Recently I stumbled upon the most expensive BJJ gi I ever saw. It’s a Black A2 Shoyoroll Beast and it’s available at a whopping $1,000. That’s an incredibly high price to pay for a gi, but it falls in line with a wider trend of BJJ gis becoming more expensive. So in this article I tell you about why the most expensive BJJ gi may actually be deserving of its $1,000 price tag.
| Gi | Platform | Price |
| ShoyoRoll Illest (view) | BJJgisellers (resale) | $1500 |
| Origin Black Rift (shop this gi) | OriginMaine.com | $335 |
| ShoyoRoll King Road (shop this gi) | Shoyoroll.com | $260 |
| Shogun Fight (shop this gi) | Amazon | $225 |
The Most Expensive BJJ Gi Ever
The most expensive BJJ gi ever (per august 2022) is $1500. It’s a ShoyoRoll Illest that’s being resold on BJJgisellers.
Of course, that it’s for sale at this price doesn’t necessarily mean someone will buy it – but Shoyoroll gis routinely sell for $800 on the resale market so I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
| Brand | Shoyoroll |
| Name | Illest |
| Current price | $1,500 |
| Initial price | $195 |
| Release date | October 15, 2014 |
The Most Expensive BJJ gi in retail
You may also want to know what the most expensive BJJ gi is that you can buy in retail (so not on the resale market, and not a limited edition gi that you can’t buy anymore).
This is actually quite hard to figure out because there are so many small niche webshops for BJJ gis. But, here are the most expensive BJJ gis I could find:
- The Origin Black Rift for $335. No surprises here. Origin is a premium gi brand. They make their gis in America which means their labour costs are higher, and you get what you pay for.
- The ShoyoRoll King Road for $260. I was a little surprised that this was the most expensive ShoyoRoll gi I could buy in the ShoyoRoll store. It’s kind of cheap for a limited edition luxury brand, isn’t it?
- The Shogun Fight for $225. This is the most expensive gi I could find on Amazon. It makes sense to me that it’s a little cheaper than the gis on the other platforms, because Amazon is more of a mass consumer marketplace.
Why is Shoyoroll so expensive?
Shoyoroll is infamous for being the most expensive BJJ gi brand. They justify their high prices because of the following factors:
- Limited edition: All shoyoroll gis are limited editions, and this rarity increases their value.
- Quality: Say what you will, but Shoyoroll makes some premium quality BJJ gis.
- Design: Shoyoroll has unique designs, and it’s one of the only BJJ gi brands that stands out in this regard.
- Partnerships: For what it’s worth, Shoyoroll had always partnered with the premier coaches and competitors in BJJ, who have worn their gis over the years.
Also read: 7 Best Premium BJJ Gis | Better than Yours
Why you’re NOT crazy to buy a super expensive gi
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone ever spend $1,000 on a bjj gi?
I actually think there’s several justifiable reasons why someone might do this. Here’s 7 reasons to drop $1,000 on a gi.
1. Quality and features
The first and most ‘rational’ reason to buy an ultra expensive BJJ gi is for its superior quality and features. There’s actually some very cool innovations that the best premium BJJ gis bring to the table. These innovations include new weaves that help you cool down faster and anti gripping technology to make you harder to grab.
2. Fashion
If you think about it, gis are clothing. So why wouldn’t the normal rules of clothing not apply to gis? And these normal rules imply that some people want to buy the most generic looking and cheapest BJJ gi, while others are willing to pay top dollar for the coolest looking gi in the gym.
3. Status
There’s also always going to be people that derive status from owning the most expensive gi in the gym. I’m not that kind of a guy, but I don’t mind this at all. Some people buy expensive watches, and other people buy expensive BJJ gis. And I think it’s actually more appealing if rich people in BJJ obtain status from a gi brand, than if they buy a generic rich people item like a Rolex or Bugatti.
4. Confidence boost
Confidence is not really quantifiable, yet it’s undeniable that it helps your jiu jitsu game. And if you can up your confidence by buying a more expensive gi, that’s a great option. After all, there aren’t a lot of other ways that you can raise your own confidence (except training for many years – but who’s got time for that?).
5. Reward after completing a goal
It’s quite common for people to upgrade to a more expensive gi after they achieve a goal in BJJ. This could be getting promoted to the next belt, enrolling in their first BJJ competition, or simply getting more fit. I think it’s very smart to lure yourself into positive behavior by rewarding yourself every now and then.
6. Collecting
Some people like to get a big collection of BJJ gis. I don’t think this is much weirder than people collecting stamps, which is very common. It’s somewhat harder, because BJJ gis obviously wear down over time if you wear them. But the upside is that you’ll have many memories attached to your collection items.
7. Reselling
The last reason to buy a super expensive gi is to resell it later at a higher price. This is actually fairly reasonable. Shoyoroll gis have a long history of retaining their value and even going up in price. But, of course behavior like this is speculative and needs to be approached with caution!
