James Krause: The Business of Martial Arts

| February 7, 2017 | 0 Comentarios/ Comments

“Once you’re your self and you’re truly committed to being yourself and your own creative mind, nobody else can be you. You’re the only you.”

James Krause (23-7) has consistently proven himself to be one of the smartest, shrewdest and most stoic members of the entire UFC roster since joining the company in June 2013 with a third-round Guillotine Submission of the Night / Fight of the Night victory over Sam Stout at UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson.

After initially gaining national recognition as a member of The Ultimate Fighter 15 in March 2012, the Odessa, Missouri native arrived at the TUF house with an amateur record of 18-1 and a professional record of 15-4 — including back-to-back 2009 losses to then-WEC competitors Donald Cerrone and Ricardo Lamas.

One of thirty-two fighters chosen to compete for an official spot on TUF 15, Krause was upset by former Resurrection Fighting Alliance Featherweight Champion Justin Lawrence via first-round TKO; Krause racked up four consecutive victories before getting his in-cage pleas answered by the UFC.

In total, Krause is currently 4-3 in the UFC. Yet, Krause has his focus not on a path to the Lightweight Championship belt but on a personal journey aimed at financial freedom and brand awareness. Dynamic and determined, the altruistic Krause is

Amongst the varied trades and talents Krause is involved in, he most recently coached longtime student Tim Elliott in the biggest fight of his career: the UFC Flyweight Championship against pound-for-pound great Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Elliott gave Johnson the toughest fight of the UFC Champion’s career before ultimately losing a Unanimous Decision—all the while with Coach Krause in his corner.

A dedicated father, husband, businessman, coach and competitor, Krause is an invaluable resource to all former and current professional athletes as well as those with an entrepreneurial mind and spirit. In between coaching duties and the responsibilities of fatherhood, Krause took the time to speak in equal parts about business and martial arts.

ON EMOTIONLESS APPROACH TO MMA AND BUSINESS

I’ve done a lot of research and personal development in psychology and business, so I kind of understand how the mind works. I’m very good at reading people and reading people’s body language; I look at that stuff very closely. I’m a firm believer in hire slow, fire fast. And the longer I’ve been doing this, the better I get at it.

I wouldn’t say ‘emotionless’ is a good answer for it, although I’ve probably used that terminology before. I just had to recently fire one of my best friends. I’m not mad at that person — he’s still one of my very, very close friends; he was the Best Man in my wedding. Whenever you’re not parallel with the task at hand or the goal at hand, it’s a waste of not just my time but a waste of his time, too. And I’m doing him an injustice by letting him go through the motions.

Some people aren’t capable of making the decisions that take them outside of their comfort zone; I am not one of those people.

By letting my friend go, I did him a service and did him a favor. Looking back on it, I think he’ll see the same now. At the time, he wasn’t very happy with me, but that’s OK. Like I said, whenever you’re not parallel with the end-goal or on-board with an idea or a thought, it’s just not worth wasting other people’s time or your own time.

That’s the philosophy I approach it by.

I have a goal and I have a vision where I want my facility and I want my businesses to ran like, and I just refuse to settle for anything less.

We’re about to go through our 2017 goal meetings with my companies — I have two Metro PCS stores and the gym and couple other things I help consult in — and the message I want to send in 2017 is “quality of product”, along with measurable metrics that say whether we’re winning or losing. Especially at my gym facility, it’s quality of product.

What makes my gym different than most other gyms is the quality of instruction, the quality of product, the quality of atmosphere, the quality of energy, the quality of facility. We want to really set ourself apart from everybody else, even more so now.

I think it’s just having similar goals, having parallel goals; everybody aligned to one vision, to one idea, to one goal. And that will create an environment and atmosphere that’s conducive to success.

ON BUSINESS APPROACH TO UFC

I appreciate what the UFC has to offer and I feel like I should put an asterisk on every time I say this, but the UFC has offered me a catapult of financial freedom that I’ve never had before. It’s given me the ability to invest in other people, invest in myself and really set a life of comfort — not from the UFC money, but it’s given me the opportunity to be able to invest in other things and really get outside the box in terms of financial freedom.

