2009 NYC MMA EXPO

This weekend was pretty MMA packed for me. Aside from the obvious UFC 104 event, on a local level, NYC held it's first MMA Expo at the Jacob Javits Center. While it was two day event, I only attended the Saturday portion which in most cases for weekend expos is always the best day.

THE OPENING 

My buddy and I got there just as the doors opened to the general public, and after a brief walk around I have to say that it was pretty underwhelming. To be fair, this was the first year for the expo so it's to be expected that that the organizers were probably winging it with regards to what they thought that the needs of the audience are.

THE BOOTHS

Overall most of the booths were a mix of some small time MMA T Shirt companies which I've never heard of and some more well known brands within the fighting/fitness community like Everlast, Combat Sports International, and Bodybuilding.com.

One booth which stood out the most for me, and that I made a point to find while at the expo was a startup company called RED ARME. Prior to attending the event I noticed this company while looking around the expo's website and, the first thing that caught my eye was it's logo. It was really unique which is a refreshing change from the other MMA clothing start ups which have no real orginality to the way they position their brand. My main problem with alot of these other companies is that they tend to go with obvious names like "Beatdown Clothing" or "Busted Up" along with a really crappy logo. Top that off with the fact that most of their marketing collateral consists of the stereotypical overly busty model posing provocatively or the heavily tattooed muscle freak, and in the end the design of the clothing gets lost on it's target audience.

As we approached the Red Arme booth, we were greated by the company's founder Darryl Heslop. I really liked his energy and the way that he presented his brand as MMA Lifestyle clothing. Since it was pretty early in the day, he was able to take some time to shoot the breeze, and tell us about his passion for MMA and what inspired him to start his own company. I was happy to learn that my buddy and I were his very first customers of the day, which seemed to really get the ball rolling for them as I saw more and more attendees stopping by their booth throughout the day. On my way out, I decided to stop by the booth one more time to pick up another shirt which was called "Insignia". Heslop and the rest of the Red Arme crew were so excited to have a repeat customer that they gave me the inside scoop on some of thier upcoming designs due to be released some time next year. Needless to say, from what I saw they were great looking shirts, and I can't wait to pick them up. I actually wore one of the shirts out today and it fits really well.  I have a good feeling that this company is on it's way to big things, and wish them the best of luck. When you get a chance, take a look at their site: www.redarme.com

(Here is a pic of me(right) and Heslop in his booth)

SEMINARS & DEMOS

 We only atended one seminar which was presented by 2004 Judo Olympian and Athletic Trainer Rhadi Ferguson. The topic of the seminar was "Preparing to Compete" and I gotta say that this guy was awesome. He kept the session really lively and informative. Plus as an added bonus, he happens to be Kevin Ferguson's distant cousin, aka Kimbo Slice.

The demos were pretty cool to watch, as I got to see Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Vitor"Shaolin" Ribeiro in action with some of his students. The fluidity of their movments reminded me how much I love BJJ. Also  in the the demo area was Kru Phil Nurse. Nurse runs The WAT thai boxing school here in NYC and has been most recently known as the striking coach for UFC Welterweight Champion George St-Pierre. Watching Nurse during his demo was a real treat, the guy and his team move like ninjas on the mat. They are so fast and powerful, that it's no wonder that GSP is able to dismantle his opponents in the Octogon.

After his demo, I was fortunate enough to meet Nurse and the guy fits the mold of many members in the MMA community: HUMBLE. That's probably what I love about this sport so much. Even with MMA growing exponentially everyday, these guys still continue to remain really down to earth and accessible.

WANDERLEI

The highlight of the day had to be an autograph signing with the great Wanderlei Silva. The session was later in the afternoon, so by then it was a bit more crowded and the line to see Silva was pretty long. We paid $20 to get an autograph and a picture with him, which was pretty reasonable. I got a kick out of my buddy Chris getting asked by the former Pride champ about his arm injury(he's wearing a brace), to then see the priceless expression on his face as he learns that it was not "Joooo Jitsooo" (as Silva pronounced it) that caused the injury, but a mechanical bull. The guy is pure class.

PARTING SHOT

Overall the Expo was pretty decent for $20. I think that there could have been more recognizable brands there, but for a first show not bad. The turn out was pretty good, and makes an excellent case for the ongoing fight to legalize MMA in NYC. I'm pretty confident that next year will be even better.