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Home , Amir Khan (boxer), Chris Algieri, Robbie Lawler, Ruslan Provodnikov

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 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 champion, a star UFC 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, 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. When we're kids and asked what we want to be ​ when we grow up, a fireman is realistic. No one will drop a load of truth to a five-year-old about the sacrifices necessary to getting to be a fireman. But as an adult, the question differs entirely. The goal is no longer deciding upon how much we want to make, or what we want on our business card, but rather what hours we're willing to work, how much schooling is involved, the type of people you're working for or with, the level of danger involved each day and so on. The same thinking applies to goal setting. Be real to yourself with what the day-to-day involves in your goal and see if you're really up for it.

Include ways to measure the process. It does not help to set a goal of getting into shape. ​ How will you know when you're in shape and what does it mean to be in shape? For some, losing 20 pounds is enough while others may opt for seeing some abs pop out before they've achieved their goal. By including measurable targets, we can asses the progress and gauge what needs to be changed along the way.

With these tips, I've created my own list of goals for the 2016 year. These are only my long-term goals and they pertain to my current living situation.

1. Win all major tournaments. I am currently a brown belt under Marcelo Garcia in NYC where I train twice a day on most days. I work part-time, remotely. I have support from my sponsor and family and I train at a world class academy. Right now I have few distractions from training, having already graduated from college and moved across the country with few goals other than spending more time with my boyfriend and advancing my jiu-jitsu career.

2. Maintain my weight to stay in my existing category while shedding fat, strengthening muscles. I recently joined Brick Crossfit in order to gain strength behind my mobility and to feel sturdier in my existing game. I also want to look good, look as though I do train jiu-jitsu full-time and that I am an athlete. So this goal pertains to feeling good self-esteem, being able to make weight more easily and to feel stronger.

3. Drink more water every day. I consider drinking water a job. I have to remind myself to hydrate enough and I would like to create better habits to refrain from chugging at various times during the day and in turn needing to be by a bathroom constantly.

4. Raise at least $10,000 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Since starting a campaign called #submitthestigma of mental illness, I have initiated a movement to help with mental health awareness. I was able to raise $6.5k for NAMI as a memorial to my dad last year and with the planning of a charity seminar I am aiming to raise plenty more for this great grassroots organization.

So here are my main goals for now. With these out there, I have accountability and purpose. Consider writing your own long-term goals and maintain a journal with your own weekly training goals to keep training exciting, purposeful and consistent.

Chris Algieri Profile

The ACS team's newest member is a former world class kickboxer and former WBO junior welterweight champion with a current record of 21-2, eight of which were . Long Island's own signed on after his most recent fight against Ecuador's Erick Bone at the Barclay Center in , NY on Dec. 5, 2015. The 10-round fight earned him the win after a knockdown in the 8th round and working shots to the body. His power punches in the final rounds secured the win, a much needed return from his previous two losses.

Many believed this fight to be a tune-up fight or a step down in his career considering his last opponents were living legend and former two-time world champion Amir . But Chris believes that every fight is an important fight--there are no easy fights at this level. When asked whether his mindset needed adjustments coming into this fight, he says "a couple fights went the other way but as far as I'm concerned my mindset has not changed since the day that I started competing."

In his entire career, this was his first time in an undercard fight. Every local fight he fought was a headliner and as his career moved forward, he became the main event for ESPN, HBO, HBO PPV, and Spike TV. So the lead-up to this fight was a little different: "It wasn't like the Pacquiao fight where my entire life was under a microscope for six months prior. You know that was really, really intense press and experience leading up to it. Whenever I talk about the Pacquiao experience I say just that. I say the experience not just the fight because there was so much surrounding it. Leading up to it and post fight. Even the Khan fight. Khan is another mega star in the sport so with that fight, two fights back to back the amount of expoure that you get is second to none. And this fight obviously was a much smaller fight." Despite the placement on this card, he knew this was a fight that he had to win, just like every other fight.

