Gavin Luijendijk x APEX — The Desert Sakura Walkout Kit
A walkout kit is the most visible gear a fighter ever wears. Camera time, ring entrance, post-fight interviews. It's the moment the audience builds an impression of who the fighter is before the fight even starts.
Most walkout kits don't take that seriously. They're billboards — sponsor logos stacked end to end, the fighter's name shrunk to fit between them. Functional, but it sells the sponsors more than it sells the fighter wearing them.
We do it differently. The fighter is the brand. The sponsors are decoration.
This is the kit we built with Gavin Luijendijk for his last walkout.
Why walkout kits matter — and why most are wasted real estate. Modern fighting isn't only about results. The fighters making real money are the ones who can build a following alongside the record — the personal brand is a real part of the career, and the walkout is one of the few moments where every camera in the room is on you.
Used right, that's compounding visibility. Used wrong, it's a free ad spot for the sponsors and nothing else.
Our walkout kits start from a different premise. The kit should reflect the fighter — their identity, their mindset, what they want the audience to feel when they walk out. Sponsors get their placement (we're not pretending they don't matter — sponsorship money is real). But they sit inside the fighter's design language, not on top of it.
The Desert Sakura — Gavin's kit. Gavin is 20, fighting out of Meraki Gym, and currently sits at 5-1 MMA / 7-1 kickboxing. Aggressive prospect, calm temperament — a samurai mindset is how he describes it himself, and that became the design anchor.
The colourway sets the tone. Most fight kits go loud — neon, contrast, high saturation. We went the opposite direction: a desert tan / cream base with bronze and brown accents, soft sakura blossom detailing across the front and back. The whole kit reads quieter than what's around it on a fight card, which is precisely why it stands out.
The pieces:
- The jersey is an oversized polo-collar cut with a streetwear silhouette — built to wear on the walk-in and again at the press conference. The samurai motif sits across the front and back, sakura detailing pulls it together. Same lightweight, moisture-wicking, velcro-resistant performance fabric we use across our jersey range, with sublimated graphics that won't peel.
- The fightshorts are built on our V1 fightshorts base — the lighter shorts in our line, good for fighters who want full mobility and a lower-profile fit. Same desert tan colourway, same sakura details, designed to wear as one piece with the jersey.
Sponsor logos are integrated into the jersey, but they sit in the design instead of dominating it. From across a room, you see Gavin's kit. Up close, the sponsors get their full read. Everyone's served.
About Gavin. 20 years old, fights out of Meraki Gym in Aalsmeer, currently 5-1 in MMA and 7-1 in kickboxing. One of the more credible young prospects in the Dutch MMA scene right now, and one we genuinely back. He also runs his own media company (PAK Productions) on the side — a fighter who's already thinking about the brand, not just the record.
Worth following:
Want a walkout kit?
If you're a fighter — or you manage one — and you want a walkout kit that does more than carry sponsor logos, that's what we make. Send us a message and we'll figure out together what the kit should say about you. Same materials, same build quality, full custom design.
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