Friend of Andrew Tate defends his character saying he helped his Sidekick business thrive

The owner of a kickboxing company which used to sponsor Andrew Tate before he became a controversial figure says he is a good guy - but also says Tate’s team made it hard to work together.

Daniel Knight, 40, is the founder of Sidekick Boxing, a Brighton-based kickboxing and martial arts equipment brand. Years ago, controversial figure Andrew Tate was sponsored by the company, and made promotional videos for their products.

While the company did not see much success from these videos at the time, because of Tate’s rise to fame, some now have hundreds of thousands or even millions of views. Daniel said: “It’s made my business huge, it’s something I’ve always wanted really. I think people generally see the bigger picture, we’re just a company and he just brings in engagement.”

Daniel first got in touch with Tate through Facebook in 2012 after regularly hearing his name pop up on the kickboxing circuit following his signing with martial arts promotion ‘It’s Showtime’ and he soon became the main sponsored fighter for Daniel’s company.

The partnership went on for about four years and in relation to Tate himself, Daniel said: ““He was actually really nice, really easy to talk to.” describing him as “one of the easiest people I’ve worked with, we just sort of hit it off as friends. He even said we would be best friends if we lived nearer.”

The two did grow apart however and Daniel said this was because Tate’s team were making it difficult for them to work together. He said: “They just made it hard work for us to collaborate, they asked other promoters not to work with me and got Andrew Tate to block me on Twitter. I didn’t like the dirty tactics they tried on me, I didn’t think that was very professional.”

He said: “That’s the thing with Andrew, he makes out he can do what he wants but I feel he’s still a bit controlled by his team.”

Even when Daniel was friends with him, Tate had started to make a name for himself by posting controversial videos online. Daniel said: “I think he knew what he was doing all along. He just wanted to be famous, he never wanted to work a nine to five job. He didn’t want an office job, he didn't want to work under someone and I think he’s a lot cleverer than people take him for.”

“He got under people’s skin with the things he was doing, he was just clever and now everyone’s doing these sort of silly videos just to create engagement. But he was well ahead of it, he was the one I think started it all.”

Daniel said he credits Tate’s success to his kickboxing background, he said: “I don’t agree with a lot of the things he says. I think he just knows how to create a reaction and I think he learned that from the fighting. Being a fighter you need to make a fight exciting and I think he used what worked in the fight industry.”

“A lot of people never liked Andrew and I think I must be a bit more thick-skinned than most people but his opinions don’t really bother me. He says it just to get a reaction. He was a bit ahead of his time knowing how to make videos that go viral.”

Go beyond just reading the story - sign up for the National World newsletter Daniel has remained in touch with Tate over the years and said Tate sent him a message only hours after he was released from prison in Romania following his arrest in 2022.

In relation to Tate’s influence on impressionable audiences online, Daniel said: “We’re all entitled to our opinions and we can all do what we want. There will always be an Andrew Tate, he’s not the first and there’s no way of controlling it for children other than their parents and the owners of these platforms.”