BSP Date: August 10, 2015
Q: What is the name of your brand(s)?
Ground Fighter Grappling Gear
Q: When & where was it founded, and where is it currently headquartered?
Founded in 2009 in Dallas, TX. We’ve traveled all over the country growing this company and have lived in multiple states since we’ve started, but we’re now back in the DFW area.
Q: Who are the founders/current owners?
Garrett and Chrissy Ford. Husband and wife, business partners, best friends, partners in crime, and grappling dummies. Generally Garrett is the creative one who has the product ideas and does most of the design work, whereas Chrissy handles the day-to-day business operations. Together we’re a great team, and we enjoy working our asses off to produce stellar grappling gear.
Q: Is there any significance behind the name of the brand or its logo?
The name Ground Fighter speaks for itself. :) Two words that describe the sport we all love and relate to. Our logo is a stylized combination of the ‘G’ from Ground and the ‘F’ from Fighter. It may take a minute to see both, but it’s definitely memorable once you do. Which do you see first?
Q: What was the driving force (or forces) behind the founding of the brand?
We were tired of never having any grappling gear or apparel that matched our style and passion for the sport. That combined with a long conversation about how “if money was no object, what would you want to do” on a road trip from Texas to Oregon. From there ideas started rolling in, and we began making unique products that we loved. Thankfully lots of other people loved our style too.
Q: What are your strengths / the strengths of your brand?
People are drawn to Ground Fighter because our name is easily recognized and remembered, and our style is unique and creative with minimalistic designs and clean lines. Our customers keep coming back though because of our high quality products and unbeatable customer service. Every product we release has been through intense testing to make sure it will last a LONG time. The very first pair of no gi shorts we released five years ago is still in the regular rotation of training gear in our house. We encourage our customers to leave reviews on the products they’ve purchased to help others with their decisions. Also we make sure we’re available day and night to answer any questions as quickly as possible.
Q: What was your first product produced (prototype or otherwise)?
We started with four t-shirt designs. We wore them everywhere and still remember how amazed we were that people liked them as much as we did.
Q: In that first year or so, what were your first struggles in getting the brand off the ground?
Finding the best way to communicate with our audience. Back in 2009 the functions and features of social media wasn’t near the level it’s at now.
Q: What would you consider to be your signature or keystone item(s) to date?
Our “Shoot First” spats have been incredibly popular, as has our trademarked “Ready Set Roll” line of products. We are most proud of our new “Northern Lights” gi though. Word is spreading about the amazing design and quality, and we don’t doubt that it will be a key product for the Ground Fighter brand.
Q: What items do you also sell that people may not be aware of?
We just recently released our very first gi, so many people may not know us as a gi company yet. Also we carry kids gear. It’s hard to find good kids gear, so we think it’s important to provide high quality products for the future of the sport as well.
Q: Do you have anything exciting coming up in the next few months or so that you can share with us?
We’ve got lots of new designs and new products in the works--ranked rashguards, shorts, spats, hats, our second gi, etc. Sometimes we get so excited about a new product that we wish we could rush the release, but we know how important it is to make sure every little detail is perfect first.
Q: Geographically speaking, where is your primary customer base?
Our base is fairly distributed as we spent 3 years traveling around the country in a travel trailer going to gyms, tournaments, fights, etc. to grow the brand. We have a strong following throughout Texas since that’s our home base now. After that it would probably be the Pacific Northwest (since we used to live in Portland), California, Florida, and New York.
Q: A common question/concern among our members is the issue of shipping. We have found that some brands will not ship worldwide or have carved out certain countries from their territory. So if you would, please explain your shipping policy, pricing and any geographic restrictions that you have with regard to the sale of your goods.
We ship to just about anywhere in the world, and we’re always working to reduce shipping costs. Currently we have free shipping on US orders over $75, which means when you buy a gi you might as well pick up a couple other things to avoid shipping costs. With international shipping--costs vary depending on location, but the more you order the more you save on shipping. We also offer multiple shipping options to meet your needs.
Q: Do you have any sponsored athletes? If so, do you have specific criteria for selecting such athletes?
Yes, we currently have about 15 contracted sponsored athletes, including black belts Renato Tavares and Suyan Quieroz. We have a Sponsorship page on our website with more information on what we look for and how to go about submitting a request form. You can also view the profiles of some of our current athletes. We put a lot of focus on supporting our athletes, so we keep a smaller team and spots don’t come up often. In fact, everyone on our team currently has been with us for multiple years, some since the very beginning. We’re so very proud of all our Ground Fighters. They dedicate themselves to this sport day in and day out, and we’re glad to help promote and support them in any way we can so that they can further their career and reach their goals.
Q: Where do you get the inspiration from in designing new gear for your brand?
Inspirations come from anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes ideas come when we’re completely surrounded by BJJ--like obsessing over a new move, or a phrase someone says when rolling. Other times it happens when we’re the furthest from BJJ--like the way colors come together in nature when backpacking through the mountains, which is where the idea for our “Northern Lights” gi came from. We get cool ideas a lot faster than we can get them on products and released. More than once we’ve had to scrap an idea because by the time we were able to complete it, someone else had done something with a similar theme.