Going in, he knew Bone was still as dangerous as any other. Regarded as a scrappy fighter, he is both "a little awkward" and "a very good counter puncher". Scrappy can mean a few different things. In it may refer to an athlete with funk, in BJJ you might say he's good at scrambles. "There's a scramble and somehow that guy ends up in the right position. Or it's a shootout and that guy ends up landing the bigger shots," Chris explains. "Erick Bone was an excellent world class opponent. I had to be careful."

In many combat sports, the venues for each fight can vary across the states and even different continents. For Chris, his boxing career has allowed him to fight within his home state of every time except for his fight with Pacquiao, which was held in Macau, China. In fact, most of his twenty-one local fights were right near his hometown of Greenlake, NY on Long Island with only a handful that were about an hour's drive away. One venue in particular, The Paramount Theater in Huntington, NY, honored the native on a special night for his undefeated eight-fight streak, as televised on HBO Boxing. The Paramount gave many opportunities to Chris but he couldn't wait to get out and move on to bigger opportunities and bigger cards. Being so local on fight nights produces an organically grown fanbase, one that sticks with you no matter what. Chris' fanbase has been able to support him throughout his career and even when he traveled halfway around the world, those same local fans were the ones catching flights to follow him to China. "Thats important in my industry-- to maintain that connection with the fans and I've been lucky that promoters I've dealt with and the business side of the boxing have realized that and kept me in New York." As a competitor, it also has its perks: "It's definitely nice to fight at home when you know exactly how everything is gonna go. Even the car ride there you know what you're gonna see. There are no surprises and thats a good thing to have for the right kind of mindset to go into a fight."

Within that fanbase includes his family, his most important supporters. Afterall, he still lives in his parent's basement when home in Greenlake, only recently upgrading to owning a TV. Chris' love of boxing derived from his family, specifically his grandfather who grew up in Argentina where boxing is a huge sport. "He spoke very highly of other fighters and champions specifically and I looked up to him so for me it was my hero's hero. That's what I wanted to be. He's passed on. He actually never saw me fight professionally but that's something that kind of spurs me on, that childhood memory that's engrained in the roots of me growing up I think is really important for the passion that I find towards boxing." Even more is his competitve nature. No matter what it is, on what day against whoever, he wants to win. "If I'm playing ball with my little sister I want to beat her," Chris jokes.

Outside of the ring, Chris has earned a bachelor's degree in healthcare science from as well as a master's degree in clinical nutrition from New York Institute of Technology. He juggled the graduate school work while fighting his first two years as a professional boxer. When asked whether his decision to go to grad school ever coincided with his dedication to the sport of boxing, he admitted that people in his past had questioned his heart and reasoning. But his first fight at the Barclay Center on June 14, 2014 put a lot of those enquiries to rest. "I think I shut everyone's mouth about that in the fight. That was the big question going into that fight. Ruslan said he's willing to die in this fight to hold his title and my response was: 'well, we don't have to die, we're boxing, and you can't say that he wants it more than me just cause he said that. We'll see on fight night.' I think I proved everyone wrong when it comes to heart or willingness to engage or to go for this and stick it out in that fight." In his fight against Provodnikov, Chris suffered two knockdowns in the first round and a blinding, swollen eye right eye for half the fight in the ten rounds but pushed through to earn a split decision win and a world title.

A lot of doors opened up for Chris after that win, most notably the fight against Pacquiao. By then he realized he needed help in the business side of his career and partnered with friend and fellow boxer Kevin Rooney Jr. to manage his day-to-day activites. Kevin is the son of former boxer and trainer Kevin Rooney Sr., who trained Mike Tyson for three years from the beginning of his career. Kevin's partnership has led to better organized training camps and more focus on the boxing itself for Chris. "This is a dangerous sport. You need to take calculated risks when it comes to who you fight, and as the upside, of course how much money is involved. At the end of the day this is a business and we need to put Chris in the best possible situations for himself and his career," adds Kevin.

The newest partnership for Chris is that of adidas Combat Sports Gear, which grew from President Scott Viscomi's eagerness to be part of team Algieri, and the brand. Scott could see his growth, fight after fight and wanted to somehow work together, especially after the fight against . adidas is a brand that Chris has always respected, having sported the product since he was a child. The ACS brand recognizes Chris' skills and heart as well as his champion lifestyle. It is as follows: "