Monday, 28 April 2008
Fighters Only at Seni 2008 (behind the scenes and more!)
We're back from London after a very long weekend at Europe's biggest martial arts expo, and man what a weekend it was.
The FO StallIt was a big year for us at FO, as this marked the launch of the Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts awards. We've teamed up with The Sun, the UK's biggest newspaper, to give you a world's first for MMA. The awards, which will take place later in November in London, were a major talking point for fans and visitors to our stand.
The voting station, where people could register and cast their votes
The awards Speaking of visitors, we had plenty of them at our stand, with everyone from fans to fighters dropping by to say hello and pick up some of our brand new apparel or back issues of the magazine.
A few fans grabbing pics of The Machine
One of the lovely Sun girls who helped out all weekend
The Stall
'El hefe' Rob briefing the team (or is he engaging in some roleplay? "So pretend I’m a customer, what are you going to sell me?")Of course Seni isn't just about selling stuff. In our case, it's always a great chance to catch up with people from around the world. Networking is a huge part of Seni, and with everyone who's anyone making their way to the expo, by the end of the two day-show our hands were sore from all the handshakes.
Jim talking to a few readers who stopped by
Ian and 'Judo' Jim Wallhead joking about
Jeff Monson drops by to say hi to Ian
Cage Rage champ Robbie Olivier and trainer Nigel (on left)
When legends collide: Royce Gracie with FO's own Rosi Sexton
FO's MD Rob chats with Parhom from Grapplewear
It may be hard work but wherever the FO team go, we’re sure to have a laugh. Seni was no different, with plenty of jokes and messing about filling the few spare moments we had. Like they say, if you can't laugh you'll cry, and we're not big on shedding tears around here.
Jim shares a moment with a few readers
Too cool for school: Jack and Davey
"Where's Hywel got to?"
"So, what are you doing later?" says Arianny. "Sorry, I'm busy, another time maybe," says Hywel.
Davey scopes out an opportunity for a prank
Found one! Catching Jim unaware…
Fed up, Jack decides to tunnel to freedomThis was our third year at Seni 2008 and we've seen it grow each year, but not only that, we've seen it evolve from what was once predominantly a martial arts expo into a festival of all things combative. The ratio of traditional martial arts to modern forms of fighting has gotten to the point where a good third of the event or more in to do with either MMA, BJJ or Muay Thai / kickboxing.
There were dozens of stand and stalls to check out, with companies selling clothing, equipment, supplements, media and more. Spoiled for choice, sensible shoppers wisely did a few laps of the place before making their purchases, such was the amount of bargains and more to be had. We all went home with bags full of gear, very happy to get our hands on the latest bits of kit.
The FO Team(L-R, Editor Hywel, Sun girl Natalie, intern Jack, MD and publisher Rob, Sun Girl Lucy, business and development manager Davey with marketing manager Jim in front)
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hi, and even bigger thanks to all those who have supported the mag and made us what we are. You guys rock.
Until next time,
Train hard, fight easy…posted by Fighters Only Mag Editor at Monday, April 28, 2008 << Back To Main Page
0 Comments So Far:
Links to this post: