Paul Dallow Interview - February 2010
Paul Dallow owns http://www.sinisterstore.com.au with his partner Mackenzie Taylor they are one of the leading MMA suppliers in Australia, they stock some of the top brands including Hitman, Pimpit and Hyabusa. Paul has been around the MMA scene in Australia for along time and one of the big supporters of MMA in Australia sponsoring fighters, events and infinitemma.com. He took some time to answer a few questions about himself, his sponsored fighters and the gear he sells.
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First of all tell us how you got into MMA?
I come from a family of 4 brothers,each of us were all born no more than 18 months apart-therefore we were always fighting.This aggression ended up being channeled into martial arts for my other brothers and weight lifting for myself,until we scored our first bootleg video tape of UFC 1 back in about 1996. The rest of the story is pretty much the same as every other “old school” MMA enthusiast.
You have competed in MMA and BJJ what is your record?
I have given and taken a great deal of punishment over the last 10 years in sparring and helping fighters prepare for matches but unfortunately I never scored an “official” MMA match.I was preparing for my first shooto match when I had a complication from a surgery that ruled me out of the fight.
Last year I was going to have a fight in my hometown as a favour to a close friend that was promoting a fight night but my opponent pulled out on 2 weeks notice. A local tough man(he weighed 130kg-I was 86kg) agreed to step up but a few days before the fight he mysteriously went missing. (Un)fortunately my brother Ross came up last minute to help me out with an exhibition match,in which he proceeded to punch my head in in front of my hometown crowd for 3 horrible and shameful rounds.
As far as my BJJ record goes-I entered and placed 1st or second in every comp I was allowed to go in (bloody politics) from 1999 -2005. I think the biggest thing I won was my division of the 2004 Australian Open BJJ Championships.
My first no gi grappling comp was the ADCC trials back in 2003 where I placed 2nd in the
<88kg,the guy that won ended up not going to the finals in Abu Dhabi so by rights I should have got the spot-instead no one ended up representing in that division,which I think sucked big time…especially for me. My final comp was the 2005 ADCC seedings comp,where I finaled against Olympian Cris Brown in my weight class and finished 3rd in the Open after being eliminated by Sotiropoulos by Kimura (of course).
Shortly after my last comp I sustained a very serious career ending leg injury which meant I could no longer train at the level required for competition.I continued to train regularly until I got disheartened with some aspects of the sport for a time in 2006.
What is your favourite competition moment?
My favourite competition moment…has to be the time I was being manhandled by a guy in his guard so I JOKINGLY told him to go easy on me because I was wearing a colostomy bag-he loosened his grip, apologized and promptly arm barred me. Now that was funny!
My other favourite competition moments were just the bond of being with a bunch of guys competing together as a team and helping each other out on the mat.
I miss that….wow…that sounded a little ghe..
Can you tell us who your favourite local fighter is and why?
My favourite local fighter is my brother- Ross “The Bandit” Dallow. He’s paid his dues.I’ve been by his side when he’s been screwed over,when his corner has pulled out on him on 4 days notice,when he’s been completely mismatched,when no one has even been there to hold pads for him in the warm up room.I was there with him when he agreed to fight Perosh on 2 weeks notice when he hadn’t trained or even had a full nights sleep for 3 months cos his wife had just had twins-He and I got ready for that fight in his garage by ourselves cos no one else was prepared to help out. Those were shitty days. Thats why I am so happy that he’s finally shed some dead weight and has put together a new group of trainers and coaches-his success in the last 12 months speaks volumes for where he was and where he is now.
Who is your favourite international fighter?
Couture-Couture is still the man. I’ve met and trained with him a few times and he’s just a good decent guy.
He’s a warrior,he’s smart and is always improving and adapting.I will admit though,it would be easier on my heart if he retired.
You sell a lot of fight gear through your store http://www.sinisterstore.com.au how did you come about starting the store and what made you get into selling mma gear?
Well I’ve run a couple of retail outlets since 1996.The clothing we carried was skate,moto action sport based stuff.You couldn’t get any MMA brand stuff from any Aussie clothing distributers.Then the guys I was getting a moto label off started importing Throwdown,but they had no clue at all about what they were doing.MMA is not moto and vice versa-it just didn’t work for them.I was also carrying SilverStar -which was originally a belt buckle company that started doing shirts and promoting themselves through guys like Seth Enslow.I nearly shit my pants the day I saw Sean Sherk come out the cage wearing a SilverStar shirt.
Then another company I bought skate shoes through jumped on the bandwagon and started importing TAPOUT.
I started to think to myself how ridiculous the situation was (and still is). You have freestyle motocross and skate shoe distributors jumping on the MMA bandwagon,pretty much completely naive and ignorant of the sport as a whole and the MMA scene in Australia, milking MMA enthusiasts of their money,putting very little back into the sport,and placing the genre in stores like Footlocker,City Beach and Off Ya Tree,to me.borders on sacrilege.
As a result,my partner(Mackenzie Taylor) and I started putting http://www.sinisterstore.com.au together. She does all the I.T. stuff and promo stuff and I do all the behind the scenes dealings with companies,promoters,clubs and athletes. Its taken a great deal of money and hard work, but things are really starting to show positive results.
Like I said before-I think its important that the readers know the truth-these guys that are importing MMA gear are not MMA people,they are the same people that sell sunglasses to moto guys,skate shoes to skaters and Emily the Strange stuff to Goths.You will NEVER see the owners of these companies corner a fighter,or help a guy prepare for a comp.They are in it for the profit,I am in it because I love it and I can invest in making the sport grow and see fighters fulfil their potential.I can genuinely say that every single penny I have made out of selling fightgear has been put straight back into improving some aspect of the sport.No other MMA importer,distributer can HONESTLY say the same thing-and I am proud of that.
