"Some died, others are in prison" - When Charles Oliveira narrated growing up in crime-infested Brazilian favela

Charles Oliveira still lives in his old neighborhood, which is only two streets away from the Vicente de Carvalho favela in Guaruja.

Known as the poor and crime-infested part of town, this favela poses many dangers to kids living there. With that in mind, Oliveira's parents pushed him to participate in as many sports activities as possible to keep him from all of the bad influences.

Finally, at the age of 12, Oliveira found his love for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which led to his career as an MMA fighter. However, the Brazilian witnessed many of his friends throwing their lives away due to crime.

During the Ironberg podcast, the former UFC lightweight champion credited his mother for pushing him in the right direction. The Brazilian said:

"That was my mother’s concern, right… I lost friends to crime, unfortunately, some died, others are in prison… I still know people who live off it, they chose it. But thanks to my mother, I chose the right side. We chose the right side, all my family, my brothers…" [Translated by the Brazilian MMA Legends YouTube channel]

Next, ‘Do Bronx’ elaborated on his belief that sport saves lives. He stated that people, thanks to any sport, not necessarily a combat one, get a better life, a better body, and a better spirit. He added that he likes to see people train and learn new things.

Oliveira stated that his mother was 100% right about pushing him towards physical activity:

"So I think my mom pushed us to the right way, she got 100% right and I’m passionate about it."

Watch Charles Oliveira talk about growing up in Brazil in the clip below:

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What is the Charles Oliveira Institute?

Charles Oliveira believes in giving back to the community and admits that sport helped to keep him away from crime. So, he decided to mix those two things by founding the CB Institute.

It is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to empower underprivileged children and young people from his hometown of Guaruja. Its agenda is based on providing them with free-of-cost MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training and a mentorship program that helps them have a more meaningful life, away from drugs and violence.

Taita and Master Alexandre lead the institute, which spreads the vision and values shared by Oliveira himself.