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When Mike Reilly, founder of Gen X Refined, graced the mats of TFTC Academy, little did he know his life was about to change. Join us as Mike recounts his late bloom into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, detailing the challenges and triumphs that not only refined his physique but also tempered his soul. From the early days of grappling with ego and stress management to embracing a community where rock anthems meet armbars, this episode is a testament to the transformative power of martial arts and the enduring spirit of Generation X.
Eager to bond with my kids over more than just traditional sports, I struck a chord by mixing heavy metal with martial arts, and Gen X Refined's gear became our anthem. In this episode, we share the unexpected intersection of fashion and Jiu-Jitsu, underscoring the genre-spanning appeal of Mike's creations. Whether it's a nostalgic rash guard that screams Metallica or a nod to age-defying coolness, discover how the Jiu-Jitsu community embodies inclusivity and expression on and off the mats.
We wrap things up with a behind-the-scenes peek into the world of Jiu-Jitsu gear, where the beats of our favorite tracks fuel the grind and influencers like Kent Peters and Eli Knight set the pace. Mike opens up about the challenges and wins in building Gen X Refined through their ambassador program, and we get a sneak peek into their expansion plans and product launches, driven by genuine community feedback. Tune in as we reveal how a brand can create waves by listening to its most valuable asset—the voice of its practitioners.
To learn more about GenXRefined, become a Brand Ambassador, or shop some rocking BJJ gear visit GenXRefined: Rock N Roll Inspired Jiu Jitsu Apparel!
To support Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu use link below
https://www.genxrefined.com/?ref=caffeinatedjiujitsu
Let's Chat!! Send us a Text Message
When Mike Reilly, founder of Gen X Refined, graced the mats of TFTC Academy, little did he know his life was about to change. Join us as Mike recounts his late bloom into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, detailing the challenges and triumphs that not only refined his physique but also tempered his soul. From the early days of grappling with ego and stress management to embracing a community where rock anthems meet armbars, this episode is a testament to the transformative power of martial arts and the enduring spirit of Generation X.
Eager to bond with my kids over more than just traditional sports, I struck a chord by mixing heavy metal with martial arts, and Gen X Refined's gear became our anthem. In this episode, we share the unexpected intersection of fashion and Jiu-Jitsu, underscoring the genre-spanning appeal of Mike's creations. Whether it's a nostalgic rash guard that screams Metallica or a nod to age-defying coolness, discover how the Jiu-Jitsu community embodies inclusivity and expression on and off the mats.
We wrap things up with a behind-the-scenes peek into the world of Jiu-Jitsu gear, where the beats of our favorite tracks fuel the grind and influencers like Kent Peters and Eli Knight set the pace. Mike opens up about the challenges and wins in building Gen X Refined through their ambassador program, and we get a sneak peek into their expansion plans and product launches, driven by genuine community feedback. Tune in as we reveal how a brand can create waves by listening to its most valuable asset—the voice of its practitioners.
To learn more about GenXRefined, become a Brand Ambassador, or shop some rocking BJJ gear visit GenXRefined: Rock N Roll Inspired Jiu Jitsu Apparel!
To support Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu use link below
https://www.genxrefined.com/?ref=caffeinatedjiujitsu
Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white belt enthusiasm, black belt wisdom and a dash of caffeine for that extra kick. Dive deep into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we explore the journey, techniques, challenges and the sheer joy of the sport from a white belt's perspective, from intriguing interviews with renowned coaches and professors to playful fun episodes that'll have you chuckling mid-roll. We've got it all brewed and ready. Now, stepping over the mess and into your ears, here's your host, joe Motes.
Speaker 3:And welcome back everyone to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu. I am your host, joe Motes, and we have yet another exciting episode today. I told everyone this year we were going to be bringing on some different type of guests than we've had in the past and really kind of broadening our horizons here at Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu, and today we're doing exactly that. Today we're doing exactly that. So today here on the podcast I have with me the owner of Gen X Refined. I know a lot of you in the caffeinated jiu-jitsu IG community have seen the ads for Gen X Refined, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu apparel company. That's kind of taking over IG and asking for brand ambassadors. Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu is now a brand ambassador of Gen X Refined, so I'm excited to have Mike Riley on. Mike is a Purple Belt who trains out of Cary, north Carolina, at TFTC Academy. So, mike, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hey Joe, hey, thank you for having me Excited to be here and talk a little bit about Jiu-Jitsu, rock and roll and Gen X, for fun.
