Danielle Kelly shares her wisdom in dealing with toxic gym environments

American superstar Danielle Kelly would be the first person to tell you that respect between peers in BJJ gyms is really important.

Over the course of her career, Kelly has trained in some of the best gyms in her state. While most gyms in the U.S. teach important core values of camaraderie, integrity, appreciation, discipline and responsibility, not all gym environments are a good place to train.

In a new Instagram story Kelly released this week, the 27-year-old star revealed some of the indicators of a toxic gym environment. Answering a fan question, she gave advice on what to do if a BJJ gym becomes too “cliquey.”

“Just ignore them and train,” she said. “Focus on your goals and if you roll with any of them take it to them lol if it’s a bad environment find a new gym.”

As an athlete, it can be a daunting task to deal with doubters or “haters” in sports. What sets Danielle Kelly apart is that she uses those doubts as motivation to do the job at hand, which is to lead by example.

Perhaps unbeknownst to Kelly, she’s successfully leading a campaign for women’s jiu-jitsu on a massive and global scale. Using ONE Championship as her platform, she’s become an exemplary role model for children and young adults who want to learn the art of self-defense for personal development, confidence and growth.

Thus far, Kelly’s fearless accomplishments in ONE has made her into a big megastar in the jiu-jitsu scene. Since she signed in February 2022, she’s battled some of the most dangerous and elite grapplers in the world to accumulate a ONE record of two victories and one draw.

She plans to continue her legacy as the first-ever women’s submission grappler in ONE Championship, starting with an epic world title matchup in the foreseeable future.