About Tap is Tap

“Tap is Tap is the dream of three young people with different backgrounds and personalities, united by difficulties and confrontations. Brothers are those who share the darkest hours and force us to look where we’d rather remain blind.

The only battle is within our own personal conflict, and the hardest decision is to give up what we can have in favor of choosing who we can be. Stoicism gave us what we need to
continue, the inner victory that precedes defining our limits. It’s hard to kill the parts of you that deserve to die, even harder to recognize it.

Don’t think of this as armor; it’s a symbol of your ability to arm your principles against the world. For us, it’s about finding our place, achieving our ambitions, and honoring our responsibilities. It’s gratitude for your help and contribution to your fight.”

Our Name

For us, “tapping out” is never an excuse, it’s an act of honesty. Honesty is the ultimate mastery of oneself. A recognition of our limits and an opportunity to grow.

That’s where our name comes from: Tap is Tap. No excuses. Within ranked sports people tend to be assigned a value based on rank, a rank which they also hope to do all the heavy lifting for their personhood. The chase of rank becomes greater than the chase of true improvement. With losses to lesser ranks being undermined by one retort or other caused by Ego.

We believe apparel should represent more than just style, it should tell a story. It’s an extension of your pursuit, inner more than outer. We create for those who want their gear to carry intention, for people who see training as a way to shape character.

Our philosophy

Each product is precisely based on the different aspects of our philosophy. It is fundamentally who we are:

From Ludus, we remind ourselves that rank is not the measure of a person. The colors on your back are not shields. True merit comes from confronting your inner opponent, not clinging to outer recognition.

With Memento Mori, we face the endpoint of all things, forcing ourselves to define what comes before. It’s a call to embrace change before time extinguishes the fire, to act now rather than wait for readiness that never arrives.

Through Amor Fati, we make peace with what has happened, meeting our troubles with gratitude. The past has no claim over the man willing to reinvent himself. Our flaws are not burdens but preludes of our best selves.

Tempus Fugit is our acceptance that all fades. Time is the only coin you can spend, so spend it fully, with urgency and freedom, living each dawn and sunset without regret.

And Marcus Aurelius: a reminder that even the most powerful man in the world wrestled with getting out of bed and finding mindfulness in the human experience. Through the test, we hope to ensure that we meet people on the same path.

At our core it all connects to:
– Introspection: Looking within the spots of your mind where you wish to remain blind.
– Mastering Yourself: The discipline to control what you can.
– Stoicism: Meeting life’s challenges with humility and recognizing the limits and responsibilities of your role.
– Community: Leaning on each other while walking our individual paths.
– Challenge: Seeking growth through trial.

The start

We couldn’t be anymore different, despite finding common ground where it matters:

– Fabio @effesabatino – The ambitious and nonconformist trailblazer. Uncompromising in all ways. Main creative heart and mind behind the designs, founding of our brand identity, and long term aims. Always open to change and the instigator of evolution by virtue of identifying the opportunities in every hurdle.

– Adri @adria_bjj – The force forward, strength and commitment grounding all otherwise impossible accomplishments. Charismatic and ever honest, our fiercest fighter, social relations, and troublemaker has ensured that we continue living what we preach – be it through encouragement or confrontation. Has been capable of adapting to every context and found common ground with the most unlikely people by always finding admiration and understanding of the person at the other side.

– Sevak @sevak_0797 – The tactician scanning the horizon for risks and reading between the lines for hidden possibilities. In charge of all legal and corporate affairs, the pragmatic mind in the room seeking to place ideas in a larger context, taking the burden of worry so the rest can dare.

However, none of us would have achieved anything without our extended family and the real heroes behind the project to whom we owe every single inch of our humble journey.

Lautaro Teneb – @lautaroteneb – An honorable man inside and outside the mats. He believed in us before anyone else and empathized with our underdog story. Pursuing to make a name for himself he has already become a great influence worth admiring, learning from everyone he can and growing in merits through a community that will empower the fulfillment of his potential. A community that we are humbled to be a part of, witnessing first hand each of his steps towards glory.

Roger Domínguez – @rogerdominguezjj – The most incredible grappler we’ve had the pleasure to be humbled by. A master who never stopped being a student, now the leader and teacher of his own academy.

Robert Rodriguez – @robert_arkhe – The best teacher a grappler could wish for. Ever so enthusiastic, humane, cheerful and wise. The friendliest and kindest man who could kill you.

Sparta – @spartabcn – Perhaps one of the best schools in all of our region, here is where all three of us met and our journey started thanks to the teaching we still hold dear by Juan José Albuixech, César Córdoba, and especially David Abellán to whom we’ll always be grateful for all he taught and gave us.

Rachid – The programmer behind this great website. An incredibly smart man shaped in large degree by struggles he brought upon himself in ambition for a better life. Always wise enough to shed previous ways in favor of a better path, this ability has made him an empathetic, problem-solving, and reliable friend.

Omar – @antifragilpodcast – One of our mentors, a man of great renown who understands the importance of struggle who has been capable of basing the entirety of his life on his sheer principles. His influence at a time when we had nothing reminded us of our potential and gave us the necessary insight into human will.

Oriol – @tribaluri – A man defined by his willingness to struggle without excuses and an example of strength and progress from any point and at any cost.

Jenny – @artcornerbyjen – The creative behind our beautiful logo, an underappreciated and talented artist.

Sheldon – @sheldon.in – Photographer and videographer, responsible for valuable and artistic perspective without which we couldn’t even have gotten started. His talents, much above our capabilities in the earlier days, were not fully allowed to shine due to the limits we posed as a startup.

Martin – @martinfighter_trainer – A competitive and fearsome fighter with whom we’ve shared some of the roughest training sessions known to man. Due to his vast experience both on a national and international level, he is now sharing his knowledge to a new generation of fighters, preparing them with the advantages he did not get the privilege of having in his earlier days.

Iker – .iker. – An admirable young man, honorable and reliable beyond his youth, this up-and-comer has coincided with us in origin but risen much above most of his peers seeking ever greater challenges. Promising to be the champion of the new generation of fighters.

Yonny – – xjuniorr_13 – The strongest monster in every room he’s in, having mastered the true strength of responsibility. He has made sure to be a positive influence and lighten the burden of everyone around him, a man who lives by the idea of brotherhood.

Pol – polhidalgo_bjj – Someone who, in the unfortunately short and recent time we’ve known him, has shown a willingness to help that is far too rare. He has put aside his own time in order to give part of himself to this project, and in these short but meaningful moments we’ve discovered we have much in common. Soon he will start a new chapter in his own path, which will retroactively make the little time spent with him even more so meaningful. We wish he finds what he seeks and encourage him to spread his wings despite the pain of goodbye.

Chris – An endlessly charismatic fighter who has always been available, finding a way to levity and humour in every situation. Capable of finding in himself endless strength, and the wisdom to use it to learn and adapt.

Dani – @kodojoclub – A friend and teacher in his own right. He hopes to share evermore forgotten principles to guide newcomers while still being on his own path of mastery.

Sergi – A man of indescribable strength and goodness of character who got into this sport out of the pure willingness to assist the dreams of one of the members of the founding team.

Julian – A savvy and ever calculating man, great friend of the team who provided a helping hand in matters related to international banking, who also fell in love with the sport through our community.

And last but not least,

You – who gave us a chance. If you’re open to it, reach out. We would always love to meet up and train together. This dream is important to us and we believe it is our way to fulfilling personal responsibilities through a project that contributes to others and connects us with more people.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us to get where we are now.