Inverted Gear Blog
Tag: Inverted Gear
A Peek at the Future of Inverted Gear
As we move into our 6th year in business, read what's in store for the future of Inverted Gear in Nelson's latest blog post!
Get a gi to give a gi
A year ago, my friend Sean contacted me to tell me about a school club a few of his teammates from Main Line United were helping out with. The Workshop School is a project-based charter school that takes an innovative approach to teacher and learning. Sean and his teammates were pitching in to help by incorporating a jiu-jitsu program into the school’s offerings. When I saw that the students were using "jawn" -- a Philadelphia catch-all colloquialism -- for an ornament project, we had to get involved. In case you don't know, "jawn" is an all-purpose pronoun that's unique to Eastern Pennsylvania, mainly Philadelphia, that can refer to any person, place, or thing, such as "pass me that jawn" or "see you down...
The State of Panda Nation
Five years ago, I started Inverted Gear. It seems like yesterday I was ordering polybags and halfsheet labels on Amazon so I could ship the first batch of panda gis from my mom’s basement. A lot has changed since then. First of all, I met my wife and business partner, Hillary. I didn’t know how much I needed her until she saw our original design files that were sent to the factory. Here is a side by side for comparison, so you can perhaps get a sense of the potential she saw on the brand. vs With Hillary’s help, Inverted Gear has grown into something incredible.I’m still amazed when I scroll through social media and get to experience panda sightings....
The Flashback Episode: My Greatest Hits
A year ago, the awesome guys at Artechoke Media started helping us run social media for Inverted Gear. One of the first things they did when I told them I wanted us to put out more content was tell me “well you should write a weekly blog.” A year later with a few missed weeks due to crazy schedules and the one week I was inspired and wrote two posts, we sit at 50 posts. I want to thank Matt and Marshal for encouraging me to do this, helping me brainstorm, and editing my articles. I am very self-conscious about my writing. English is my second language, but like many things in my life, BJJ has helped me overcome this...
Behind the Scenes: Stocking Gi Sizes
When will my size be in stock? We get this question a lot. Keeping gis in stock has always been a challenge for us, from our first batch to today. As business owners, it’s one of those “good problems to have” scenarios, but we can also see how it can frustrating for our fans. While we continue to work to keep more sizes in stock more consistently, I thought a look under the hood of running a gi company might give you some insights. Part of the challenge is stocking half-sizes. This means that when gis are in stock, you are more likely to find a gi that fits just right, but that also means that we have to stock...
Witnessing the Growth of Show the ART
Every time someone shares a Show The ART video it brings a smile to my face. My friends Abe and Marcos have created something amazing. It’s incredible how far they have come in just 3 years. They are now one of the most recognized presences on social media for grappling, with a ridiculous amount of followers through Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Nelson (pre-tacos) and Marcos I have known Marcos since we were purple belts. We were both Jersey guys that commuted to the city for noon class at Alliance NYC. We would take turns getting absolutely demolished by Lucas Lepri, Babs and the rest of NYC crew. That's how I became friends with Marcos and Abe. We started arranging trips to train together in NJ....
Available Now: Tap Cancer Out Special Edition Gi -- Cancer, Jiu-Jitsu, and a Lesson in Persistence
We're proud to announce Tap Cancer Out's special edition grey gi is now available! Buy the Tap Cancer Out x Inverted Gear collab gi from TapCancerOut.com. Below we're republishing one of our most well-received and meaningful blog posts, the story of Nelson's mother's battle with cancer. Go hug the people you love today! Cancer, Jiu-Jitsu, and a Lesson in Persistence “Tienes que ser persistente,” my mom always said. “You have to be persistent.” She drilled this phrase into my head while I was growing up. Little Nelson having trouble tying his shoes? Keep trying. Math is hard? Keep working. Can’t beat dad in chess? Don’t give up. I heard this phrase repeated to myself and my sister millions of times over the years,...
This One Goes Out to Panda Nation
On May 18, 2012 our first order for www.invertedgear.com came through, from New Zealand. And Panda Nation was born. As I write this blog, we are closing on our 10,000th order. The support we have received over the years has been amazing. We have an incredible community full of friendly jiu-jiteiros. Thinking about how far we’ve come and the thousands of people that have helped our brand to grow got me feeling a bit fuzzy. Seeing Panda gis on every continent we’ve visited made me think that Panda Nation reaches pretty far, but how far? Well, we mapped out our customers, and the results, well, they blew me away. Take a look: We have growing left to do, but in...
Tap Cancer Out: The Panda Connection
In the mix of big tournaments taking place, like the Abu Dhabi Pro the week prior and the Eddie Bravo Invitational taking place the same day, you may not have heard about a very special tournament: Tap Cancer Out. Hillary and I spent our Saturday in Stratford, CT. at their tenth event and their fifth in Stratford. This is the longest running TCO tournament and has become the biggest attracting over 450 competitors and raising over $100,000, shattering their goal of $80,000.Inverted Gear has been a TCO sponsor since 2012. I met Jon Thomas, the mastermind behind the organization, when I ordered a shirt and a few patches so I could wear them at the New York Open. My mom...
To Our Fans: Thank You
I started Inverted Gear four years ago. Yesterday, our 19th gi shipment landed in the United States. Four years ago, I could never imagine being where we are today. I wasn’t even sure I could sell our first 100 gis, let alone ever have a need for another shipping container full of merchandise. For that I thank you. Thank you for choosing Inverted Gear. Thank you for recommending us to your friends. Your kind words in the gym and on social media have been instrumental in our growth. We have done very little advertising yet have succeeded in selling out of every batch we order. And we can’t thank you enough. The gi landscape has changed a lot since we...