How did you get into martial arts and what was the main thing that hooked you?
I grew up wrestling and competed at the Division 1 and international freestyle levels. After moving to California 10 years ago, I decided to take a break from competition to start working full time as a designer. I quickly missed being on the mat so I started coaching part time mostly to stay in shape and give back to the great sport of wrestling. That’s when I started meeting BJJ grapplers and MMA fighters who would come into the room looking to improve their take downs which influenced me to start training MMA. It’s the ultimate form of competition.
When did you have that spark of genius that allowed you to create the Diamond MMA compression shorts and how many variations of the shorts did you go through until you were satisfied?In collaboration with Craig Diamond, interviewing many of our fighter friends, and countless sketches and rapid prototypes we came up with the idea of an all in one fight short. We made considerable improvements to the jock by combining the comfort of a traditional jock, with the protection of a Muay Thai steel cup and support of a climbing harness, and held it all together with a compression short to create a superior product.
Currently you’re mixing two things that are your passion – athletics and design. Does that add a lot more pressure to get things right, as you know what it’s like to be an athlete and you’ve been designing a range of things for such a long period of time?
Mixing my two passions of design and athletics, challenges me to develop the best products in their category. I set the bar high and go for it.
Why do you feel your compression shorts are any different from all the other brands on the market right now?
When we started developing the compression jock (compression short with built in four strap jock) we focused on using the best materials and construction to create a premium product. The shorts are hand made in the USA so it’s exciting to wear our products and know they work great!