I’ve been in this game for a long time and people have to understand: this is not the fight game. This is two things: the sports entertainment game and we are assets.

I don’t mean that in a derogatory way — it’s just is what it is. The UFC is a business, and at the end of the day, the business needs to make money. It is a profit center — that’s what a business is; it’s a profit center. Now, money is a result of a good product; we are the product. I get that.

But whenever you have a name like the UFC — whenever they’ve done such a phenomenal job of branding — they can replace Conor McGregor or replace Ronda Rousey with anybody. They can easily make me on the hype train, give me favorable matchups and do all that stuff. They can make whoever they want a superstar. They’re doing it with Sage Northcutt now. I don’t want to say he sucks, but he is no Conor McGregor, he’s no Jose Aldo; he’s none of those guys. He’s not even close. But they were putting the marketing machine behind him and that’s OK; they are the geniuses of that.

I think — I know — I’m an expendable asset. I know what I’m getting out of this, and I don’t hold a grudge against them. If it doesn’t benefit me, I really don’t do anything for them.

I’m the first one to tell you: I’m a big believer in Jay Z’s words: “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business man.” The expendable assets are the business, and the fighters have got to start treating themselves as such. It’s not the UFC’s job to promote them. It’s beneficial for the UFC to do so — on their terms, though. Fighters have got to start looking at themselves as a business, and the UFC as a business.

But the fighters have to take some responsibility in this. They expect the UFC and other promotions to do everything for them — that’s just not how it works, man. These guys are fucking lazy. They’re lazy and they’re not entrepreneurs. It is what it is. The guys that get it, you see it. They get it, they make money and it’s OK.

I’ve never felt secure with my job, so my goal is not dedication to the UFC. If I wanted to become a world champion, I think I could become that. I don’t want to be a world champion. I have no desire to have the UFC title. I wish I was lying, but I’m not. My desire is to make enough money to build a brand within myself and use that to catapult to other industries.

For sure there’s ways to make money in the UFC, but that’s just not the path that I’ve chosen. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think I’m doing great on the outside: I live in a very good-sized home, I drive a Mercedes, I have steady income; I don’t have to fight to keep my lights on. I hear these horror stories from some of these other fighters and it makes me sad to hear that some of these guys… it’s just a bad deal. I don’t ever want to be in that position.

I grew up super-poor. I have a little girl, and I don’t ever want my little girl to grow up like I did. I don’t want my wife to have to price tag shop. My life goal is to be able to do what I want when I want to do it without having to check my bank account. That’s my life goal.

ON FINANCIAL LIFESPAN OF PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES

Some of these guys don’t get it. They will one day; they’ll look back on the mistakes that they made. But man… Professional athletes — any of them, football, basketball, baseball, soccer — they only last so long. You have to invest in yourself and invest in your future — whatever that looks like. You can’t eat your money. You can’t waste your money on whatever. I drive 2012 Mercedes Benz: it’s paid off. I paid cash for it. I don’t believe in car payments.

You have to be smart with your money. I think a financial investor would be such a smart move that would pay some of these guys tenfold if they just invested a little bit of money in a financial planner or a financial investor.

I’m a big believer in visualizing what you want, but I feel like you also have to live within your means. Like: could I go afford to buy a $100,000 G-Class Mercedes that I want right now? Absolutely I could. I would have a hefty car payment and quite a lot of money for a down payment. But I’m choosing to save my cash and buy a new building for my gym so I don’t have to pay a landlord rent anymore.

It’s just like you’re on a diet. It doesn’t take rocket scientists to figure out: if I need to lose weight and I have a cheeseburger and a grilled chicken in front of me — which one are you going to eat? It’s the same thing. They’re just not very smart about it.

