Scramble is yet again another up-and-coming company based in the United Kingdom coming out with fresh new designs on clothing, and is also a distributor of some Japanese gear, equipment and instructional material.

Matt, the owner of the company, is also the author of the famous blog “TheGrapplingDummy.com” which was formerly known as “Martial Farts”. Sponsoring highly-renowned BJJ brown belt Oli Geddes, Scramble is all about the infusion of both Japanese and English culture.

Their latest projects consist of the classic Scramble Newaza Hoodie and the popular Scramble x MANTO Lock and Roll T-Shirt.

Without further ado, here is our interview with Matt from Scramble.

Q: Give us the lowdown on what you guys do at Scramble.

A: Well at the moment it’s just me, and my buddy who has recently come on board. I design and make (or have made for me) what I hope are fresh and original clothes for MMA and BJJ fans. At the moment we have t-shirts and hoodies for sale but soon will be expanding to grappling and MMA gear. I also stock certain hand-picked items from Japan that I want to share with the West: DVDs, t-shirts, etc.

I’m trying to fill a hole in the market that I see, for martial arts fashion that doesn’t involve extreme violence or images of pain and death. I lived in Japan for a few years, and have strong connections with the country, so that forms a big part of the design concept and my appreciation of quality: I’ll never sacrifice quality for price.

Q: How did Scramble come about and why was it called Scramble?

A: I have always been into art and design. When I was training in Japan, I saw that there was an opportunity to design a t-shirt for a group of friends at my dojo. It was a kind of social club within the BJJ dojo. So I knocked together a design and got them printed locally. I really got a kick out of seeing people proudly wearing the t-shirts I had designed. I did another design and printed a small run, and that sold out, too. I had the taste for it by now, and the kick of seeing someone wearing my t-shirts never gets old. The opportunity came up again a few months later with a team t-shirt for the dojo, complete with sponsor logos and everything. I did that, too.

When I came back to the UK, the recession hit the country hard. While I was looking for a job, I thought I’d take things into my own hands and figured, you only live once, better to regret the things you have done and all that, and thought… let’s do it! Let’s make a clothing company!

I also had some contacts in Japan for stuff that I was a big fan of while I was there, namely BJJ Spirits and Art Junkie. I wanted to share these things with the rest of the world, so I import BJJ Spirits (a DVD magazine all about jiu jitsu and grappling) and Art Junkie (a Tokyo MMA, pro wrestling, BJJ and grappling pop art fashion company), albeit in small quantities.

I originally had a completely different name, but a good friend of mine and mentor made me keep working on it. In fact the way I did it was to write down a lot of words I associated with jiu jitsu, which is my first passion. Scramble came out on top, and the more I played with it, the more I liked the idea of it. It fits with my ideas, gives an impression of motion and cheekiness, of not taking yourself too seriously. I also think the scramble is an important phase in any fight: when whoever wants it the most will get the good position.

Q: If it wasn’t called Scramble, what were the other alternative names?

A: The original name was Umi (Japanese for ‘the ocean’.) In Japan, I made t-shirts with the name “Sub Rhythm”, alluding to the rhythm of submissions in a fight. I also briefly toyed with the idea of the name Emperor.

Q: What makes Scramble different from other companies?

A: I like to think we are bringing in a strong ethos of quality and design. Some companies are great at making jiu-jitsu uniforms or shorts, but their t-shirts are throwaway designs on flimsy promotional shirts.

I can’t tell you how mad I get when I see an ad for a revolutionary new MMA clothing company, and I check out the site only to see that it is – literally – as if they have taken the most generic skull / death / violence imagery from every other brand, chucked it in a blender, added some germanic font, looked in the thesaurus for alternatives to the word “pain”, and vomited it all up in the form of a web shop.

We don’t take ourselves too seriously. You’ll see some Engrish-style slogans in my designs. You’ll see bright colours and bold designs. I think what makes Scramble different is the experience I had in Japan, and the crossover between the design and martial arts communities there.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: I have a desire to make cool shirts for people. That’s it really. The driving force is to make a shirt (or hat, or pair of shorts, or rash guard…) that people look at and say “I must own that, now!” And of course, I would love to make a living from the thing I love, which is why I am aiming for world domination.

Q: What is the funniest/most unique idea you’ve come up with, with regards to a product?

A: I had a load of t-shirts that I designed a few years ago that I might resurrect. One was a rip-off of Frankie Goes to Hollywood meets Kung Fu, with the slogan “Sifu Says Relax” in big letters on the front. I also wanted one with Pride referee Yuji Shimada’s famous colloquialisms: “Don’t stomping!” – stuff like that.

Q: How did the collaboration with MANTO come about?

A: Good question! I think Michal, the co-owner, made friends with me on Facebook. We were chatting for a while before I really knew who he was. He said he liked my blog I think. At one point I noticed Manto on his profile and he said “Oh yeah, that’s my company.”

He’s a cool guy with a weird sense of humour, like me. As I remember, we just got chatting about collaborating, and he said “let’s do it.” I did the design, we pushed a few ideas around, and that was it, it was printed! It’s probably the thing I am most proud of so far. I have always liked Manto’s gear, and to be associated with them is an honour.

Q: Name the three favourite things you love about living/training in Japan.

A: Seeing as I am no longer in Japan, the things I miss are:
1) The community and the friends I have over there. BJJ was an integral part of our lives, with social gatherings, weekends, and spare time all geared around enjoying jiu jitsu with friends and family.
2) The food! Japanese food is hands down the best in the world. In particular, I miss good beef. Really, really good beef – so good you can eat it raw.
3) Just the general excitement of living in a country as fascinating as Japan.

Q: If you were to give ONE piece of random advice to anyone, what would it be?

