Indiana University jiu jitsu.
Made mat-ready.
A student-run BJJ club had crimson pride and a folder of rough mockups. We turned it into a production-ready apparel line, cleared through IU licensing, and built to sell when the season starts.
The Indiana University Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club competes on three words stitched into its crest: pressure, precision, and control. They wanted club merch that lived up to it. Rash guards, grappling shorts, and tees their members would wear on the mats and around campus, ready before the new season.
The connection was personal. Our founder is an Indiana grad, class of 2002, so this one started crimson to crimson. We reached out to the club directly about building their merch the right way.
This ran through Ninth Degree's branded merchandise practice, with Nine Lives Jiu Jitsu as the in-house design and production engine. One partner from concept to delivery, instead of a student board piecing it together with vendors they had never met.
The job was simple to say and harder to do: take what they had, make it real, and get it to the mats without the headaches.
Concepts, not files
The designs started as rough mockups. Good ideas that lived on a tee, but not flat, print-ready art a manufacturer could run. The crest, the rash guard, and the shorts all needed rebuilding from scratch.
A volunteer board
None of the officers were designers. They were running tournaments, changing over leadership for next year, and wanted to do this the official way. They did not want to get it wrong.
This season or next
The marks had to clear IU licensing and trademark before a single piece could be ordered. Miss the window and the club waits until next semester, or ships gear that doesn't represent the club's professional look and feel.
Rebuild the art
Pull every design off the mockups and rebuild it as clean, print-ready files the manufacturer can execute accurately.
Clear the marks
Hand the club exactly what IU licensing and trademark needed to approve an outside vendor under their current agreement.
Source and sample
Price every item, line up the manufacturer, and lay out made-to-order versus set production so the club could choose.
Color-match and proof
Dial in the crimson against the crest before anyone spent a dollar. The club checked the swatch in person, and we locked it.
Invoice clean
Separate design from production, pass manufacturing through at cost, and put it all in writing for the student treasurer.
The club is the hero
Every call started with their goals, their members, and their season, not our catalog. We guided. They decided.
Two paths, their call
Made-to-order for speed and zero inventory risk, or set production for better margin. We laid out the tradeoff plainly and let them drive.
Pass-through pricing
No hidden markup on manufacturing. The treasurer could see exactly where the margin lived and say yes with confidence.
Patience as a service
The project ran for months through tournaments, an officer changeover, and other life priorities. We never pushed. A long game beats a rushed one.
No stress on my end, don't sweat it.
The job came down to a clean build and an open door. We turned rough mockups into polished, production-ready artwork and manufacturing files, then put the finished line online so members can order direct. No spreadsheets passed around the gym, no cash collected at practice.
Production-ready, front and back. The rash guard rebuilt into clean, print-ready files the manufacturer could run accurately.
Built to move, then built to manufacture. The shorts on an athlete with the fit dialed in, and broken out as a production file with panels, placement, and color.
Live and ready to order. The finished line on a Nine Lives collection page, priced and set so members buy direct when the club goes to market.
A launch-ready line
Rash guard, grappling shorts, and cotton tee, all print-ready and cleared to order under IU's current licensing and trademark agreement.
Costs they could stand behind
Design billed straight, no surprises. Manufacturing passed through at cost, no markup, with the margin and retail price in the club's hands.
A path to season revenue
The line goes live when the school year starts, with samples to show members in person and a storefront ready to open.
A partner, not a vendor
The club is already planning the next round of rash guards and tees. One point of contact, start to finish.
rebuilt
production, no markup
on made-to-order
concept to delivery
Gabe was very cooperative with us and helped us along each step of the process. We definitely recommend his service and his products.
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