I feel like it’s going to be very difficult for me to lose myself, because I’m around the same people every day. I work with my best friends. I’m at the gym all day — all day, every day. Eight-to-eight is my hours, pretty much.

ON INTELLIGENCE

I think a lot of fight IQ and composure comes with experience. My next fight will be my 50th fight ever, between amateur and pro. So I’ve been in there quite a bit; I’ve trained with some of the best guys in the world and I know I can beat anybody on any given day. That’s just confidence in myself and experience. I don’t think it’s any secret. It’s just mat-time and maybe a little bit of mental toughness.

I’ve been put through the ringer: I’ve fought some of the best guys in the world, I’ve always been competitive and I don’t think I’ve ever been shut out by anybody.

I know what I’m capable of and I think it’s just experience, composure, mat-time, confidence.

ON CONFIDENCE

It’s played a massive role in my life. I haven’t always been that way. It’s taken a lot of work and a lot of dedicated time to that. I don’t really do things that I’m not good at. I have a very addictive personality, so whenever I decide to commit to something, I obsess over it and I completely immerse myself within that discipline or topic or whatever.

I want to become the best at it, and that’s just how I’ve always been. If I want to be good at fighting, I just obsess over it until I reach my goals.

I’ve always been that way with anything. Everything I do, I want to be the best at it and if I’m not the best at it or if I don’t want to dedicate the time to it, I don’t do it.

ON INDIVIDUALITY

The only problem I have with people idolizing others is they become followers. I don’t idolize any one specific person; I idolize ideas and I idolize specific instances. What I mean by that is I really promote self-individuality and creativity. I think the reason I do that is because one of the things that makes Tim (Elliot) and many other people from my team unique is just that — they’re unique.

Once you become your self and your style and your ideas and put all that into a bowl… Once you make that recipe, nobody else knows that recipe. Once you’re your self and you’re truly committed to being your self and your own creative mind, nobody else can be you. You’re the only you.

Once you have your own set list, once you make your own move list, once you make your own creative mind, your own mindset and you’ve perfected that — nobody else can match that. Nobody else can mimic it. There’ll be individuals that are similar, but I think the problem is people try to match what other successful people are doing.

If you look at guys like Conor (McGregor): he’s not doing what anybody else is doing. He’s doing different stuff, so now people are trying to be like him. Well, why the hell do you want to be like him? You’re only going to be second-best. I just don’t understand it.

People are quick to jump on the success bandwagon, and success doesn’t come overnight. Success is years of obsession and hard work. They try to be other people; if you’re trying to be other people, you’ll only be second-best. You’ll never be first-place. Ever.

I used to try to be like other people. And I think it’s great to ‘steal’ from others, but I think that if you are you, nobody else can be you. Why the hell would you want to be like somebody else? I don’t get it; I just don’t understand it.

ON TIM ELLIOTT

I think it’s OK to have different ideas and different beliefs, and I think that’s what makes Tim a world champion: he’s different.

He’s Tim. He’s so different, and he’s a creative genius when he fights. You can’t train for him; there’s only one Tim Elliot. The closest thing you can get is Dominic Cruz and it’s not the same thing; it’s not the same product.

It’s different movements, it’s a different mindset. You just can’t ‘get’ it — so how are you going to train for him? How are you going to bring in a training partner for him? How are you going to mimic him? You can’t. It’s impossible.

We don’t fight Demetrious Johnson’s — we fight the physical being in front of us.

We look at things un-objectively and we don’t really focus on who he’s beat and what he’s done, because it doesn’t really matter who he’s beat — he hasn’t faced the current Tim Elliot. Even if he goes back now, Tim’s better now; that fight’s going to be different again. I’m not saying Tim’s going to win, I’m not saying Tim’s going to lose if they ever fought again. But I can guarantee this: he’s not going to fight the same Tim again. It’s going to be different, and that’s the difference: we don’t really worry about names.