A: Be water, my friend. The old Bruce Lee quote. Be water: know when to be hard, when to be soft, when to flow, when to crash. Water can restore life, or it can take it. Water can carve canyons over millions of years or evaporate in an instant. Be water!

Q: What can we expect from Scramble in the near future?

A: More fresh and original designs. A rash guard and a top secret item is in the sample/approval stage now, and I hope to have some shorts in the next few months.

And, loads of cool and original t-shirts. And some more sponsored Scramblers!

Q: Anything you’d like to say before we end this interview?

A: I’d like to thank everyone who flies the Scramble flag. I get quite a few emails from people who like my stuff, which I really appreciate. I’d like to mention those bloggers who help spread the word on the internet: AllElbows, Georgette Oden, Meerkatsu, Slideyfoot, Steve BJJ, and of course sponsored Scrambler Oli Geddes.

PURCHASE: Scramble Stuff

In case you didn’t know, Chan Sung Jung is a 10-2 MMA fighter from Korean Top Team. He took a one-way ticket into the mainstream with what’s called the “Fight of the Decade”, with Leonard Garcia in WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber which was Chan Sung’s WEC and United States debut which he lost in a very controversial split decision.

Since then, fans from all over the world have showed their utmost support for the 23-year old Korean Zombie. Even Dana White wore a Tri Coasta Korean Zombie Shirt (opens in a new window) at the UFC 113 weigh-ins in honour of Chan Sung Jung!

He may have lost the battle but he has sure won the war.

We are very honoured to have the Korean Zombie to do this interview with us and without further ado, here it is.

Q: First of all, congratulations for an outstanding WEC debut. How different is it fighting in the United States compared to Asia?

A: The big things are pretty much the same, but the little things are different. Food is one thing that I definitely noticed. I think the biggest difference that I noticed between fighting in the US and in Japan is that as long as I fight hard and put on a good performance, the fans seem to appreciate it more. Whereas in Japan, because I’m not Japanese and I wasn’t that well known, people didn’t really care about me a whole lot, even though I fought the exact same way that I did in my US debut.

Q: We’ve seen that you love to stand and bang but what people may not know is that you have won 6 of your 12 fights via submission. Personally, would you rather win via knock-out or submission?

A: Obviously, I prefer a knockout. However, if it’s a matter of winning or losing, obviously, I’ll take a submission win more often than not. After all, you don’t get more points for a knockout!

Q: From where/whom did the “Korean Zombie” monicker originate?

A: We take sparring very seriously at Korean Top Team. In fact, I think we spar harder than most real fights! The guys on the team just started calling my fighting style “zombie style” because I never get knocked down and I always move forward. The name stuck.

Q: What was your reaction when you saw/found out that Dana White was wearing a Korean Zombie shirt at the UFC 113 weigh-ins?

A: I was in the hospital at the time, as I had just had sinus surgery (deviated septum). So, I wasn’t in the best condition at the time, but when I saw it on the internet I was really surprised. At first, I wondered why he was wearing my shirt, but after the initial shock wore off, I was really happy and incredibly thankful. It caused a huge stir, as you probably know!

Q: You are sponsored by Isami, Sseda and Tri Coasta. What is it like working with each of them?

A: I have no complaints with any of my sponsors at all. Sseda is a safety equipment manufacturer, so they really have no stake in sponsoring MMA at all. They do it out of a love for the sport and they’ve sponsors on the Korean MMA scene for a long time. They sponsor our whole team. Isami mostly provides us with gear and equipment at the gym, so they outfit the whole team, as well. Tri-Coasta is my first US sponsor and they’re my first individual sponsor. They’re the ones responsible for the Korean Zombie t-shirt phenomenon. They’ve been great to work with and they’re putting together a deal to sponsor the whole team as well. In fact the response to the Korean Zombie t-shirt has been so great, we’ve got a whole line of clothing and gear in the works.

Q: What is the best brand of gloves that you have ever owned?

A: I think the gloves that they use at Sengoku are the most comfortable. The gloves that the WEC uses only covers the first knuckle of your fingers, but the Sengoku gloves come down one knuckle more (if that makes sense). I also just got some gloves from Combat Sports that I’m really liking.

Q: If you weren’t an MMA fighter, what would you probably be?

A: If I wasn’t fighting, I’d like to be a chef. When I was in high school, I had to decide between pursuing fighting and cooking. I chose fighting. Although I’d like to be a chef, I’m not a very good cook.

Q: When you’re not training, tell us what the Korean Zombie likes to do in his spare time.

A: I watch fight videos online, I cruise the MMA message boards, etc. I don’t really have a hobby other than fighting, so that is what occupies my time in some form or another.

Q: Give us a random fact about yourself.

A: I have over 500 hundred friends on Facebook, but I can only communicate with about 10 of them! LOL

Q: What is your favorite “cheat” food?

A: Brains, of course.

Q: Arianny Celeste, Rachelle Leah, or Chandella Powell?

A: All three if possible, but if I had to choose one, I’ll take Arianny.

Q: If you were to give anyone who trains MMA one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: I’ve never been knocked out yet, and I don’t know if this why or not, but I recommend not closing your eyes when getting punched. Keep your eyes open and watch the punch all the way.

Q: Anything you’d like to say before we end this interview?

A: I’m thankful for the chance to do this interview and talk to all the readers of MMAGearGuide.net. I promise to keep fighting my hardest and always give you all exciting fights to watch.

We’d like to thank Chan Sung Jung and his management for making this interview possible. We’d like to wish him luck in his future fights even though we know that whatever the outcome is, he’ll never fail to disappoint.

