MMA Payout had the opportunity to catch up with Nick Swinmurn, founder of clothing brand Dethrone Royalty. He clarified rumors that the clothing brand may be in trouble.
MP: Is there any truth to internet rumors that Dethrone is in financial trouble? Any idea where the rumors may have started?
Dethrone: Definitely no truth to the rumor. The rumor started couple of weeks ago when Jon Luther of FightHype tweeted out that his sources had told him Dethrone was going under. I sent him an email out of curiosity asking if he could share what he had heard. His “source” had apparently heard that “Dethrone inventory was being discontinued” and therefore the company was shutting down. I told him I have no idea what inventory being discontinued would mean other than in the usual context of discontinuing a particular item. He said he didn’t know what it meant either but that his source was always right. We went on to have a good conversation about Dethrone and the industry in general.
The other development that he referenced was Shane Carwin posting on the Underground that he was parting ways with Dethrone. This was true, our annual deal was set to expire end of May and when we couldn’t come to terms on an extension that was acceptable to both sides during March he asked to be released from his deal two months early in order to be able to have the UFC Expo and Countdown Show to help attract a new sponsor. We had no problem with that. We have a great relationship with Shane and was simply a matter of him being able to get more money elsewhere which we would never stand in the way of.
MP: Any issues with sponsorship of athletes? Do you still have your stable of UFC-Strikeforce fighters? Are you looking to add in the near future?
Dethrone: Jon asked if we had any issues paying sponsorships, this was on May 5th. I explained to him that we always have and always will pay every fighter we sponsor within seven days of the fight. By May 5th we had paid all four of our fighters from UFC 129 in full. I’d go out on a limb and guess they were probably the only 4 fighters on the card who had been paid in full by that point as the fight was less than a week earlier. We don’t do sponsorships we can’t afford. We have personal relationships with the fighters we sponsor and don’t understand how some brands can watch a guy put it all on the line while promoting their product and then take weeks or months to pay them. We don’t jump from fighter to fighter, we’ve been with our guys for a long time. Our fighter roster includes Phil Davis, Gray Maynard, Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, Jose Aldo, Jon Fitch, Ben Henderson, Nate Diaz, Matt Wiman, Joe Stevenson, George Sotiropolous, Charles Oliveira, Ed Herman and Kyle Kingsbury. We also sponsor boxer Robert Guerrero and radio host/truck racer Jason Ellis. You are welcome to ask any of their managers regarding our payment times and financial stability.
We had sponsored Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz until our UFC agreement limited us to Zuffa fighters last summer. Now with the merger we are once again looking into the possibility of sponsoring Strikeforce fighters.
MP: How is the business? What are the future plans of the business? More shirts? Anymore crossover promotions with major league teams like you did this past year with the Warriors? (e.g., any promos with the A’s or Giants)
Dethrone: The business in general is doing great. It’s been just over two years since we launched the brand. We knew this was a longterm opportunity, not a get rich quick scheme. We have planned and budgeted accordingly. We’ll be moving into our new headquarters this summer. We just received our new collection of shirts last week and will be rolling those out right away, we have a new collection every 2-3 months. We have a Dethrone race truck driven by Jason Ellis in the Lucas Oil Offroad Series that runs until December. We will be continuing our relationship with the Golden State Warriors next season and have had discussions with other teams as well. We’re always on the lookout for new opportunities to promote and extend the brand.
It’s not an easy business and definitely not a get rich quick opportunity, which I think are probably the two biggest misperceptions about the apparel industry to outsiders. You can’t just slap your logo on a couple of fighters and watch the cash roll in, but with patience and planning it can be an exciting and rewarding industry.
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