SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Derek Vane, a purple belt grappler and self-described “Movement Architect & High Performance Grappling Coach” who has amassed 47,000 Instagram followers by posting slow-motion drilling clips set to motivational trap music, announced Thursday the launch of a new “Premium Mentorship Program” offering subscribers direct coaching access for $297 per month, despite Vane not having responded to a single student question submitted via direct message, comment, or email since October of 2023.
The announcement came via a polished 47-second Instagram Reel featuring Vane executing a flawless single-leg takedown while text overlays proclaimed “THE FUTURE OF COACHING IS HERE.” It generated 1,102 comments within the first three hours. As of press time, none had been answered.
“I’ve been thinking about how to give back to the community in a real, meaningful way,” said Vane in the video’s caption, which also contained four fire emojis, two lightning bolts, and a link to a Kajabi landing page. “This mentorship program is my way of saying: I see you. I hear you. I’m invested in your journey.”
His last verified response to a student question was October 14, 2023, when he replied “great question bro 🙏” to a comment asking about his thoughts on the sitting guard. He did not elaborate. The commenter, reached for this story, confirmed he still does not know what Vane thinks about the sitting guard.
The Premium Mentorship Program breaks into three tiers:
- Community Member ($47/month): Access to a private Facebook group “moderated by Derek’s team,” weekly technique video, and “priority notification when Derek goes live.” Derek has gone live twice since 2022.
- Growth Athlete ($147/month): All Community Member benefits, plus “biweekly group Zoom calls with Derek or a designated coaching representative.” The identity of the designated coaching representative is not disclosed.
- Premium Mentorship ($297/month): All Growth Athlete benefits, plus “direct DM access to Derek” and “personalized feedback on submitted technique videos within 14 business days.”
The 14-business-day feedback window is a meaningful improvement on Vane’s current industry-leading response time of never.
Marcus Delgado, 29, a purple belt training out of a Phoenix-area gym who declined to name his academy for fear of gym politics, paid $297 to join the premium tier on launch day. He submitted a technique video showing his knee shield pass the following morning. At the time of publication, 11 days later, he had received no response.
“I’m not worried,” Delgado told ThePorra. “Derek is clearly very busy. The content he puts out is incredible. I once watched a 90-second clip of him drilling collar ties in slow motion like six times in a row. That level of craft takes time.”
He added that he has, however, received three automated emails from Derek’s “team” welcoming him to the program and asking him to leave a review on Trustpilot.
Vane’s online infrastructure is managed, according to his website’s About page, by Kayla Flint, 24, his “Community Director and Head of Student Experience.” Her responsibilities include fostering student relationships, managing community touchpoints, and ensuring every athlete feels seen and supported on their journey.
Flint did not respond to a request for comment submitted via the program’s official contact form. An automated reply thanked ThePorra for its investment in the grappling journey and offered a 10% discount on the annual Premium Mentorship plan.
Reactions from practitioners have been mixed. A few signed up immediately. Others took a different view.
“I paid for the Growth tier six months ago and I’ve attended zero Zoom calls because they get scheduled with 18 hours notice and then rescheduled,” said one practitioner who asked to remain anonymous, explaining that Derek might respond to him eventually and he doesn’t want to ruin it. “But the Facebook group is great. Other people in the group answer my questions really fast. So I guess technically I’m getting coached. Just not by Derek.”
Gord Tillman, 41, a brown belt and gym owner from Calgary who coaches full-time and has not launched a mentorship program, was less interested in the math.
“Access to elite coaching used to mean proximity,” Tillman said. “Now it apparently means paying $297 a month to be in a different bucket of people Derek also ignores. I don’t know. Maybe I’m missing something. I’ve been coaching three-hour open mats and answering texts at 11pm for eight years and my highest-grossing month was $3,400.”
Tillman declined to share the name of his gym, citing concerns that this article might somehow make Derek Vane more successful.
The program has 340 enrolled members, good for roughly $100,860 in monthly recurring revenue, according to figures briefly visible in a screen recording Vane accidentally posted to his Stories before deleting it 22 minutes later. The accidental post received 14 comments asking for clarification. None were answered.
When ThePorra reached out via Instagram DM, using the same address Vane’s bio directs students to, which reads “DM for coaching info 👇,” the message sat unread. Single gray check mark. Not opened. That was nine days ago.
At press time, Vane had posted a new Instagram Reel captioned “Consistency is the price of excellence 🔒,” which had accumulated 847 likes, 94 comments requesting information about the premium mentorship tier, and zero replies.