PURCHASE: Korean Zombie Shirts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmQ6VJoGTJ8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkdnK242Eg0

Like the shirt he’s wearing? It’s called the Tri Coasta All Skills No Skullz Shirt. Want other Korean Zombie gear? Then you may want to check out the Korean Zombie Signature T-Shirt (What Dana White wore at the UFC 113 weigh-ins) and the WEC 48 Korean Zombie Walkout T-Shirt.

PURCHASE: Korean Zombie Shirts

Hayabusa Fightwear Inc. is one of the most regarded for companies in the MMA gear, equipment and clothing scene — providing us with high-quality products ranging from MMA gloves, rashguards, shorts and even a gi jacket.

Today, Hayabusa tells all in this interview.

Q: How did Hayabusa come about and why is it called Hayabusa?

A: Hayabusa came to be with a realization that the fight products that were available in the market did not meet the true needs of MMA fighters. Performance is critical in the fighting world and what was missing was a line that would be 100% dedicated to helping fighters maximize their full athletic potential.  There was a serious need for advanced equipment and apparel designed specifically for intense combat.  With that in mind, steps were taken to ensure that the very best quality and most functional products could be taken from ideation, to blue prints, to prototyping and testing into top notch development with only the finest materials and manufacturing processes.  In a nutshell, that is what inspired the Hayabusa ideal.

The name “Hayabusa”, translated from Japanese, refers to the Peregrine Falcon. This predatory falcon possesses the perfect fusion of speed, power and strength and is recognized for its extraordinary ability to strike with fierce precision and intensity. The Hayabusa falcon symbolizes the ideal meshing of what fighters strive to achieve in their relentless pursuit of combat supremacy. So at its very essence, Hayabusa embodies the true spirit of a fighter.

Q: What makes Hayabusa different from other companies and what does the Research & Development Department do at Hayabusa?

A: No other company produces fight gear that even comes close to matching Hayabusa’s advanced MMA line. With equipment and apparel driven by innovation, impressive technologies and sophisticated designs, it is clear we are committed to creating the most cutting-edge MMA products imaginable. Each and every one of our products undergoes rigorous planning, development and testing procedures to ensure our designs are perfected. For starters, Hayabusa’s Research and Development team spend countless hours in the engineering stages working closely with their state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to develop the initial prototypes for testing. Once the research team completes the development of a prototype that they believe achieves all the specifications outlined, Hayabusa then works with top MMA pros – subjecting every piece of gear to the most rigorous and thorough testing procedures until they are completely satisfied that the product is technically superior in every aspect of performance. Once the Research and Development team approves of the finalized product, it is released to the public for sale. This ensures the products Hayabusa launches are absolutely flawless and truly are the most advanced MMA products.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: Hayabusa is unwilling to compromise when it comes to quality and durability. We use only the very best material in all of our products. From the finest leathers to the highest-grade fabrics, you’ll be hard pressed to find another company that shares the same commitment to excellence. In this day and age, it seems as though a ton of companies are trying to cash in on the MMA explosion. The result is a market saturated with low-quality equipment and apparel. Even worse, some of the inferior fighting equipment on the market can result in injuries due to their poor design. When you put your body on the line every day during training, you want to be confident that your gear will provide the best performance and protection possible. There is no question that Hayabusa’s vast array of superior quality products reflects this. We are helping to engineer better fighters – taking fight performance to new heights.

Q: Quality comes at a price and this can truly be said about your products.  Any response to all the people who find Hayabusa’s to be on the more expensive side?

A: The saying ‘You get what you pay for’ is very true.  This is especially important when it comes to fight equipment and apparel.  We only use the finest in terms of both materials and design so unfortunately, there is a cost associated with that.  We won’t compromise when it comes to our products and are very proud of what we do.  We will never sacrifice this in order to come out with a cheap product, that is not what Hayabusa is about.

Q: What is Hayabusa’s best-selling product?

A: Not sure about best selling, but the best response from fighters would be on our 4oz. MMA gloves and our new Mizuchi Fight Shorts. The positive feedback that floods in on those products is just amazing.

Q: We’ve seen your 2^nd generation shorts, the Mizuchi and Shiai but why is it that a lot of fighters still use the Kyoudo shorts?

A: The Kyoudo line is still doing very well because fighters recognize the quality of these shorts.  We’ve adopted changes from our Mizuchi and Shiai back into our Kyoudo line which keeps them as current and up-to-date as all of our other shorts.  It all comes down to style really, some fighters still prefer to wear shorts which are a little more subtle in terms of graphics and styling whereas other like designs a little more on the ‘wild’ side like our Mizuchis.  We are happy to be able to offer both.

Q: What can we expect from Hayabusa in the following months?

A: There is some really exciting stuff coming down the pipeline. Some big innovations are in the works and I wish I could go into details now but all I can say at this time is that you’ll just need to wait and see.  One thing for sure is expect even bigger things from Hayabusa in the near future. Summer 2010 is gonna be one heck of a season!

Q: Anything you’d like to say before we end this interview?

Thanks MMAGearGuide.net for the interview and thanks to everyone who supports Hayabusa and to the fighters that make MMA such an amazing sport.

We’d like to thank Craig Clement and Hayabusa Fightwear for both doing this interview and providing us with the best-quality MMA gear possible. For more info on Hayabusa Fightwear products, you can visit their website, www.hayabusafightwear.com

Alternatively, you can check out our reviews of the Hayabusa Pro-size Thai Pads, Hayabusa Handwraps, Hayabusa Pro Hybrid MMA Gloves, Hayabusa Pro Striking Shin/Instep Guards, Hayabusa Mizuchi Rashguard,  Hayabusa Ashi Footgrips, and the Hayabusa Pro 4oz MMA Gloves.