Speaker 3:Oh man, that's awesome. That right there just sounds like such a better intro. We should have just started with that Rock and roll and Jiu-Jitsu there just sounds. That sounds like such a better intro. We should have started with that rock and roll and jiu-jitsu. Uh, so, uh, yeah, let's. Let's start with a little bit of you sharing your, uh, kind of your, background. I know I gave a brief overview, um real high level of you and gen x are fine, but let's take us through your, your journey um into jiu-j and then maybe transition and tell us a little bit about the journey to Gen X Refined.
Speaker 2:Sure, that'd be great. So, like you were saying in your intro, purple Belt, I train out of TFTC Academy in Cary, north Carolina, cary, north Carolina. I started training jiu-jitsu probably back in 2018. Just, I think a lot of people get to a point in their life. I'm a dad. I have three kids.
Speaker 2:They were getting you know, they were getting older, they had their things and I was like I don't want to sit on the couch every day after work and, you know, watch TV or just go out drinking. I'm like I want my own purpose. So I had been out to one of Jocko's Mustards. I cried a little bit of jujitsu there and said to myself I'm going to do this, I'm going to start doing some jujitsu. So I went over to TFTC and did my first class and I was instantly hooked. It was. It was just one of those things. I was like I will do this forever. I you know I love this. I was nervous, like a lot of people right. First time someone jumps on your back when you're rolling, they're like, oh boy, what's going to happen next year? Um, but it's just been such a uh. For me it's been a life-changing experience.
Speaker 2:And I know that those are the big words, but if you were to talk, if you were to spoke to people about, you know, ask them about me, about my, what he was like, you know, back before I started training jujitsu, you know I was hothead I, you know, I I probably, you know, was not as nice as I am today, right not. And when I say nice I mean, like you know, hey, I'm just so much calmer I, you know kind of look at things differently and I really think jiu-jitsu played a huge role in kind of chilling me out and allowing me to just take a different look at the second half of my life, now that I'm 50. So that's a little of my jiu-jitsu journey there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, before you go into Gen X Refined, there's a couple things. So you started. You're like me and probably like a lot of our listeners. You kind of started jiu-jitsu later in life. How old were you when you started?
Speaker 2:I must have been probably mid-40s, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I started at 42. Oh, and I got my first stripe on my blue belt today. Heck, yeah, man, oh, congrats, yeah, right, I just popped in my head, hey, yeah, but yeah, I started at 42. I just popped in my head, hey, yeah, um, so, but yeah, I started at 42. I'll be 45 this year. So it's, you're right, you're 100.
Speaker 3:It's kind of like, um, I remember my first class, so like over the top for me. But I remember the first time I rolled, which was a few days later at this academy, they allowed rolling pretty early as long as you were, you know, relatively fit and you know a little bit of athletic. You know they didn't want you to go there and get hurt. But yeah, same thing. A guy got my back. I was like, oh yeah, I don't know what to do, um, but uh, and and what you said about, uh, mellowing you out or chilling you out, man, I hear that a lot from people. It helps with stress and with anxiety we always hear about there's no room in jiu-jitsu for ego, and I haven't found any egos yet in any of the places that I've trained, so a lot of that resonated with me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think some of the best people you meet during jiu-jitsu places that that I've trained, so it's you know. A lot of that resonated with me. Yeah, I think, um, some of the best people you meet during jiu-jitsu are just the most unlikely people that you would really start a relationship unless you did jiu-jitsu with them, right like yeah, yeah the folks in class and you're like when I whatever hang out, I'm just making up a name.
