Here's the thing. You have a jiu-jitsu friend, or a jiu-jitsu partner. Maybe you do jiu-jitsu too, or maybe you don't. But they have a birthday, celebration or wedding coming up. It's Valentine's Day. And you have no idea what to get them.
You go on Reddit. You google "gifts for jiu-jitsu purple belt" or "what to get a BJJ girl". There are a bunch of SEO optimized "list articles" that give you the following generic ideas: finger tape, belt rack, gym bag, rashguard. And worse: mouth guard, finger nail clippers, a candle that says "white belt tears."
Here comes Butt Scooter Jiu-Jitsu, and jiu-jitsu's first plushie: The Bear In Bowl O.
What's great about a plushie? You can squeeze it. It's cute as heck. It's not overtly jiujitsu-y, but its ultra niche. You kind of have to know what a berimbolo is.
Let's be real, if you stick a kimono on a teddy bear, that doesn't make it a good plushie. That's just marked up Build-A-Bear, and you didn't even get to build it. Personally, I'm a big plushie girl. There's something comforting about embracing to your pure childhood loves, except now that you're an adult, you can buy as many as you want, whenever you want, and even make your own.
Pictured below: Some of my older plushies (duck theme) in my gym bag
After drawing stickers for a year, I was looking to make some of my ideas come to life. The Bear In Bowl O was a popular sticker, but it wasn't really a bear in a bowl -- it was a drawing of a bear in a bowl (René Magritte reference for art fans). I wanted a real bear in a bowl.
After some sketches and finding a manufacturer, I was able to get the first prototype of my plushie. The company is still working out some kinks in the whole process for future plushies (yes, more to come!), but I'm super excited to share with the world jiu-jitsu's first plushie, the Bear In Bowl O.
You can pre-order this plushie on our website. We're running a small batch at first to gauge demand, so make sure you put your name in early.