Sidekick Boxing

Why building a combat sports brand is the hardest thing

Top G Merch

Sidekick is one of the most renowned combat sports equipment brands with its strong presence in the European sub-continent. However, this came after years of hard work and thought put in by Daniel Knight, the founder. 

While it might seem a tad bit easy to start an equipment brand and do a bit of marketing to make a name, its actually a lot more difficult. This is why in this piece, Knight himself will give speak about his most important learnings over the course of building this brand. 

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How important is it to choose the right product?

While starting a combat sports equipment brand, it is very important to choose the right product. Speaking about it and giving his insight on the subject, Daniel Knight said:

“It’s very important to not only choose the right products, but also they are of a very high quality. As a kickboxer myself, I test the products to make sure they are exceptionally good.”

How to start a new combat sports equipment brand?

Many might be wondering how to get into the combat equipment space. With that said, no one can be better to guide than someone who has already built a brand. To give his opinion on the subject, Knight said:

“To start a new brand in the combat sports world has a lot of challenges to overcome. When you first launch the company no one has ever heard of it, so it will take time for it to get recognised in the market. This will take dedication. Also you are competing against the already successful multi-million pound companies, so you really need to ruffle some feathers.”

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How to sponsor fighters?

Sponsoring fighters can play a vital role in boosting the presence of the brand. However, it might be challenging to get big names on board in the beginning. Speaking about the same, Daniel Knight said:

“Sponsoring fighters is definitely a make or break part of the company. Each fighter has a different image and that can really affect people’s perception of the business. For instance, sponsoring Andrew Tate back when he was a kickboxer gave both a positive and negative impact. It went down well with some of the serious kickboxers as he was a top-level fighter, but his character many believed it made the brand look unprofessional. However, fast forward 10 years, and the same Tate content now goes viral and gets us featured in many mainstream media publications.”

Conclusion

The above-listed pointers can definitely and guide people who are looking to get into the combat sports space. To wrap this piece up, Knight has shared his thoughts on how to break into the market. He said:

“Kickboxing is quite a niche market, so it is very difficult to break the main stream market. It took Sidekick to invest in various combat sports like MMA, along with sponsoring big names to make a name for ourselves.”

Also Read: 10 of the best sponsorships this decade!

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