Most people have now become more than familiar with the name Andrew Tate. He is a controversial British-American online influencer and grew up in Luton, UK, after being born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the late chess player Emory Tate’s son.

Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan, 35, we’re detained in a Romanian jail on the 29th December 2022, while authorities look into rape and human trafficking claims; it didn’t look good for the Tate brothers.

Tate was raided at home and taken into custody after posting a video criticising climate activist Greta Thunberg and prominently featuring pizza boxes from nearby organisation Jerry’s Pizza. Authorities quickly refuted reports that the pizza box guided them to Tate’s whereabouts.

Since Tate’s release, he has rapidly rose in fame, becoming one of the most famous and Googled person in the world. And many of Tates fans abolish any allegations made towards him.

However, a previous sponsor of Tate’s, Sidekick Boxing – owned by Daniel Knight, has insight into the influencer’s past before these allegations. Knight has also recently featured on Channel 4’s ‘I am Andrew Tate’ and Sky’s ‘Doom Scroll’ documentaries discussing their collaboration.

Daniel Knight: Andrew Tate Sponsorship

Daniel Knight says, “When I started Sidekick in 2010, I wanted it to be different from all the other brands. I didn’t want to blend in, so I created a graffiti-style logo to stand out. I also wanted the same for my fighters, I wanted character, so when I came across Tate, he ticked all the boxes. 

He looked good, was good, and had a personality that would get Sidekick heard. I knew he was a risky choice, and no other companies were sponsoring him, but that gambler inside me knew it would be worth it. 

Andrew was funny, and we had a good laugh; this was great for business as it didn’t make it feel like work. We both enjoyed the exposure. 

However, Tate is odd; he is Marmite; people either love or hate him; there is no in-between. So as much as he gave great exposure, he was generating sales as much as losing them, but I backed him as my sponsor. 

The best thing about the sponsorship, Andrew liked the Sidekick products and was proud to be sponsored by the brand. We worked together up to the point of his entering the Big Brother house.” 

Andrew Tate Web Cam Controversy

The 2016 season of Big Brother gave the former kickboxer his first taste of celebrity (outside of sports), but Channel 5 executives ultimately kicked him off.

There have been rumours that homophobic and racist tweets from when he was on the show resurfaced. Tate’s Big Brother career began to wane at this point. Shortly later, the media released a video showing Tate hitting a woman with a belt and threatening to “f***ing kill her” if she messaged another man.

According to a Channel 5 spokeswoman at the time, Tate was compelled to leave the Big Brother house: “Channel 5 and the producers reached the view that Andrew’s position as a housemate had become untenable after a video was brought to our attention by The Sun.”

Source: https://www.indy100.com/viral/andrew-tate-fight-big-brother-2659042456

However, Tate set up his own webcam business at a similar time. 

Daniel says, “Although I have nothing against webcams, it’s just not for me and didn’t align with what I wanted for the Sidekick brand. 

My personal beliefs are as long as it’s legal, it’s all consensual, and no one is getting exploited. The only thing with it is it doesn’t go in line with a kickboxing equipment organisation, so I was hesitant about deleting old promo stuff of Andrew. But I always kept them as it was Sidekick’s history.”

Andrew Tate Arrest

As previously mentioned, the Tate brothers were arrested and held in a Romanian cell on the 29th December 2022. They have been released, but remain on house arrest with not being able to leave the country.

Tate has now allegedly threatened to sue at least one woman who has accused him of sex trafficking. Also, it was discovered that former kickboxer Tate had threatened to sue a woman and her family for libel in response to some of the claims made.

US attorneys representing the woman have revealed she got a “stop and desist” letter in December, the same month he was detained close to Bucharest, from a law company acting on behalf of Tate and his brother Tristan.

The BBC reports that the letter, which the BBC says it has seen, threatens to sue the accuser and her parents for $300 million (£249 million) for libel as Tate continues to reject all the claims made against him.

Daniel says, “It was just when I thought the exposure from Andrew Tate was all done with the 2022 hit. I wasn’t in touch with Andrew like I once was; it was a shock that investigations had started over trafficking girls.

I don’t believe he is guilty of any convictions, but the webcam industry is quite a seedy world and will always come with its complications. Now, it has no good outcome either way. Either the Tate brothers are guilty, women have been tragically sexually assaulted, or they have served months in prison for nothing.

I had been advised to move away from Tate as Sidekick was getting mentioned in media videos reaching millions of views which makes sense because of the allegations and what he has been accused of.

But then, YouTube notifications started pinging with messages saying Top G. The videos of Andrew promoting Sidekick and kicking a baseball bat got over a million views. The exposure and brand awareness were incredible; it was something I couldn’t not take advantage of.”

Looking for Investment 

However, since the boom in views on YouTube, Knight has been pulled into the controversy, even though it is clear that both himself and Sidekick Boxing have no current affiliations with Tate and do not align themselves with the opinions and actions of the Tate brothers. 

Daniel stated, “Since all this media attention has been going on with Andrew, I wanted to publicly make it clear I wasn’t in any way associated as it did impact my organisation.

As much as I liked the exposure, I was also seeking investment to take the brand to another level. I’ve had meetings with many high-profile businessman who have worked with Conor McGregor, another on the Forbes rich list, CEO of a trainer brand, and one who owns probably the world’s biggest martial arts equipment brands. 

As much as they were keen, as soon the divulge in to the business and the word Tate came up, it gave them itchy feet. This is why I tried to clear up any uncertainties with the media to ensure that my brand and reputation are not associated with the controversial likes of Tate.”

Andrew Tate’s Misogyny

Tate is known for his controversial opinions on women and was removed from YouTube in August 2022 for violating its hate-speech policy and being banned from other social media platforms. 

However, Daniel Knight says that Tate acted very differently only five years ago, “I’m regularly asked what Andrew is like in person and around women. I’ve always said he plays this controversial character and is very different in person—his polite and quiet. However, I haven’t seen him in over five years, so maybe he could be different now.” 

Final Thoughts on Andrew Tate

Although controversial, Daniel Knight believes that sponsoring Andrew Tate is the best thing Sidekick has ever done. This is not because of the allegations or anything to do with Tate’s personal opinions, but because at the beginning of Sidekick’s growth, Tate helped the brand grow and get recognition. The ripple effect from that exposure is being felt now.  

However, we must say that Sidekick, Daniel Knight, and those associated with himself and the brand do not condone any prior allegations against Tate. Andrew Tate’s opinions and actions do not reflect Daniel Knight or the Sidekick Brand; instead, they reflect on Tate and Tate alone. 

To read more about Andrew Tate check out our other articles here:

• The life of Andrew Tate
• Andrew Tate’s Bugatti
• Andrew Tate’s Hustlers University
• Andrew Tate’s brother Tristan

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