RVCA co-founder Pat Tenore reflects on lost era of MMA individuality

As MMA has grown and become more mainstream, some of the things that used to make the sport so raw and unique have fallen by the wayside. Fighter apparel being one of the notable victims.

Throughout the 2000s, nearly every big fight in the UFC saw athletes work with a company or sponsor for a signature shirt. Others would have individualized fight shorts or something else to honor the significance around each particular contest. That allowed brands like Affliction and Tapout to thrive in the market.

Another key player was RVCA, co-founded by Pat Tenore as a lifestyle brand more oriented around skateboarding and surfing. Tenore's passion for jiu-jitsu led him into the combat sports and MMA world, however, and it led to a working relationship with several key players, with the most prominent arguably being UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn.

"Before RVCA started, I was already a jiu-jitsu practitioner and having close ties with the Carlson Gracie team, Vitor Belfort and so on," Tenore told MMA Junkie. "When RVCA started it was based on a lifestyle brand with surfing, skateboarding, surfing, art and MMA. That was probably 25 years ago and that was the pioneering days of MMA and brands like that. We pioneered a lot of stuff and that means when we were launching the brand and introducing it to mixed martial arts and the martial arts aspect of things, it didn't always go smooth.

"Some of the surfers and skaters, you could imagine the comments. It took a while for people to adapt and understand the integrity of what we were involved with. MMA has come a long way thanks to the guys who really pushed it like the Fertitta's and Dana White. It was illegal in most states."

Tenore was the one who designed Penn's iconic black belt fight trunks that were a signature part of his image. It was all happening at a time where MMA was trying to emerge from the underground and gain more widespread acceptance.

Associating in MMA during that era was a decision that came with some side-eye, but Tenore saw an opportunity for RVCA, and wanted to support the athletes he'd made bonds with.

"It kind of hindered our growth," Tenore said. "People just didn't understand it in the beginning. We had some magical fight tees and shorts with B.J., and it kind of started a little bit of a trend, but we were never like a hardcore fight company. But we were immersed in the subculture because of the passion behind it."

Although some UFC fighters still collaborate on custom gear with companies such as Full Violence and others, the opportunity to maximize it took a major hit around 2009 when the UFC started implementing an additional tax on sponsors to appear in the cage.

A few years later, another blow came when UFC signed its first exclusive apparel deal with Reebok to create standard fight kits for walkouts and in-cage competition. Additionally, fighters were censored from wearing certain brands, or would be required to cover up certain logos with tape.

Tenore said UFC CEO Dana White and other UFC executives gave some leeway as the Reebok (and now Venum) era took over, but the ability to operate within the space changed. Tenore has no sour feelings about it, and understands it's a natural progression.

Tenore knows his collaborations were meaningful at the time and will hold a lasting impact to those who lived through it. He's since launched TENŌRE in 2024, which is another lifestyle brand with similar focuses, and he works with the likes of Nate Diaz, Payton Talbott, the Ruotolo brothers and more.

"That's definitely not as much there, and it's just the evolution of what's happening in that world," Tenore said. "I get it. It's just a different time. It's a lot of further along now than before where you could wear what you wanted. … I do miss the individuality of a walkout and so."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: RVCA co-founder Pat Tenore reflects on lost era of MMA individuality