PURCHASE: Hayabusa Fightwear Gear, Equipment and Clothing

Razorstorm Clothing is actually one of the first major supporters of our site so without them being there for us, we wouldn’t be here right now. I don’t really know why we waited so long to do this interview but it’s finally happened.

They are a relatively new, yet established brand in the UK MMA and sports scene, providing us with the Razorstorm Hybrid MMA Shorts that feature a gi feel mixed in with a Muay Thai design; needless to say, it is truly a hybrid.

Anyway, on with the interview.

Q: What is Razorstorm’s history and why was it called Razorstorm?

A: I will try keep this one short. No promises.

I started Razorstorm the company just over a year ago. The initial idea was basically just a bit of fun and started with one very simple Japanese, martial arts inspired t-shirt design for some friends and myself who trained in martial arts. At that time I had no knowledge of computer programs or how to generate images using the usual graphic design software. All I had at my disposal was some paper and a pencil and a £200 2-year old laptop with a broken screen (Haha, I had to use an older monitor through the VGA port to see the display).

So I sketched away a first concept which looked quite cool as an idea. I then borrowed Photoshop off a friend and muscled my way using online tutorials and Youtube to learn how to add simple colours, cut out the shape etc. I finally got my head around the basics and made the “Warriors of the rising sun” design. I then had to learn how to get this on a t-shirt. So I researched and read everything I could until I found the best methods, this took a bit of time to get it spot on with highest quality finish. After getting the first basic run of these t-shirts I sold a few to my training friends and family, I still had a few left so I decided to sell them on Ebay, apparently that is where people sell stuff right? – just to try and get them out of the garage. After setting up a small page the t-shirts sold very fast and I was really surprised. I then got some hoodies manufactured; again they sold quicker than I could get them in.

So full of excitement I was looking at this realistically and thought it would be a good idea to have a website just for information at first. At the time I was working 12 hour days Monday – Friday in a very dead end job on terrible wages, so it was difficult to fit everything in. I took some time off from work and started to try and learn how to make a website at home, at first it was beyond epic fail. In fact if you could see the old sites it would make you vomit. I used YouTube and tutorial websites to try and build the most basic site. This was very painful and there were a lot of “facepalm” moments. The first website was horrible; in fact the next 3 websites were pretty bad. I started to spend more and more time developing my skills in design programs at home and practicing my free hand drawing. At that particular time I was spending all my wages on developing the company and supporting my friends who fight with sponsorship. A few months down the line I had designed quite a few different ideas that sold nicely.

The company as it stood was growing at a standard speed, everything changed one day when I met up with the guys from Fighters Only Magazine. They really helped me out with tips and direction. After that meeting I totally changed my mind set on the whole situation, since that day I have done my best to support up and coming companies and fighters in the way Fighters Only helped me out.

I also took on Paul Sass as the main Razorstorm figure head fighter and pushed him as hard as I could in the market place. Spending lots of money out of my own pocket (still working in my dead end job) I wanted to give Sass the best marketing and exposure I could. The guy really deserved the break and marketing support.

So things have progressed a lot since this but all of the Razorstorm designs are still designed by me. I hand draw everything firstly and add colour and elements using computer programs. Trust me they take a long time to finish — haha.

We have sponsored many fighters all around the world, including Alexander Gustaffsson last year in the UFC. Which was great to get Razorstorm in the UFC at such an early stage of the brand.

We are currently working closely with lots of different companies and talented individuals like MMA frontline podcast and all the guys down at Elite Martial arts and CrossFit3D.

The Razorstorm name itself I have been using for awhile on different aspects of things that I have done. It was first used as my alias on an online game where I used to run a quite successful guild/clan. Back in the geek days, haha.

Razorstorm now means something totally different to me and everyone involved with it feels the same. When I hear the name it reminds me of hardgraft and people taking control of their lives. Normal every day people achieving great things. I respect anyone who gets off their back sides and pushes to make their lives better, this is why I respect pro fighters so much. It’s a hard game to be in and these guys need our support. Razorstorm cannot support everyone as we are only a small company, but the guys we do take on we try our best to push them. Our slogan “an unfair advantage” basically means people with a focused, determined mindset have an unfair advantage over their opposition.

Q: If it wasn’t called Razorstorm, what would it be possibly called?

A: For me there was no other choice. I did not want to reflect a name of brute violence or aggression or disrespect. These are not aspects we promote.

Q: What makes Razorstorm different from other companies?

A: The ethos, dedication and what we stand for set us apart from other companies. Our quality is up there with the best and this is where it will remain. Our fan base is very strong already and people understand what we have achieved and what we can all achieve together. Razorstorm has started to become more than just a clothing brand, it has more of a family feel. The people involved in Razorstorm are all hard working dedicated normal people with a passion for what they do. There are no high flying businessmen with a big purse. It is all pure hard work and graft and the fans respect that. That is why they sport Razorstorm in the gym or on the street.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: Pure dedication to bring the best designs and products to the fans. We receive lots of compliments and fan mail all the time, which is a great incentive to keep pushing harder. We have even had complements from big stars such as Frank Shamrock which is great in such early stages in our brand.

Razorstorm has varying themes from abstract, to Chinese, to English.Tell us more about this.

A: As the head designer I am inspired by so many different things, from nature to surrealism. Some days I wake up in the middle of the night with a crazy ass idea that I have to get down on paper. Other times I get random people with suggestions or I’m inspired by something I have seen or heard about. We are not a one trick band and also produce designs for many other brands, companies and organisations all around the world. Some brands see Razorstorm as a rival company, the wiser realise we are more than that and can actually help them rather than compete against them.

