About us

About Jay

 From a lower middle-class family, born and raised in North Wales and Manchester in a family of professional/prize fighters, I naturally learnt to fight early in life and spent my youth in boxing clubs and gyms of all descriptions. 

 

After leaving school at 16, I joined the military in late 1998 as trade work was slim in the area. 

 

My military career has seen me in multiple operational theatres over the years and on training in training exercises all over the world. 

 

After now serving for twenty-two years, I am aiming to retire after twenty-five years of service.

 

Married with four children and moving to Somerset from a military posting to Germany since 2014, it’s time for a new journey.

 

Having boxed my entire life and switching over to MMA in 2011. I then trained in Luta Livre and Catch Wrestling for six months and went into the European PRO circuit with no fights under my belt. Fighting several times over three years and lost once.

 

After moving to Somerset, I began to train exclusively in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that has been my passion to this day. 

 

A lifetime of combat sports coupled with over 2 decades in the forces has obviously taken its toll on my body, so BJJ is no longer something I'm driven to compete at the top levels with.  To me, it's now a tool to better my life, my mental state and I now enjoy coaching aspects and benefits rather than the spoils of competitive combat.  

 

About Matty

 

Born and raised in the small Somerset town of Glastonbury, I have travelled with my work for all of my working life. 

Being born and bred in Glastonbury I have very strong solid routes to my town and with this I am a co owner of two successful businesses that service customers nationally. These businesses thrive because of our loyalty to clients and our honest approach to not only customers, but also our suppliers. 

Married with two children, and a beautiful dog… plus four chickens, I really am lucky. Since welcoming my two beautiful children into the world, my wife and I bought a campervan so we could start exploring as a family and making memories that will last a lifetime. I have always been the adventurous type, as well as mma and Bjj, I love cars, motorbikes and mountain bikes. I have travelled to various places around the world with work as well as on the bikes. Any blokes dream. Right? But everyone needs their own time too. That’s why I took up MMA and BJJ.

 

MMA for me was something that started as a hobby and grew into a strong passion. I fractured my back in a car crash in 2012, and it was the main reason I wanted to get back to full fitness. mma/bjj helped me regain my strength and confidence after what can only be described as a horrific experience. This is when I started to comprehend the benefits of martial arts. I have been training Bjj solely since 2015 and compete as much as I can. My main passion is Jiu jitsu. I train as much as life will allow and I am proud of my Purple belt under Richard Weatherall. 

 

Inner Chimp

 

Some years after my last tour of Afghanistan, I needed to prioritise my mental health. I needed to find my normal again. – An on-going battle most service personnel have to deal with. I was recommended to read the book called the Chimp Paradox. 

 

The Chimp Paradox explains that there are parts of the brain that are still very much primal, these parts of our brain will compete and overrule the evolved side of the brain, if allowed to. The book gives the reader methods of controlling their ‘inner chimp’. 

 

This applies to all fighters, of all disciplines and I believe it’s the perfect name for fight-wear products. 

When we compete, we must all tame that inner chimp, but more importantly we have to know when to let it take over while still keeping control. 

 

Inner Chimp is a brand name that really speaks to fighters and one, we believe you can relate to on a personal level. Inner Chimp is simple and catchy, and with small tweaks can be your general gym wear and casual wear for men, women and children. 

 

Having trained with Matty for years, I approached him about the idea of Inner Chimp as I know he is someone who is driven, hardworking and shares the same interests as me. 

 

After our conversation, Matty gave Inner Chimp the drive and direction it needed to become a reality.

 

Ethics 

 

For both Matty and I, it’s important that Inner Chimp is ethically produced, and we have turned down cheaper production overseas to ensure this.

 

Understanding that we only have one earth, which we need to look after is at the forefront of our production decisions and we want you, our customers to have a sense of accomplishment in the knowing that you are doing your part when buying our products. 

 

Inner Chimp Tees are 100% organic cotton, our packaging - 80% recycled cardboard and all of our products are designed to last. Our production and manufacturing is in the UK, trying, and aiming to be as eco-friendly as possible, leaving a close to nothing global footprint. 

Passion for the sport, attention to detail and our planet have been, and always be at the forefront of Inner Chimp.