Meet Luis Cantos: Owner, Break New Ground

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luis Cantos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luis, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In 2016 my wife and I had our first son. During this time we were both training Jiu-jitsu and we both had our corporate jobs. I quickly realized that with my day job and extra curricular activities I wasn’t spending enough time bonding with my son. In 2017 my wife and I learned that we were expecting our second child. At this point I was determined to find a way to be able to provide for my family and at the same time spend most of my time with them. Growing up, I’ve always been fond of streetwear fashion the sneaker culture. Similarly, in Jiu-jitsu we have a community of gi collectors. To this community, Jiu-jitsu gis were more than just uniforms for martial arts. It was a representation of your style, appreciation for art and fashion. I myself had started to buy and collect gis. When I knew I wanted to start my own business, I wanted to do something that I was passionate about and something that I knew I was going to enjoy doing. In 2017 I came up with Break New Ground as a Jiu jitsu brand concept, and in March 2018 I sold my first Product.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Break New Ground is more than just the products we sell. We are a community brand. I enjoy having a relationship with my customers. I’ve created an online group where I am able to chat with my customers, share ideas, and even listen to their suggestions. I think this is definitely one thing that separates me from other brands. I care about my customer base. I make sure that the products I make are the best quality possible and that my customers get the best customer service possible. All of these plus the transparency provided through the online group, my customers feel like they are part of the brand instead of just a regular consumer. Jiu-jitsu is a very niche market and not a very lucrative market as opposed to other major sports. Having this community behind the brand inspires me to continue to design and create products that will be appreciated and enjoyed. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are a lot of people to thank. I started this business with zero knowledge on how to even get started. I’ve met brand owners who’ve helped me figure out the foundation and building blocks to starting a Jiu Jitsu brand. Some of them have been close friends whom I continually seek advise from. However, I think the person that deserves the biggest Shoutout is none other than my wife. Owning a brand requires so much time and effort. I already spend most of my day working my day job and at night I am having to put hours to the business. A lot of our weekend plans have to suffer due to time spent building the brand. All that just means that my wife takes on most of the responsibilities at home and with the kids. On top of that, she helps me with the operations of the business as well. She has been very supportive of me. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to build and grow this brand to what it is right now.

Website: www.bnground.com
Instagram: @bnground
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bnground/

Image Credits
Images are sent through email