Hey friends, it’s Lizzie! People ask how the Hayabusa thing happened fairly often, and I’ve never written it down properly. So here it is, including the parts that are less glamorous than people expect.
I also think you deserve to know exactly what my relationship with a brand is when you’re reading my reviews of their gear. That feels like the right place to start.
How it actually started
It began as an Instagram ambassadorship. Not a contract, not a sponsorship deal with a press release — a social partnership. The affiliate side, the code you see on this blog, came later.
That order matters, and it’s the opposite of how most people assume it works. Nobody offered me a commission structure and asked me to promote gloves. The relationship started on the content side, and the commercial part grew out of it once it was clear it was working for both of us.
What I think actually got their attention
I can’t read their minds, so this is my honest read rather than an inside account.
The training was real, and it had been for years. By the time any of this happened I’d been kickboxing for the better part of a decade. That isn’t a hobby you can fake for a camera — anyone who trains can tell within about four seconds of watching you move. I think that authenticity is the whole thing.
My social media showed two skills at once. This is the part I’d underline for anyone hoping for something similar. My page demonstrated that I could train and that I could make content. Plenty of people have one. The combination is rarer than it sounds, and it’s the combination a brand actually needs, because they’re not just looking for an athlete — they’re looking for someone who can communicate.
Consistency over virality. I wasn’t posting once and vanishing. There was a body of work to look at.
What an ambassadorship actually is
Let me deflate this slightly, because the word sounds bigger than the reality.
Ambassador programmes vary enormously between brands, and mine started as a social partnership rather than a salaried role. Gear comes into it — my 12oz T360s arrived as part of my ambassador package when that model first came out, and I’ve said so every time I’ve written about them. It is not a job, and anyone telling you an ambassadorship replaces an income is selling you something.
What it genuinely gave me was a relationship with a brand I already respected, and a reason to take my own content more seriously.
The unglamorous truth about the timeline
Ten years of training came first. The brand relationship came after. Not the other way around.
I mention that because the most common version of this question I get is really “how do I get free gear,” and the honest answer is that the gear is the last thing that happens, not the first. You build something real, and occasionally someone notices.
What I’d tell someone who wants the same thing
Be genuinely good at the thing. Not internet-good. Actually good, over years. It shows.
Show the skill and the storytelling. If your content proves you can train and hold an audience, you’re a far more interesting proposition than someone who does one well.
Post consistently before anyone is watching. A brand looking at your page wants to see a pattern, not a highlight.
Pick brands you already use. I was training in gear I’d bought myself long before any of this — Everlast, Sanabul, then Venum. That history is exactly why I can write honestly about what the step up is worth. My whole ladder is in four glove brands in ten years.
Be someone easy to work with. Deeply boring advice. Extremely true.
How this affects what you read here
Here’s my side of the deal with you.
I only write first-hand about gear I’ve actually trained in. That currently means Hayabusa, and before them Venum, Everlast and Sanabul. When I compare Hayabusa to something I haven’t worn — Winning, Fairtex — I say so at the top of the post rather than burying it.
I also tell you when my code isn’t the best deal. It’s 10% and it doesn’t stack with a site-wide sale, so during a big promotion you should take the sale instead. I’d rather say that than have you overpay because you trusted me.
And I’ll tell you what I don’t love. My E1s are more cushioned than I personally prefer for most sessions, which is exactly why they’re my long-bag-day pair rather than my favourite. My Sanabuls had genuinely lovely foam and a stunning colourway, and they still never moulded to my hand.
Where it’s gone since
The affiliate side came later and is now how the gear writing on this blog sustains itself. I train in a T3 in white, pink and black, a 12oz T360, and an E1 — and the T3 is still the pair I reach for without thinking.
If you want the long version of why, that’s my ten-year T3 review.
Shop Hayabusa with code LILO →
The timeline, honestly
| Stage | What was actually happening |
|---|---|
| Years 1–8ish | Just training. Buying my own gear — Everlast, then Sanabul, then Venum. |
| Building the page | Posting consistently, long before anyone was watching |
| The ambassadorship | Started on the Instagram side. Not a contract, not a salary. |
| Later | The affiliate side followed, which is what funds the gear writing here |
What I’d tell someone chasing the same thing
The order matters more than anything else on this page. Ten years of training came first; the brand relationship came after. The most common version of this question I get is really “how do I get free gear,” and the honest answer is that gear is the last thing that happens, not the first.
What it doesn’t mean
It doesn’t mean I get paid to say nice things. It means I get asked about gloves constantly and decided to answer properly. When my code isn’t the best price available I say so, and when I haven’t trained in something — Winning, Twins, Fairtex — I say that too, at the top of the post rather than buried at the bottom.
Also worth reading: is Hayabusa worth the money and what kickboxing taught me about life.
Your Questions, Answered
How did you become a Hayabusa ambassador? It started as an Instagram ambassadorship after years of training and posting consistently. The affiliate side came later.
Do you get paid to promote Hayabusa? I earn an affiliate commission when someone buys through my links or code, at no extra cost to them. That started after the ambassadorship, not before.
How many followers do you need to be a brand ambassador? There’s no number I can honestly give you. What got noticed in my case was showing real skill and real content ability together, consistently.
Do you only recommend Hayabusa? No. I’ll point people at a $45 Venum Contender or an $18 Sanabul when that’s the right call, and I say when my code isn’t the best available price.
How do you become a brand ambassador? In my case: train seriously for years, post consistently before anyone is watching, and show that you can both do the thing and communicate it. There is no number of followers I can honestly give you.
Do you get paid by Hayabusa? I earn an affiliate commission when someone buys through my links or code, at no extra cost to them. That came after the ambassadorship, not before.
Do ambassadors get free gear? Gear comes into it — my 12oz T360s arrived in my ambassador package. It is not a salary and it does not replace an income, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something.
Does being an ambassador change your reviews? It means I only write first-hand about gear I have actually trained in, and I say plainly when I have not. It also means telling you when my code is not the best available price, which happens during every site-wide sale.
What would you tell someone starting out? Pick brands you already use and pay for. That history is exactly what makes the eventual review worth reading.
Some links above are affiliate links — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and I only link gear I actually train in.
