So... Jeremy had been developing the Knockout Merchandise brand for about a year.  He had developed a relationship with a print shop... created a web page... built up an inventory of product... but was running out of time in his busy schedule... and was running low on money trying to do it all himself.  I knew Jeremy from our home-town fantasy football team.  He also graduated with my younger brother.  I was pretty jealous of what Jeremy was up to... and I thought he had an awesome idea with a great logo. 

 I too loved MMA....  Enough that at 44 years old I was working out at an MMA school called the Warriors Cove.  I had gone to a couple local fights to watch guys at the Cove compete.... and I watched any MMA I could including UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, Versus, Bellator....etc...

I thought that getting involved in Knockout Merchandise would be a perfect opportunity for me to combine my love for the sport and my business background.  So... during one of our fantasy football gatherings... sitting by the campfire... over a beer or two... I told Jeremy that if he ever wanted to take on a partner, I was more than interested.  He said he would think about it.  It took him a few weeks to consider it and get back to me.  This told me that he took the partnership idea and his business very seriously.  He said... lets give it a go... what do you have in mind?

From that point on I have been bombarding him with daily emails and phone calls.  We have set up our Knockout booth at several MMA events and even a local fair.  We have redesigned the entire website adding this blog, a picture gallery, a video gallery and more.  We have discussed product and marketing ideas... tried a few and failed... tried others that worked.  We are constantly trying to figure out the right mix of advertising and marketing that will bring people to the website.  Overall it has been a blast.  I would much rather be doing this full time over my day job.  But for now, the day job pays the bills.  Someday.... who knows where this might lead....

Jeff Swanson

Knockout Merchandise