Tag: Jaco Clothing

So today is a very special day for FightTrends, we have below Z-list internet celebrity Ryan Loco of Jaco Clothing here with us. 

Thanks for being with us Ryan.  I will try to keep this interview professional, but I just watched The Loco Life 15 and I think it rubbed off on me so it’s going to be a challenge. 

First off, can you give us some info on Jaco and how it all started? 

We are the new kid on the block…the Donnie Wahlberg if you will. Jaco is an action sports lifestyle brand…we try to bring high quality, functional clothing and training equipment to the MMA world. Each character n the “Jaco” logo represents a brand element. Respect, Strength, Courage, and the most notable, our logo, Tenacity.

Jaco has taken off quicker than most other fight brands that I have seen, what do you think has made that possible? 

Well, we’ve had incredible support from athletes and trainers in the industry. Once they try the Resurgence fight short or the Guardian protective cup, they realize they are putting something special on. Plenty of athletes have told us that they won’t wear anything else now. We have been fortunate that some of MMA’s elite truly believe in the product, such as the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, Brandon Vera, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. You factor that in, along with a strong internet and marketing presence and a recognizable logo, and here we are.

So I just watched the Loco Life 15 and I thought it was ridiculous that you had to fly all of the way to Atlanta, and then to Kansas City, just to drop off 2 pairs of fight shorts.  I couldn’t believe how ridiculous that was, and then I saw the Fight Magazine tattoo on your arm….I assume Whiskey is the culprit in this decision? 

First off, thanks for watching, Feel free to tell everyone you know…and tell them twice. Back in the day, bourbon used to be the main culprit in every thing I did. However, now I don’t drink, and I’ve just started the Paleo Diet, so I don’t really eat either. Friggin’ cavemen.  But in all seriousness, I live for the adventure. When Gabe at Jaco told me they needed fight shorts delivered that night to Kansas City, I jumped at the chance. There are people who wake up every day, walk into an office they hate, and sit and stare at a monitor for 9 hours, waiting for that clock hand to hit 5pm. There’s no way I would pass up the chance to be able to film myself flying across country for Jaco. Plus, Cavalcante wouldn’t have had any shorts for the fight, so it had to be done. We can’t have our boy fighting in underwear. We save that for downtime here in the office.

You originally worked for Triumph*United, and now with Jaco Clothing.  How did you get involved in the industry? 

Everyrthing can be blamed on Evan Shoman of Shomanart.com He would go drop his drawings off to fighters, and since he didn’t want to drive alone, I would go along with him. Since I am both handsome and charming, I became friends with a lot of the athletes. Met my hetero lifemate Mayhem Miller at Joe Rogan’s comedy show in La Jolla one night, and the rest was history. MMA is a giant industry, but it’s also really small. Luckily, I found my own niche and ran with it. What that niche is, I have no idea. I still haven’t figured out what I do, really. I feel bad for my mother when people ask her what her first born son does. I think she just tells people I’m in the Coast Guard and lost at sea.

Do any Jaco fighters have fights coming up soon? 

Here is where I would plug fights, but I know how MMA and injuries work…the minute I do, a fight gets changed. So I’ll just say this; show some love to our Jaco boys. Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brandon Vera, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. Plus, all the local guys at local shows, supporting Jaco. We are thankful for each and every one of them. We have a couple big stars that we have our eyes on that should definitely turn some more heads. We’ve only just begun, I cant wait.
 

Any new gear or clothing in the works over at Jaco? 
 

We have new tees coming out, we’ve added a variety of colors. Too often all you see is just black and white. I petitioned for us to do a paisley Jaco tee, but it got shot down. Despite that, I’m excited for the new colorways. In fact, I’m wearing one right now, and I’ve already been complimented on it. Sure, it was someone that works for Jaco, but a compliment is a compliment. Also, we are working on some new training equipment that is going to be bananas. That’s right, bananas. I’ve seen some samples come in and they had to call security to keep me from grabbing them. We will keep everyone updated on the Jaco Clothing website, www.jacoclothing.com, so make sure to bookmark it…tweet about it…blog about it…do what ya gotta do.

Since I am sure you are tired of my lame quips at your quasi-celebrity (or is it pseudo?) status, I’ll turn it over to you.  Anything you would like to say? 

Man, I’ve heard every lame quip there possibly is, you haven’t even scratched the surface. You gotta step your game up! Just wanna say thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to interview me. Check out RyanLoco.com and twitter.com/ryanloco for all your Ryan Loco and Loco Life needs. A big thank you to Jaco Clothing. They keep a roof over my head, and allow me to make stupid videos and travel across the country at the drop of a hat. I truly live a blessed life, I don’t have a single complaint.  Thank you Jaco, Evan Shoman, and Pat Benatar…love truly is a battlefield. Thank you for your insight.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to meet with us Ryan, good luck with the future tattoo removal.  Feel free to stop by and make fun of my soon-to-be baldness anytime. 

All right FightTrends readers, be sure to head over to RyanLoco.com and catch up on the Loco Life and also catch Ryan Loco on FightMagazine.com, and on TapouT Radio every Monday and Thursday at 6PST.  Big thanks to Ryan for making this such a fun interview and having fun with my stupid jokes!