Speaker 2:Whatever hang out with steve, right, would I ever have had anything to talk about with steve? And then, all of a sudden, you know, steve's 220 pounds, you're 140 and you're rolling with him. Well, you're putting a lot of trust into steve's hands. Yeah, so he doesn't crush you and it really just forges these relationships where everybody's trying to be better and it's better, you know, but maybe it's better life, maybe it's a better father. You know, brother, whatever it is, people who come to jiu-jitsu just always seem to have some uh, there's, I guess, a light I don't know what the word is joe, uh but they want to get it they're trying to do something.
Speaker 2:So, uh, it's a great, it's. It's around yourself with folks that you want to be like. Right is what they say. So yeah, I find that a jujitsu like a lot of people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I like um. So our Academy I don't know about yours, but our Academy is is heavy kind of younger generation, uh, non, a gen Xers, right, um, and to your point and what you were saying, I would, I, besides my 13-year-old, when would I be hanging out with, like high school seniors and things like that? And in the jiu-jitsu community they're highly more athletic than I am and they're super hard man. When you roll with these like young college kids and things like that, but also they soak it up, you know they soak up. It offers a good chance to mentor to. You know, we're not telling these kids what to do with their lives and stuff, but it's, it's good to be exposed to those different generations. And, yeah, the, the, the relationship, so awesome man, um. So yeah, tell us, tell us now about the or just high level cause I know we're going to go into this a little deeper in the conversation, but just a quick overview of of kind of the journey from the, the, the mat, to to Gen X refined.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so Gen X refined um, really started last summer, I guess, and it started with Gen X Grappling Club. That was like this shirt. I call it the OG. It's on the site. It was a very simple like.
Speaker 2:I'm like you know what. We should be proud that we're out here grappling, like you said, with 20 year olds, 18, you know, 19 year old, like like kids that are age of my kids. Right, like that's. You know, put it in some perspective. I, you know, I have a son and daughter who are the same age as some of the people I train with, right, right, like you said, sometimes I'm like would you do this to your dad when they're kind of just beating you up, pretty bad, right, you're like I could be your father, like chill out kid. But yeah, it's. Uh, you know, I started it in a sense of Gen X really is well to me. Obviously I'm a Gen Xer and I think about the other Gen Xers out there, especially those that are doing jujitsu. We were and this is my opinion, obviously but we were heavily defined by the music that we listened to back then. Right, because we didn't have the internet. I mean, we probably did, but later on and it was nothing like it is today.
Speaker 2:We were highly influenced by pop culture video games, albums, tv, and I was looking around at you kind of the stuff that was out there and I love there's t-shirts, you know, there's rash guards that are out there in shorts, but I was like there's nothing that takes rock and roll and jujitsu and mixes them up into some of these, into some really cool designs. And I went out I found a designer, gave him him an idea and that's the roll away shirt, and I said I want to create a shirt that is inspired by New York City graffiti back in the day, because I'm from Long Island originally and gave him some ideas and it came back and I and I showed it to some friends and they're like holy crap, you know, know, that's awesome, I have never seen a shirt like that and just started from there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and in marketing and graphic design is not your professional background, or is it? I think you said you were into, was it IT?
Speaker 2:I'm a sales guy. Oh, you're a sales guy. Yeah, I'm an IT sales. Yeah, so I, you're right, marketing not really. I mean. No, I have really no experience in marketing. And then graphics, yeah, I, just I can't. I'm a style that fit what I was looking for and all these designs are my own, or maybe one of my buddies came up with, gave me some inspiration, but I just send my designers a couple of pictures for reference and then they turn around the stuff that you're seeing today on the site.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think back to when I look at. When I first saw some of the designs on the website, my mind instantly went back to the Guns N' Roses shirts and logos, which are iconic right logo that was on all the t-shirts, and then the metallica shirts right and uh, like mega death. They had all of these different designs that were back in the 80s and 90s. Rock kind of kind of come well came across my head and don't know if that kind of played into some of the inspiration or not 100.
