THE GROWTH OF GRIPS ATHLETICS

We caught up with Grips Athletics Sales Director, Manuel Saterini, to discuss the brand concept and arrival on the BJJ market.



Hi Manuel, can you tell us a little bit about how Grips started?

Grips was founded a couple of years ago by a group of Italian entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. Since the beginning the main concept behind Grips was to empower our athletes, so we thought about how we could do that. We decided we needed products with high technical functionality, characterised by extreme durability and class. Behind this project there is a deep passion for combat sports and strong technical product knowledge due to more than 20 years experience in the apparel business.

Grips has grown very quickly in a short space of time, why do you think that is?

We believe that the products are the key. We focus on quality, attention to detail, Italian design, targeted research and development. We pay special attention to the fit of our products and understanding how our athletes train is our main source of inspiration and improvement. We listen to their suggestions and we study their needs. Our customers fall in love with the products immediately and cannot resist becoming part of the family - the Grips Family!



We know that Grips has distributions channels in Asia, USA and the UK, but we hear you will also be launching in Brazil?

We could have started much slower, focusing only in one area and then steadily expanding to the global market. But since the brand’s conception, we realised that athletes from all over the world deserve to at least try our products out.

What are Grips' plans in the near future?

Today, we believe that Grips is already one of the leading combat sports brands in the market, but in the near future we plan to expand brand awareness and open our horizons to the fitness and lifestyle market. Our combat sports line will still continue to grow and develop, but this year we have already decided to launch a new collection dedicated to cross training. With technical garments that have, on top of great design, fantastic quality and fit. We believe the sky is the limit for us!

Visit www.gripsathletics.com to check out their full range of products.

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