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Melchor; why were you in the UK and what were you doing and who were you seeing?
We hit up the UK for a couple reasons, to visit our friends and do some brand awareness. We hit up a bunch of awesome gyms, Stone Bridge Boxing , London Fight Factory, Roger Gracie Academy and Fight City gym. Basically we want to be a part of the European movement in this culture. I also went to see our ground guy there Raj! He’s our CC head for Europe. With Rugby a big part of this culture, we went to the Rugby 7’s at Twickenham and it was fuckin awesome! Definitely look out for CC Rugby soon in UK.
When was Cauliflower Culture created and launched and what were your influences behind the brand?
I started CC in Guam 2014. It was initially supposed to be a wrestling line at first but a month later after making a few posts on Instagram and Twitter, UFC FAN EXPO hit me up and asked me to launch with them . I really thought it was a joke so I didn’t respond. A few days later they sent me a full blown invitation and application saying I should launch with them! I looked at it and figured its actually not a bad idea… So I signed up and had to get right into production, I only had 2 months to get ready.
We made it and it was an awesome launch, within four hours of opening someone came up to me and asked to buy my brand, I told him it was my first day of business and I haven’t really started to do what I had planned with the brand. He thought I was bullshitting him!! I told him in a straight face I’m not for sale yet and yes I made my first dollar at 9:30am. He was shocked and so was I. Right then… I knew I had a brand!
We want to be a brand that caters to this combat culture from the youth to the masters. We are a Lifestyle brand on and off competition.
Where are you and your company based?
We are Guam based and now have an office in UK. Soon we will have an office in Japan and Australia.
Do you help support grappling events and if so, which ones?
Yes !! We did the World Jiu Jitsu expo in Long Beach - Gracie worlds in Las Vegas - 2 EBI in Los Angeles - In 8 months of business we as a brand held the UAE World Pro Jiu Jitsu qualifiers on Guam, this was the first for a brand to host, usually its suppose to be a federation or an organization. We also threw the first submission only event in Guam SUBMIT INTL. www.submitintl.com
It's your company's second birthday on July 5th, do you have anything special planned?
YES but we won’t be doing anything crazy.. I will be in Japan for my family vacation. But we are sure to be very very busy this next chapter!
Do you train the Arte Suave yourself?
Not so much.. I’m a brown belt under Nova Uniao. At the moment I’m focussing on the business part. It’s been a long time since I hit the mat. I actually have a broken neck, I need to get my C4 & C5 fixed.
What can customers expect from Cauliflower Culture in terms of branding and merchandise?
We are very particular when it comes to our products. 90% of our products are cut and sewn. We pay special attention to the details and will never sell a product that is not tagged or misprinted in any way. We are still a new company with a whole lot to learn about the different culture in the different sports in different countries. We are currently working on some really cool collaborations so stay tuned !!
Are you a BJJ geek?
I used to be .. I was in ADCC 1999. That's all I did was train train train… I love it!! Jiu Jitsu teaches you so much about yourself.
What are you long term plans and goals?
We want to be in every country that has a sport of our culture. This will take time but I’ll take one day at a time. We are too to be releasing our Rugby collection and Rugby team in Japan. This is a 10 year project. With the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, CC Rugby has plans to be a big part of that.
BJJ or No Gi?
I prefer NO Gi. I like the speed and the dynamics of No Gi. Plus I’m a wrestler as well so No Gi !!!
Thanks for the time Melchor and best of luck with the brand.
Thanks for the interview Carl and for everyone reading this, check out www.cauliflowerculture.com
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