Q: Do you guys have any more ventures besides MMA? We’ve seen a few bits of your gamerwear.

A: Haha .Yes mate, we have our fingers in many different pies. Some things you will get to hear about, others you will not. We are focusing lots of time into different aspects of training as this is also an interest we share. If you have not yet seen some of the Forge videos on youtube you are missing out. We also have ties with many gym owners and will be tapping into this as we believe our MMA fans will benefit from this different training information.

The gamer sector is something our design aspects will be expanding to as we speak.

Q: What is the most unique idea you’ve heard of or come out with, with regards to a product?

A: We are always playing around with new concepts and ideas, some work and some well.. epic fail but anything is worth a try.

There have been many weird and bizarre concepts flying around recently in regards to glove design. I guess that has been the latest product we have been messing with.

Q: If you guys were only to sell ONE product, what would it be?

A: Dude that would be like cutting off an artist’s hands, haha! But I guess I would have to say the new English Steel t-shirt, mainly because its new and I like new stuff. Keeping things different and fresh is what we are all about.

Q: What is Razorstorm’s best-selling product?

Overall I guess it would be the traditional inspired feel hybrid shorts. I feel this is because of the recent transition people are having from traditional martial arts to MMA. It is difficult to say because most of our products seem as popular as each other.

Q: Where do you see Razorstorm in 5 years?

A: I see Razorstorm stronger than ever and still gaining in popularity and delivering the highest quality of product and service we can. We have achieved a lot more than other brands with very little resources and the opportunities are flying in daily so maybe you should check back with us and I can give you an update.

Q: Anything you’d like to say before we end this interview?

A: I just wanted to say a big well done to Paul Sass for his UFC contract, I hope everyone gets behind him and shows him the support and respect he deserves.

A big shout out to our new gym opening up in southern France. It looks quality guys keep up the hard work. Details to follow…

And also thanks to yourself Romeo, keep up the hard work on the site!

We’d like to thank Tom and Razorstorm for supporting us ever since that very first post on the UK-MMA forums and of course, for doing this interview. If you would like to know more about Razorstorm and their products, visit http://razorstorm.co.uk

PURCHASE: Razorstorm Clothing Products

Jaco Clothing is one of the biggest brands in the MMA clothing, gear and equipment industry sponsoring fighters such as Anderson “The Spider” Silva, Antonio Minotauro Noguiera, Brandon “The Truth” Vera and many more.

They are known for their famous JACO Resurgence Fight Shorts, the Coat of Arms Collection and the Jaco Guardian, just to name a few.

We were fortunate enough to get to do an interview with Jaco Clothing president himself, Ron Wilson.

Q: How did JACO Clothing come about and why was it called JACO?

A: Jaco Clothing is relatively new to the MMA scene as we only started this company about a year and a half ago. We had been following MMA for some time and because of its world-class athletes and the sport’s explosive growth, we really wanted to be part of it. As product guys with a long history in sporting goods and apparel, we looked at all of the apparel and gear that existed in MMA and decided that the fight short itself was great place to enter the market.

When looking at most of the existing fight shorts that were being worn in the cage, they were either boardshorts from many years ago or they utilized fabric that did not stretch or breathe. Leveraging experience from our apparel and sports backgrounds which happens to include technical boardshort development experience; we worked with dozens of professional MMA fighters to find what problems they had with existing shorts. With a lot of intensive focus, we were able to combine the needs of the fighter with the best fabrics and technology to create our first fight short, the Resurgence.

We aggressively tested our fight short with nearly one hundred fighters wearing them for a period of about 6 months; prior to shipping our first pair to a retailer. Within a few months, our fight shorts had ended up in training camps around the world; and ultimately, this led to fighters, via their managers, contacting us for sponsorship. They had been training in the shorts and now wanted to be able to compete wearing them.

Approximately eight months from our prototype run of shorts arriving, we made our UFC debut (UFC 102) with both Antonio “Minotauro” Noguiera and Brandon Vera wearing versions of our fight shorts in their fights. Since that time, the business has been sky rocketing with now dozens of UFC fighters joining the Jaco Clothing team and our product line expanding across shirts, headwear, protective cup systems, rashguards, mouthguards, etc.

Jaco Clothing is an action sports lifestyle brand that creates innovative, authentic apparel and accessories that deliver the same founding elements as the athletes who wear them: respect, strength, courage, and tenacity.

Jaco is pronounced as it would be in Brazilian Portuguese. The “J” sounds like “si” in the word Persia, the “a” sounds like the “a” in automobile, the “c” is pronounced like “k”, and “o” is pronounced as the “o” in the word go.

Each character represents a separate brand element:

J = Respect
A = Strength
C = Courage
O = Tenacity

Q: If it wasn’t called JACO, what would it be possibly called?

A: Interesting question, I guess it would be some other made up word that does not have any other meaning. What I do know is that we would have NOT called it by anything that had a potential “thug” connotation. So no Evil Clutch, Skull Breaker, Blood Fist.. I think you get the point.

Q: What makes JACO Clothing different from other companies?

A: The goal of Jaco Clothing is continue to support the worldwide growth of MMA through the design, marketing, and selling of exceptional clothing and gear that is worthy of the world class athletes who compete in MMA. This means that we are bringing new technologies, fabrics, and ideas to the table every time we think about any new product to add to the line.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: The driving force is the MMA athlete. We admire how hard these guys train and the incredibly vast array of fighting genres in which they develop expertise to be successful. We only try to bring this same veracity to our clothing and gear design, product marketing and production.

Q: What is the most unique idea you’ve heard or come out with, with regards to a product?

