Roots of Fight

What Roots of Fight does

Roots of Fight is a privately held, direct-to-consumer apparel brand founded in 1999 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, that sells officially licensed merchandise featuring legendary athletes, musicians, cultural icons, and activists. Its catalog spans t-shirts, heavyweight and raglan tees, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, jackets, hats, socks, accessories, drinkware, and bags, with prices ranging from approximately $15 for socks to $90 for premium hoodies. The brand organizes its assortment into a core line plus sub-brands for Women's, Kids, ROF Core, WWE x ROF, MLB x ROF, and Campus Legends (university-specific collaborations). Iconography centers on figures such as Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Pelé, Diego Maradona, Jackie Robinson, Elvis Presley, AC/DC, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Maya Angelou, supported by direct licensing relationships with athlete families and estates.

The operating model is a Shopify-based e-commerce storefront (rootsoffight.com, with a dedicated rootsoffight.ca for Canada and a mobile app on iOS and Android) augmented by distribution through major sports retail partners including Fanatics, the Official MLB Shop, Rally House, and The Pittsburgh Shop. Revenue derives primarily from one-time direct apparel sales plus wholesale/transaction-fee revenue from third-party retailers and digital gift cards ($25-$500). Marketing is conducted via owned blog content, email newsletters, and organic social channels (Instagram, TikTok, X). Technical integrations are limited to standard commerce tooling: Shopify for the storefront, Afterpay for BNPL, Rebuy for upsell, and Judge.me for reviews. No AI/ML, API, or proprietary technology capabilities are present. The company employs between 11 and 50 people, has no disclosed funding, no patents or trademarks on file, and reports a stated community of 50,000+ fans with a 4.67/5 review rating on Judge.me across 6 reviews.

Name

Roots of Fight

Legal name

Roots of Fight

Website

https://rootsoffight.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Roots of Fight is a privately held, Vancouver-based direct-to-consumer apparel company (founded 1999) that sells officially licensed merchandise featuring legendary athletes, musicians, and cultural icons through Shopify storefronts, a mobile app, and retail partners such as Fanatics and the Official MLB Shop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Licensed Sports and Cultural Apparel

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (459110)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Combat Sports & Boxing Fitness Equipment Retail (Bags, Gloves, Pads, Wraps) (CRAMADAI)

Keywords

• Licensed apparel
• Sports merchandise
• Fan apparel
• E-commerce clothing
• Lifestyle merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Revenue model

1. Direct Apparel Sales: Roots of Fight generates revenue through direct-to-consumer sales of licensed apparel and merchandise featuring sports legends, cultural icons, musicians, and activists. Products include t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jackets, shorts, hats, accessories, drinkware, bags, and socks sold at price points ranging from approximately $23 to $90.
2. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold in denominations of $25, $50, $75, $100, $125, and $500, delivered via email and redeemable at checkout.
3. Third-Party Retail Distribution: Products distributed through authorized retail partners including Official MLB Shop, Fanatics, Rally House, and The Pittsburgh Shop, generating revenue through wholesale or revenue-sharing arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Roots of Fight is a licensed apparel and merchandise brand that designs, sells, and distributes officially licensed clothing and accessories celebrating legendary athletes, musicians, cultural icons, and activists. Products are sold through owned direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefronts (rootsoffight.com and rootsoffight.ca) and authorized third-party retail partners, with a portfolio spanning t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jackets, shorts, hats, accessories, drinkware, bags, and socks.

Product overview

Roots of Fight is a licensed apparel company operating as an e-commerce storefront built on Shopify, offering officially licensed merchandise celebrating sports icons, cultural figures, musicians, and activists. The product portfolio centers on a core apparel line (t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, jackets, accessories, and drinkware) sold through the main storefront and branded sub-collections. Key sub-brands include the Women's Collection, Kids Collection, and ROF Core Collection. Licensed partnerships drive dedicated athlete and team collections including WWE x ROF, MLB x ROF, and Campus Legends university collaborations. Additional offerings include E-Gift Cards and a mobile application. The company positions itself on official licensing credentials, personal relationships with icon estates, and premium quality materials with hand-crafted art featuring authentic stories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hoodies

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• WWEcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerRoots of Fight maintains a WWE partnership featuring officially licensed merchandise for legendary wrestlers including Eddie Guerrero, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and The Undertaker. However, this partnership has faced challenges with WWE terminating Ric Flair's endorsement deal with Roots of Fight due to his association with rival promotion AEW.
• MLB (Major League Baseball)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerRoots of Fight has an official MLB partnership for licensed merchandise featuring historic teams including Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays. Products are sold through the Official MLB Shop and other authorized retailers.
• Athlete Families and EstatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoots of Fight cultivates personal relationships with legendary athletes, their families, and estates often going back decades. This includes direct partnerships with rights holders for Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Pelé, Diego Maradona, Jackie Robinson, and many others.
• FanaticsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFanatics serves as a major retail distribution partner, offering Roots of Fight merchandise alongside its extensive sports retail catalog.
• Rally HousemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRally House is an authorized retail partner distributing Roots of Fight products through its chain of sports merchandise stores.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Homage: Officially licensed apparel brand featuring pop culture, sports, and entertainment icons across t-shirts and apparel. Operates a similar Shopify-based DTC model with comparable pricing and customer base.
• '47 Brand: Licensed sports apparel and headwear company with deep ties to MLB, NFL, NHL, and collegiate programs. Competes directly with Roots of Fight in the licensed sports merchandise category.
• Mitchell & Ness: Authentic licensed sports apparel and headwear brand focused on throwback jerseys and heritage athlete merchandise. Highly comparable to Roots of Fight's model of celebrating legendary athletes through officially licensed apparel.
• BreakingT: Licensed sports apparel company selling officially licensed apparel celebrating sports moments and athletes through DTC e-commerce. Closely comparable business model, customer base, and pricing structure.

Broad incumbents

• Fanatics: Dominant licensed sports merchandise retailer and manufacturer with exclusive league rights across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL. Functions as both a Roots of Fight distribution partner and a major direct competitor in licensed sports apparel.
• New Era Cap: Global headwear and apparel company with deep licensing relationships across MLB, NFL, NBA, and entertainment IP. Sells through similar retail channels and competes in adjacent licensed apparel categories.
• Nike: Global sports apparel incumbent with extensive athlete endorsement relationships. While not a direct competitor in the niche licensed-legend category, it dominates the broader sports apparel space and competes for the same consumer wallet.

Emerging players

• Billionaire Boys Club: Streetwear and lifestyle apparel brand with similar price points and icon-inspired aesthetic. Operates in an overlapping D2C apparel category with comparable customer demographics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rootsoffight
• Instagraminstagram.com/rootsoffight
• TikToktiktok.com/@rootsoffight
• Facebookfacebook.com/RootsOfFight

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Roots of Fight