On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Matt Fiddes who owns the world’s biggest martial arts brand worth over £120 million, he was featured on Rich House Poor House and was Michael Jackson’s best friend for many years. He knows all about building a brand and shares his expertise on today’s podcast.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I think everybody who has built something that’s gone big had painful childhoods. Most of my entrepreneur friends were teased or bullied at school or had some kind of trigger point. For me bullying was the thing and not being good at school, being under-confident, wanting to achieve more and being told you’re no good at anything. The only thing I was good at in my head was martial arts. Even then I knew that was all I wanted to do somehow. I’m quite a strong believer in the law of attraction.
• Everything the school system teaches I provide within my martial arts school’s life skills programme: anti-bullying skills, stranger danger, fire safety, water safety, goal-setting, persistence, how to make money, what’s good or bad debt. That set me apart from everyone else and made me go on to build the world’s biggest brand in my sector. I focussed on putting an incredible service out there that no one else was doing.
• A brand is something that’s been around and is trusted, you put the name in Google and you’ve got pages and pages of proof going back years, that’s a brand. A person with a logo is someone who’s just put together a mastermind or knocked together a franchise and called themselves a brand, but if you put their name in Google there’s nothing there, there’s no social proof. The definition for me is that a brand is people who don’t want to mess around, who want to be in mainstream media (TV, radio, newspapers), because people will choose you over people that have no social proof. I’m not interested in personal brands, I think it’s a load of nonsense. Personal brand is for people who don’t know who to build a brand.
• I believe, to make a franchise, you’ve got to do things ethically. If your business is making money, you’ve got at least 3-5 years of profitable accounts, then it makes sense to take that business and do it over and over again. Where people go wrong in business is always looking for the next shiny object. Having a successful business, with proof of its success, makes it easier to sell as well.

BEST MOMENTS
‘I was bullied quite badly at school and if it wasn’t for the first one, Anthony, I wouldn’t be where I am now as it spurred me on to take up martial arts to defend myself. Anthony now is the Anti-Bullying Ambassador for my company.’
‘I collaborated with Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s older brother. We toured the UK, went to schools talking about our success and experience and the rough times we had as kids.’
‘I’ve got no qualifications, I didn’t do well at school at all, I failed at everything which I’m not proud of. But, at the same time, it shows people they can be whatever they want to be as long as they study the greatest to make themselves better and believe in themselves.’
‘The more I give the more I receive. You’ve got to lead by example. There’s too many fake-it-til-they-make it in this industry who say they’ve got a brand and they haven’t, they’ve got a logo – big difference.’

ABOUT THE GUEST
Matt Fiddes is one of the most respected experts in the international world of martial arts and fitness. Matt’s achievements have seen him honoured at the highest level, after being inducted into the UK Martial Arts Hall of Fame and presented with the prestigious ‘Martial Arts Superstar Award’.
Matt’s unique training programmes are designed for both children and adults and have proved to be a massive success with over 600 training schools across the UK, Europe, and South Africa.
He is a 7th Degree Black Belt Master in Tae Kwon Do and holds Black Belts in Kickboxing and Kung Fu is now one of the most in-demand personal trainers thanks to front covers and interviews in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has numerous celebrity clientele including actors, supermodels and singers. Undoubtedly Matt’s biggest client was superstar Michael Jackson. Introduced to Matt by his close friend Uri Geller, Matt was Michael’s personal UK bodyguard for over a decade before his tragic death in June 2009.
Website: https://mattfiddes.com/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The Build Better Brands podcast is to inspire small business owners and help them realise that they don't have to be Nike to have a great brand, and the sooner they start to focus on making it better, the sooner they can improve their lives and the lives of others.
On the show I’ll be talking to business owners that have built brands from the ground up. Branding is how you present your best self to your audience consistently. And if they can do it, so can you!

ABOUT THE HOST - DANIELLE CLARKE
As a Brand Strategist, University Lecturer, and Business Owner, Danielle dedicates her time to consulting and collaborating with health and wellness businesses, helping them stand out in the market and expand their customer base.

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