Project AMF Apparel: Colby Bridges makes mentality the brand

Bridges: “Remember, you don’t always need a final destination. You only need to move forward with the objective in mind.”

PHOTO SOURCE: IG/@IAM_PROJECTAMF

Many aspire to build businesses that are frequently highlighted by established platforms with exposure to millions of viewers, but few accept that those dreams often only sprout through the aftermath of grave discomfort, during the moments in life where we search for new purpose.

For entrepreneur and Project AMF Apparel owner Colby Bridges, slowly his dreams started to culminate following an unfortunate injury while playing collegiate baseball at Friends University (Wichita, Kansas).

Although born in Wiesbaden, Germany to a father serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bridges spent most of his formidable years in Crestview, Florida and surrounding areas, ultimately also where he returned once his partially torn rotator cuff derailed any prospect of reaching the next level.

Now searching for a new route in life, adjusting to an absence that school and athletics swiftly left behind, Bridges became a part-time stay-at-home dad, working a few days each week cleaning beach houses and taking any other jobs to make ends meet. Naturally, the ensuing financial hardship from his athletic setback, paired with a plethora of other losses along the way, constantly led Bridges to question where to turn next for himself and his family.

“Remember, you don’t always need a final destination. You only need to move forward with the objective in mind. If you have been knocked down but refuse to quit, lost it all and grind to get it back, never surrender to the challenges you face, this brand is you. That is what Project AMF is all about. It is about progress. It is about triumph over trials. It is about always moving forward.” - Colby Bridges

Whether it be from those struggles, or previous difficulties within his relationship, or even the tragic loss of his younger brother roughly three years ago, doubts that somehow always seemed to form while Bridges’ business idea was in its infancy are the same doubts that Bridges admits continued to plague his thoughts throughout his growth as an entrepreneur, sometimes still even now.

However, this is a weight understandably carried when tasked with consistently figuring out how to, in Bridges words, 'make the next move the best move.' Doubts don’t exist within your internal dialogue to hold you back, yet provide something to overcome and move you forward.

"I had a lot of people in the beginning saying apparel is going to be a tough avenue and that it's a saturated market,” Bridges added. “A lot of people experience this. It comes from the wildest places too like family members, close friends... all over. One thing I would say to anyone facing that right now, if there's a thought in your heart that you just literally can't get away from, no matter the negativity or setbacks, that's a calling. Until you answer that call, it’s going to keep eating away at you."

While working as a personal trainer and using fitness as a mental escape, Bridges was starting to conceptualize a movement – one that embodied more than just gym culture and encapsulated what it truly means to never give up, regardless of someone’s athletic involvement. Born was Project AMF (Always Moving Forward), an apparel brand now making waves with modern lifestyle pieces and redefining the impact of custom athletic gear through the combat sports world and beyond.

"My ultimate vision was that everybody who's a part of this team, every fighter and every person that puts on that shirt feels like they’re part of a unit, a group of people they can call on for encouragement or somebody to back them up,” Bridges explained. “I came from a broken home growing up, so I want everyone involved to feel part of a family that maybe they didn't have.”

Oddly enough, Project AMF never intended for combat sports to become its niche. Several years ago, Bridges’ avid combat sports fandom led him to resonate with former UFC fighter and McIntosh, Alabama native Brok Weaver’s admirable rise. On a whim, he decided to randomly reach out to Weaver with a custom t-shirt design and an offer to collaborate on merchandise. This is what Bridges calls the idea of ‘going for no.’ Weaver accepted the proposal days later, and Bridges unknowingly entered a space where he would soon begin to flourish beyond expectations.

Over six years since its inception, what started out as a simple idea centered around his personal training clients has become an absolute apparel juggernaut with custom fight gear featured on fighters across globally recognized MMA and boxing organizations such as Island Fights, Professional Fighters League, Bellator, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA to name a few, alongside a litany of other widely respected regional promotions. Most recently, Project AMF fight gear was featured live on UFC legend Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA 8 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

"I’m going to continue to be myself no matter how big this thing gets," Bridges stressed. "I want it to be huge. I want it to be worldwide, but I don't think anything will ever change me.”

For those interested in lifestyle apparel, athletic wear and/or custom fight kits, learn more about the brand’s mission at weareamf.com and @ProjectAMF on Instagram.