Hidden Gems: Meet Marc Sharma of Nation Athletic

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Sharma.

Hi Marc, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began training martial arts as a teenager because I grew up as a mixed-race kid in a pretty racist town in the UK so would get bullied a lot. Initially, I came for self-defense but quickly realized the gym also gave me a sense of community, belonging, and purpose, and was quickly hooked.

Like many, my passion was just a side hobby while I spent the last ten years working in retail and hospitality management. Knowing I had a business background, I always thought I could utilize this in a more positive way to create my own brand and spread a healthier culture founded in the same sense of unity I had gained from the martial arts community.

During the start-up phase as a founder, you pretty much have to do everything yourself. So, while working a demanding corporate job by day, I spent my nights learning how to run Facebook ads, graphic design, building a website, SEO, and all things eCommerce at night. With no start-up capital, I began to save the money I’d spend on Starbucks and lunch while at work by bringing in homemade lunches.

After two years of saving and working on Nation by Night, I had enough money for my first drop! I now joke with my friends that I start my business for the price of a Starbucks coffee and sandwich.

Since our first drop, we have been blown away with the reception from the martial arts, specifically Jiu-Jitsu, community has received our products. It is my opinion to be successful, you must have a good product audience/match, and as we were a part of our audience, this came naturally to us.

Since our first drop, we have doubled in sales year on year. I have been able to leave my full-time job to focus on the brand full-time, and we’re only three years in since going live.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think struggles are inevitable when starting your own business, and they will probably never stop coming, but if you truly love what you do, you will find a way to adapt and continue.

Perhaps the most notable challenge I faced was making the jump from a steady corporate paycheck to becoming a full-time entrepreneur. The choice was made for me as I was fired from my corporate job. At this time my wife was also diagnosed with cancer. Losing the ‘secure’ income and insurance was a hard blow.

Being placed under stress makes you evaluate what is important and forces you to use your time wisely. Given what was at stake, I knew there was no other option than to make Nation succeed.

It was not easy. One of the things they do not tell you about fighting cancer is the number of doctors’ appointments. My wife was amazing, and I have no idea how she got through it with such a positive spirit!

In these situations, the reality of being a start-up ‘entrepreneur’ really hit home. As pretty much everything falls on your shoulders, there were times we would spend the whole day at the hospital, and I’d still have to get work done. I would spend the day working on the website, creating designs, and answering customer emails while my wife was having her chemo treatments.

I don’t think anything prepares you for this, but focusing on long-term goals and each small success helps. It is a long journey and can at times feel like a constant uphill battle, but if you keep chipping away over time, you start to see progress.

Thankfully, my wife is such a strong woman, and she is fully recovered. She now heads up our wholesale business!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Nation Athletic?
Nation Athletic is a Jiu Jitsu apparel brand founded with a mindset of building community through our physical activities. The Jiu-Jitsu mats are some of the most diverse communities out there. Our aim is to build a brand that reflects this. Cultivating a culture of community, helping to bring people together through a common purpose in a divided world.

Having started the brand working a full ‘day job’, never missing a training session, pumping in every penny of our savings, and grinding out the business by night, we wanted to create something from the ground up for the grassroots martial arts community.

As we scale, our goal is to try and position ourselves to be able to give back as much as we can. By allocating more resources to sponsorships, charity collaborations, and supporting local athletes, we hope to help more people get as much out of this sport and community as we have.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
There are so many apps and resources out there that have helped reduce our barriers to entering the marketplace. Here are our top picks:

Business:
Shopify – literally costs less than a cup of c coffee a day, and you can build everything you need on one place. Note: much better for ecom than Wix or any of the other options out there.
Facebook ads manager – We started building our brand with just $4 a day!
@IDEAGENERATIONOFFICIAL on Youtube – Staying motivated is hard; sometimes hearing other people’s stories helps ground you along the way.

Multimedia:
Lightroom/Adobe mobile app – Let’s you edit on the go, I edit most of my ‘editorial;’ images on the train!
VideoLeap – Super easy video editing app with a ton of functions, great for social media posts

Analytics
Triplewahle – Once we get some volume it’s important to know what is working. Accurate reporting is crucial.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nationathletic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nation_athletic/