You do a lot of work sponsoring local fighters and supporting the sport in Australia. can you tell us why you chose the fighters you sponsor?
I work with guys who are realistic and are prepared to work with me-some guys that have approached me are completely unrealistic.I’ve had amateurs with a few undercard fights seriously ask me to pay for there living expenses so they can train full time. I’ve had other guys that have asked for this or that or whatever(which I came through with) but when I’ve asked them for something as simple as the email addresses of their students so I can send out a newsletter about new products,they ignore me!
The guys I have onboard now really represent what I want to reflect in my business-A sense of national pride,a good honest work ethic and a deeply committed undying enthusiasm for their own success and that of the sport in our country.
Ross Dallow-
What can I say-he’s my brother,he’s a badass brown belt and anyone that knows him knows that he is one funny funny loosely wound individual.
Ian Bone
BoneMann- I met him at a CFC. He’s a really dynamic fighter,a real crowd pleaser who fights with heart.I have put effort into assisting him refine his skills,its difficult for him because he’s based way up in Townsville. He’s also a former soldier that has served our country on many occasions. I have great respect for the armed forces.
Anthony Perosh.
This is an interesting one..he kicked my brothers arse a few years ago,and we never really clicked for several reasons during my competitive years.
He actually approached me to sponsor him,which kinda surprised me a little. I mean the guy is the best competitive grappler in Australasia,a x2 UFC veteran and one of the most active MMA fighters in the country,but more importantly, he is ALWAYS 100% professional.He pretty much could have scored sponsorship from anyone with his credentials but he picked us-I am lucky to have him on my team.
Anthony is a really decent guy.I have never met a guy that is more focused and driven as Anthony. I am telling you here and now Anthony Perosh’s star is on the rise again big time!
You helped get your sponsored fighters some international bouts last year, do you have anything lined up for them this year you can tell us about?
All my sponsored fighters have been offered fights in Russia in May,but just in the last few days Ian, Ross and Anthony have been offered the opportunity to fight on a major ESPN based television programme in Singapore in June.Their matches will be broadcast live all the way from India through to Australia.Its a great opportunity for these Aussie fighters to get some international exposure.We also have some big fight opportunities for our newest guy,Justin Murray,in the very near future as well.Justin approached me for sponsorship because he saw the success the other guys were achieving,he wanted international fights without the political B.S. that can come with it-he’s a great fighter and I forwarded his highlight reel onto friends overseas and he was offered a match up immediately.
With UFC coming up next month what are your thoughts on the Haseman v Sinosic fight?
Ah, thats a sticky one isn’t it! I’d like to think I’m on good terms with Elvis nowadays and I have massive respect for his sponsor,Daniel Willis from LOJAK.
I don’t know Chris,but I’ve met him once when Ross fought Sam Nest,he came across as a genuinely nice guy.
I remember the 1st fight that Chris won via taking advantage of a technical loophole. Unfortunately for Chris I don’t think Mario Sperry was impressed with his technique that night when they met in the finals…
This upcoming fight I am really hoping that Elvis comes in with a new skill set and intensity,otherwise this fight could be difficult for him.I am sure his work with Ray Elbe at Tiger Muay Thai,has helped him tighten his stand up game.
I have to say as far as my business mind goes,I am rooting for Elvis because I want to see an Aussie fighter thats sponsored by an Aussie Brand-LOJAK- get their hand raised in victory in the UFC on Australian Soil.
What can we expect from http://www.sinisterstore.com.au in 2010?
You can see us backing more guys,you will see more of our fighters getting mainstream media attention. Expect to see Mackenzie Taylor get a major international publicity push with HITMAN in America.
We’ll be backing the team at RIZE for all their upcoming events in ‘10,and we are beginning to stock our gear in some decent retailers across the country in the coming months.
I want to see grassroots guys like infinitemma get better and better and at the same time help make life a little more difficult those out there who are just out to make a fast buck out of the rising popularity of MMA.
We are working closely with MMA Sports magazine to introduce some end of year awards to fighters,promoters and other aspects of the sport in Australasia.
Another thing that is a possibility for us in 2010 is our involvement in the assembly of a key group of people in the Australasian MMA scene to form an Association whereby we have access to each others resources in order to help the sport progress and promote co operation between companies,promoters,gyms etc.
There are so many new MMA Brands appearing these days with the rise in popularity of MMA, Why did you chose the brands like Hitman, Hyabusa, Pimpit and the rest?
When we first started the company I wanted to stock every MMA brand on the market,I soon realised that I was spreading myself too thin,also some brands are really difficult to deal with,you would be surprised how disorganized some of the major MMA labels really are-which is why they aren’t available in Australia.
I now try to focus on two or three brands that are easy to work with,want to support the Australian scene and most of all,are high quality products.
HITMAN has been great,they are a major U.S. label and they have been more than happy to sponsor Aussie fighters.
PIMPIT is another brand that I am really happy with.These guys were the original guys to back STRIKEFORCE and BULLY BEATDOWN amongst other things.
They have good quality well priced gear and they are a pleasure to work with+ they are Ross The Bandit Dallow’s major international sponsor.
HYABUSA is a brand I’ve been chasing for some time now.I’ve wanted to stock actual fightgear but I didn’t want to sell that shoddy crap thats coming out of Pakistan and flooding the market.HYABUSA is top shelf fight equipment,their gloves are superb and their fightshorts are quite frankly the best on the market alongside HITMAN ALLSTAR fightshorts. With HYABUSA you definitely get what you pay for,I am so impressed with the brand that the first shipment I got I didn’t sell,I sent it straight out to my fighters and my friends so they could see how much better this stuff compared to anything on the market today
visit http://www.sinisterstore.com.au to find more about Paul and check out there products