Dom Fight Gear has developed relationships with some of the biggest names in the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and BJJ (Brazilian Jujitsu) worlds. When we started this, we expected something a lot different than what we found. Not knowing protocol, we just went right up to the rockstars and asked for their help. We wanted them to try our clothing, wear our gis, use our gear bags, wear our rashguards. We wanted them to fight in front of the world wearing our shorts. Can you do that?
I won’t go into all the names, you all know who you are–Kirk, Mark, Herman, Jack, Nick, Caio, Punkass, Scrape, Bjorn, Andre, Urijah, Rob, Gary, Kyle, Johnny, Jonathan, Raphael, Jay, Drew, Larry, Bryan, Thomas, Chris, Kashiff, Steve,–I really could go on for about 3 paragraphs and still leave people out.
They welcomed us like we were much better and bigger than we were. They wanted us to succeed. It was a blessing we get emotional about. I get that stupid grin you can’t get rid of. My dad said, Rock, when you talk about Dom, your whole countenance changes.” It does–we have been put in a place I never in a million years would have thought possible. There is a difference in the people we work with in this industry–handshakes are still a contract. Yesterday BG told one of our bigger fighters how much we appreciate his doing what he said he’d do without us watching. He wasn’t really offended, but his reaction was, “Why are you thinking me for doing what I said I’d do?” Perfect.
Anyway, we started out with our lined DMX Gi. I just wanted to make a gi that was strong and felt like pajamas. We accomplished that. We sold tens, hundreds and now thousands. The thing with the lined gi was you really could compete in it but it was heavier than the average competition gi. It’s gained popularity with the high level guys, but is huge with the white to purple belts. So, we made the DMX II, Ultralight. It got the attention of the higher level guys because it’s only 2.3 lbs and feels comfortable. We went thru the standard growing pains with those gis, and had to tweak them a little. The patches were hard to maintain and we had some black ripstop pants from one shipment rip. To guys trying to be perfect in all ways, it was rough to have anything wrong with our gis. We were just sure people would take their business elsewhere if we weren’t perfect. But, people were not leaving us. We immediately exchanged their pants if they ripped and stopped using the patches that frayed. We embroider everything now. People weren’t upset, they wanted to order another one for their kid or when theirs needed replacing.
Caio Terra came along, loved our ethic and our vibe, and wanted to create a gi that fit his style and specifications. With his input, and input from the people we had worked with, we created the DMX V. This one is old school and the kind you see 95% of the black belts wearing in World, Pan Ams, Nationals, etc. It’s Domified and created for competition and daily wear. It, we believe, is the gi that will satisfy the part of the market we have not yet saturated.
It took us 2 years to get our products where we want them–and our fans have supported us 110%. I think the thing we realized through it all, is people are just deeper than clothes. If they know you genuinely want to create for them the softest shirt, the strongest bag, the finest Gi in the world–that’s really all they want from you. If it isn’t perfect in every way, they don’t care–but if you think for a second you can just slap your logo on a clothing brand and get rich by buying cheap and selling high, my friend, you will die way sooner than you ever thought.
–Fight On
Tags: bjj, bjj gi, bjj wear, Brazilian Jujitsu, Caio Terra, dmx gi, DMX II, DMX V, dom fight gear, fight gear, Fight Wear, Fighting Gear, fighting wear, mixed martial arts, mma, mma gear, mma gi, mma wear
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