Speaker 2:I mean, I have like you can't see it right now, but behind me is, you know, Vic Rattlehead from Megadeth, one of those pop figures. I've got some Iron Maiden stuff. This is everything I you know. This is. I remember having Iron Maiden trooper poster on my wall and my grandmother would come over from there and she wouldn't stay in my room because she was terrified of it. But yeah, I love skulls, I love roses, I like Grateful Dead stuff and no one was doing that. So it was a chance for me to take what I love and put it into quality materials and, you know, put it out there for others to start enjoying.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Would you say kind of, the target that you're going after are Gen Xers, or do you see kind of Gen X, you know, refined, transcending Gen Xers, and maybe you see this in your sales, I don't know. But yeah, yeah, is it going to be kind of a brand for everyone or focus solely on Gen Xers?
Speaker 2:I want it to be a brand for everybody. Solely on Gen Xers, I want it to be a brand for everybody. It's interesting that you bring that up, because I do have a 18 year old son who is wearing graphic t-shirts again and it's like he's dressing like me in 1992 or earlier. Right, it's the same stuff. So I hope that the other, the younger generations, which I am seeing is very popular with them, are, you know, looking at this stuff? And gen x refined is just a name, right?
Speaker 2:right you don't have to play polo to wear a polo shirt. So my, my, my, my hope is, you know, gen x refined is really a name that I came up with, you know, to describe me and, uh, you know my buddy, jay, who started this with me. So you know, gen X Refund is about us and about our generation. But the clothing I hope everybody listens to Metallica now. You know, I'm trying to get my kids to listen to Metallica or Iron Maiden or any of these great rock and roll heavy metal bands that we used to listen to, and I feel like this is a great outlet to do it.
Speaker 3:You know, using jiu-jitsu and mashing up jiu-jitsu moves with rock and roll yeah, I think so, at least for my family, because there's really three things that they're being talked about a lot in my family and I have a really big family. I have five boys, four still at home and it's baseball, and then it's soccer, and then, you know, jujitsu and kids these days my wife and I joke a good bit they have no clue what real music is. I mean, everything's so auto-tuned and, you know, not just rock and roll, but music and country and pop, and all of that was different. My 7-year-old recently came across Michael Jackson and he's like obsessed and I felt like I failed him for a little while.
Speaker 3:But my point, or what I'm trying to get to, is that, you know, when I signed up to be a brand ambassador for Gen X Refined, I was showing my son some of the my 13-year-old some of the shirts and the graphics and he's like, you know, because he wears rash guards, he'll wear some of my jujitsu rash guards under his baseball stuff when he's out playing. And he's like, you know, because he wears, he wears rash guards, he'll wear some of my jiu-jitsu rash guards under his baseball stuff when he's out playing. And he was like, oh, I gotta get me, you know, I gotta get one of these, these, these rash guards. So you know even him at 13 and he's mr trend, right, he's on all the little trendy stuff and, um, the kids his age are. But even even it appealed to him, so I thought that was really cool yeah, that is really cool.
Speaker 2:I'm glad to hear it. Um, you know, that's the one thing I that really shocked me is the number of daily requests I get from parents, more from some younger kids in dms, when you're going to have youth size rash guards, and it's something I'll be honest with you, joe. I really didn't think about it. I was like, but now we're not just seeing like, we're seeing a whole new generation going. I want to wear one of those rash guards, right, I think that's that to me. That makes me smile, right, that's like that's when I see somebody with my, with a Gen X Refined shirt on or rolling in it and it could be just a buddy at my gym, it does. It makes me smile that folks are embracing something that was such a big part of my childhood.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's got to be amazing to see. One of the things too and I wanted to ask you about is things too and I wanted to ask you about is if you are you familiar with the? It's like an apparel. I think he's got a podcast out there. He's got I know he's got a big IG following, but the old man jiu-jitsu kind of brand that's out there. Have you seen that um?
Speaker 2:I've seen it. Yeah, I've seen some of the stuff, yeah yeah, we've got.
Speaker 3:So we got a guy uh who is in our academy and he he wears some of their gear and I'm actually looking forward to showing him, um, showing him some of gen x refines. When, when you know, my stuff comes in it's it reminds me a lot of you know how can I say this? There's a lot of similarities to kind of what old man jujitsu brand is doing and what gen x refined is doing, because both of those are kind of transcending, because not only does this 55 year old you know white belt wear the, the old man jujitsu shorts at alliance. We have to wear the alliance uh rash guards for no gi, but we can wear whatever rash guards we want underneath for gi day, but it's the same thing, right? We see other age groups and things like that wearing some of the old man jujitsu like at least the shorts, maybe not so much the, the t's and things, but it seems like there's a lot of similarities there. So so it seems like the vein has been has been hit.
