Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Leading a Movement of Self-Expression through Spats (Interview w/ Kendall and Karla of Gaidama)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Leading a Movement of Self-Expression through Spats (Interview w/ Kendall and Karla of Gaidama)
In this episode, I chat with Karla and Kendall of the growing brand: Gaidama Fightwear; they share their personal stories and how the universe serendipitously brought them together to bring Kendall's initial vision to life.
ABOUT KENDALL + KARLA:
Kendall Vernon was born in Louisiana, but raised in Houston TX. She graduated from high school at 16 and went to college in St Petersburg FL, to then Master in Computer Engineering from the University of Tulsa on a full ride scholarship. While attending TU, she took up Jiujitsu as a hobby and it was on the mats where she met her husband, Matt, now also father of her two children, Raiden (2+) and Indiana (11mos). They both own a gym together, Primate Jiujitsu.
Karla Shellhammer was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She moved to the United States on her own at 17yo to pursue a college education. She graduated with honors at 19yo with an Associate’s in Video Production to then finish her Bachelor in Arts in Film Production at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. The year she graduated she also married her husband Jay, now father of her two children, Matilda (11yo) and Luke (8yo). Her and her husband are black belts and train at Checkmat Phoenix.
Gaidama was born out of Kendall’s vision to design a pair of Jiujitsu spats that were actually functional and flattering to the female body. Karla was the brand’s first official ambassador, but after being so invested in the initial growth, Kendall offered a partnership that felt very aligned as both their skills nurtured the brand and community in different ways that were needed. In April 2021, Karla became officially part owner of Gaidama and has since then ran all social media operations. Kendall oversees all executive decisions and single handedly runs the warehouse and logistics.
As a small business we have an athlete’s program that could compete with big brands. We provide more than just gear for our athletes. We have an annual event to highlighting our top selling ambassadors, top competitive athletes and partner brands (which are also jiujitera owned small businesses). Our ambassadors have recently been able to earn compensation for competition performance and content views. While aiming to support jiujiteras, we also envision a creative ecosystem in which female grapplers can use their self-expression skills to thrive in this world. Gaidama has truly became something so much more magical than we could have ever planned, but all of our success is thanks to the Jiujitera community and we could not be more grateful for every fox that has taken part of this beautiful growth.
What You'll Learn:
Episode Resources:
Karla's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlashellhammerjitz/
Gaidama Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaidama.usa/
Gaidama Website: https://gaidama.com/
Podcast Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodybybossllc
View all episodes
By Body By Boss, LLC
5
44 ratings
In this episode, I chat with Karla and Kendall of the growing brand: Gaidama Fightwear; they share their personal stories and how the universe serendipitously brought them together to bring Kendall's initial vision to life.
ABOUT KENDALL + KARLA:
Kendall Vernon was born in Louisiana, but raised in Houston TX. She graduated from high school at 16 and went to college in St Petersburg FL, to then Master in Computer Engineering from the University of Tulsa on a full ride scholarship. While attending TU, she took up Jiujitsu as a hobby and it was on the mats where she met her husband, Matt, now also father of her two children, Raiden (2+) and Indiana (11mos). They both own a gym together, Primate Jiujitsu.
Karla Shellhammer was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She moved to the United States on her own at 17yo to pursue a college education. She graduated with honors at 19yo with an Associate’s in Video Production to then finish her Bachelor in Arts in Film Production at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. The year she graduated she also married her husband Jay, now father of her two children, Matilda (11yo) and Luke (8yo). Her and her husband are black belts and train at Checkmat Phoenix.
Gaidama was born out of Kendall’s vision to design a pair of Jiujitsu spats that were actually functional and flattering to the female body. Karla was the brand’s first official ambassador, but after being so invested in the initial growth, Kendall offered a partnership that felt very aligned as both their skills nurtured the brand and community in different ways that were needed. In April 2021, Karla became officially part owner of Gaidama and has since then ran all social media operations. Kendall oversees all executive decisions and single handedly runs the warehouse and logistics.
As a small business we have an athlete’s program that could compete with big brands. We provide more than just gear for our athletes. We have an annual event to highlighting our top selling ambassadors, top competitive athletes and partner brands (which are also jiujitera owned small businesses). Our ambassadors have recently been able to earn compensation for competition performance and content views. While aiming to support jiujiteras, we also envision a creative ecosystem in which female grapplers can use their self-expression skills to thrive in this world. Gaidama has truly became something so much more magical than we could have ever planned, but all of our success is thanks to the Jiujitera community and we could not be more grateful for every fox that has taken part of this beautiful growth.
What You'll Learn:
Episode Resources:
Karla's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlashellhammerjitz/
Gaidama Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaidama.usa/
Gaidama Website: https://gaidama.com/
Podcast Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodybybossllc
More shows like The Empowered Athlete
View all
Beauty and the Gi: Gripping Conversations about Jiu-Jitsu and Life
37 Listeners