Why Andrew Tate Is Called Top G?
You have most certainly heard of the name Andrew Tate. Former kickboxer and social media influencer who has gained notoriety over the years for controversial views and opinions.
And if you’re familiar with martial arts, you may have heard of the equipment organisation Sidekick Boxing or their director Daniel Knight.
Daniel from Sidekick was the man who once signed Andrew Tate, also now known as Top G, as one of their sponsored fighters.
Who is Daniel Knight?
Daniel Knight is a black belt kickboxer and business owner and was born in Brighton on the 12th April 1983. Knight grew up in Woodingdean, Brighton and went to Rudyard Kipling Primary and Longhill High School.
As a vehicle refinisher, Daniel opened his first accident repair centre at just 23 years old. He later sold his shares to follow his martial arts passion and founded Sidekick Boxing in 2010.
Who is Top G?
Top G is a British-American whose real name is Andrew Tate; however, his birth name is Emory Andrew Tate the third, as he is the son of the famous chess player Emory Tate. Top G earned his name by self-proclaiming his alpha male status and offering online life improvement programmes.
However, before he went down the world of online portals and social influencing, which led him to become the world’s most famous man, Top G was a professional kickboxer by Cobra Tate. As with many professional athletes, they collaborate with companies within the industry to work together on a lucrative deal.
This led Tate to come across the kickboxing brand Sidekick, and over several years of the peak of Andrew Tate’s career, Sidekick provided Andrew with both equipment and financial support.
Sidekick, a relatively new brand in the industry, was always looking for fighters at the highest level to endorse the brand. Sidekick is already working with other champions, such as Jamie Bates; Daniel wanted to expand his talent portfolio. At the time, Andrew Tate was one of the most talked about fighters in the UK; he was making waves internationally and had just been signed to the global fight promotion ‘It’s Showtime’.
So, when the opportunity arose to sponsor Tate, Daniel jumped at the chance. He knew Tate would be a risky sponsor as he was very outspoken, even back then, but as much as he was very disliked, many sports enthusiasts admired his talent.
Daniel was sure he would bring in a broad audience. However, it wasn’t all glam and high profits for Daniel, as even he, too, received hate emails. We caught up with Daniel to discuss precisely what it was like working with what people say is the world’s most toxic masculine and misogynist man.
When did you first know of Andrew Tate?
In 2012, we sponsored a kickboxing champion Jamie Bates, and he fought Tate and lost in a previous bout. His dad would often say his name as he was keen on a rematch.
And even in kickboxing training myself, my coach’s son would mention Tate as he was just signed to ‘It’s Showtime’ So when his name popped up on Facebook, it was pretty exciting to get chatting with him. It then just progressed from there.
What was it about Andrew that you wanted to Sponsor Him?
I like to be different, and I knew working with Andrew would be just that. You’ll always be noticed with so many brands doing the same thing.
Tate was very arrogantly confident; I liked that, especially as he could back it up in the ring. It gave our products a reputation.
What was it like Working with Tate?
I knew he would give the brand tremendous exposure, but I thought a decade would be something other than this famous for my life. Tate had a great mind for marketing and had very unorthodox ideas.
We would talk through them, and I would need to find out whether they would be a good idea on not. But I would always go for it. The different things we would get up to make work even more fun.
He has kicked a baseball bat in half, drunk alcohol in promo videos and always bragged about himself online, which I loved when he promoted how proud he was to be sponsored by Sidekick.
How much did Andrew Tate get paid?
Compared to what his earnings now are, a drop in the ocean. We paid him £1000 per month plus other bonuses, which is relatively high for this industry. He would always post and say in videos how much he was earning to brag and annoy his fans purposely.
However, boasting about how much sponsorship he was making had a positive effect. Fighters would get het-up about the lack they were earning, maybe from their sponsors too, so they would contact us to get sponsored.
This was a great marketing trick to reel fighters rather than go head-hunting.
What was Tates Personality Like?
A lot of what you see online is not the honest Tate; it’s almost a character he plays to get a reaction. In his defence, his a chilled guy. Tate is charming and quite funny.
This was then, anyway. By all means, he wasn’t the easiest to work with, and I used to also talk with his brother Tristan, and he too would say, “I feel for you; Andrew must be a nightmare to work with”.
Is Andrew Tate Genuine?
He is a Hustler, but a decent guy. There were a couple of occasions he would try and blag me for some extra cash, but I was always wise to it. We were meeting for the evening at a kickboxing show, and he said he could go as he had no fuel in his Porsche, so could I transfer £50? I told him I couldn’t, but low and behold, he arrived.
Tate did make a joke about how I knew he was blagging. On another occasion in 2016, Tate was going into the Big Brother house and Whatsapp me to see if I would pay him £300 to walk in the place with a Sidekick t-shirt. As much as I would have loved him to do it, I knew TV broadcasting wouldn’t allow brands to be seen like this, so I didn’t pay him.
Are you glad you sponsored Tate?
Yes, there was a time when Tate retired and went down the line of Web cam; I debated whether to delete all the old content. I’m glad I didn’t, though, as it’s the history of Sidekick and this year, he has blown up so much that we are getting millions of views online. I spoke with him still today, but usually only a quick high.
