Meet MATTHEW GRIFFIN

We were lucky to catch up with MATTHEW GRIFFIN recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi MATTHEW, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

“Upon the fields of friendly strife are sewn the seeds, upon other days, upon other fields, will bear the fruits of victory,” Gen Douglas MacArthur

Like many people of the Gen X generation, I was a feral, latchkey kid of divorce parents. By the age of 10, it was apparent that if I wanted something, I had to do it myself. New bike = mow lawns. Go to camp = recycle aluminum cans. If I wanted something, there was no option other than to take the time and work for it. That was life in the 80’s.

At the age of 14, my teenage self was too much for my mom and I moved to Iowa to live with my father as he went to Chiropractic college at the age of 42. Another situation where a parent was pre-occupied and the self reliance was needed if I wanted to obtain any goal.

Moving to Iowa as a freshman, being skinny, and having a weird accent wasn’t easy. I missed the message of, “If you want friends, you have to play sports.” To this point, my only experience in sports was a junior high lacrosse league and a few years BMX racing. Tired of not having friends, I joined the wrestling team in October of my freshman year.

If Iowa had a sports religion, it would be wrestling. Kids come out of the womb throwing headlocks. It’s no joke.

My freshman year coach, Clint Long, was a fixture in the local wrestling community. Although he watched me get abused by the other freshman during the season, he kept coaching. At the end of the season, I was pointed toward the Dan Gable intensive wrestling camp at the University of Iowa. The camp is coached by the starting lineup of wrestlers–and it’s a two week cardio and technique camp attended by the top high school wrestlers from around the world. In the summer of 1995, I learned that working out and puking often go hand in hand.

As with all things in life, you have to surround yourself with people better than you, working harder than you, and willing to push you to be better. If you want to ski fast, ski with faster people. If you want to ride fast, you have to ride with people faster than you. If you want to become a better wrestler, you have to grapple with those better than you. That camp changed my life because it set the bar of what it takes to have positive outcomes.

Coming back from that camp, I wasn’t the best on my high school team. I had enough to be on top during the workouts and not take as much of a beating from the rest of the squad and coaches. That translated to football as sophomore. It also translated to classes and how hard I was willing to work in order to get a scholarship out of Iowa.

In January of 1997, I received my admissions packet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Another pinnacle institution that attracts the best, fosters a competitive environment. During the Army-Navy week, I saw a mind-blowing demonstration by the Rangers. From that moment forward, I knew I wanted to be an Army Ranger.

Graduating in June of 2001, I went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to be an artillery officer. In addition to artillery training, there was a pre-Ranger training program. 72 of us started, 18 finished, 6 got slots to Ranger School, 4 of us graduated. If you’re not familiar with Ranger School, it’s what that Army calls it’s premier “leadership” school. Can you lead while you’re cold, wet, tired and hungry? It’s two months long. I started at 194 lbs of motivation. Two months later, I weighed 150 lbs.

Showing up at my first conventional unit, I made it clear to the commander that I was going to apply to the Ranger Regiment as soon as I could. In order to get that recommendation, I would need to work harder and demonstrate better results than my peers. Again, competition.

A year later, I passed the initial screening, tryout process, psych evaluation, and final interview. 6 years after witnessing the Army Ranger demonstation at West Point, I was allowed to join the ranks of the storied 2d Ranger Battalion. Ranger Battalions consist of the top 1% of the Army’s infantry and support specialities–creating the worlds sharpest blunt object. It’s a highly competitive environment with a system that ejects Rangers quickly if they don’t hold to standards. It’s about the work ethic and relentless desire to improve.

After departing the military, I’ve worked as a home builder, medical sales director, product development director, and eventually as a co-founder and CEO of the philanthropic company, Combat Flip Flops. We manufacture and produce products in conflict areas to promote security through business. It’s been a wild ride to include a TED Talk, Shark Tank, COVID, navigating the Afghan withdrawal, and economic downturns. 2024 was a record year for Combat Flip Flops and we’re relentlessly working to set another record in 2025.

Work ethic. Where did it come from?

Sports. Good coaches, teammates, and the competitive spirit instilled the work ethic to win.

Finishing how this started: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sewn the seeds, upon other days, upon other fields, will bear the fruits of victory,” Gen Douglas MacArthur

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Combat Flip Flops is a mission based company that works to enable the mindful consumer to manufacture peace through trade. Having seen the most brutal side of war, we believe that working to foster relationships through business is the most ethical path forward for our nation. Knowing that our government wasn’t going to take steps down that path, we blazed our own trail to prove it could be done.

Footwear made in Bogota, Colombia. Textiles from Kabul, Afghanistan. Jewelry from Laos. Apparel from the U.S. We aim to create jobs and build positive relationships where our “leaders” failed over the past 75+ years.

In addition to manufacturing products, we give back. Prior to the Afghan withdrawal in 2021, our main non-profit affiliation was Aid Afghanistan for Education. Our donations funded just over 1,000 Afghan girls through literacy and job training programs. Post withdrawal and the inability to fund girls education in Afghanistan, we now support veteran non-profit, One More Wave (1MW). 1MW helps wounded veterans learn to surf, provides adaptive surf equipment, and organizes community building events around the world using the sport of surf.

Professionally, we’re focused on creating the best value products for the market. High quality at an affordable rate drives volume, creates more jobs, and in turn–creates a greater capacity to give. The “high” of seeing the non profits succeed is typically short lived, but it’s fueled our team through challenges for the past 13 years.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Spreadsheets: You gotta be a freak in the sheets if you’re going succeed in business. Often times, people have great ideas, but a little research and math proves the concept won’t work. And even if it pencils out, that’s typically a best case scenario. Spreadsheets are critical tools for planning, management, and execution.

Saying, “No.” : A quick, “No,” is more often than naught–better than a delayed yes. The world is a big place and if you have a plan, can communicate clearly, and find people with aligned values, the “Yes” will come easy and create the outcome you desire.

Be a Problem-solver: Outside of a nuclear disaster, most problems can be solved with clarity, hard work, and leading others to the outcome that’s best for all. I can’t put a finger on it, but it feels like people stop or give up when they run into problems they can’t solve through a quick Google search or Youtube tutorial. If you’ve ever seen the movie, Pulp Fiction, aspire to be The Wolf.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Combat Flip Flops is a small company on the rise. That said, it’s hard to compete with large manufacturers creating cheap products in China, and having revenues to support unrealistic fees to influencers.

If you’re an “influencer,” like our mission, and aligned with our mindset, we’d love to work with you to get our message out there. You can reach out to us via Instagram @combatflipflops.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.combatflipflops.com
• Instagram: @combatflipflops
• Facebook: @combatflipflops
• Linkedin: @combatflipflops
• Twitter: @combatflipflops
• Youtube: @combatflipflops
• Soundcloud: @combatflipflops

Image Credits

All Images Courtesy @combatflipflops