Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 12 months, you’ve noticed the rapid explosion in popularity of Affliction Clothing shirts among the MMA crowd. It seems like most fighters and their fans are wearing the Affliction brand and the abundance of Affliction apparel prompted Joe Rogan to announce “if I see one more Affliction shirt, I’m going to puke” on a recent UFC pay-per-view. Well, if you are sick of seeing Affliction shirts everywhere there is a solution: move to British Columbia.
Mike Russell from TheFightNetwork is reporting that that several BC bars are prohibiting their patrons from wearing the Affliction brand.
One place you won’t see the pricey, popular garments, however, is inside several nightclubs on the infamous Granville strip in Vancouver, British Columbia.
According to John Teti, president of Barwatch – a BC organization established to institute crime prevention measures (metal detectors, ID scanners, etc.) and to hire security officials to patrol the strip around membership bars – the peculiar dress code was handed down in response to Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan’s ultimatum to bar owners to either come up with ways to reduce the frequency of alcohol-related disturbances or face closing one hour earlier. The strip has become known for gang-related shootings and violence.
Teti says the clubs that have chosen not to allow patrons to wear the popular brands into their respective establishments have good reason for the decision.
“In the city of Vancouver at this time there happens to be a war going on with various gangs,†Teti says. “In the past three weeks, there have been four shootings that have resulted in three deaths that have been directly attributed to the drug wars that are going on. We have a ‘Gang Squad’ here that checks IDs and will ask any known criminals they recognize in the clubs to leave. People who work in the clubs observed that a lot of these people were attracted to a certain type of clothing, so they took it upon themselves to say, ‘If you’re going to wear this type of clothing, we’re not going to let you in the bar.’’’
As you can imagine, the representatives for Affliction weren’t that impressed by the new standards of dress in British Columbia
Tom Atenico, a public relations representative for Affliction Clothing, which also makes UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture line, points to the price-point and higher-end retailers who carry his company’s label. He believes they illustrate that the brand of choice of mixed martial artists is a far cry from rapper Fifty Cent’s G-Unit Clothing line.
“To label us ‘Gang Wear’ is ridiculous,†Atenico says. “We sell our clothes to places like Nordstrom’s, Macy’s and Metro Park in the states. I highly doubt that you’d see gang bangers shopping in these types of stores. Our established demographic is 25- to 45-year-olds who can afford our clothes and don’t want to flip-flop between brands. It’s not as if we cater to the younger crowd. We have 45- to 50-year-old businessmen who wear our clothes because they like our clothes and they can afford them.â€
Atenico doesn’t think the whole thing is a bad deal however; even he realizes the valuable press that will come from the BC ban.
“If they want to point us out, it’s press for us,†he says. “We’re a clothing company first and foremost; we’re not anything else. When I was growing up surfing in California, there was a wax called ‘Sex Wax.’ I used to wear the shirt, and I thought I was cool because you couldn’t wear them to school. All that did is make me wear it even more.â€
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this is rediculous. i live downtown, 5 minutes from the granville ’strip’ and any talk about shootings and gang violence is hyped up bull shiet. those shooting that were mentioned happened on the other side of vancouver, well away from the strip.
the fact that they are using this namesake clothing line to profile groups under suspicion of being in a particular group of people is no different than discriminating based on tattoos or skin colour.
besides, there are a lot of diff people wearing affliction.. most of them are just over-compensating and pose no threat.
granville is getting more rowdy and known for post-club fights.. but those who blame clothing for this problem are morons–esp those quoted above.
f*ckin Canadians! those crazy canucks come up with some weird ideas some times. its B.C. for Christ sake, have a few beers, eat some magic mushrooms, and have a good time sh*t!
TOPIC STARTER: Randy? or Fedor? I think everyone agrees this would have been a simple question to answer last year, but now, who knows! So lets say if Randy and Fedor were to fight in the UFC, who do you think would win and why?
BV… GOOD TOPIC….TO BE HONEST IT WOULD BE A GREAT GRAPPLING WAR…I WOULD TAKE FEDOR BY DECISION.
YO ANYONE KNOW WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DENNIS
[quote comment="9908"]YO ANYONE KNOW WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DENNIS[/quote]
He melted I assume..
With regard to Fedor/Randy…
Fedor - it’s the age difference in my opinion, they are both great fighters, and I think it would be a decision as well….
5 years ago I would have called it a toss-up
THE SPIDER IS GONNA **** RICH UP AGAINLOL
I tend to agree with you guys, Fedor is still the man, regardless of what happened in the UFC this past year, Ill still be betting on guys like Fedor and Wanderlei no matter who the opponent is. Randy Couture is an anomalythough, who knows what that guys capable of, im sure it would be an awesome fight!
[quote comment="9913"]I tend to agree with you guys, Fedor is still the man, regardless of what happened in the UFC this past year, Ill still be betting on guys like Fedor and Wanderlei no matter who the opponent is. Randy Couture is an anomalythough, who knows what that guys capable of, im sure it would be an awesome fight![/quote]
Yeah BV, after the Gonzaga saga I don’t know how to call Randy’s fights anymore, the guy has surely beaten the clock more than anyone could have he would be able to.
Everyone ages different, for Gracie the time came quickly, for Liddell time is short now, I think he has less than a year left, but for Randy, he might have another year in him which is saying a lot at his age…. this isn’t boxing so his standing in there and staying champ says a WHOLE lot more than in any other sport.. I mean he is at CHAMPION status…. It’s one thing to attempt a comeback or compete at his age, but my lord, it’s another to actually win the title, and defend it against some of the best the world has to offer, (even if he isn’t fighting Fedor or Nog)…
@Kansas i
agree completely, i think the main thing about Randy is he wasnt “fighting” for such a long time and getting beat down for years and years. He was wrestling mostly, thats one of the reasons why hes still able to be so competative, where guys like Wanderlei have been fighting NHB since they were kids, broken every bone in their body probably, and their head has taken a serious beating over the years. Wandy would never be able to fight when hes Randys age.. no way man!
@BV
Yeah, kinda sad because guys like Wand are the most dynamic and fun to watch… but yeah it’s true man.. fighters go down faster, wrestler just kinda hang in there for a long time
so, where can i buy these shirts? anyone know?
[quote comment="9924"]so, where can i buy these shirts? anyone know?[/quote]
Sure bro.. just click on the link, perfect place to get your t-shirt..
http://www.prideinart.com/
[quote comment="9925"][quote comment="9924"]so, where can i buy these shirts? anyone know?[/quote]
Sure bro.. just click on the link, perfect place to get your t-shirt..
http://www.prideinart.com//quote
lol Kansas your a d*ck lol. that is some funny sh*t right there lmao.
[quote comment="9925"][quote comment="9924"]so, where can i buy these shirts? anyone know?[/quote]
Sure bro.. just click on the link, perfect place to get your t-shirt..
http://www.prideinart.com//quote
i didnt see what was so funny til i clicked on ur site FUNNY SH*IT kansas
ahh guys… yeah I was crackin’ up the whole time I was posting it… lol….. no offense anyone, please don’t take it personally…lol