When I watch film, it’s Fighter A versus Fighter B to me. How does my fighter — Fighter A — overcome Fighter B’s strengths and weaknesses? Just like in business — it’s the same thing. It’s common sense, really, if you break it down and look at it from that perspective. I can guarantee you that the New England Patriots aren’t working on how to beat the Kansas City Chiefs —they’re worried about how to beat the I-Form or whatever formation. They’re not looking at names, they’re looking at what that name is doing.

That’s how you treat business: you treat it un-objectively. You treat it intelligently and you approach it from that standpoint.

ON MARTIAL ARTS LIFESTYLE

I obsess over it. It is my life. I’m on the mat twice a day six days a week and when I’m not on the mat, I’m either studying film for other people or I’m deeply immersed within the MMA business. My whole life revolves around MMA; it’s everything to me.

When I go home, I watch film. My family watches it together; we go to watch parties. I’m a combat sports fan — I’m not (just) an MMA fan. I watch all the GLORY kickboxing, I watch all the EBI’s (Eddie Bravo Invitational), I love boxing.

I break this sport down into individual disciplines and I really appreciate each one for it’s truest form.

ON COACHING

I think experience is a lot. I’ve probably cornered over a thousand fights. I’ve been in this game for ten years, and being there for a while I’ve probably cornered and coached every single weekend. I coach every day, sometimes twice a day. I train myself every day, twice a day sometimes.

I immerse myself within the MMA game — on the business-side, on the physical-side, on the coaching-side.

I understand every aspect of the game, so I think I have a different view. I understand it from all perspectives; I understand it from all facets of the game.

ON BALANCE

I hear a lot of fighters say, “This is Plan A for me; why focus on Plan B?” For me, this has always been Plan A. I’ve always wanted to own my business — my own gym — and fight. This has always been Plan A for me.

When these other guys go home and rest after practice, I do business; I work. And I don’t know what it’s like to not do that.

I don’t know what it’s like to go home and rest and take naps; I don’t do that. Even if I sold my gym today, I wouldn’t go home and take naps. I would just rather be more productive with my time. I don’t have a desire to do that.

When I think of my goals and my vision, that’s not parallel with what I want to accomplish. You can’t look at me and say, “I want to be famous; I want to be a millionaire and I want to live the Conor McGregor life” — because I’m assuming that’s what most fighters want — and then tell me, “Hey, I’m going home to take a nap now.” They’re completely conflicting ideas.

ON DEDICATION

I think once I’m done fighting, my business will pick up — and I’m OK with that. The gym is doing fine. Without sounding like an arrogant asshole, I’m just better at it than most people. The thing is: I’ve been in this game for ten years and I’ve been in the business game for five years. But within the ten years and five years, it’s not a true testament to what it looks like. Because I don’t take breaks; I don’t take time off. I work twelve hours-plus a day and these other guys take naps.

So if you put our time together — if you take a guy that’s been doing this for twenty year and he’s probably taken a year off here, six months off there, maybe he doesn’t train that much — if you look at time on the mat? I bet I’m right there with somebody that’s been doing this for twenty years or more. If you put my business of five years in there, I bet I’m probably at twenty years, as well.

I obsess over this, man. It’s my life.

If you take away MMA, there’s family — and that’s it. I don’t do anything else. My family and some form of MMA — whether it be business, physical, psychological — that’s it. That’s all I have; all I want.

I don’t do anything else; I don’t want to do anything else. This is it.

ON INITIAL ATTRACTION TO MARTIAL ARTS

I fell in love with it. It’s something that I enjoy doing every day and I don’t feel like I go to work ever. I just showed up one day; I just started it because I thought it was cool. But I stayed in it because I fell in love with it and I didn’t ever want to leave.

I didn’t want to go to school because of it; I didn’t want to go on dates because of it. I didn’t want to do anything because of it. I wanted to be in the gym all day, every day and get better. That’s what I wanted to do.

I still feel that way to this day. So I just made it my job. I get paid to do what I love.

