A global brand enjoys unprecedented reach and recognition. They are known all over the world and are familiar to most people. Not all brands attain that level of fame but, everyone aspires to it. And having that kind of audience and market is considered a next-level success for any company. 

Behind every successful brand is an individual. An individual who has the vision and the passion to drive that brand to the top. These individuals are often so motivated that they will stop at nothing to make sure that their vision and goals are realized in their entirety. 

YOKKAO has such a man behind it, and his name is Philip Villa. He is the man responsible for the birth of the brand and its initial success. And he continues to be the main driving force behind its steady rise to global brand status. 

Every company has its own path to success. The same is true for YOKKAO. Today it enjoys a distinction for being one of the top combat sports brands in the world. But at first, even its founder had no idea of what it would become. 

Philip Villa’s fascination with martial arts started at an early age. His mother figured that it was the best way to get him out of trouble. He spent his childhood in Italy and the neighborhood where they lived demanded that he know how to defend himself. 

From the first day that he set foot inside the gym, he found himself hooked. He was particularly fascinated by Muay Thai, which will soon become his calling. 

As Philip became more involved in Muay Thai, he found that the scene in Italy simply could not provide what he was looking for. He wanted more, and he knew that in order to get that, he need to go out of Italy and even out of Europe. What he needed to do was to head to where it all started, Thailand. He eventually made his way there and immersed himself not just in the Muay Thai scene, but also in the entire Thai culture. 

However, even though he trained and fought as hard as he could, he still felt something was lacking. Eventually, he saw that there was a major gap in terms of the products that Muay Thai fighters and practitioners use. Sure, there are a few quality brands, but one that encompasses every aspect of the art and also covers other combat sports. That was when he had his vision for YOKKAO - a Muay Thai brand that would eventually go global. 

YOKKAO started off simply, with a collection of Muay Thai shorts. But they were successful in their initial foray and soon after, they included all kinds of Muay Thai gear and equipment. What Philip envisioned is now taking shape as fans and practitioners could not get enough of what YOKKAO has to offer. Not only were they able to match and even surpass the competition in terms of quality, but they also began to overtake them because of their innovation. 

The eye-catching new designs that YOKKAO started to come up with just blew the mind of a lot of practitioners and even some fighters. Some of the designs were downright cutting-edge that have never been seen in company sports gear and  equipment before. People knew right there that this was something new and exciting and yet the quality of the products was also top-notch. 

One of YOKKAO’s brilliant moves to market their brand is when they partnered with some of the biggest names in Muay Thai. Perhaps the biggest name that got was none other than the legend himself, Saenchai. Considered by many to be the GOAT of Muay Thai, Saenchai brings a certain level of prestige to the brand. 

Aside from Saenchai, the YOKKAO fight team also includes other Muay Thai greats such as Singdam, Manachai, and Pakorn. Also included in their fight team are Superlek and Rungranai since they are from the affiliate Kiatmoo9 gym. 

The power of this particular marketing strategy is best seen through the brand’s success with the various events and seminars that they have held over the years. They continue to hold both events and seminars as a means to showcase Muay Thai and also serve as a venue where fighters could display their skills. As for their seminars, those are held by legends such as Seanchai the spread both knowledge and awareness of Muay Thai to places such as the United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, China, and many more. 

YOKKAO continues its rise as a leading global brand. It is arguably at the forefront of combat sports gear in the world today, in terms of both recognition and use. And they have long since gone beyond Muay Thai. The brand is also gradually becoming a major

player in MMA, Boxing, among others. Philip Villa is indefatigable when it comes to coming up with new ways to expand and make the brand a household name for the foreseeable future. The future is definitely bright as YOKKAO slowly but surely makes its way as a top global brand.