Austen "Pavão" Lewis

---

Pavão began training capoeira on his own by mimicking the style from what he had seen in media. As a life long martial artist he had been fascinated by the art form and was determined to incorporate it into his repertoire. While training himself in the soccer field of his high school a Brazilian student notice him and informed him of what it was that he was poorly and unsuccessfully attempting to perform. She brought him to a studio and introduced him to the world renowned Lateef Crowder and from that day he was mesmerized by the art. He later found a group of capoeiristas that had created a club group at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Later on the group was officially headed up by Contramestre Maluco who had come to Albuquerque to formally establish the UCA group known as Capoeira Pegadas. From here Pavão moved to Phoenix Arizona, his hometown, where he began to train and teach with the help of the Tucson UCA chapter Capoeira Malandragem.  Continuing to promote the artform even while in the US Marine corps, Pavão was able to keep up with his fitness regiment and further his martial arts knowledge.  After he returned to Phoenix and began training again, he found that he had the opportunity and privilege to train with the renowned Grupo  Axé  Capoeira under the direct guidance of Mestre Jay 'Camara" Spain. This period in his training helped to shape his style to a new technique and presented him the chance to learn to mold his game to others while committing to a focus on the elite performance aspect that the group is known for. After a period of about 4 years he was contacted by UCA Tucson's knew leader Mestre Bryan "Besouro Preto" Castle, and asked if the prospect of opening a Phoenix chapter was of interest to him. He accepted this gracious offer and began teaching with the help of an assistant instructor Carlos "Primo" Herrera. Pavão is now working to further his own training and that of others through assisting the Tucson UCA group with teaching weekly classes at the Movement Culture location while also offering private and semiprivate instruction in Phoenix, Arizona. On January 13th of 2024, Pavão received his Diploma de Formado and was promoted to the rank of "Professor" at the UCA Batizado in El Paso Texas and Juarez Mexico. He works in cooperation with numerous groups and practitioners around the country conducting workshops and performances when and wherever available. His love for the game and the culture is unquestionable and he is always willing to share his experience with those interested in learning.