Kumite Lifestyle
Ambassador Agreement
This is the current version of the agreement. Read it, tick the two boxes, and sign — your typed and drawn signatures carry the same legal weight as a handwritten signature on paper. Today's date fills in automatically, and Nicholas has already signed on the Kumite Lifestyle side. If you signed an earlier version of this agreement, this one replaces it.
A Letter Before the Legal Part
Welcome to Kumite Lifestyle.
To our new and returning Ambassadors — and to the families standing behind them,
Before you read a single clause, I want you to know how you got here, because it matters more to me than anything in the legal text below. Every ambassador in this program was hand selected through an application process. Applications were read one at a time, by me — not sorted by follower count, not filtered by a form, not handed off to anyone else. I looked at who you are on the mat and who you are when nobody is watching, and I chose you by name. Not everyone who applied is here. You are. That is not a small thing, and I have never treated it like one.
What you're about to sign is a real contract, and I want it to read like one — clearly, in plain English, with nothing buried. But a contract only describes the arrangement. It doesn't describe what I'm actually asking of you, which is simpler than any of the language below: be yourself, be honest about what you represent, and carry the name well. That's it. There's no quota here. How often you share your code is entirely up to you — as little or as often as you like — and nothing about your standing in this program depends on it. Nobody is going to message you asking why you were quiet this week. Life gets loud, training gets hard, seasons change. The program moves at your pace, not the other way around.
I also believe you should share in what your name builds. A program that gives you a platform and gear and a place to stand, but no cut of what your name brings in, has never sat right with me. So you get a permanent promo code. Everyone who uses it gets 10% off, store-wide — every product, every collection, no exclusions and no expiry — and at the end of each month, half the profit from every order placed with your code comes back to you. A straight 50/50 split, after everything: after the discount, after what it costs to make and ship the product, after processing and taxes. It's the real profit, split down the middle, and it's the same half I take. Not a token. Not points. Kumite Lifestyle's half goes straight back into the brand — product, marketing, content, and the program itself.
And please, use your own code on your own orders. I'd rather you did. You get the 10% off and you still earn your half on that order — there is no exclusion for buying your own gear, and there never will be. If you were with us before all of this was true, thank you for your patience. It's true now, permanently, and it's in writing below.
To the parents, guardians, and families reading over a shoulder right now — thank you. Genuinely. You are the reason these young people have discipline worth representing in the first place. You drove to the dojo. You paid for the tournaments. You sat through the long weekends and the early mornings and the losses that stung. This program takes that seriously: earnings stay private, nothing about your ambassador is published without your say, and where an ambassador is under 18, a parent or guardian signs alongside them and payments go to you. If anything in here gives you pause, email me directly and I'll answer you myself — not a form, not a support queue. Me.
Kumite Lifestyle started as a podcast and a stubborn belief that martial arts culture deserved better representation than it was getting. It's a brand now, and it's growing, and none of that happened because of a marketing budget. It happened because of the people whose names are on these agreements. You said yes to something that was still being built, and you did it on trust. I don't take that lightly, and I don't intend to waste it.
Read the rest carefully. Ask me anything — there is no question too small. Then let's get to work.
With real gratitude,
Nicholas S. Arndt
Nicholas S. Arndt
Host, Founder & Creator · Kumite Lifestyle
If you signed an earlier version, here's what changed
You now earn money. The old agreement said there was no monetary compensation. That is no longer true. You get a permanent promo code, your customers get 10% off, and you receive 50% of the profit on every order that uses your code.
The profit share is a flat 50/50 and it stays that way. An earlier draft of this agreement mentioned a reduction to 40% from October 7, 2026. That reduction was cancelled and never took effect. There is no step-down, no effective date to watch, and nothing to recalculate — the split is 50/50 on every order, including every order already placed.
There are no more three-month cohorts. Your place in the program and your code continue until you or Kumite Lifestyle decide to end it. Nothing expires and there is no renewal paperwork.
There is no posting quota. The old version required a minimum number of posts and a monthly call. Both are gone, replaced by a good-faith commitment to represent the brand honestly.
This page is for ambassadors still on the original cohort-based agreement, where the money terms genuinely did change. If you signed in September 2026, you are already on these terms and you do not need to sign again — that signature carries over automatically, and your portal will not ask you for another one.
The short version
You get a promo code with your name on it. Anyone who uses it gets 10% off anything in the shop — every product, every collection, no exclusions.
For every order placed with your code, you receive 50% of the profit Kumite Lifestyle actually makes on it — an even 50/50 split, you and Kumite Lifestyle. Kumite Lifestyle's half is reinvested in the business — operations, merchandise, marketing, content, growth, and ambassador support. Profit means what's left after everything: the discount, the cost of making the item, shipping, payment processing and taxes. It is not 50% of the sale price, and the amount varies by product.
Totals are worked out once a month, after the month ends, using the shop's real cost figures. You'll see your orders in your portal right away, but the dollar amount only appears once the month is closed and the numbers are final.
Use your own code on your own orders — you're encouraged to. You get the 10% off like anyone else, and you still earn your 50% share on that order. There's no rule against buying through your own code and no penalty for it.
How often you share your code is entirely up to you. As little or as often as you like. There is no quota, no minimum, and nobody checking.
Your earnings are private. You'll never see another ambassador's numbers and they'll never see yours. The formal terms are below; if anything there seems to conflict with this summary, the formal terms are what govern.
Explanatory · Not part of the agreement
How the program works, day to day.
Everything below is plain-English explanation of the clauses that follow. It is here so you are not reading a contract cold. The numbered clauses are what actually govern.
