Tapout Inc. is an American
multinational corporation
A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
that designs and manufactures
sports clothing
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical sport-specific garments ...
, casual apparel, and accessories headquartered in
Grand Terrace
Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua Man ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It was the largest distributor of
MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
merchandise in the world by 2007, and became one of the dominant brands in activewear and fitness culture.
Tapout was registered in 1997 in
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...
, by
Charles Lewis, Jr. and Gary Fields. Selling the merchandise during a period where MMA solely reached a niche market, Lewis and Fields branded the company around the sport, distributing the merchandise in cities where the sport was prevalent. However, following the
growing popularity of mixed martial arts in the United States, and its later nationwide mainstream acceptance, the company became the largest MMA-related merchandise company in the world, accruing
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...
s of over $22.5 million in 2007.
In March 2015, the company was relaunched following its joint-ventured acquisition by pro-wrestling company
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, and development firm
Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchand ...
.
The venture saw the former MMA-related brand transformed into a more general "lifestyle fitness" one. The apparel, for men and women was released in spring of 2016. Throughout 2015, WWE marketed the brand through various products, including beverages, supplements and gyms.
WWE will hold a 50% stake in the brand, and so will advertise it regularly across all its platforms, hoping to give it one billion
impressions a month, and attempting to rival sports-clothing giant,
Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...
. All employees and students of the
WWE Performance Center
The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...
will also wear the clothing.
History
Origins, initial success and sale
Tapout was founded by
Charles Lewis, Jr. and
Gary Fields in 1997
in
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
.
The idea for the company occurred when both men noticed the lack of
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
merchandise. Later that year, Lewis took on some new partners in
Dan Caldwell, Tim Katz and Bobby Razak who founded Tapout Films and the media portion of the company. The majority of their initial sales were made at underground MMA fights,
and their revenue reached about $29,000 in 1999.
Lewis and Fields later began to distribute the merchandise in other cities where the then-niche sport was prevalent. However, due to the growth of popularity and acceptance of mixed martial arts in the United States in the following years, the company would continue to grow. Due to this rapid rise, Tapout was able to officially sponsor various high-profile fighters, including
Rashad Evans
Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...
,
Dan Hardy
Daniel Mark Hardyhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2012%20Results%20Web/05-26-12%20MMA.pdf (born 17 May 1982) is an English former mixed martial artist who fought in the welterweight division. During his professional MMA career, which began in 2004, Hardy ...
,
Thiago Alves and
Chael Sonnen
Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...
.
This rapid growth led to the company becoming the largest distributor of MMA merchandise in the world, recording revenue of about $200 million in 2009.
On June 3, 2007, Lewis created and produced the
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series ''
Tapout''. The show followed him as he searched the United States for up-and-coming
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
fighters. It aired for two seasons on cable channel
Versus, before being cancelled. It also gave birth to a short-lived radio show, and was the official apparel brand for ''
The Ultimate Fighter
''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...
'' during its run on
Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
.
On March 11, 2009, Charles Lewis Jr.
died in a high-speed car crash in
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Lewis's
Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale collided with an unidentified 1977 Porsche before hitting a light pole. It is also presumed that the two vehicles were traveling alongside one another at high speed, with Lewis being declared dead at the scene. Lacy Lynn White, a twenty-three-year-old female occupant of Lewis's Ferrari, was ejected from the vehicle and was taken to a hospital, suffering a fractured elbow and lacerations. The driver of the Porsche, Jeffrey David Kirby of Costa Mesa, was arrested for "alcohol-related gross vehicular manslaughter".
As a tribute to his contributions to
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
, Lewis was posthumously inducted into the
UFC Hall of Fame
The UFC Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In addition to the Ultimate Fighting ...
at the
UFC 100
''UFC 100'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This event was the most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buyrate of 1.6million, until UFC 202 brok ...
Fan Expo, as well as his name being made a permanent feature on the inside of the door to the Octagon. Katz and Caldwell, as well as the fans in attendance, held a minute's silence for Lewis. Following his death, the remaining founders decided to sell Tapout, which was bought by
Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchand ...
in 2010.
Relaunch with ABG, in conjunction with WWE
Following ABG's absorption of Tapout, the firm looked to re-brand the company. The firm reached out to wrestling entertainment company
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
in attempts to form a working relationship. WWE, who deal primarily in professional wrestling, came to an agreement with ABG in March 2015 to relaunch Tapout as a joint-venture.
The venture saw the former MMA-related brand transformed into more general "lifestyle fitness" apparel and was released in 2014.
WWE marketed the brand through various products, including beverages, supplements and gyms.
See also
*
Mixed martial arts clothing
MMA clothing refers to the sportswear worn in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition and training, and branded fashion clothing related to the mixed martial arts scene. As MMA becomes a mature sport, brands dedicated to it have worked toward speciali ...
References
External links
*
{{Sports equipment brands
1997 establishments in California
2010s fashion
Authentic Brands Group
Clothing brands of the United States
Clothing companies established in 1997
Companies based in San Bernardino County, California
Joint ventures
Manufacturing companies based in Baltimore
Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States
Sportswear brands
WWE