Issue 058
January 2010
San Jose’s Josh Thomson is very much your average guy – he wears jeans and flip flops most days and can always be found texting and Twittering on his Blackberry.
Thomson is the Strikeforce lightweight champion, and even though he’s headlined events in front of thousands of people, the 31-year-old has a few clever tips on how to save money and still look stylish.
You’re a party guy; you like to look good. How would you describe your style?
Casual; jeans and a thermal, or a stylish shirt, something like that. The trend right now in the scene is high-end jeans like Mek Denim or Stussy, with a nice name-brand shoe like a Kenneth Cole or a Dolce & Gabbana. Something casual, comfortable, and you can have a good time in.
Do you have a daytime casual look and another for the evening?
During the day it’s jeans and a shirt, flip flops – casual, but nothing dressy. In winter I’ll wear sweats and flip flops because the weather here is pretty nice. Something easy to get on and off for training during the day – in the evening it’ll be something comfortable but stylish.
Are you a fan of certain brands or are you more about the look than the name?
I’ve got a lot of nice collared-shirts from H&M, which is not a high-end store but offers good-quality clothing at a reasonable price. I’m not really concerned about name brands, you can find a lot for ‘half-off’ in certain stores, but I’m not into what’s just come out recently. It’s all about how you wear it that makes it look good.
So you’ve got no problem wearing budget-price clothes?
I’ve been able to buy a nice set of Levi jeans – they’re not like True Religion, which are $250, you can get Levi’s for 30 or 40 bucks. I can cut the bottoms so they sit right and don’t look so tight around the ankle. I can buy them a size bigger or a little smaller and make them look like whatever style I want to wear. So long as you put it with a nice shirt or belt, it looks good!
Okay, so you don’t spend loads of money on clothes – is there something you do spend lots of money on? I know you like your phones.
[Laughs] Yeah, if there is one thing I put money into it’s my cell phones! I don’t know why. I trade them out like every six months; I always have the latest and greatest new thing. Right now I’ve got the new Blackberry Tour – that just came out a few months ago. Before that I had the Blackberry Storm, the touch screen one. To be honest I don’t really talk on the phone that much, it’s only really for Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and if it’s not those three I’m definitely texting or Blackberry messaging.
Tell me about the car you drive.
I have a nice car but I don’t really put money into it, it takes care of itself. I have nice rims and tires on it; it came with all the stuff in it so there was nothing I could do to it. I have an Acura TL, sunroof, leather seats, navigation, etc. It’s fully loaded – it’s nice and casual, I like to drive fast and it gets pretty good gas mileage. It gets you around town fast.
What about at home? You got the big TV and all the gadgets?
I’ve got a 52-inch plasma TV – I have a Wii, a PS3, an Xbox and a DVD disc-changer. I’ve got all this stuff and I don’t even use it! [Laughs] I watch all the new movies on On Demand. I don’t play video games either, I bought the PS3 for the Blu-ray – the only time I play the Wii is when friends come over and we get shitfaced drunk. Generally we play the bowling! Everyone here seems to love the bowling!
Josh Thomson spoke with Hywel Teague
