Tough fight of a winner
Mixed martial arts brand Evolution MMA is on lips of SA and world fans
HITTING rock bottom is not the end of the line and should not stop anyone from achieving their goals and dreams, and few people are a better example of this than Port Elizabeth martial arts and fitness trainer Andrew Garai.
With the growing popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) brand, and the inception of South Africa’s own Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), MMA has become a fitness craze the world over.
But for Garai, 40, this craze became a lifestyle 13 years ago when he started participating in Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) competitions.
Since then his lifestyle has become a passion that ultimately led to the growning Port Elizabeth mixed martial arts brand, Evolution MMA, that has attracted attention from across South Africa and the world.
This only came after his previous business ventures – a small construction company, private security and synthetic stone and wood business – went belly-up, leaving him bankrupt and depressed.
“Evolution MMA started in November 2011 when I had nothing.
“I was unemployed and basically an alcoholic. I was training at a judo gym in Port Elizabeth when someone came to me for private [BJJ] classes.
“Without knowing it that was where Evolution really started,” Garai said.
Two weeks later he posted an advert on Facebook: Fight Like A Girl – mixed martial arts classes aimed specifically at fitness and teaching women the basics of martial arts. Within three days he was training 14 women.
“This was however, not the start of big things, because for the next few months I struggled. As school and university holidays came, many of my clients left, leaving me without an income.”
However, his passion never faded, and by mid 2012 his client base had grown and he started renting a premises in Heugh Road, changing his brand from Fight Like A Girl to Evolution MMA.
“Still the business went through tough times, but like a living organism it started to grow organically. Word of the gym spread and every person that set foot on our mats wanted in on the action.”
Membership skyrocketed and instead of 30 people, mostly women, Garai had to find space to accommodate the 150 members, including professional fighters, that frequent his gym.
Time came to start looking for a new premises, and that is when a derelict warehouse at the bottom of Baakens Valley became the next stage of Evolution.
“Months of prep went into getting this place ready. Opening dates were moved on several occasions and on the morning of the opening night earlier this month, we were still finishing the floors and getting the place in proper shape.”
News of the new gym has spread like wildfire and requests from martial arts enthusiasts across the world for Garai to open gyms in their cities, have been pouring in.
His partner, Caileigh Stap, a professional BJJ athlete, said she remembered when Garai’s plans were nothing more than dreams and she thought they would end in nothing more than disappointment.
“But he pressed on. I don’t know anyone more positive and passionate than Andrew, and now finally he has the gym that looks exactly like he made it sound years ago,” Stap said.
While the gym was Garai’s brainchild, he gives a lot of credit to the “community” they have established within the gym, especially to graphic designer Jaime Belle, who helped make Evolution MMA such a recognisable brand.
Not only does the gym have a unique logo design, but the design has been incorporated in the gym’s own unique clothing line as well. And even if you are not interested in training, you can still pop in for an extraordinary cup of coffee, with the Urban Espress coffee shop opening a branch inside the new gym.