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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1441359
ADAM BLASBERG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 BCBUSINESS 63 G etting COVID did a number on Keenan Beavis, knocking him out of any meaningful exercise for almost a month. But as soon as he was able, the Langley native and founder of digital marketing agency Longhouse Media was back in the gym practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu as he has for the past 10 years. Competitive in judo and wrestling as a high-school student, Beavis turned to the combat sport when he was 16. Brazilian jiu-jitsu focuses on the art of taking your opponent to the ground and using holds to force them into submission. Beavis has been intrigued since his father (a newly minted black belt) took it up some 15 years ago. "It's hard to explain jiu-jitsu rankings to people—they have this idea of 10- and 12-year-olds walking around Canada Day events with their black belts in karate or taekwondo," says Beavis, who recently earned a brown belt (the seventh, one below black) himself. "You can get a black belt in those sports in four to six years—there's cases where karate black belts are created in two to three years. In jiu-jitsu, that does not happen." Beavis, now 26, has always wanted to get his own black belt before turning 30. At this rate, he thinks it could happen by age 28, something he cred- its to the Marcus Soares Brazil- ian Jiu-Jitsu Academy, which has locations in his hometown as well as in Maple Ridge and Vancouver. "Marcus is the highest- ranked black belt in North America in Brazilian jiu-jitsu; he introduced it in Canada about For Longhouse Media founder Keenan Beavis, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has been 10 years in the making by Nathan Caddell W E E K E N D WA R R IOR WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT Keenan Beavis founded Longhouse Media in late 2016. The Langley-based digital marketing firm, which works with small businesses across the Lower Mainland, has about half a dozen employees. Longhouse prides itself on its video production, web design and search engine optimization ( SEO) abilities. "We're really an all-hands- on-deck marketing solution for any small business," Beavis says. –N.C. HOLD STEADY Beavis's competitive nature comes in handy in marketing and on the mat Family Feud O FF T H E C LO C K ( quality time ) 20 years ago," Beavis main- tains. "He's been doing it for a very long time—the way he can break down the techniques and just invent moves on the spot, because someone asks him a question and he can just use his knowledge of the human body and leverage and joints and