MMA 28 : Page 87
MMA Worldwide: Speaking of athletes, you’ve worked with some of the best athletes combat sports has ever seen. With so many brands out there why do you think these athletes are choosing to endorse Century products? Mike Dillard: I think it’s a devotion to the arts. I think above and beyond all commercial reasons we care about martial artists. MMA Worldwide: You think at the core they believe in the fact that you cater to the martial artist as opposed to trying to make revenue? Mike Dillard: We could make money by going out and making football and basketball stuff but we don’t want to do that. It’s not just about money, it’s about martial arts. First, foremost, always. MMA Worldwide: What sets you guys apart from your com-petitors? Mike Dillard: That same devotion to martial arts. We’re not into brand building across the spectrum. Everlast has over 100 licensees that sell everything from work boots to MMA Worldwide: Do you feel there are a lot of compa-nies out there that don’t worry about safety when creating their training equipment and may just be worrying about the dollar? Do you see that with the growth of MMA and everybody looking for training gear? Do you see a lot of people not paying attention to the same quality measures that you do? Mike Dillard: I hope not. We are uniquely positioned to put that first. We have the only real R&D depart-ment. We can test things, we send out to independ-ent laboratories for shock absorption and durability tests. Every uniform we make, every order of material has been tested just to make sure it’s the same shade of white and that the thread count is what it’s supposed to be. We have the critical mass to do something for this industry that all of our com-petitor don’t have. Most of them copy what we do. That’s ok. I just hope they copy the safety features as well as the selling features. MMA Worldwide: One product we have noticed that Century offers is the Focusmaster. Did you develop the Focusmaster or is that something that somebody brought you an idea and you got behind it? Mike Dillard: The guys at Focusmaster are really good friends of ours. We helped them develop it; they came to us with the idea and we give them credit for that. They have a great product and they’re great guys! It’s something I like to train on and I hope others do too. MMA Worldwide: What was it that made you get behind it? What made you attach the Century name to it? Mike Dillard: I don’t know if it was the product or the people behind it. These guys are real martial artists. There’s a kindred spirit here and sometimes we help each other out. car parts. We’re not going to do that. We’re just going to be here for martial artists. MMA Worldwide: I’ve noticed over the years that you guys have really expanded with what you were involved with. When I was studying Kenpo I would think of gloves and shin guards when I thought of Century but you guys really have expanded with getting your hands into so much with martial arts. Why is that important for you guys to continue to expand what you offer your customers? Mike Dillard: I’m not sure if we’re expanding or just trying to keep up. Martial arts has had exponential growth. Not just in the number of practitioners but the number of arts too. No one had heard of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 20 years ago for example. There were so many places where somebody was making something just for their school or their style. These styles grow, it’s like a family tree, there are more people at one end than the other and there’s a need to supply everybody. I don’t want to be less than full service to our customers. MMA Worldwide: At the end of the day is Century’s involvement here to stay and if so, what do you think Century’s legacy will be? Mike Dillard: Our involvement in combat sports is total commitment. There’s an evolution going on in martial arts. I think that combat sports and MMA are here to stay. They’re not perfected yet. If you look at the fighters in the ring today and the ones you’ll see 10 years from now, the way they fight and the footwork they use won’t all be the same. There will be an evolution and a growth. We’re still learning a lot about MMA. Century’s legacy will be with the practitioners. We believe that martial arts changes lives and we want to be part of that. To that end, sometimes it’s being part of the supply chain and sometimes it’s helping with schools through the Martial Arts Industry Association. It’s a broad legacy. We may be known as the supplier but we think we do more than that. We think this is a com-munity that trusts us and we want to give back and honor that trust. www.mmaworldwide.com 87
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