Elgin sisters create own clothing brand 'Grounded Fightwear'
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TWO sisters from Elgin have created their own clothing brand and have already made their first significant sale thanks to the support of a local business.
Izzy and Niamh Evans, who are just 10 and 12 years old respectively, have created 'Grounded Fightwear', a clothing brand which focuses on combat sports.
The pair have trained in jiu jitsu, wrestling and MMA at SBG Moray in Elgin for the better part of six years.
However, at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the sisters were forced to put their training on hold.
With a lot of spare time on their hands, the duo decided to create their own clothing brand to keep themselves busy and the venture has grown steadily ever since.
"They watched the Karate Kid when they were quite young and they decided they wanted to give something like that a try," Rob Evans, Izzy and Niamh's dad, said.
"They've now been going for the past six years and they absolutely love it.
"They obviously couldn't train during lockdown but they decided they really wanted to set up their own clothing brand.
"Myself and their mum said that we would give them a hand and that's essentially how Grounded Fightwear came about.
"They've been plugging away at it for the last two years."
So far, the pair have created jiu jitsu training uniforms, rash guards, shorts, t-shirts, jumpers and water bottles.
And they have already received the support of a local business with Lima Auto Body Shop in Elgin purchasing some of the brand's rash guards.
The business's owner Miguel Lima, who has previously trained at SBG Moray, bought 45 of the rash guards to donate back to every child at the gym.
"Miguel basically approached us and said that he liked what the girls were doing and would like to buy some of the rash guards," Rob said.
"That's a really generous thing for him to do and it really gives them encouragement."
Rob jokes that the venture isn't "going to pay any bills any time soon" but says that the main thing is that the pair are enjoying it.
"At the moment it's all about the enjoyment," he added.
"I'm really proud of them though. They just want to develop it as much as they can.
"It's obviously very early days for them because they're still so young but if they keep at it, who knows where it could be in 10 years or so."