A: While designing the Jaco Fight Shorts, I also began working on a new Compression/Athletic Cup protective system because I saw guys wearing protective cups designed for other sports or thousand-year-old Thai Cup “technology”. As a result, I designed our new Guardian Compression Protective System.

Junior Dos Santos (UFC 103) decided to wear our new Guardian system after trying them out a couple of weeks prior. Lucky he did, as Mirko Cro Cop inadvertently landed an absolutely devastating direct kick to Junior’s groin during that fight. With any other cup Junior would have sustained a potentially serious groin injury and the fight would likely have ended right there. Fortunately, the Guardian did its job and Junior went on to win the fight via Submission in the third round.

Q: We’ve noticed that you guys have used bamboo for numerous products. Why so?

A: Bamboo fabric has an extremely soft feel – an almost cashmere-like touch – that is 100% hypoallergenic and keeps the body 2- to 3-degrees cooler than a traditional cotton garment during hot weather. Bamboo has tremendous moisture-wicking properties, as well as having a natural stretch that provides an athletic-performance fit. Bamboo naturally inhibits the growth of bacteria making it antimicrobial without the need for sprays or treatments. Bamboo fabric is also naturally anti-static and UV protective.

Our line of bamboo t-shirts is a first step in creating awareness of the numerous benefits of bamboo fabrics.

Bamboo is not only a compelling alternative to other natural and man-made fibers, but also symbolizes the respect, strength, and tenacity that are core to Jaco Clothing.

Bamboo plants grow quickly, do not require fertilizers or pesticides, and are self replenishing, making them 100% sustainable and earth friendly. They can survive drought conditions, as well as flooding, and are constantly releasing a significant amount of oxygen into the atmosphere, more so than even trees. Planting bamboo reduces soil erosion and will even regenerate areas that have suffered significant soil degradation and deforestation.

Q: The Coat of Arms collection brings a whole new meaning to being an ambassador both to the sport and for the respective countries. Can you tell us more about this?

A: When we first started Jaco Clothing, we truly wanted to become a brand that MMA fighters and fans throughout the world could get behind. Many of the fighters that we began working with had a lot of personal pride in their heritages. The first Coat of Arms collection that we did was for Brandon Vera’s Filipino heritage which really ignited a tremendous amount of positive support for our brand. We quickly began trying to support other countries that have really gotten behind MMA. At this point, the only issue we have is that we can’t make these collections for every country that we get requests for on a daily basis.

Q: If you guys were only to sell ONE product, what would it be?

A: Great question and exactly the question that I asked when we first began to explore MMA. The fight short was the natural place to start, because we wanted to make an authentic product that would be worn during competition. Also, we had a lot of in-house experience in designing highly technical boardshorts.

Our aspiration was to be the “Billabong” of MMA buy making the most technical board short (a la a technical wetsuit) that the top athletes in the world would wear and, at the same time, have a lifestyle brand that fans around the world could get behind and want to wear every day in the form of t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc.

Q: What is JACO’s best-selling product?

A: For the core customer who competes or trains in MMA; the Resurgence fight short is our best-selling product. Overall, our t-shirts sell the most, as they not only appeal to fighters, but also fans.

Q: Any plans of expanding to Asia anytime soon? The Philippines Resurgence shorts are such a big hit in Manila.

A: Yes, we are planning on selling in the Philippines beginning later this year. As for other parts of Asia, we do currently sell to a handful of retailers in Japan.

Q: What can we expect from JACO in the following months? (In terms of products, where the company is headed, etc.)

A: We have a lot of exciting things happening in the upcoming months. We will be at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend where many of our new products will be unveiled; including our new Bamboo Rashguards, Guardian Dual Tray Mouthguards, the latest Guardian Protective Cup System, and a couple of surprise t-shirt designs.

Q:  Your fans are dying to know. JACO Vale Tudo shorts. Any tentative release date?

A: We have been chasing our production for our fight shorts since their debut at UFC 102. As a result, the Vale Tudos kept getting delayed (same fabric and production lines); however, they are currently in production and will be available beginning July 1st, 2010. Sorry for the delay guys.

Q: Anything you’d like to say before we end this interview?

A: Yes, everyone at Jaco Clothing would sincerely like to thank the fighters and fans who have supported us by believing in what we are trying to do in the world of MMA. The fighters who had helped us test and evaluate our new products are, and will continue to be, instrumental in our success. Along with these fighters, the fans who provide us feedback, participate in our community, and continue to buy our tees give us an incredible sense of purpose. So to all of them, I would simply say “thank you!”

MMAGearGuide.net would like to thank Jaco Clothing president, Mr. Ron Wilson for doing this interview and everyone involved with making this interview possible. You can find out further information about Jaco Clothing and their products at www.jacoclothing.com

You can also check out our reviews of the famous Jaco Resurgence Fight Shorts and the Jaco Guardian Protection System.

PURCHASE: JACO Clothing Products

We have been getting tromendous feedback from the readers about Datsusara MMA and its products so we thought that we’d give you guys (more of) what you want and deliver.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Datsusara, they are an upcoming company that produce very premium products. The most notable in my opinion would be the Datsusara Pro Gear Bag. This thing was MASSIVE and the amount of things that it can hold.. and it doesn’t stop there. Many have claimed that once you buy a Datsusara bag, you’ll never need another MMA gear bag again. You’ll get more information about that as the interview unfolds but for now.. here’s the interview.

I had a chance to talk to Chris Odell from DS-MMA and from the brief time that I’ve known him, I can say that he’s one of the nicest and honest guys in the MMA industry so with great pleasure, we give you the 3rd installment of MMAGearGuide.net featuring Chris from Datsusara MMA.

Q: Datsusara is a Japanese term. What is it and why is your company called that?

