Warrior Beebe Brothers Opening New Wrestling/MMA Gym in La Grange

Many siblings grow up occasionally pounding the heck out of each other. For the five Beebe brothers, that was their flat-out way of life.

“I had a lot of holes in my wall,” laughed mom Lori Beebe, of Western Springs and formerly of Burr Ridge. “It ended up getting to the point where I literally padded the basement and put wrestling mats down wall-to-wall.”

It paid off. All five of the brothers—Cole, Chase, Conor, Carson and Carter, pattern intentional—became amateur wrestling superstars, with Chase and Carson now regulars on the professional mixed martial-arts circuit and joining Conor in opening Beebe Trained, a new training gym on the east side of La Grange at 300 S. Washington Ave., Unit D.

Lori described the gym as a family venture; she will also be doing administrative work, while Carter, a freshman wrestler at Elmhurst, plans to help out during breaks. (Oldest son Cole now works for Citi Bank; daughter Casey lives in South Carolina.)

“I’m extremely proud of them, incredibly proud of them for their work ethic and their passion,” she said of her sons.

Conor Beebe, the owner, was a four-time Illinois state wrestling champion in high school and a four-time national qualifier for Central Michigan. He is currently an assistant wrestling coach for Lyons Township, and said that opening a gym like this has been one of his major life goals.

“I’ve known that this is what I wanted to do for a while,” Conor said. “This is basically me living out my dream at 26, opening this facility. I just love being able to watch my wrestlers succeed.” 

Formerly the location of Gemini Gymnastics Academy (which is now at 330 Washington), the gym is 4500 square feet, with wrestling mats lining most of the floor and a corner devoted to training equipment. Beebe estimates that about 50 students could train simultaneously in the gym.

The other two Beebes who will work with students at the facility, Chase and Carson, have had success in MMA as well as in wrestling. Chase "The Rage" Beebe, a former World Extreme Cagefighting Bantamweight champion, has a 24-8-1 record and has won 11 of his last 13 duels (with one draw). Carson "Little Juggernaut" Beebe is 13-2 and competed on Season 14 of the reality show “Ultimate Fighter.”

The range of combat-sport experience means that Beebe Trained will offer programs in wrestling and martial arts, as well as in general fitness, for all ages. The gym’s motto is “Training with a Purpose,” and the work is goal-oriented—Conor said the first thing any new student is told to do is to come up with five goals, three for training and two outside of it. 

“I’m trying to teach every kid that comes through here: have goals, not only in wrestling, but in life in general,” Beebe said, adding that wrestling training offered discipline for life outside the ring as well. “Once they leave here, I want them to know how to set goals, and once they reach them, set a new goal.”

And Beebe lives his advice: He has an ambitious goal of his own.

“I want to be known as the wrestling gym in Illinois—the place you want to go in order to get your training,” he said. “We’ve got a long way yet to go… We’ll always be looking to improve our mats and training equipment as we go along.”

Bebee Traning will hold its grand opening at 3 p.m. Saturday; all are invited and refreshments will be served.

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