Richard Matthew Carlin

Richard Matthew Carlin, (born December 26, 1982) is a co-founder and company director of retail chain EZ Sports, selling sports nutrition and fight equipment via "bricks & mortar" retail outlets throughout Scotland. In 2010 he co-founded Scottish Fight Challenge with business partner Chris Crowe and Richard Gillon and is now a director, shareholder and promoter with Vision FC. Carlin is also the drummer from Scottish alternative rock band Dead or American and was an organiser of the first two Texas Fear Fest movie conventions held in Dallas, Texas.
EZ Sports
EZ Sports is a retailer specialising in sports nutrition, fight gear and general fitness accessories. The first retail outlet was established in 2009 by Carlin and Crowe. In 2010 they opened a second outlet in the Scottish Highland's city of Inverness with Gavin Laird before opening third and fourth outlets in Glasgow and Dunfermline respectively; with Scott Watling and James Watling as business partners.
Scottish Fight Challenge
Scottish Fight Challenge (SFC) was a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion originally held at the Albert Halls in Stirling, Scotland. Due to fundamental disagreements with the direction of the promotion and business, Gillon amicably left SFC after the second event. Carlin and Crowe continued on, raising the bar with each event in terms of overall production values and fightcards. After SFC 4: Resolution, the decision was made to upgrade to a much larger venue and the Kelvin Hall Sports Arena in Glasgow was chosen. SFC 5: Rivals was held here and was the promotion's biggest and most successful event. After Rivals took place Carlin and Crowe merged their promotion with Swedish organisation, Vision Fighting Championship.
Vision Fighting Championship
Vision Fighting Championship (Vision) is originally a Scandinavian MMA promotion. After two events held in Karlstad, Sweden, Vision merged with SFC to form a larger European promotion with champions established in different weight classes and the opportunity to carry out a far more robust annual schedule of events between both the UK and Scandinavia. The merged promotion ran a successful fight night in Karlstad before a larger championship event in Glasgow, Scotland at the Kelvin Hall. The promotions biggest production to date took place December 1, 2012 at the Fryshuset Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
The promotion is a limited company based in the UK with five directors, including Carlin, all with equal shares.
Dead or American
Carlin began drumming properly at the age of 12 years. He cites his biggest drumming influences as Dave Grohl, Danny Carey and John Stanier. Carlin eventually joined the alternative rock band, Dead or American in January 2000. All in there were 3 EPs and 2 Albums officially recorded. The debut album, Ends, was voted the 48th best Scottish album of the decade by the Skinny Magazine in 2010. The second album, Thaumaturgy, was recorded by Kurt Ballou at God City Studio in Salem MA, USA. The band are currently on an indefinite "hiatus".

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