A: The Japanese term Datsusara literally translates as “to escape from being a salary worker”, my loose interpretation is that it means to spend time doing the things you love rather than working for the man. I saw this term in Tim Ferriss’ book “The Four Hour Work Week” and I felt it resonated with me on a personal level but I also thought MMA practitioners would appreciate it. I think most pro MMA athletes are living the Datsusara life already and the rest of us in the gym are taking time off from our busy schedules to participate in a sport we love and escape from boring daily routines.

Q: If it wasn’t called Datsusara, what would it be possibly called?

A: That is a good question and one that has crossed my mind many a night when I stay awake worrying about things like weather or not people can remember our company name. I didn’t want to name the company anything too obnoxious or obvious but things like “Guerilla Gear” or “Hemp for Victory” did cross my mind. But somehow when I heard Datsusara I knew that was the one. I figure with time Datsusara will be remembered more easily, after all I’m sure even Mercedes was an odd name to some at first but they made a good product and now they are known worldwide.

Q: What makes Datsusara different from other companies?

A: For starters we are real people that actually practice the sport, not some corporate funded attempt to cash in on the MMA market. We didn’t just come in and rebrand generic gym bags and call them MMA bags, we actually spend time designing gear with our friends from various gyms. We also use alternative fibers like hemp that should be a no brainer for sports gear, it costs more but makes for a unique superior product. The other element
is that I personally have a love for the strength and functionality of tactical/military style gear and I wanted all of our MMA products to have those qualities.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: It really comes down to our love of the sport. We want to support everyone that participates in the sport and what personally gets me up in the morning is hearing from people that love our gear because it made their training experience all the better.

Q: You guys use hemp in a lot of your products. Why so?

A: When I started thinking about starting a new business I looked at things that I loved. One was MMA, one was tactical/military gear, and the other that came to mind was my long history with hemp. So I put these all together and decided to make our first gear bag for MMA with hemp fabric. Hemp is strong, antimicrobial, and the fabric breathes well. These are qualities that are perfect for sports gear. The real problem I see with hemp is that people that are using it mostly to make products that old hippies would want so it gets a bad rep. Hemp is great for the planet too and you can read all about that online. It’s time hemp for hemp to be used to it’s full potential, which is massive.

Q: What is the funniest/most unique idea you’ve heard or come out with, with regards to a product?

A: We are considering having “stash” pockets added to all of our gear, of course this would primarily be to up our sales to the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu crowd.

Q: If you guys were only to sell ONE product, what would it be?

A: It would be our Pro Gear Bag (PGB). It’s our flagship product and the one I think the sport most needs. I made it partially because I got sick of stuffing my nice gear into a small, crappy, non-breathable bag, and it seems I wasn’t the only one who was dreaming of fixing that problem.

Q: Any notable figures that you guys have sponsored?

A: So far I can say that Eddie Bravo and Joe Rogan proudly sport our bags, and we sent George Sotiropoulos a PGB that he says he uses and loves (we hope to officially sponsor him soon). We want to sponsor not just talented fighters but talented fighters that are respectful. Sh*t-talking meatheads will never wear our logo, we are not about being “nationalistic, arrogant and in ya face”.

Q: Any products that we should be on the look-out for?

A: Yes and I wish they were coming sooner but it all takes time and lots of money. We hope to finally get the hemp shorts done this year and then after that gis and rash guards (made with hemp and bamboo). Some other accessories might come along the way but our focus is on having a solid base product line and then we’ll branch out. We won’t be making boxing gloves with our name on them just because we can, if we can’t use better materials and improve the functionality and construction then we’ll leave that to the other guys. We expect it may take years to get the full line ready but if someone reading this would like to make a large investment in a budding MMA gear company then you’ll see these products much faster.

Q: Where do you see DS-MMA in 5 years time?

A: I see us being the standard in MMA gear bags ll over the world and having a solid line of other products that appeal to people that want top notch, highly functional gear that lasts.

Here’s a video tour of the PGB-03.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xssZAnjnrXk

PURCHASE: Datsusara PGB3 MMA Gear Bag

Also available on MMAWarehouse

I’d like to thank Chris Odell for doing this interview and for making such exceptional products. (I’m just about to place an order from these guys and I can’t decide which bag to get) Their PGB-03 is available at MMAWarehouse. For more information and to see the full range of Datsusara products including the BP-02 (Backpack), you can visit http://dsmma.com

I remember watching the UFC one day and noticing a green elastic band surrounding a fighter’s waist and since then, wondered what they were. I’m not one to actually observe another man’s waist but I noticed a bit of lettering that stated “Dirty Boxer”. Looked ‘em up on the net and found out that they were a company that specialises in compression shorts. It’s pretty surreal for me to be doing an interview with them now.

Q: First thing’s first, why was it named Dirty Boxer?

A: Our name came from the technique “Dirty Boxing” made famous by Randy “The Natural” Couture and Matt “The Law” Lindland both legends in the sport.

Q: If it wasn’t called Dirty Boxer, what would it be named?

A: Good question. Hmm, never really thought about that. Is Tapout taken?

Q: What makes Dirty Boxer different from other companies?

A: Well our company was founded around our compression shorts, which have a built in cup pocket, eliminating the need for old school jock straps. Jocks tend to move around a lot in a fight so we teamed up with some great fighters and designed a product for fighters by fighters. With our foundation in place we expanded into boxer briefs which have had a huge response at the UFC weigh-ins. To sum it up we’re not just another t-shirt company!

The ever-so famous Dirty Boxer Competition Compression Shorts are available at $29.99 a pair.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: Dirty Boxer is a great brand. What would you rather wear, Calvin Klein or Dirty Boxer? It’s an easy choice!

