How does one go from Martial Arts to owning a manufacturing business?

Just ask this week’s TNQ Podcast guest, Pete Roberts. He realized that in Martial Arts, the same uniform had been used for over 200 years, so Pete created his own opportunity to build a fresh brand of Jiu Jitsu wearables. He wanted to have control over research and development, textiles, and the design process, and because he knew that Franklin County in Maine had a rich manufacturing heritage, he took action. But his endeavor was seemingly derailed as Pete could not find a U.S. manufacturer who could create his unique line of products.

What to do? Pete decided to take matters into his own hands – literally. He built a manufacturing warehouse - spinning yarn, weaving fabrics, textiles, and designs, and began sewing his own line of uniforms and began his marketing efforts with simple, low budget ads.

Pete’s company, Origin USA, now has multiple manufacturing facilities, incorporating the ancestry of manufacturing, hiring the older generation and millennials alike.

This is the true American entrepreneur spirit at its finest.

• My wife and I have been together since we were 16. You do that by buying into each other’s personal goals and ambitions.

• I use my ADHD as a superpower.

• I’ve used the tools of Jiu Jitsu - timing, leverage, opportunity and applied it to reinventing gear for it.

• I started with old, cast iron sewing machines, and no bathroom.

• If you embrace the power of the American spirit, you can truly do anything.

• Corporate greed chose profit over people.

• If we can own the supply chain, we can protect it.

• [Morgan] You brought something that was lost and brought it back to life.

• Some folks will invest $75,000 in a vehicle. Why not invest that money in yourself? If you have an idea or a dream, don’t be scared of the unknown.

• The single most valuable thing is keeping a singleness of purpose. Stay focused on one thing and be great at it.

• I know that what we are doing hasn’t been done in 100 years. It’s not unique – it’s hard.

• People are born every day that will be more talented than you, but what they don’t have is the ambition to go all in and invest in themselves.

• Be a savage of the body, a pioneer of the heart, and an operator of the mind.