OXFORD – A local graphic designer has combined his love of mixed martial arts and his design skills to launch a new brand of apparel and other merchandise which he believes will appeal to other fans of the sport.
On Sunday, Mitch Cluff will unveil the first phase of his Extreme Striker line at the AIM Fitness’ Family Fitness Day in Weiler Park.
Cluff explained that he has been a fan of mixed martial arts and its premier competitive forum, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, for several years. He even trained for a time to become a fighter, but decided, at the age of 32, that he was too old to start competing.
“I still wanted to stay involved in the sport,” he said, and the idea for Extreme Striker was born. In October of 2008 he began to work on his business plan, and formed Striker Athletics, LLC. In the following months, he spent time researching trademarking issues. He also researched other companies whose success he wanted to emulate, particularly TapouT, which bills itself as the “premier lifestyle brand of the MMA.”
According to Cluff, TapouT’s founders started the company with only a few thousand dollars of start up capital, selling t-shirts out of the trunk of their car at events. In just over a decade, they built the business into a global brand grossing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. In addition to their clothing line, they also sponsor fighters and events, and even have a reality TV series.
“I’m following their game plan. I’m taking their (business) plan ... and making it my own,” said Cluff, who said he hopes that within a few years he too will be able to sponsor fighters.
The Oxford entrepreneur plans to start small. Although he said he has already created more than 75 Extreme Striker designs, he will be selling only one of those designs at the AIM Fitness event on Sunday, a black logoed t-shirt which he plans to sell for $20. He’ll have two designs available for purchase the following weekend, when he sets up at the 25th Annual Spiedie Fest & Balloon Rally at Otsiningo Park.
Additional designs as well as other branded merchandise will be available by October, when he said he plans to officially launch his website, www.extremestriker.com.
According to Cluff, he has tried to source as much as he can from local companies as he builds his brand. The t-shirts he will be selling are being printed through Frank and Sue Ross of Queen Bee Embroidery and Screen Printing in Oxford, he said, and Pixel Fusion, a web design firm owned by Craig Ballinger, is designing his site.
As Striker Athletics and the Extreme Striker brand grows, he said he hopes it will help these other businesses grow as well.
While Cluff’s design and marketing savvy are the driving force behind Striker Athletics, his girlfriend Erin Gramstad is also key player in the venture, handling the financial side of the business.
“She’s every bit a part of it,” he said.