The Grab + Pull Story

DECEMBER 2008

Grab + Pull is born

A fightwear brand comes to life from a lifetime of dedication to a sport

Back in 2008, the very first Grab and Pull branded gi was launched to great success. It was the creation of a Bjj fighter who recognized a gap in the market for quality and affordable Jiu Jitsu fightwear. So Grab and Pull was born, with no coincidence, from the expertise born off a mat.

Mr. Oliveira has always had a passion since his teens in active sports, but most notably surfing, music and of course, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Most people in this sport will recognize the magic of practicing BJJ and the therapy it can give you during the highs and lows of your life. It is with this passion that Oliveira gave most of his life to his sport and, subsequently, to the Grab and Pull brand.

Getting hold of quality Jiu Jitsu fight-wear was difficult as most of it came from Brazil, making sourcing any locally a pain. It was with this endeavour to create a more accessible brand that Oliveira created the Grab and Pull range of fightwear clothing.

The brand has always been synonymous with active Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with sponsor being a frequent competitor across the world.

The continued and frequent feedback from his athletes and his own gathered knowledge-base allowed him to continue to develop the gi into a rugged, excellent quality and overall, value for money fightwear item.

Also a veteran of the global BJJ scene, Oliveira knew exactly what was missing from the market and how to improve a range of fightwear that not only he could use and utilise best in class and competition, but to also give others the competitive advantage good clothing can give.

“Basically it is a connection. To pull something you must first grab. From 2001 to 2008, most of my training was dedicated to nogi BJJ. This was my favourite grip in NOGI and I used to call it Grab & Pull grips. This was only cemented more from watching Demian Maia DVDs where I found him saying the phrase ‘Grab + Pull’ quite often.

“The popularization of our products in the American markets forced us to reconsider the logo in our Mk2 version to incorporate the shield, a revered component in American sports.”

Oliveira continued to successfully develop the brand but towards the end of 2014, the continued success of his live events, classes and teaching became too much of a lifestyle preference for him to sacrifice or compromise. With his heart firmly still within the Gentle Art and an arising opportunity in Live BJJ events, Oliveira asked close friends for any interest in taking over the brand with a view to sell on all IP and ongoing business concerns so he may continue to dedicate his life to promoting the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

It wasn’t hard finding a new owner of Grab and Pull and after careful consideration, Oliveira decided to hand over the reins to Cesar Lima. When asked why he chose Cesar:

“Cesar Lima has amazing skills for business and jiu jitsu is clearly his life passion as was mine. We had done business before with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu schools locally and it had worked really well for both of us and as a result, I knew totally Cesar was someone I could trust.

“I now know Grab and Pull are in safe hands and I can already see the brand growing  with a lot of joy and admiration.”

________

NOVEMBER 2015

Grab + Pull finds a new owner

Cesar Lima fulfills a dream and continues to bare the torch

“When Mr. Oliveira, presented me with this amazing opportunity, I didn’t think twice in buying this well respect fight-wear brand “Grab and Pull”.”

Cesar’s next step is to re-brand it, bring to it a contemporary flair with a bit of his own DNA imprinted into it. His first challenge was to establish a new identity with a new logo for G+P.

There were of course many options but nothing strong enough in order to spark the catalyst that would drive all future branding.

One day, whilst travelling to Greece, the country of Gladiators, Spartans and epic warriors, Cesar found an amazing Gladiator helmet in a museum, and whilst looking through the gladiator’s eyes on the helmet, he noticed they had the shape of the coveted GP letters. Bingo!

“That’s what I was looking for – GP letters, a unique design and most importantly, a symbol of strength. I discovered the new GP logo.”