Q: What is the funniest/most unique idea you’ve heard or come up with, with regards to a product?

A: Well we have had some hard times; all start ups do. I was frustrated at a particular person who I can’t name and decided to make a Youtube video
about him. I put a pair of Dirty Boxer Compression shorts on a friends head who was wearing a nametag of the person I was frustrated with and said ” Even dickheads need protection” I thought it was pretty funny. But as a slogan we might be pushing our luck!

Q: With regards to sponsoring fighters, what makes a “Dirty Boxer”?

A: Well I love an underdog, always have. But a few of my favorite Dirty Boxers are Brian Bowles, Chael Sonnen and Vlad the Janitor!

Q: Gina Carano. Dirty Girl Boxer. Thoughts?

A: To be honest, I can’t think of anything we would not consider doing with Gina Carano! We would be honored to have her on our team!

Q: If you guys were only to sell ONE product, what would it be?

I would have to say our Compression Shorts because at the end of the day we are not a t-shirt company and want to be known for our functional gear.

Q: Where do you see Dirty Boxer in 5 years?

A: At the top! Look out, Nike.

PURCHASE: Dirty Boxer Products from MMAWarehouse

MMAGearGuide.net would like to thank Dan from Dirty Boxer for a very fruitful interview. Dirty Boxer products are available at most major online retailers and local locations. For more info, visit www.dirtyboxer.com

Q: First of all, why was it named Like 2 Fight?

A: When doing my research I saw numerous companies with names that didn’t sound like a clothing brand relating to mixed martial arts; in many cases I thought the name was very vague and couldn’t understand what it was meant to represent.

Like 2 Fight clothing is designed with fighters and the fans of MMA in mind, from our research we found that people wore MMA clothing to represent their love of the sport so we decided to make the brand name as representative as possible.  I think it is fair to say that no one could be mistaken that Like 2 Fight is a contact sports brand!

Lastly, although the name ‘Like 2 Fight’ sounds aggressive, it is not meant to be (not entirely at least!).  We spoke to a countless number of boxers and martial artists asking them what they loved about the sport, the resounding answer was that they liked everything about it, the training, friendships, increased confidence, being athletic and competing. The Like 2 Fight name was and is therefore aimed to show the ‘Liking’ of all areas of martial arts, not just the ‘fight’.

Q: Sounds good Jaime. But if it wasn’t called Like 2 Fight, what do you reckon it would be called?

A: This honestly isn’t a sarcastic answer but..’Love 2 Fight’. (laughs) It genuinely was a toss up between the two!

Q: What makes Like2Fight different from all the other companies?

I would say a big difference is that we aren’t one of the dozens upon dozens of more recent companies to setup an MMA brand in the last 6 months.  Like 2 Fight clothing has been around since mid 2008, which although still not a huge amount of time I personally recall seeing probably a dozen or more brands (UK alone) come and go since then.

The brand sells well, this I would put down to dealing closely with people in the MMA community.  We attend numerous events, seminars etc. throughout the country, at these events we are alway talking to people and we really do listen and make changes to the business based on what our customers (or potential customers) want to see.  e.g. a number of people we spoke to said they loved the brand but didn’t want to be seen in the gym/walking to the shops in a top saying ‘Like 2 Fight’. We also noticed a trend and people were saying they would love an MMA brand to be a bit classier that could be worn anywhere without getting negative attention.  After a bit of research we commissioned an Australian design company to create an ‘L’ logo to represent the ‘Like’ and have had this printed on MMA shorts, vale tudo shorts and a very popular T-shirt.

We are only were we are today because of our fans and customers, they are our number one priority so we will always focus on giving them exactly what they want.

Q: What is the driving force behind the company?

A: Our driving force is to make our customers happy, as the company owner I still get a real buzz when I receive emails from delighted customers.

Q: What is Like 2 Fight’s best-selling product?

A: It’ a close call, our top two selling products are the Xplicit T-shirt and the white ‘World Standard’ MMA Shorts.  Out of the two I would say the shorts win on sales volume but it is a close call!

Like 2 Fight's "XPLICIT" T-Shirt available at www.like2fight.com

Q: What is the funniest/most unique idea you’ve heard or come up with, with regards to a product?

A: The most unqiue idea I have heard (this may be difficult to explain) would be a pair of MMA shorts that have ‘grab areas’ were a fighter can grab their own shorts to get a tighter/stronger hold on a submission.  It was a great idea but after speaking to a number of people that compete in submisison grappling competitions the overall response was that it would be viewed as something close to cheating, which was something we did not want to associate the brand with.

Q: If you guys were to sell only ONE product, what would it be, and why?

A: That is a really tough question!  Out of all the products the one I personally love is the Xplicit tshirt, the first time I saw the proof image from the designer I knew it would make waves.  I think it makes a bold statement and stands out, basically what Like 2 Fight is all about.

Q: Where do you see Like 2 Fight in 5 years?

A: To be honest I’m planning a number of new things for the company, some of which need to stay confidential for the time being.  Overall though I don’t want ‘Like 2 Fight’ to be seen as just another MMA brand in the mix, I want it to be an integral part of UK MMA.  Which is why we interview fighters for the site, are building up a bank of fighter resources and will soon be holding a Like 2 Fight grappling competition.

The brand has recently started being sold in America so obviously we are looking to build on that, as well as furthering the progress made in the UK.  I would say in 5 years it is realistic that Like 2 Fight will be one of Europe’s main players.

MMAGearGuide.net would like to thank Jaime from Like 2 Fight for being such a good sport and ambassador to the UK’s growing MMA scene. If you’d like to contact the Like 2 Fight team, visit www.like2fight.com or send ‘em an email at sales@like2fight.com — more power to you lads!