About
Born on 7 January 1981 in Santos, São Paulo, Joel Moraes de Almeida Jota first gained attention as a national‑level swimmer before reinventing himself as a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and author. In his own words he prefers being called a “professor” rather than “coach,” yet his courses and mentorship programs have served hundreds of thousands of people across Brazil.
Today, Joel commands more than 30M followers across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn, where he shares daily snippets on focus, time management and mindset. On Instagram alone he tops 5.5M followers with an engagement rate above 2 %, a figure tracked by influencer‑analytics firm Favikon. His bestselling titles—O Sucesso é Treinável, 100 % Presente and Ultracorajoso—extend the same ideas to print, keeping him on Brazil’s business‑book charts.
Away from social media, Joel is a partner or founder in at least seven companies ranging from food to health insurance and digital education, demonstrating that his business advice is also his day‑to‑day reality.
Before Fame
Joel’s first ambition was Olympic glory. As a freestyle sprinter and butterfly, he placed seventh at a 2005 FINA World Cup meet in Durban and won several national bronze medals. While those performances were not good enough to make the Brazilian team, the drudgery of elite sport instilled in him a fixation on routine and incremental improvement—values that would serve to shape his later coaching ethos.
Retiring at 26, he completed a degree in Physical Education at Universidade Santa Cecília and soon joined the faculty. That teaching post led to a surprising connection: Joel taught physical‑training classes to Neymar Sr., father of football star Neymar Jr. The friendship opened doors, and in 2014 he became general coordinator at the Instituto Neymar, sharpening his management skills while overseeing social projects.
The leap from pool deck to lecture hall was followed by the launch of his first online programs in 2017, the year he also befriended financier‑influencer Thiago Nigro (“Primo Rico”)—a partnership that quickly grew into joint ventures and cross‑audience live streams.
Trivia
- Reality‑show investor: In 2023 Joel sat in the iconic leather chair of Shark Tank Brasil Season 8, the first former athlete given a permanent seat among the “sharks.”
- Curriculum controversy: An April 2024 appointment as “mentor” of Team Brasil for Paris 2024 collapsed within 48 hours after swimmers questioned exaggerated claims in his bio; Joel promptly removed the wording and declined the role.
- Self‑branding mantra: He often says “success is trainable,” a phrase that became both the title of his debut book and a hashtag used by followers.
- Daily routine nerd: Followers know the coach wakes at 4:59 a.m. sharp—never 5:00—to prove that small edges matter.
- Social‑media experiment: His TikTok strategy is to upload one 30‑second clip at 11 p.m. daily, believing late‑night scrollers are more receptive to motivational jolts.
Family Life
Joel is married to Larissa Freitas Cieslak, herself an accomplished medley swimmer and Pan‑American silver medalist. Wikipedia notes she is now a business partner in several of his ventures and mother to their son João Vicente, with the couple often referencing two younger boys, Joaquim and Pedro, in personal posts. The couple regularly feature together in interviews talking about the difficulties of balancing parenting and running a business, and Joel thanks Larissa for bringing home many of the family‑based principles he advises clients.
Though the pair share uplifting moments on the internet, they protect the kids’ privacy—Joel tends to shoot home material from behind or with faces covered, reinforcing his policy that “discipline begins at home but publicity ends at the door.”
Associated With
- Neymar Jr. & Neymar Sr.: Joel’s stint at Instituto Neymar forged a lasting relationship; he has since delivered mindset workshops for the football star’s circle.
- Thiago Nigro (“Primo Rico”): Finance influencer turned confidant; the duo co‑host podcasts and share stakes in education startups.
- Camila Farani, João Appolinário & Carol Paiffer: Fellow investors on Shark Tank Brasil who sparred—and sometimes partnered—with Joel during Season 8 negotiations.
- Bruno Fratus & Joanna Maranhão: Olympic swimmers who openly challenged Joel’s athletic résumé during the 2024 mentor debate, inadvertently amplifying his name in mainstream media.
