TAPOUT IS LEFT IN GOOD HANDSBy T. Jay Thompson
I thought I would let you know a little more about the least recognized TAPOUT personality. Marc Kreiner (President of TAPOUT) has been a friend and mentor for almost 20 years. I met him on the beach in Hawaii through a mutual friend weeks after he sold a cellular phone rental company for millions. I was 28 years old with long hair and "between jobs." I flew to Hawaii with $100 in my pocket to sleep on a friends couch and figure out my next move. I had no direction.
Marc flew to Hawaii on his private jet and was staying at a beach front suite at the Royal Hawaiian. The hotel employees clearly gave him special treatment even storing his 8 personal custom beach chairs at the hotel and setting them up every morning rain or shine. It just seemed like he was always smiling and having a good time. But I also had never seen someone work..or network as hard as he did. His phone was constantly ringing and what a diverse network he had....Stephen Spielberg would call, then a female 'entertainer' from a club in Miami. Next a CEO of fortune 500 company..then a homeless guy he sponsored in a 12 step program he was involved in.
Oh ya..the 12 step program. Lets go back a few years. Its 1978 and Marc is a 22 year old kid with a shared bedroom with his sister, a $25 per night job as a DJ at a nightclub in LA and penchant for telling 'stories'. He would tell the pretty girls at the club he was a record producer. Well one night someone believed him and he was offered the rights to a disco group for $6000. He accepted..proceeded to beg borrow and literally steal to come up with the money. This unknown group was name CHIC and 6 week later released 'Dance, Dance, Dance'...and then 'Le Freak'. 3 month after signing this band Marc was a multi millionaire living in a mansion on the beach in Malibu. Its the late 70's, cocaine is "not addictive" and he's single and on the cover of People magazine. You do the math.
Between 1980 and when I met him, he started and ran 5 or 6 other successful ventures and had an eye for talent. He must have seen something in me that I didn't. He convinced Shared Technology Cellular, the company he had just bought his company to open a branch in Hawaii that I could run. I spent the next 18 months running that branch into the ground. But while I was doing that I started a little MMA promotion called Super Brawl. Thanks Marc.
A couple years into my promoter career I met two guys that started a t-shirt company. One was Dan the other Charles. They had so much energy and I promise you they believed in my little Super Brawl company before I did. Although they couldn't do much about it because they were barely surviving. They came to one of my shows to sell shirts but were running so low on funds I paid for their hotel room. I never charged them to sell at my shows....and never will. I grew to be friends with them both and will forever miss Charles.
For the next 5+ years I tried getting Marc Kreiner to meet these crazy TAPOUT guys. I told Marc I thought they had a 'million dollar brand' but just lacked direction. I underestimated by about $499 million. I was finally able to put these guys together and its been amazing watching the ride they have been on. The team of characters fit together well and Marc brought the company to a whole new level.
While the TAPOUT crew is out busting their butts around the world Marc has a phone attached to his ear talking to CEO's, and homeless guys he is still sponsoring in that 12 step program. Just no 'entertainers' from Miami anymore. He is happily married with children.
Once again, thank you Marc for all you've done for me and the MMA community.
T. Jay Thompson is the veteran promoter behind Hawaiian MMA events Super Brawl and, later, ICON Sport, in addition to serving as a consultant for ProElite, Inc. On Saturday, Thompson will put up his tent again for Kingdom MMA, featuring a headlining bout between former ICON champions Kala Kolohe Hose and Jason "Mayhem" Miller at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.
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