Some brands just belong on a Gi. The big can, the sun-drenched color, the desert-mountain logo that looks like it wandered out of a 90s skate video: AriZona Iced Tea has that rare kind of visual DNA that translates instantly to fabric. That inspiration led to the Hyperfly x AriZona collection, made for the community and dropping soon.
Where the Idea Started
The idea for this collaboration started in an unlikely place: standing at a liquor store, grabbing a drink off the shelf, and noticing that the same classic tall can was still sitting at 99 cents. Nothing about it had changed. Not the can, not the price, not the artwork- that same recognizable, sun-drenched design that's been instantly identifiable for decades.
What made the idea click was seeing where the brand had gone since. What started as an iced tea company on a shelf has grown into a skate team, a roller derby squad, drift cars, and a full clothing line. That kind of range and staying power felt like the right partner for something bigger than a drink. Pairing that idea with jiu jitsu, often called "the gentle art," felt like a natural fit. Two things built on simplicity, discipline, and staying true to their roots.
Where the Brand Comes From
AriZona's story starts in 1971, when John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio were hustling discounted beer and soda out of a Volkswagen bus in Brooklyn. No investors, no plan, just grind. Twenty-one years later, in 1992, they launched the tea line in that oversized Big Can, and it took off nationwide within two years. Through all of it, recessions, a pandemic, every wave of inflation, one number never moved: 99 cents. Same price today as it was in '92. Don Vultaggio, who still owns the company outright, put it simply:
"Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink? Maybe it's my little way to give back."
That stubborn, colorful, give-back-first attitude is exactly the energy wanted on the mats. A kimono that's loud, unmistakable, and made for people who show up and grind: that's an AriZona Gi.
AriZonaLand: the Can, in Real Life
If you want to see where that vibe actually lives, take a drive out to AriZonaLand in Keasbey, New Jersey, just outside NYC. AriZona's nearly million-square-foot bottling plant turned free, walk-through experience. Think of it as part factory tour, part museum to 30-plus years of AriZona history, with candy-factory-style corridors built for photos and drinks to sample at every turn. It's the same wild, playful spirit going into the kimono: a brand that never took itself too seriously, and never stopped taking care of the people who love it.
What's coming
The Hyperfly x AriZona collection is being built for the community first: the people who train hard, work hard, and deserve gear with as much personality as they have. Keep an eye out. This one's going to be fun.