Q: What differentiates you and your brand from other BJJ brands?
When we first started Ground Fighter, it seemed like everything had skulls and wings. So we wanted to offer people a completely different style. Even now with all the different brands out there, our style is still very unique. We love coming up with creative ideas, designing products with a minimalistic approach, and using bold colors to stand out. For example, take our “Kimura” or “Jiu Jitsu” shirt designs. They look clean and simple, but a lot of thought and creativity went into designing those. We usually include a blurb about the design process on each product page.
http://groundfighter.net/collections/shirts/products/ground-fighter-kimura-shirt-navy
Besides our unique style and that we provide high quality products for a great value, we also have the best customer service. From custom gi packaging, to informative size charts and product info, to answering questions quickly day and night, to providing valuable BJJ content via social media and newsletters--we’re always thinking up new and better ways to serve our customers. We love chatting with fellow BJJers whether that’s at a gym, tournament, dive bar or on social media. Connecting with our audience is our favorite part of running this company.
Q: What other brands are out there that you admire? And why?
Shoyoroll paved the way for BJJ brands. They’ve done their thing very well for a very long time. We’re impressed with how Ctrl Industries burst onto the scene. They know their style and their audience, and they go all out. Meerkatsu is passionately creative. He’s always working on something cool. Newaza has a style that’s completely their own, and I admire that.
Q: Is your company direct sales only? Or do you have distributors?
Besides our website, we also have Ground Fighter products in a few fight shops and gyms. You can see the list on the Retailers link on our website. We’re also working on distribution in the UK, Europe, and Australia to get prices down.
Q: Do or have you participated in tournament booths or sponsorships of tournaments?
Yes, we’ve sponsored at least 15-20 different BJJ tournaments. We actually traveled around the country in a travel trailer for about 3 years setting up booths at various tournaments. It’s a great way to support the BJJ scene, grow our brand, and meet lots of other grapplers. We’ll be at the IBJJF Dallas Open next, so come say hi.
Q: Any plans for future expansion?
We’ve been consistently growing every year. This year our big objective was getting our first gi out into the world. Now we’re focusing on distribution and easier access to our products for people around the globe.
Q: Please tell us a little about yourself, where you grew up, your BJJ experience, home life, education, military service, etc. Anything that might help our members get to know you a little better.
Garrett: I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas in a typical middle class family. I actually never thought of myself as very athletic growing up and spent most of my youth studying drama, choir, and other arts. It was until my second year at Arizona St that I got into BJJ. I dabbled in martial arts growing up--Karate, Akido, Judo, Boxing, and Muay Thai, but I never took anything seriously until I found Jiu-Jitsu. I’m a pretty small guy and found that I loved BJJ because I could hold my own against bigger guys if my technique was on point. I trained at Megaton’s for over 2 years while I was in AZ. I remember Mackenzie Dern making me look like a fool when she was an orange belt. I’ve trained at a lot of different gyms since then, but now that I’m back in TX, I train at Next Gen in Frisco, TX under Chris Brennan.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?
Besides BJJ--rock climbing, hiking, kayaking, and anything else that gets us out into nature.
Q: Do you have any pets?
We just adopted a year old male Yorkie from a rescue and named him Sazed (“Say-Zid”) after our favorite character from the Sci-Fi Mistborn trilogy. He is settling in great, and his personality shines through more and more each day.
Q: Where did you grow up and attend school (University/College)?
See response above to “About Me” question.
Q: Tell us a little about your background in martial arts/grappling.
See response above to “About Me” question.
Quick Fire
These questions are designed to allow for short, one or two word answers. Oftentimes just yes or no, and from a personal perspective.
Q: Rash Guard – Short or long sleeve?
Short
Q: Preferred gi colorway?
Blue
Q: Rash under your gi?
Yes, I actually have a latex allergy that makes me allergic to most mats
Q: Spats under your gi?
Yes
Q: Gi Pants – Rip Stop, Cotton Twill/Drill Cotton, or Cotton/Poly Blend?
Drill
Q: Gi jacket weave?
Pearl
Q: First gi you owned?
M Kimonos--I wore it for years until it had holes in the butt and knees.
Q: Favorite submission?
Nothing makes me happier than landing a smooth guillotine.
Q: Last stamp on your passport?
Canada—USA Womens World Cup!!
Q: Beer or wine?
Why not both?
Q: Tea or coffee?
Coffee! All day, every day.
Q: Do you wash your belt or not?
Yes, wash your belt. Your belt is a symbol of your knowledge and commitment. It will not lose any special powers if you wash it.
Q: Regular knot or superlock knot in belt?
Regular
Q: Isle or window seat?
Window
Q: And finally…what social media do you participate in and what are those addresses?
https://twitter.com/ground_fighter
https://www.facebook.com/GroundFighter.Net
https://www.youtube.com/user/GroundFighterMMA
https://instagram.com/ground_fighter/
http://groundfighter.net/
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