Darren Till reveals why Gymshark terminated his endorsement deal
Darren Till has commented on his break up with the fitness apparel and accessories brand Gymshark. The company that sponsored the UFC middleweight contender did not disclose the reason for the contract's termination.
Speaking to James English on his YouTube channel, Till presented his side of the story.
"When I was sponsored by Gymshark when they initially came to me... We looked at their brand, and we saw their target and their fitness model industry, like Instagram influencers, you know. I mean, they are a billion dollar company," said Darren Till. "So, I remember them [Gymshark's representants] coming to me and constantly saying 'it is mad the way they want to sponsor you because you are totally against every layer they are for.'"
Till is known for controversy. He has been reprimanded before because of his questionable sense of humor and for both his on and offline behavior. In 2012, Till was involved in a stabbing incident. Last year, he was arrested for stealing a taxi during his holidays in the Canary Islands in Spain.
"The first meeting we had, I remember them saying, 'see these memes [that] you put up in like 2017? Don't do that while you are sponsored by us.' The meme was like a little Gremlin stuck on someone's body, and the meme was 'when you rather w*nking, you can't be bothered by what washing you c*m off,' and it was disgusting," Darren Till remembered.
Although Gymshark's profile on social media is filled with memes and trendy internet jokes, Darren Till's pranks were too much for them to take.
Till doesn't seem to be bothered by other people's opinion of his sense of humor, even if it means he will lose endorsements by posting "disgusting" memes.
"Every day, I just wanted to offend people. I was putting memes up. And they were telling me off because 'I'm offending someone, and I have done this and [I] have done that,' Darren Till confessed. "It was a mad relationship because they loved me, and they were like, 'Yep, this Darren Till is going to be a champion. We love everything he is about: He is about the streets of Liverpool and blah blah blah.' But at the same time, their company is all about these Instagram icons.
"So, clean-cut, I was their first-ever professional athlete, let's say, that signed with them. And you know, great relationship and all, but from the off, it was just always like that, and then I had my first loss. And then my second loss, and then they were like 'we are going to have to let you go.' I never hold hard feelings towards them. Maybe it would have been nice to speak to them face to face, but they just ringed me."
Darren Till wants a fight with Marvin Vettori
With the latest update on the UFC rankings, Darren Till is now the fourth contender for the UFC middleweight title. He is followed closely by Marvin Vettori, who jumped 10 positions after his win over Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16.
Following Vettori's victory, the Italian fighter went on social media to challenge Darren Till for the "UFC undisputed European title." Till replied not too long after, saying that he accepted the invite and congratulated Vettori for his impressive performance.
Till didn't lose the opportunity of posting an offensive meme about his challenger.
Do you want to see Darren Till face Marvin Vettori? Sound off in the comments.