User:Waqasleopard/sandbox

Raphael Auad (born August 17, 1979) is a Brazil-based American businessman and an athlete. Raphael is a former tennis player and Pro Volleyball player. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student at Renzo Gracie Academy and Sócial Ambassador for Wilson Tennis.

Early Life
Raphael Auad was born in the USA however he was brought up in Sao Paulo. He had been a keen sports enthusiast since his childhood. At the age of 19, he started college and started playing tennis in Sao Paulo.

As an Athlete
A sportsman from an early age, he played a little football during his youth and over time his professional focus shifted to volleyball and tennis. He played volleyball for various high-level professional teams. He was trained and coached by Adriany Carvalho (a former ATP professional player) and played regional and national tennis. He started playing tennis in Sao Paulo when he was 19. He played tennis tournaments as an amateur at the regional and the national level. He was ranked 12th on FPT (Paulista Tennis Federation) and ranked 26th nationally on CBT (Brazilian Tennis Confederation). He was also ranked 41st in the South American Tennis Confederation (COSAT) and 72nd in the International Tennis Federation.

As a professional, he played volleyball in the Suzano team in Brazil for three years from 1996 to 1999. In 2005, he left sports because of financial crises and lack of sponsorship.

As a Businessman
He moved to the United States in 2004 and worked in Boston with logistics, distribution of newspapers and various periodicals for almost 8 years.

He started his own venture, in 2012, a newspaper distribution company in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2014, Raphael relocated from Boston to New York City to seek a bigger market and thus achieved a 3-year multi-million-dollar contract for his newspaper’s distribution company in mid-2016.

Other interests
Currently, he is exercising his passion for Jiu Jitsu and MMA in training. He has tie-ups with the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community and is a part of the Renzo Gracie team in NYC. He is also being trained for high-level Jiu Jitsu with several other renowned professional fighters and athletes such as Neiman Gracie, Joao Zeferino and others. He currently holds the position of social ambassador for the brand at the Wilson brand.

In 2018, Raphael Auad and UFC Fighter Paulo Borrachinha Costa started the MMA focused Podcast, "MMA Hoje". With several aired episodes and content 100% in Portuguese, within the martial arts segment.