Nathalia Santoro is a Brazilian-born fitness model, grappler, and social media influencer who has gained a significant presence in the combat sports world. She has developed a distinct brand identity, which combines fitness modeling, martial arts dedication, and internet presence due to her extreme training routine, athletic form, and membership in the elite New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team. Santoro is also the known longtime girlfriend of Brazilian jiu-jitsu icon Gordon Ryan, a connection through which she has been inserted into large grappling networks.
Quick Info |
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| Real Name: | Nathalia Santoro |
| Birth Date: | February 21, 1989 |
| Age (as of 2025): | 36 Years |
| Birthplace: | Brazil |
| Height: | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) |
| Boyfriend: | Gordon Ryan |
Early Life
Nathalia Santoro was born on the 21st of February 1989 in Brazil, where she grew up before finally relocating to the United States. There is very little information about her family background that is public, since she has preferred keeping her personal roots confidential.
Nevertheless, she has also talked about the fact that, as a young girl, she was raised with a sense of discipline, independence, and ambition. These childhood traits were the basis of her future shift in life to focus on fitness and training at the highest level. Prior to getting into martial arts, Santoro was passionate about fitness.
Her early experience with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu culture, something so ingrained in Brazilian society, was a contributing factor in her subsequent engagement in the sport, even though she did not start seriously training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu until she was an adult. At first, her interests were in the area of conventional fitness work, bodybuilding-style conditioning, and physique development, which preconditioned the beginning of her modeling career.
Career
Nathalia Santoro’s career is a complex blend of fitness modeling, competitive grappling, striking training, and online content creation. Her initial experience of becoming publicly recognized was as a fitness model, where she displayed strength-oriented aesthetics, conditioning programs, and physical change.
In contrast to the models whose focus is on glamour and fashion, Santoro formed her image around sporting events, toughness, and the sheer brutality of physical nature. A major change in her career came when she found herself in the realm of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and became part of the elite team New Wave Jiu-Jitsu under the tutelage of the famous coach John Danaher.
With this system, Nathalia Santoro grew into a competent grappler and achieved the rank of purple belt, a rank that indicates years of regular technical training, drilling, and live sparring. Santoro also competes in grappling events—her athlete profile can be found on Tapology, and she keeps testing herself in competitions.
Outside of grappling, Santoro has adopted an identity as a punch coach/training partner, frequently helping Gordon Ryan in conditioning and striking. Her mixed training, which includes Muay Thai pad work and grappling exercises, demonstrates the variety of her training.
This and her combination of skills have become a part of her public image. She is also a digital creator who has gotten recognized. She has appeared in profiles of athletes and in BJJ-specific magazines like GrapplerHQ, EssentiallySports, and the BJJ blog of David Axell.
These sources have discussed her training style, impact on the public, and place in the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu ecosystem. In 2025, Santoro was featured in the news after reports of her arrest in the United States went viral over the internet.
The incident was covered by media outlets like Times and PrimeTimer especially after an alleged mugshot was shared on a social media platform. Even though the story has gained much publicity within the community, Santoro has not come out publicly to associate with the story, sticking to her social identity of fitness and training.
Santoro today is regarded as a contemporary embodiment of multidisciplinary fitness: a model, athlete, coach, and influencer who integrates strength, skill, and personality into a unique personal brand.
Personal Life
Nathalia Santoro has had a long-term relationship with Gordon Ryan, considered to be one of the greatest no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters of all time. Their relationship is publicly documented, and the two can be seen in training videos, interviews, and on social media regularly. No official data on marriage or engagement has been verified, but they are known to have had a long and deep relationship in the BJJ community.
Social Media
Nathalia Santoro is a prolific Instagram user, with the name @notheysonny, having accumulated more than 184,000 devoted followers. She has a very vibrant and genuine social media presence, with videos of her intense training sessions, grappling, hitting exercises, photos of her traveling, and personal interactions with Gordon Ryan. Social media has become a significant aspect of her career, not only broadening her following but also contributing to her as a strong and unapologetically vocal athlete.
Nathalia Santoro Net Worth
The real net worth of Nathalia Santoro is not publicly available, and there are no reliable financial documents. Her income is deemed to be generated by fitness modelling, brand-related relationships, online content generation, grappling-related businesses, and her efforts in the New Wave training landscape.
