Skeletal Metal Ties Jewelry to MMA Market
January 6, 2009
The Las Vegas Review Journal detailed the local company Skeletal Metal and its attaching itself to the MMA phenomenon as means to success for the company. The company has closely aligned itself with anoher hometown Las Vegas brand, the UFC. The teo companies did a tie in for UFC 92 and company president Dana White is featured on their website as well as in advertising for the company in this month’s issue of Fight! Magazine. The Skeletal Metal brand seems simlar to Affliction, in that it is a non-endemic brand that has attached it self to the sport in a vacuum of other brands already in the space. Founder Mike Crovetti spoke on the strategy:
Question: How do you market the company?
Answer: We do a lot of gifting. And the people we gift actually like it. They wear it because they think it’s neat. Also, online marketing is huge. The UFC is tremendous in the world, and their reach certainly supports what we’re trying to do. Mixed martial arts is the fourth most popular sport in the world. We’ve had online sales from Poland, Russia and Canada. We’re also partnering with companies that have distributorships and stores across the country. We’re the first jewelry line in the mixed martial arts space, and we’re also the first jewelry product made from medical devices. That’s two first-to-market opportunities.
One has to wonder how the good doctor got involved with the UFC, but light is shed on that in the article as well:
Question: What has been the hardest thing about starting Skeletal Metal?
Answer: Retail is a space I’m not tremendously familiar with. My advice for any entrepreneur is to surround yourself with great people. I have two partners (baseball’s 1995 American League Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova and Anthony Bonifazio) with connections and knowledge. If you surround yourself with great people, you can be successful in any business.
Steve Cofield spoke with 1995 American League Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova about his increasing appearances at UFC events and found that Cordova went to high school with both Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White at Bishop Gorman Catholic school in Las Vegas. 1995 American League Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova also elaborated a bit on Skeletal Metal’s ties to the UFC.
Bishop Gorman was also the genesis of another business relationship for the UFC, as Jennifer Pike, the wife of Xyience founder Russell Pike, also attended Bishop Gorman with Dana White.
