Georges St. Pierre Says Authenticity Is Everything In Both UFC And Business

Legendary MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre has been revered throughout his professional fighting career both for his finesse and his power inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon. Now that St. Pierre, known affectionately by fans as “GSP,” has entered the ring of business, he acknowledges that life in the fighting ring and outside it are different.

But St. Pierre finds his own parallels, and points to something symbolic that he says demonstrates two aspects of his personality.

“The tattoo on my chest means that there are two sides to me. I can be very rude and I can be very nice. I like to be rude when I fight.”

St. Pierre specifically mentions the “GSP Beast Mode” tattoo, saying that throughout his career he drew inspiration from the lion, an animal known as both King of the Jungle and king of beasts. “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness,” he says. “The beast in me is sleeping, not dead.”

Yet, GSP hints that he’s willing to take on a partner when it comes to business. The three-time UFC Welterweight Champion has joined forces with experts in the apparel world, as he gets ready to launch the beginnings of his new line with outfitter and direct-to-consumer platform BlueChip.

“I’m excited to partner with BlueChip,” St. Pierre said, “because they have a lot of experience helping athletes create their own clothing lines that stay true to their brand and what they represent.”

Some of the other well-known athletes who have partnered with BlueChip consist of NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, WNBA star Didi Richards, and longtime English Premier League standout Ashley Cole.

Fans of the great fighter will come across a number of familiar aspects of St. Pierre’s line. First, there is the fleur-de-lis, an almost ever-present as a logo on St. Pierre’s fighting gear. The symbol, which has been a mainstay on the flag of Quebec since 1948, is something GSP wears as a tribute to his birthplace. Aside from his clothing, St. Pierre also wears it as a tattoo on his right leg. Moreover, on St. Pierre’s BlueChip apparel line fans will “Beast Mode” logos and insignia, as well as nods to Leonardo da Vinci, the great Renaissance artist and inventor, whom St. Pierre regards as an inspiration.

“I am known for being very strategic in the way I fight,” St. Pierre says, also stating that he draws inspiration from da Vinci, whom he also been known to quote over his career.

But St. Pierre is nothing if not down-to-earth, and he also points out that he wants that to be a strong imprint on his brand in the future.

“Authenticity is very important for me. It’s something that I always stood for. I’ve never tried in my career to be someone that I am not—even if it’s for promotional purposes.”

First pieces from the GSP line will be available at Blue Chip’s website Tuesday, June 7, and will include three short sleeve t-shirt styles, a hoodie and two cap hat designs.

St. Pierre fought in two weight divisions—UFC’s Welterweight division (2002–2013) as well as Middleweight (2017)—logging 26 wins and two losses over his career, with eight knockouts and six wins by submission. The 41-year-old St. Pierre was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020.

Last week I got to catch up with Georges St. Pierre for a quick Q&A, in which he elaborated on his next move in business and his days inside the UFC Octagon.

Andy Frye: You had quite an exhilarating fighting career. What lessons do you take from fighting that translate to business?

Georges St. Pierre: It’s a little bit of the same thing—the same principles of the heart of war. You try to showcase your strong suits. Like in fights. you always want to highlight where you’re the strongest, it’s the same in business.

You always want to showcase and reveal to the world your strong points and light those points so it makes you shine publicly. That’s what I’m doing with BlueChip and this collection.

There’s a certain ideology in my brand and in my character that are very clearly connected in the line. That’s what I mean by highlighting the strong points that make you who you are and that’s what I hope people are able to see with my collection and all of my business endeavors. The perseverance, the strength, the respect, the honor—that’s what a lot of the ideology that will be illustrated in this line and hope was shown throughout my career. I hope it inspires the fans.

AF: How has your attitude as a fighter influenced this partnership with Blue Chip?

GSP: BlueChip has a lot of experience helping athletes create clothing lines that stay true to their brand and what they represent. A lot of fighters try to trash-talk and be someone that they are not really, in order to promote (their) fights but that’s not who I am.

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I always tried to promote myself and my fights by staying authentic to who I am, and (what) stand for certain values. And I’m so happy that this line that I’m doing with BlueChip is able to reflect that. So I think my biggest inspiration for the collection is just authenticity.

AF: What fighter did you consider your toughest challenge?

GSP: The toughest fight I had was B.J. Penn. When he was in his prime, he was probably the best fighter that I fought skills-wise.

AF: Obviously many fans have no idea what it’s like to do MMA for a living. But it seems you connect well with them.

GSP: For me, it’s important to give back to the fans because they’re the reason why I’m able to do what I did for a living and continue to do. Without the fans, none of this would have been possible so it’s important to always connect with the fans. When I have a fan come up to me, it’s part of my job to talk to them when I have a chance to.

Andy Frye’s new book Ninety Days In The 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story is out now.

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