Inside ADCC 2026 Kraków: Meeting My Clients & The Finishers Family Face-to-Face
Category
Highlights
Read Time
3 Minutes
Reflecting on my trip to Kraków, Poland for ADCC 2026, stepping away from my normal design setup to hang with long-time clients, shoot media, and soak in the highest level of no-gi grappling in person.
Good design and marketing aren't just about sharp visuals on a screen. They come from actually understanding the culture, the athletes, and the community behind the brand.
For years, I’ve been running websites, graphics, and digital strategies for combat sports clients entirely remote. Heading to Kraków with the Finishers media crew for ADCC 2026 was my first chance to meet the crew in real life. Catching up with my longest client and supporter Zach Maslany, watching Jon Thor Blank hold his own against world-class opposition at Tauron Arena, and linking up with peers across the industry made the whole trip unforgettable. Between watching Pawel Jaworski capture the -88kg world title and running into legends like Eddie Bravo, it proved to me that the best brand identities are built on real-world trust and shared energy.
Working mat-side gave me a whole new perspective on how high-stakes events operate. Capturing real-time media and seeing how fans interact with event branding live on-site directly impacts how I build graphics and web systems back home.
When an event brand feels authentic on the ground, it naturally drives higher online engagement, ticket sales, and merchandise drops when translated to the web.
Being in that environment constantly fuels how I approach design for my clients. Whether I'm building custom Framer sites for martial arts gyms, setting up tournament registration workflows, or optimizing digital campaigns with localized SEO and search visibility, I aim to create fast, seamless experiences that actually match the intensity of the sport.
At the end of the day, strong web design and brand systems should connect with people on a personal level, no matter where they are in the world. Massive thanks to the Finishers media team for bringing me out for this trip. I'm hyped to take everything I experienced in Poland and apply it to upcoming BJJ projects, gym websites, and event branding setups.
