69. Mike Dillard – Century Martial Arts – A Fighter’s Guide to Thriving in Business

Written by Aaron Ackerman, CPA, CGMA, Advisory Partner | May 2, 2022 1:01:02 PM

Mike Dillard is the CEO of Century Martial Arts (Century), which was founded in 1976. Since then, Century has grown to be a worldwide leader of martial arts equipment and today conducts business in all 50 states and also 35 countries.

Century conducts its own research and development (D&I), and is responsible for a number of important innovations in the martial arts industry.  One of those innovations includes the first freestanding punching bag, Wavemaster, and the first Body Opponent Bag (BOB).

Mike is an avid martial artist and has fought at a championship level facing some of the best fighters from around the world. He holds the honor of training with Hollywood legend Chuck Norris, for whom he has performed stunt work.

Finally, Mike discusses how he was able to prepare for the impact of the pandemic months before lockdowns took place, and how he and his team were able to thrive for over two years of economic uncertainty.

Listen in as Mike shares stories from his days as a young accountant, his journey into martial arts, and what led him to establish the Martial Arts Industry Association.

This episode is now on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen via the podcast player embedded above.

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