicated any of that. Buried in all-caps headlines, minimal layout structure, and a conversion flow that asked visitors to email or call for a free class waiver, the site read like a placeholder rather than a destination — underselling one of the most compelling fitness communities in LA.
The Webflow build was structured using Client-First v2 naming conventions and Relume UI components as the architectural foundation — establishing a consistent type scale, spacing system, and layout logic that the Squarespace template never had. Claude was used throughout the workflow to sharpen the conceptual copy, structure the CMS schema for events, workshops, and membership tiers, and generate Finsweet attribute logic for the schedule filter. The co-op's core philosophy — member-driven, non-hierarchical, open to all levels — was treated as a design brief in itself, shaping every content and layout decision.
On the technical side, GSAP ScrollTrigger powers section reveals, a community stats sequence, and a subtle hero entrance that establishes tone without overpowering the content. The biggest structural improvement over the old site is the membership and onboarding flow: where the Squarespace build asked new visitors to navigate away, sign an external waiver, and email a separate address just to try a class, the Webflow build consolidates the entire journey — free trial, waiver, and drop-in booking — into a single, clearly sequenced CMS-driven flow. Local SEO schema (SportsActivityLocation + SportsOrganization JSON-LD) replaces the old site's absent structured data, targeting high-intent searches across Palms, Culver City, and West LA.
LA's most original BJJ concept, finally with a site to match
A concept this original needed a site built to match — structured, confident, and designed to turn curious visitors into committed members.
Black belt community members surfaced through CMS-driven instructor profiles
Unified onboarding flow replacing three disconnected steps on the old site
Full Squarespace-to-Webflow migration with local SEO structure rebuilt from scratch
From invisible to unmissable — a co-op site that actually reflects its community.
The Coop's old Squarespace site had one critical failure: it made the most interesting thing about the gym — its member-run, non-hierarchical, collective model — almost impossible to understand at a glance. New visitors landed on a wall of all-caps text, no clear hierarchy, and a CTA that asked them to email for a waiver just to try a free class. The Webflow build inverts this entirely. The co-op philosophy leads — communicated through purposeful copy, a structured about section, and a community roster that makes the 30+ black belt member base tangible and visible for the first time.
Concept-first content architecture
The co-op model is genuinely unlike any other BJJ gym in LA — but the old site never explained it clearly. The Webflow build leads every section with the "why": member-run pricing, peer-to-peer learning, no belt politics. A dedicated how-it-works section with CMS-driven FAQs replaces the old site's buried text blocks, making the concept immediately legible to someone who has never heard of a BJJ co-op before.
Simplified trial and membership flow
On the old Squarespace site, getting a free class required finding a buried CTA, clicking to an external HelloSign waiver, and separately emailing or calling to confirm. The Webflow build consolidates this into a single page flow — waiver, booking, and membership information presented in sequence, with each step clearly resolved before the next appears. Drop-in and trial conversion friction is eliminated at the source.
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