Evolution Strength and Conditioning (Gracie Barra Anniston)

On Noble Street in Anniston, a converted commercial space has become one of the busiest training floors in Calhoun County. Evolution Strength and Conditioning, home to Gracie Barra Anniston, was founded by Professor Lance Hagan in 2014 with a simple goal: bring real Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction and serious strength training to a city that did not have much of either. What started as a small mat space has grown into a full facility that blends martial arts, conditioning, and recovery under one roof.

The jiu-jitsu program follows the Gracie Barra curriculum, a structured system used by academies across the country, but the atmosphere at the Anniston location is distinctly local. Classes mix newcomers who have never rolled before with competitors preparing for regional tournaments, and the coaching staff spends real time correcting technique rather than just running students through drills. Kids classes run alongside adult programs, and the gym markets itself as a place for self-defense, competition training, and simple stress relief in roughly equal measure.

Strength and conditioning is treated as its own discipline rather than an afterthought. The facility maintains a full weight room with barbells, plates, and conditioning equipment for members who want a traditional strength program, along with pilates-style classes for people looking for lower-impact training. A cold plunge setup rounds out the recovery side of the business, a detail that reflects how much emphasis the gym places on letting members train hard without breaking down.

Professor Hagan’s own path to the mats runs through a combat sports and military background. He began training in martial arts as a child, starting in Tae Kwon Do before moving into boxing, and he took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2001. He holds his black belt under Kaliffa Oliveira and has also trained under Chad Pittman, Greg Thompson, Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti, Lucas Lepri, and Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles. On the military side, Hagan enlisted in the US Army on a Ranger contract straight out of high school, later completed selection for US Army Special Forces, and served with the 10th and then the 20th Special Forces Groups before spending more than two decades in government contracting work overseas.

What distinguishes Evolution from a typical gym membership is the emphasis on community. Professor Hagan has described the goal as building a large blend of people working toward personal fitness and self-defense goals side by side, rather than segregating beginners from advanced athletes. New students are welcomed into the fold quickly, with instructors pairing them with more experienced training partners who can walk them through fundamentals during open mat time. That approach has helped the gym build a loyal following that spans teenagers testing out martial arts for the first time to adults returning to fitness after years away from a gym.

The coaching staff underneath Hagan carries its own credentials. Head coach Daniel Paul has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2017 and was promoted to brown belt in September 2024, while kids instructor Conner Owen brings a wrestling background to the youth program along with two IBJJF championship titles and training experience dating back to 2015. Their presence on the mat means beginners and young students are not simply working with whoever happens to be free that day, but with coaches who have logged years in the sport themselves.

Nutritional guidance is folded into the broader program as well, with Hagan holding a nutrition coaching certification through Precision Nutrition alongside his personal training and sports performance coaching credentials. Coaches are available to answer questions about how training intensity should line up with diet, especially for members preparing for competition or working toward weight class goals. The gym does not position itself as a nutrition clinic, but the staff’s willingness to talk through those basics is part of what members mention when describing why they stuck around past their first few classes.

Beyond the standard class calendar, the academy has developed programming that reaches outside its regular membership base. Tactical Apprehension and Control Procedures training is offered for law enforcement, women’s self-defense seminars run periodically for the broader community, and a “Green Beret for a Day” event combining fitness, shooting, and combatives has been in development, drawing on Hagan’s own Special Forces background alongside a partnership with Jacksonville State University. New students who want to test the waters can take a free trial class, and those who purchase a uniform through the academy have their first month of membership waived.

Being part of the Gracie Barra network gives the Anniston academy access to a broader competition calendar and a recognized belt-ranking system, but day-to-day operations remain locally run. Professor Hagan and his staff set the schedule, teach the bulk of the classes, and make the calls about how the space is used, which keeps the academy feeling like a neighborhood gym rather than a franchise storefront.

The weekly schedule accommodates working adults and families alike. Adult classes run most weekday mornings starting around 6:30 a.m. and again in the late afternoon and evening, with a midday session added on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kids programming is split by age, with Tiny Champions for ages three to six and Little Champions for ages seven to eleven meeting on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and a Women’s Only class runs Wednesday evenings. No-gi sessions are mixed into the rotation on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday for students who prefer training without the traditional uniform. The academy draws members from well beyond Anniston itself, with regulars driving in from Oxford, Jacksonville, Gadsden, and Pell City. For anyone in Calhoun County looking for a place to learn to grapple, get stronger, or simply find a new way to stay active, Evolution Strength and Conditioning has built exactly that kind of home on Noble Street.