Who I am
My name is Brady Reeleder. I’m a 22 year old BC native, currently completing my degree in Japanese Language and Culture at the University of British Columbia — and Athletes Gone Global is the business I’ve been building toward my entire life.
From Gymnastics to Rugby
Sport has defined me since before I can remember. I spent 12 years as a competitive gymnast, winning the BC Provincial Championships in the under 12 category, placing second in under 14, and finishing second overall at the BC Winter Games. But when rugby entered my life everything changed.
In my first year of competitive rugby I was selected for the U14 BC team. The following year I represented BC at the U16 7s tournament in Las Vegas and was also called up to the U15 team the same year. I went on to captain Bayside RFC for my final two years there, earning MVP in my last season, before joining UBC to play at the university level.
Then came Japan.
Japan, Round One — Where the Idea Was Born
In 2023 I went to Japan for the first time alone — six months of Japanese study under my belt and no roadmap. I found a local club team in Tokyo after weeks of searching through Instagram and YouTube, sorted my own housing, and figured out the practical realities of living in Japan largely on my own — in a language I barely spoke and a culture I was experiencing for the first time.
It was one of the hardest and most rewarding three months of my life. And it was there — in the middle of all that beautiful chaos — that the idea for Athletes Gone Global was born. I kept thinking: someone should have helped me with this. So eventually I decided that someone would be me.
Japan, Round Two — Making History at Waseda
The following year I returned to Japan on a one-year university exchange to Waseda University — one of Japan’s most prestigious rugby programs, producing professional and national-level players every year. I was one of the rare foreign players ever admitted into the team — not recruited as a scouted athlete, but accepted in as an exchange student who earned his spot.
The Waseda experience deepened everything I had already learned about what it takes to succeed as a foreign athlete in Japan, and confirmed that the service I wanted to build was something the rugby world genuinely needed.
The Injury That Changed My Path
My rugby journey came to an unexpected end following a long battle with a shoulder injury that required surgery in Japan. Though the surgery went well, competitive rugby was no longer possible for me. It was devastating. But sport never truly leaves you — and for me, it simply took a different form.
Why Athletes Gone Global
I knew there were others like me — athletes wanting to take that leap to play abroad but not knowing where to start. I also knew there were parents like my dad, who supported my dream but had nowhere to turn when searching for guidance. He looked. The service didn’t exist.
So I built it.
Athletes Gone Global exists to give every athlete the support I never had, and every parent the peace of mind my dad never got. I want this journey to be as seamless and stress-free as possible, so the athlete can focus entirely on their goals.
I bring two separate Japan experiences, a lifetime in competitive sport, and a genuine passion for this country and its rugby culture to every single client I work with. And I’m only getting started.
I look forward to supporting you.
— Brady Reeleder, Founder — Athletes Gone Global