How to Tell an Authentic From a Fake Shoyoroll ~ BJJ New Gear

The absolute best way to make sure you get an authentic Shoyoroll gi is to purchase from Shoyoroll directly. But of course that means you can't buy any of the older classics that many people desire. Plus, even scoring one at the drop is a chore in itself many times.

The second best thing is to purchase in the secondary market from a reputable source. And there are many such sources; all of them are individual people because there is no official "dealer" of Shoyoroll gis and gear other than the brand itself. While the number of trusted sources is large, too large to list here, if you PM me on Facebook or send me an email, I'd be happy to help identify if the gi you are considering is authentic or not, and if I know the seller (and I have dealt with many over the years), or not.

The next best thing you can do to protect yourself is to get photographs of the actual gi that you are buying. LOTS of photographs. Then join and post those photos in the Facebook group, Shoyoroll Drama Free Buy, Trade & Sell, and ask for help in telling if it is real or fake.

It is not only important to get photos of the full jacket and pants, but where the forgers often mess up are on the details. The patches, seam tape and tags are three areas to focus on. So those items must be clearly visible in the pictures.

Fake vs. Real - Can You Tell?

Below are two photographs of a Shoyoroll Brasileiro kimono. One is real....and one is fake. can you tell which one is which? The answer is below.

Cloth Bag vs. No Bag

Another common theme with fakes is that most, but not all, do not have matching cloth bags (for those Shoyoroll gi's that come with bags, which is most batches). While the presence of a matching cloth bag, or lack thereof, does not mean a gi is fake or legitimate on that measure alone. Recently we have been seeing some batches of fake gis with fake bags, including: Armstrong, Beef Cakes, RVCA, Leo V., and most recently, and disturbingly so, the uber-rare and highly-desired Black Undefeated, of which only 91 hand numbered gis were made. But all of these bags, in addition to the gis, are recognizable to someone who knows what to look for.

Keep in mind that most fakes don't have any cloth bag whatsoever, and those that do, the bag is often a dead giveaway that it is a fake.

Those Shoyoroll's that did not come with a matching cloth bag include:

All gis prior to Batch #7 (7th Son and Golden State were the first to have cloth bags).
Comp Lite XII
The Ring
Brasileiro
Black Skies (Guma 2013 gi)
GUMA 2014
A&P V1
A&P Athlete Prototypes (2015)
Batch 50 (Worlds Drop, 2015)

All the rest should have cloth bags. However, please note that the mere presence of a bag does not mean the gi is legitimate. Oftentimes Shoyoroll fans will sell the bags after buying their gis from Shoyoroll to offset the cost of the gi. Those bags sell from $25 to $50 each. So someone selling a one-off fake could purchase a legitimate Shoyoroll bag on the secondary market and simply use that to try and hide the fact that the gi inside the bag is a fake. Personally, I've not seen this occur, but it is a possibility.

Commonly Faked Batches

Some batches of Shoyoroll kimonos are more often faked than others. Batch 17 Competitor seems to be one that is popular with the fakers, as does the Beef Cakes and Black Skies. Most recently I've seen (and even purchased) an Illest that was faked. I bought one just to see the quality (or lack thereof) and learn more about the fakes.

Recently I've seen fake Black Undefeated. And with those selling for several thousand dollars on the secondary market, you really want to make sure you know the pedigree of the one you are considering buying before you plunk down $3,000 or $4,000 on a gi.

There has also been a rash of fakes posted on the Australian eBay. The prices are very tempting, but in 100% of the cases where people have asked me to check out a Shoyoroll on eBay in Australia, it has been a fake.

In early 2016 fake RVCA and Leo V. gis started showing up. And those have bags.

Below I'll show some photographs of the fake and an authentic Illest, probably the most sought after Shoyoroll kimono. With only 100 Navy and 50 White kimonos sold, they are rare to come across and very expensive.

There is also a good video on YouTube where an authentic Batch 17 Competitor is compared to a fake one. It's worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOf-Ae2VIgQ

Here is a picture of a fake White Illest sent to me by a forger:

And here is the real deal.

Help & Resources

There is ONE online resources with photos of most Shoyoroll kimonos to date. This way you can always compare pictures of the gi you are questioning to those found on this site:

Gi Database

And here are the two best Facebook groups that you can join and post the pics of the kimono you are concerned about; seeking feedback from a diverse group:

All Things BJJ

Shoyoroll Drama Free Buy, Trade & Sell (recommended)

Of course as I said earlier above, you can always send me some photographs via email or on Facebook via PM and I'll take a look at them and give you my thoughts. Please keep in mind that while I've seen many fakes and owned virtually every Shoyoroll from, and including, Batch #4 to the current drops, I do not promote myself as an expert. But if I have any questions as to whether or not a gi is legitimate or not, I can always call upon friends who know better than I do to help.

Click here to to go my profile where you can PM me anytime.

Warning - New Scam on eBay

Click here to read in Shoyoroll Drama Free on Facebook.

The Answer

Oh...and the real Brasileiro is the top picture. That kimono has a white size tag with red lettering. The second picture, despite having the Shoyoroll sticker attached, is a fake.