What you already have
A promo code with your name on it, active from the day you're added to the roster. A portal account at kumitelifestyle.com/ambassador-portal.html where you can see the orders placed with your code. Gear, sent to the address on your roster record. And a place on a short, hand-picked roster.
You don't have to do anything to activate your code. It works the moment it's created, and it keeps working until you or Kumite Lifestyle end the arrangement.
Your place in the program
There are no cohorts and no terms of service that expire. There's no renewal paperwork, no reapplying, and no date on a calendar where your code stops working. Your place continues until one of us decides otherwise, and either of us can walk away — see clause 16 for how that works.
Representing the brand
Be yourself and be honest. Don't claim something about a product that isn't true, don't use the brand to attack anyone, and don't present yourself as speaking for Kumite Lifestyle in a business capacity — you represent the brand, you don't negotiate on its behalf. That's the whole standard, and it's written out formally in clause 7.
Posting is encouraged, not required
How often you share your code is entirely up to you — as little or as often as you'd like. There is no quota, no minimum number of posts, no required monthly call, and nobody tracking your activity. If you go quiet for a month, nothing happens. Your code keeps working and you keep earning on anything placed through it.
That said, the code only earns when people use it, so sharing it is the whole mechanism. Put it in your bio, mention it after a tournament, send it to a teammate who liked your hoodie. Whatever fits how you actually communicate.
Using your own code
You are encouraged to use your own code on your own orders. There's no self-purchase rule here and no penalty. You get the 10% off exactly like any customer would, and the order still counts toward your profit share on the same terms as anybody else's order. You don't get an automatic built-in discount — you enter your code at checkout, the same way your customers do.
How the profit share actually works
You receive 50% of the profit Kumite Lifestyle actually makes on each order placed with your code. Kumite Lifestyle keeps the other 50%, which goes back into the business — product, marketing, content, and the program itself. It's an even split, and it does not step down over time.
Profit is what's left after everything. Not 50% of what the customer paid. From the order total, subtract the 10% customer discount, what it cost to make the item, any shipping Kumite Lifestyle doesn't keep, the payment processing fee, and taxes. Whatever remains is the profit, and you get half of it.
Roughly how it goes on a $50 tee
A $50 tee with your code becomes $45 at checkout. Take out the cost of producing and fulfilling that tee, the card processing fee, and tax, and some amount is left. That remainder is the profit, and half of it is yours.
The exact numbers shift by product and by order, which is why the dollar figure isn't shown the instant an order lands — it's calculated after the month closes, against the shop's real cost figures. A higher-priced item generally leaves more profit than a lower-priced one.
Getting paid
Totals are worked out once a month, after the month ends. Your portal shows your orders in near-real time, but the dollar amount appears only once the month is closed and the costs are final. Payment goes out within a reasonable period after that, by Venmo or Cash App (clause 13).
If you're under 18, payment goes to the parent or guardian who signed alongside you — not to you directly.
We don't ask you for a W-9, and we don't ask for your address or your Social Security number. Not on this page, not by email, not ever. You're an independent contractor, so the tax on what you earn is yours to handle, and nothing you're owed is ever held up waiting on a form. If U.S. law requires us to report what we paid you — the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 in a calendar year — we'll reach out directly and sort it out securely at the time. If you're outside the U.S., that reporting doesn't apply to you at all. Clauses 17, 17(a) and 17(b).
Your earnings are yours alone. No other ambassador sees your numbers and you won't see theirs.
One legal thing — disclosure
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires you to disclose that you have a material connection to a brand when you promote it. Because you earn money from your code, that applies to you. In practice it means adding something like #ad, #sponsored, or "Kumite Lifestyle ambassador" where people can actually see it — in the caption itself, not buried in a wall of hashtags or hidden behind "more."
It's a short line of text and it protects both of us. This one isn't a Kumite Lifestyle rule — it's federal law, and it would apply to you even if no contract mentioned it.
Questions people actually ask
Does my code expire?
No. It's permanent for as long as you're in the program.
Can I give my code to anyone?
Yes — friends, family, teammates, strangers on the internet. Anyone can use it, there's no usage limit, and every order that runs through it earns for you. The code itself stays assigned to you; it isn't reassigned to anyone else while you're in the program (clause 8).
What if I don't post for a while?
Nothing happens. There's no quota and no activity requirement. Your code stays live and you keep earning on any order that uses it.
Can I use my own code on my own order?
Yes, and you're encouraged to. You get the 10% off and you still earn your 50% share on that order.
Why isn't my dollar amount showing yet?
Orders appear in your portal right away, but the earnings figure depends on final monthly cost numbers. It fills in after the month closes.
Does the 10% work on everything?
Yes. Store-wide, across every product, collection and drop, with no exclusions and no expiry date (clause 8).
I signed an earlier version — do I need to sign again?
If you signed in September 2026, no. That signature carries over and your portal won't ask you for a new one. If you signed the original cohort-based agreement from earlier in 2026, yes — the money terms genuinely changed, and you'll see a prompt in your portal.
Can I leave?
Yes, any time, by emailing info@kumitelifestyle.com. Anything already earned before you leave is still paid. Clause 16 has the formal version.
Anything we didn't cover
Email info@kumitelifestyle.com and Nicholas will answer you directly. If you're a parent or guardian and something here gives you pause, ask before your ambassador signs — that's what the address is for.
This section is explanatory only and forms no part of the Agreement. The numbered clauses below govern. Where the two appear to differ, the clauses are what apply.