Speaker 2:I mean we are cool even though we're old. We're cool, it's just, you know, it's validating what we already thought. But yeah, I think my kids say I'm not cool, by the way, but uh, and who knows, I don't even know what cool means anymore. But um, it is, it's nice to see again. I mean there are so many great companies out there for Jiu Jitsu gear, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, I love to see an old man, Jiu Jitsu. There's a couple of other ones out there that you know I interact with and I'm like there's something for all of us, right? Jiu Jitsu, you know, is a martial art, right? Folks want to wear something that expresses them on the mats, and it's a great time for folks utilizing social media or whatever is to find something that speaks to them, and right now it really doesn't matter about age or, you know, I'm a Gen X. Can I wear Gen X? And sure, and we're seeing folks wear it. So I mean, that's the coolest part of this, to be honest with you. It's just watching it grow and having fun with it.
Speaker 3:You know, on the IG page because I follow Gen X Refined on IG, I see a good mix of male and female brand ambassadors. You know what do you notice? That's reflective in the community. As far as gender male and female Are you seeing a balance? Are you seeing? Is it more? You know male, because it's kind of the skulls hard rock. I mean, listen, I know some women who are down with some mega death but yeah, what do you see in there?
Speaker 2:It is definitely more men, but it's pretty close. I'll have to. I will definitely look into this, but it's close. It's closer than you would think it is. I'm like I'm on a full split male to female Like this is resonating with both men and women. I guess there's a lot of hard rock women out there, or heavy metal or rockers that want to express themselves with the skulls and roses and Pearl Jam gear.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I mean Courtney Love. She was pretty grungy, she was pretty hardcore, she was, I don't know if you should bring that up, Joe.
Speaker 2:That could cause a lot of problems.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3:Especially the 80s, 90s kind of. We all know what went down there, right, or do we? We'll digress, um, so you, you talked about what inspired you, as far as you know, creating Gen X or fine, from, uh, you know generational and, um, you know music and and things like that. What and this may be, I'm not sure if you've thought about this, but probably you have what jujitsu type influences kind of played part into building this brand. Have there been past jiu-jitsu brands that inspired you practitioners, just the sense of community. What, from a jiu-jitsu level, has inspired you?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a great question, joe. You know, I think I've said this before on some other podcasts and maybe just my buddies or I don't remember where I said it but music is a part of every jiu-jitsu gym, right? I mean, I don't know about your gym, but any gym you go to and I travel to a lot there's always music, right? No matter where you go, right, there's could be great, it could be rap, uh, depends whoever's running the radio is playing, right? Um, and I think it was that, and I don't think any specific brand. I will say this I really try to stay away from anything that folks have already really done before, right, because the last thing you want to do is copy somebody else's brands. But I think you know I'm a huge fan of Kent Peters. I don't know if you're familiar with him. He's up in Canada and he does the Supernatural Survival Gear.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know that guy yeah, I mean, here's the guy I I believe he owns his own farm by day, teaches jujitsu. He's a phenomenal teacher and he is just, he's been so great to me from a jujitsu journey and you know, just from from brainstorming with him because he's had his company longer that me it was kind of watching his videos and seeing, you know, incorporating some of his jujitsu into my jujitsu right. And then also here's a guy who started the brand and I was like he started this brand, I could do this, I can do something like this. Um, brandon mcgaffin has been a huge influence to me and has become a friend. Really inspired the Eat and Flow shirt.
Speaker 2:If it wasn't for him. I don't even know if he would have that shirt and then just gosh. I'm sure I could go on and on with this list, but there are so many. Do you know Eli Knight, I do yeah.
Speaker 3:I just listened to his uh master class on fanatics last not this weekend, but last weekend, yeah, he was doing compression locks. He's just one on compression lock yeah, he's just.
