Fredson Jorge Dos Santos Gomes (born October 25, 1982) is a Cape Verdean-American who has represented both his native country and his home country (Cape Verde and the United States, respectively) all over the world: Egypt, South Korea, Greece, Germany, China, Libya, England, France and of course, Nigeria where he became the first Cape Verdean, in sporting history, to win a gold medal in international competition - VIII All-African Games.  Over the past sixteen years, Fredson Gomes has received several accolades in both national and international competition.

Gomes was born on the Island of Sao Vicente, Cabo Verde to parents Jacinto and Geraldina Gomes. When he was six, the family immigrated to the United States, where Fredson would begin his martial arts career. Being the first and only son of a legend soccer player, Fredson was expected to follow in the family tradition, but he had intentions of kicking people not things.

Fredson began studying the martial arts in 1993, at the early age of 10, under the brothers Jota and Ricardo Rosa (East Coast Taekwondo, formerly Boston Taekwondo). The Rosa brothers had a deep understanding and disciplined approach to the martial arts and instilled that same passion in Gomes. As a result, eight years later, he was revered as one of the top competitors, winning gold at the most prestigious tournament in Sport Karate, the 2001 U.S. Open Karate Championships (Florida, USA).

After his reign in the Sport Karate circuit, he was discovered by Master Joseph Pina. Master Pina would switch his focus and make Taekwondo, an Olympic sport, his priority. In his first year of competition, in the new discipline, he had the Massachusetts State Title, the Rhode Island State Title and a National Gold Medal to his name. The following year, in 2003, he would be chosen to represent the Cape Verde Islands in the World University Games (Daegu, Korea) and lost a hard fought battle in the quarter-finals. Fredson, however, did not let this discourage him; he focused more intensely on his training and would be crowned the All-African Champion in only his second international appearance. In one day, he won a total of 12 rounds (4 opponents) and made history for the Cape Verde Islands by becoming the first to win international gold.

In 2004, Fredson would qualify the Cape Verde-Islands for a wild card position in the Olympic Games (Athens, Greece). As a result, he participated in the Opening Ceremonies and would attend the Olympic Games as an alternate. After the Olympics, Fredson became a member of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) US National team and represented the United States at the German Open, an international competition held in Bonn, Germany. See Competition Record.

Having achieved international name and face recognition in both Sport Karate and Taekwondo, Fredson focused on pursuing an acting and modeling career. In 2005, he appeared in several local films:

Evil Night (Manny) – Alex Pucci of Screamkings Production
Payback (TC) – a short film by Alex Pucci of Screamkings Production
Reagan’s Return – an action/comedy by Robert Young of Robert Young Film (Harvard)

A charming and soft-spoken young man, Fredson Gomes quickly became a popular face in the modeling industry. In summer of 2005, he completed two major campaigns for Hewlett Packard and Timberland – 2006 Fall line.  He has also appeared in numerous corporate commercials, including an ad campaign for Newport Bank, Newport, RI.

Fredson is also heavily involved with the Islands of Cape Verde, representing the tiny archipelago at the 2007 United Nations Youth Summit and was appointed United Nations Youth Spokesperson for the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs).

Gomes, now, holds a business degree from the College of Business Administration (CBA) at Northeastern University – Boston and was just recently inducted into the National Dean’s List, which only accepts one percent of the nation’s top academic students. His contributions did not go unnoticed and was elected as the “Who’s Who” of College students, nationwide. 

An active community member, Fredson Gomes has contributed enormously to the City of Brockton, Massachusetts. In 2000, he represented Brockton as a member of the All-America City Committee. As a result of a team effort, Brockton was voted one of the top 50 cities in America. Fredson is a brother of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated–an organization dedicated to the betterment of all mankind, by exemplifying the meaning of true brotherhood.  

Currently, Fredson works as a Real Estate consultant for Coldwell Banker and just recently started a business, consulting professional martial arts schools. Master Gomes, along with Master Chris Tuozzolo, plan on opening The Modern Taekwondo Center come this September. Fredson and Ludmila Gomes are proud parents of a newborn baby girl, Sadie Alessandra and just recently purchased a home in South Shore Massachusetts. Now, Fredson has his eyes on pursuing a professional fighting career, in Muay Thai Kickboxing.

Fredson enjoys playing a variety of sports: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Golf and Tennis.