ON COLLEGE vs. EXPERIENCE

College is the most overrated thing I’ve ever done in my life. College is a business. I think it’s a sham. There’s no replacement for experience. How do fighters get better? You’ve got to be on the mat. How do you master your craft? If you follow me on Facebook or anything like that, I’m always saying, “Master your craft.”

How do you master your craft? You do the craft.

That’s how you master it. You don’t master it by going to school and taking prerequisites and all this bullshit. I’ve done that; that shit’s garbage. I was a Business major — I’m five credits shy of a degree. And it didn’t do me anything except cost my Dad a bunch of money. I dropped out of school because it was stupid. A waste of my time, a waste of his money. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

c/o Bravo Photography

I’m not saying that it’s dumb for everybody, because there’s certain occupations that have to have it. My wife is a nurse — you obviously cannot become a nurse without having some type of formal education. But it’s a sham; it’s a business.

It really is a scam — I think. It is not for me, in no way, shape or form. I mean this: you cannot pay me to go back to school. I get that all the time: “Why don’t you go back to school?” Absolutely not. I have a friend that’s a doctor. Turned fifty-three and just paid off all his loans this year. It’s just not for me.

I shouldn’t say it’s a scam. It’s a scam for me. I’m not made to work for other people or other companies. I’m not built… I’m not a follower. I’m a leader and I’m an innovator and I’m not wired to work for other people. I am not a good employee. I’ll be the first one to tell you: I am not a good employee.

It pisses me off that high school and elementary school: they create followers. They do. They create followers and in no way, shape or form do they create leaders. It’s a sad deal.

You have to have an open mind. You have to be a little weird. You have to trust yourself and you have to have a different mindset.

For me, every time somebody tells me that I shouldn’t do something or, “I don’t understand why you’re doing this” or “That doesn’t make sense to me” or, “This is risky.” When I hear that stuff — from my my family especially? And my family’s super-successful, but when they say, “Are you sure you want to do that?” In my head, it’s a lightbulb saying, “Yes. I’m on the right path.”

Because they don’t understand it, and that’s OK. Everybody’s path is not the same, and they all make great money. My Dad is a President for a multi-million dollar pipeline company; my Aunt is a partner and lead accountant for Price Waterhouse Cooper; my other Aunt is an architect for the Navy — they make great money. But they are all employees. And there’s nothing wrong with that. All three of them make way more money than I make. But I’ll tell you what: it’s not going to end like that.

I don’t have to go work for somebody every day. I have personal freedom: if I say, “Hey, I want to go to Mexico tomorrow” then I’m going to go to Mexico tomorrow. I don’t have to answer to anybody and that’s the way I love it. But when they start telling me that I need to start worrying about that stuff, to me that is great; I love that stuff. Because they don’t understand me and they don’t understand my thought-process and that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with that.

I think it’s great to have employees; I have some of the best employees. And there’s nothing wrong with being an employee — I want to make that very clear. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. There’s some fantastic…

I have one of the best employees that I’ve ever ran across, and I’m grooming him to become a boss and a leader. And will he get there one day. I wasn’t a leader at one point, as well. That’s OK. It’s a personal choice you have to make.

Once again: if you want to be a leader — just like if I want to be good at MMA — I train it. I obsess over it. It’s all the same thing.

You could do anything that you want to do. I get people coming up to me all the time, “Man, you think I can make it fighting?” I’m like, “Bro, you’re asking the wrong person.” They’re like, “What do you mean?” I say, “Dude, I wasn’t good. I’m not strong, I’m not naturally gifted, I had to work four times as hard as other people. But if you want to do something bad enough, you’ll find a way to do it.”

If you obsess over it, if you immerse your life into it, you will find a way. And that’s just how it is. “But you really think I could make it?” Like “Dude, I don’t think you’re going to get the answer you’re looking for.” You’re never going to get me to say, “Yes, I think you can.”

You can do whatever you want to do — just do it. Quit talking about; you’re wasting time talking about it and asking me. Go do it; don’t listen to me. What the fuck does my opinion matter? Go do what you want to do.

Interview conducted December 2016

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