Speaker 2:he's just like these. These folks, if you think about what they've done, is they're taking something that they love. They took a risk and now I mean, let's be honest, the internet is a nasty place. Right? You post something, people love to shoot you down and try to make you feel bad about what you're doing, or even some folks just quit. Maybe Eli Knight or Kent hasn't gone on as far as they have. I'm like, wow, these guys can't do it. Maybe I can't do it, but just to see these folks who are throwing stuff out on the Internet every day to build a business is really inspiring, especially for someone like me who just comes up in the jiu-jitsu ranks. I'm not a black belt yet, right, and I have an idea, I have a concept and they're really inspirational for me, and not only jiu-jitsu, but then starting this brand.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and what you're talking about here, I mean it's community. You know, everywhere I go in kind of my jiu-jitsu circles or out of my jiu-jitsu circles, everybody's just always so helpful, so kind, so sharing. You know they could be five-time world champion and they'll just sit there and talk to you like you know you're a five-time world champion. They're going to just share all kind of information. I met, so Leo Naguera. I don't know if you know who that is. He's got a few instructionals on BJJ Fanatics, but he was one of the first people that I watched an instructional on when I was I think I was just curious about jiu-jitsu.
Speaker 3:I think I maybe had one class and I switched to Alliance and my instructor was actually really close friends with him. And not only that, he taught, or he teaches, at Atlanta headquarters, alliance, atlanta headquarters, and I got to meet him, been to a couple of his seminars and you know, here I am kind of fanboying out, thinking this guy is like, you know, jujitsu celebrity, five-time world champ, met him, he's going to come on the podcast. He's an amazing dude. He does nothing but just share his knowledge and you know, it's good that that community, or our community, is like that and it seems to be a huge focus of Gen X, refined right with this ambassador model. So how, so how, maybe not how, but what inspired you to come up with and use this ambassador model to build your brand and build your community? And then, how, how, how are you, how do you maintain this engagement with them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's, that's a great question. I mean, social media is really my whole business model, right. As far as advertising how you're getting to my website from my store it's all been through social media. Uh, in some other apparel companies, um and they weren't specific I was like this is pretty cool, and actually I signed up for one of them.
Speaker 2:It was one of the clothing brands I liked and, um, I had spoken to my marketing people and they're like we can deal with you, a brand ambassador, uh page, and I was like let me think about this. And then I started thinking about how this not only helps Gen X your mind, right but it also helps folks who love the brand right your life. It gives them a chance. It gives you a chance to use an affiliate right that allows you to take some money. I mean, there's one guy out. He's not quitting his day job, but he's getting some money for tournaments and stuff that he wants to do.
Speaker 2:So it was just a way to A let folks feel like they're a part of something. If you will and they are a great source of feedback as well Like I'll ping a couple of people and be like, hey, I'm thinking about this design, right, and I would never have met those people through IG if they weren't a part of the Brand Ambassador program. So it's just a cool way to give back, I guess is a way of looking at it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, do you plan on when I think of how might I go about something, launching a brand or something like that in such a specific community leveraging do you ever leverage your trade shows, your IBJJF opens or like, say, say, jiu Jitsu Con, do you ever ever think about those type of things? And I guess what I'm asking when we see Gen X refined making debuts and appearances at places like Jiu Jitsu Con Worlds, because you know they have kind of those vendor setups and things like that- yeah, they did.
Speaker 2:I. I was doing a lot of that when we first started. That's, that's how I got hooked up with pdf. Um, I love, I love those events. It's really cool to get out there and see anybody, uh.
Speaker 2:But what we did this year is we chose for 2024 no, you're not going to see us at any event, and we're also not sponsoring any athletes this year, which is something we did last year. I was helping some folks out with tournaments, right. I mean, it was another way to give back, but we lost a little bit of our focus. To be honest with you, right? So when you're doing that, it's, this is I don't know if folks know this, but this is a small business Army of one plus, you know, my fulfillment arm, right? So what I really wanted to focus on this year is getting a gear out and getting more rash guards and more gear out Now, somehow like making new sizes for rash marks. So, for this year, no, it is Austin this year, which is great, but it's a lot to get down there, right, to get these events and you know, just decided to. You know, focus on other things for 2024.
