How I Got the Job at Adidas Combat Gear When I Initially Heard About Adidas Combat Sports USA, It Was Through My Friend Jeff

How I Got The Job at Adidas Combat Gear When I initially heard about adidas Combat Sports USA, it was through my friend Jeff Chu, a local photographer and videographer. He had taken on a job as part of his freelance career and since I had recently been laid off from a magazine I was working for, decided to tag along. "It's all about the networking in this business," Jeff said. And it is. Because I tagged along, I met ACS President Scott Viscomi and five months later had a job as a blog editor of this website. Before Scott had taken on the task of creating some of the best gear in the combat sports industry, the adidas logo had entered the realm of jiu-jitsu competition when I was only a white belt years ago. Or at least that's the first time I had seen it. The gis that were created then were more cut for a judo competitor, with short sleeves and stiff material. It wasn't pliable, equipt to move along with a jiu-jitsu athlete while playing spider guard or butterfly guard, or passing guard and taking the back. Somewhere along the line, before I ever saw an adidas gi again, the design changed. It was in new hands. As I walked into Church Street Boxing in Lower Manhattan, it was a lot different from the jiu-jitsu academies I'd trained in for six years. In the middle of the main room was a raised boxing ring and all around it were walls covered in mirrors and old photographs and fight posters. It was foreign to me as the only stand-up I had ever trained in was about six classes of muay thai. The smell was different, the do-it-yourself atmosphere was different--people training on their own and on teir own time instead of a full class. I understood that many large names in the boxing world had and still do train in that gym. But more important to the reasons I was there that day in February 2015, one UFC welterweight champion, a star UFC middleweight fighter and a top middleweight kickboxer were present. Robbie Lawler was present that day with his wife and son to take pictures with ACS along with the now UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and the only local of that day, Wayne Barrett. All three were to model the varous MMA, kickboxing and boxing gear for the release of new products. Local photographer Anthony B. Geathers was the lead man for getting shots while I was told to capture the whole shoot via photo, Jeff in charge of video. I mostly kept my distance, not wanting to get in the way or ruin any shots. And then I was included in the coffee run and it was only then that I felt my services were appreciated. Free Starbucks is a big deal in my opinion. I spent most of the day following Anthony from the front ring, to the large wall used as a backdrop, through a literal whole in the wall and tunnel that led to a back room of mats. The gear was splayed out and presented to the crew and they picked what each shot would include. I remember Scott was so excited about the new products and eagerly put together scenes of what he believed each piece of gear would be used by its customers and sponsored athletes alike. He even stepped in to work pads with Luke for a couple shots. During one break from his directing responsibilities, Scott had asked what I was about--how I was involved in combat sports, how I was equipped to be taking the photos for him and what I was planning to do in the future. I really had no idea how I was going to be working with them and if I was even going to be paid for the shots I had taken. That was to be determined at a later date. I really felt I was there to make new connections, add to my resume and produce more work for my portfolio. It helped that Scott is the type of person who cares about the kind of character you are and not just what work you've produced prior. He offered to let me write up a blog about the day once I told him I considered my writing skills to be much more worthy than my photography. Funny that the blog hasn't been written until now, but the story lends itself a bigger meaning at this point. Once the day's work was done I walked out of that gym with a new connection, one that hadn't really blossomed into anything. The ACS brand was and still is always developing and it was only a matter of time before Scott had found an in for me. That's what he does--he keeps this directory of people in his mind or on paper somewhere. Maybe he has an old-school rolodex, I'm not sure. Either way, this archive exists of people he likes, or respects or wants to work with and when the time comes, he either finds or creates an opportunity to work together with one of those people. My time came in July and after a few phone calls chatting together, we agreed upon a new role to be created. The blog finally had a new owner. One that would care for it, spend time with it, help it grow. To date I have produced some how-to posts about training jiu-jitsu, interviews with brand ambassadors and even jiu-jitsu competition predictions and results. I've also now produced two galleries of photo--one of which holds the images of that day I met Scott and loosely became part of the ACS team. You can check out the full gallery of photos here: http://www.acsgear.com/gallery/erin-herles-behind-the-scenes-photoshoot-at-church-street-boxi ng-in-nyc Training New Year’s Resolutions I don't promote resolutions, I promote goals. The word resolution brings about ideas of tradition, customs and the definition itself alludes to the fixing of an issue. While New Year's resolutions are usually used as a positive initiative, a small percentage of people actually follow through. If we change the word to goal, it implies that we are looking to the future, aiming towards a target and we have a purpose. We also reduce the stigma or connotations with being a one-time-a-year tradition that does not bound us to our words. In training combat sports it's important to have goals all year round for every training session, sized small or large, set for short-term and long-term. What goals do for us is motivate us to continue training and they promote growth. Most importantly they help us monitor our progress. For example, I know my guard is becoming more dangerous when I achieve my goal of "submitting one partner with a triangle from spider guard on Nov. 23 evening class". It doesn't need to be that specific to be effective, though. If you choose to banish a habit of being late to class or aim to drink more water every day, those are measurable targets. They enhance your life, not just your time on the mats or in the cage or ring because you're conscious of these efforts. When deciding on a goal: Expand on ways you can achieve it by breaking it down into steps. If you decide you want to win gold at the World Championship, there are many things that come into play in order to achieve such a lofty target. You need to show up to class as often as your schedule permits and avoid missing any classes or chances to train. Maintain your diet/health so you can perform your best in training and in competition. Get or stay in shape. Provide the financial means to which you can pay for the tournament(s), training fees, uniforms and other supplies. You can even tack on winning other smaller tournaments which will help you prepare with experience. By holding yourself accountable for these smaller steps you will be covering all your bases to win a world title and you will also improve other areas of your training/life before ever stepping onto the world championship competition mats. Pick something that will make your life better. Ask yourself why you want to achieve that particular goal, what the result will look like, and how your life will change having completed that goal. Superficial reasons do not apply when goal setting and neither do outside pressures. If you're not going to be bettering the life of yourself or others, the goal has no merit. Sometimes it requires a bit more searching to figure out the true meaning of our intentions and once this process happens, the true object of our desired futures appears. Furthermore… Be realistic. Winning the World Championship would be nice for everyone who train jiu-jitsu to achieve but if you're a 45-year-old blue belt with three kids and a successful law firm, a world title may not only be beneficial to your life, but it would be hard to find the time to work your way to the top. That goal may fall into the category of "things to brag about to family on Thanksgiving" rather than "steps towards improving my well-being". Consider the sacrifices you need to make.

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