'I had nothing to live for any more, the family was destroyed'

“I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real”
HURT by NINE INCH NAILS

When we think of Brazil we think of beautiful stretches of white sandy beaches, sensuous music and dance and the home of soccer, the most successful nation ever to play the game. 
Those enduring images deflect from the poverty of the Favelas, the criminal gangs that roam the streets and the mindless violence that is also part and parcel of society in the largest country in South America.
Many are blessed with ability, sporting, intellectual or otherwise, that gives them a path away from the horrors they can often endure in such parts of the world, but for Jeanderson Castro that pathway through violence has led him to Navan where he stands on the brink of making a major breakthrough in the Conor McGregor-inspired world of mixed martial arts.
Next Saturday 12th May Castro will fight on a major British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) promotion in the 3Arena Dublin and the 27-year-old Brazilian from the city of Salvador is relishing the prospect of continuing his journey away from a life that could have turned out very differently.
On 21st November 2011 Castro lost his little brother Joel, just 10-years-old, to a stray bullet which he alleges was fired indiscriminately at his family home by the local police. That 'situation', which he constantly refers to his brother’s murder, led him and his family into a dark place, but he believes sport, and the drive of his father, got him back on the right track.
Now Castro finds himself many miles from home, but surrounded by his new family, his MMA family, and on the path to glory and riches that could see him end up in the UFC some day.
“I hadn't planned to leave Salvador that early in my life and especially in the circumstances I left,” Castro told the Meath Chronicle.

“My dad is a Capoeira (Brazilian art of fighting and dance) Master, he wants the best for culture in the country and that is reflected in the job that he does, he is a big name in the city, he works with the poor people.
“My little brother had a plan laid out for his life, my Dad had made it. My little brother was a real Capoeira boy, so he was helping my Dad with the kids, trying to get the kids out of difficult areas.
“Then the situation happened with Joel and I had to decide to take one step forward for myself.
“I had my job, my family and my friends all in Brazil, the job I had was a really good job, but after the situation with my brother I questioned what I was going to do, I thought my life was over.
“I had nothing to live for any more, watching my Dad and my Mum and all my family was heartbreaking, the family was destroyed after the situation.
“So many things ran through my head. Would I go somewhere else in the country, but the same problems are all over the country, so after helping my family get back on their feet again I had decisions to make.
“We have no idea how and why Joel was shot, he was inside his house. When you hear people say 'you are home, you are safe' you believe them, but that wasn't the case for Joel.
“The people that shot him just shot at houses indiscriminately, they just targeted the houses, unfortunately one of those shots got my brother.
“It was the police that shot my brother. I don't know the reason why they were shooting at the houses. We are still asking those questions, we want to know why, how could this happen? The only reason we have been told is that 'this happens'.

“The people that shot my brother are still free, they still have the same job, they still walk, they have their family. We do believe that justice will come from God who is always there.
“The main thing for my Dad after the situation was his concern for us, his concern was that he had two more men at home who could easily go the wrong way in life after this incident. He was afraid we would try to make our own justice.
“However sport was the key to get me back on my feet. When my Mom and my Dad got back on their feet he looked me in the eye and told me to keep doing my sport, don't ever stop. Of course he knew I could get hurt, but he could see a freedom in sport and he wanted to see me happy in doing what I was doing.
“My Dad urged me not to do it for me, but to do it for my brother and that is why I decided to keep going and today I am here because I never gave up in my sport.
“Of course, everybody needs help and needs the motivation to survive, but my drive was my sport. I don't want to be a superstar. I don't want people to look at me and say look at that guy, I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and I want to be happy doing it.

“I'm a fighter when I step inside the ring and I want to enjoy my time as a fighter and I want to enjoy my career,” said Castro.
This story started with the words from the Nine Inch Nails song, made famous by Johnny Cash, 'Hurt' and it is other words from that song that have inspired Castro.
Castro has settled in Navan, he loves the town and has made great friends since coming to Meath, without a word of English, four years ago. He has seen acquaintances come and go, but it is the friends like his coach Anto Cutajan and his family as well as many others who helped him settle.

“What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end”

“My friends always ask me how did I end up in Navan, they don't believe it. After a 14 or 15 hour flight from Brazil to Dublin it was good to go just 45 minutes to Navan and the fact that I am from a big city in Brazil, I found myself at home in the small place like Navan,” said Castro.
“My friend who brought me here, Adriano Peixoto, had lived in Navan for seven years, but then he got married and now he lives up the north, but I love it here.
“Navan is a great spot. I love the fact that it is small, that it is very quiet and the traffic is not that bad compared to Dublin where the noise of the ambulances and sirens make me distressed, but I love Navan, Navan has brought me so many good things.
“When I came here I had no English, all I could say was 'hi'. For the first three weeks here all I did was stay locked in my room. I would shower, eat and then go back to my room.
“I told my Dad then that I wanted to go back home, but he told me to approach it like a fight. He told me to get my head down, work hard and approach my life like a fight.
“My friend Miko has been a huge help to me, Anto has helped me a lot and his whole family have been great. He is still here with me, we are four years working together and the guys in the gym have also helped me a lot.
“So many people have helped me and made me feel at home. I always have the Johnny Cash song 'Hurt' in my head because it is very true. So many people have come to me, stayed for a while then went away, but it is the people that have come and stayed that I cherish.”

When Castro walks to the Octogan on Saturday 12th May it will be his first time in the 3Arena, but he is no stranger to fighting in front of big crowds.
Like everyone else in MMA he has dreams, ambitions, hopes of one day making a better life for himself, but Castro is not driven by money, he is driven by a compulsion to be helpful.
“I have never been in the 3Arena. It is mad to think that my first time there will be for a big fight, but I am really looking forward to it,” enthused Castro.
“I have done a few big shows here already, like the Cage Kings fights and I have also fought in big shows four or five times in China in front of 45,000 people.
“The big difference for me fighting in 3Arena compared to fighting in China is that this is my home fight now. The Irish crowd in the 3Arena will be amazing and it will be completely different to anywhere else I have fought.
“I don't know where I'm going to be in the next four or five years, I don't know what is going to happen after the next fight.
“This is crazy and it is the best moment of my life, so I'm just enjoying this now. 
“I am going into this fight 100 per cent confident that I know I'm going to do the job, then I'll come home and enjoy my friends and my family and see what life brings next.
“I use sport for my mental health and of course all fighters want to be in the UFC, that is everyone's goal, but I'll just take it as it comes.
“I want to feel comfortable. I want to be a fighter when I have a fight, but when I'm not fighting I want people to look at me like I'm a normal person who goes with my friends and family and who enjoys a barbecue.
“My goal is to some day own and run my own gym, have my own students and show people the sport in the way I see it.
“I want to help kids and teenagers, I want to help people. It is not about making money for me, it is about helping people and helping them in their lives and with the sport of MMA. 
“I want people to come to me and say that I helped them a lot, not just in the sport, but also in their lives,” concluded the impressive Castro who has known more than his fair share of hurt.

Tickets for BAMMA 35 in the 3Arena on Saturday 12th May are still available from ticketmaster.ie