Speaker 3:We'll see what happens next year. Yeah, that's awesome and I'm glad you brought up sponsoring athletes. I wondered if that was something that you know you did and it's. Look, I would agree. I think, just from what I've seen and from how I only use social media to like, promote podcasts and things like that, From what I've seen on social media and IG and I guess IG and LinkedIn are- kind of the two biggest platforms that I'm on.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, I would agree, it's good to focus in on what's working. Yeah, I would agree, it's good to focus in on what's working. Right, and you know, as we come to kind of the back half here of the conversation, definitely want to spend a few moments talking about you. Yeah, so some of the products that you offer, are there any you know best sellers? I I've been on the website recently and looks like literally almost everything sold out, so that's a great sign. And yeah, talk us through some of your, your top products, maybe some more products that you're thinking about coming out with, and just kind of go through that or spend a few minutes on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, yeah, and sold out is. You know all rash guards and that's a note I get every day. I will say that I'm happy to announce that we will have a restock next week. Finally. We'll have a restock Nice, finally. I know folks have been waiting for this, but you know, go buy a rash guard at some other company where they make six months for it, so it's not that long. So we got, we got a stock coming which I'm really excited about. So, yeah, the biggest seller is Evenflow, the t-shirt so the biggest seller is even flow.
Speaker 2:He should be in the rash. Yeah, I'm really happy about it because one of my best friends at the side of the UK to help come up with that really, and it was just right underneath my nose too, and he's like, even though David and I was like, oh my gosh, and then I found the butterfly sweep so they're really inspired of that comfortable drawing. Folks love that rash guard, obviously. I think I stocked it with 50, and they were gone within three days, which is great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's the one I ordered. That's the exact one first one that I ordered too. But I'm a Pearl Jam fan too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, look, you've got to get the rope away. Rash guard, which is popular. Ronin's visage long sleep is popular, yeah, but I everybody's been requesting a short sleep, so that will be coming in June. So we'll have the Ronin's Vintage in a long sleeve and that's the Samurai helmet. We'll have that in a long and a short sleeve, starting soon. What else those? You know? The Evenflow t-shirt you know.
Speaker 2:Every time I put up a shirt I was like I wonder how folks are going to react to this one. I did a Grateful Dead kind of a play on a Grateful Dead song. Grateful Dead, that one did pretty well. But right now Evenflo is the winner. And I will say this the OG Gen X Grappling Club is up there as bestsellers. It gets a lot of sales, which I love to see because I love the Gen X Grappling Club, I'm part of it. It gets a lot of cells, which I love to see because I love the Gen X crap of the club right, I'm part of it. And then, like you said, we will have a white key.
Speaker 2:I'm looking, I'm hoping to get that out, probably July, maybe August might be a better date that one's going to take.
Speaker 2:You know, these are a little bit different than the in rash guards, obviously. Um, you know, one question I didn't get the answer is you know what's different about gen x refines and I think this is a differentiator for us is I do not sell anything that I haven't worn, or someone at my school you know that they train with as a board right, so everything gets tested by folks that do jujitsu, some content creators, and when you're buying something from GenX or find you're getting something it's quality right, I'm asking you to spend a lot of money. I know I am right for gear and it's not cheap. So I want to be happy with the quality, and if you're not I mean folks know they can reach out to me. I respond quickly. I'm happy to you happy with the quality, and if you're not I mean folks know they can reach out to me I respond pretty quickly. I'm happy to you know return the product, but at the end of the day, I just want everybody to be happy with what they're working on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome. And looking ahead outside of product, kind of final two questions here, final two questions here, uh, what, uh, what plans, kind of exciting way forward or plans do you have for gen x refined? Is it growth, is it more production? What's, what's the future looking like?
Speaker 2:definitely more production. Um, and I think probably in 2025 I'll extend to Canada. So we're only US right now. Um, I'm not ready to open it up to Europe yet, because that is a whole different monster and.
Speaker 2:I don't know if that's it's a little overwhelming for me to think about, but expanding it to new territories, coming into Canada and then um, just I think there's um some more. I've been had a request for female T-shirts right, not just unisex T-shirts, so we're looking at getting some of our designs on men's cut shirts. It's kind of little tweaks like that right for things I really didn't know folks were looking for until they reached out and dropped me a note. I love the interaction with the community. It's pretty awesome. I really didn't know folks were looking for until they reached out and dropped me a note. I just love the interaction with the community.
Speaker 3:It's pretty awesome. Yeah, I mean I think once you guys bring on the gear, I think you all pretty much have it all covered. I mean I'm not, you know I hope I don't offend any listeners I'm not someone who wears the leggings or the spats for no-gi training. You know, I know some brands out there are making those I think Alliance, because in Alliance we're heavy uniform, like you know all the Alliance gear and things like that. And I remember when they first came out with the spats or the, I call them leggings, but I know that's not the cool thing, the cool guy macho. I call them leggings, but I'm not, that's not the cool thing, the cool guy machos thing to call them. But yeah, I uh, that's the only gear I I don't kind of uh invest in, but you know the, you know gi shorts. I think I even do yard work sometime in my gi, shorts or my, uh, no gi shorts.
Speaker 2:So they're just comfortable. Oh nice, yeah, so yeah, so yeah, we're also uh, I'm also looking at turning the uh elastic waist no-gi shorts into, like, just casual gym shorts, yeah, something that's in the works as well. Just because they're such they're really lightweight short material, right, obviously they don't have pockets because they're for grappling, so yeah, but for that as well, because those are some nice comfy shorts to wear to the gym or just mounting around the house on the weekend.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you all have headgear too, right? You all have like caps, or I think you all have some hats and things, right, I can't remember. We have hats. Yes, we have hats.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, just a couple of hats we did last year. I definitely want to expand a little bit on the head work as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I'm a big hat guy. Well, hey, mike, this has been a great, great conversation, really quick. What's the best way somebody interested? They listened to our conversation today and they're interested in learning more about Gen x, refined or even better, engaging and, um you know, maybe even becoming a brand ambassador. What's, what's the best way for them to do all that?
Speaker 2:yeah, so uh, gen x refinedcom is the website. Uh, at gen x refined is how you find us on Instagram and Facebook, and then feel free to shoot me an email I respond pretty quickly or DM on Instagram and my email is mike at genxrefined. But, looking forward to answering any questions folks have about new products, I'd love to hear new design ideas. By the way, I've got a few of those. I have a new design that's going to be coming out. It was inspired by a brand ambassador, so I'm really excited to be on this journey and you know I still get to do some jujitsu in the meantime, so it's pretty awesome yeah, yeah, heck, yeah.
Speaker 3:When do you think the brown belt's coming, or or is the purple belt just got here? What are we looking at?
Speaker 2:uh, I don't, I don't know, I don't know anything about that I mean I got two strikes. I got two. I'm gonna be here a while yeah, I'm trying to up my training a little bit, but you know I can't keep up with these young folks oh yeah um, it will come. I think I, I think it is it's funny to bring that up, um, but yeah, it's, it's something you're like wow, I'm, I'm gonna be a brown belt at some point right okay let's, let's not think too far ahead of that.
Speaker 2:Let's, let's work on our fundamentals here and just keep going. But, um, yeah, I look forward to uh and then hopefully we can do this again sometime, joe, yeah absolutely I was.
Speaker 3:I was gonna say it was a great conversation. I can't wait to have you, have you back on and in some time and, and you know, I'm gonna be advertising and being a good brand ambassador for gen x refined. I love the gear. I can't wait to. You know sport mine at our Academy and look, man, thank you for coming on the podcast. I really appreciate your support and, man, looking forward to the future of Gen X refined.
Speaker 2:Thanks, joe, talk to you soon.
Speaker 1:And that's the final tap on today's episode of caffeinated jujitsu. A big thanks to all of our listeners, especially today's insightful guest, for sharing their BJJ knowledge and tales. If you felt that adrenaline rush and are hungry for more, hit, subscribe, drop a review and spread the Jiu-Jitsu buzz. For show notes and to contact the host, reach out to the email provided in the podcast description and to join our grappling community, head over to Instagram. Get those geese, crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next roll Oss.