Artem Lobov reveals he was the one that came up with Proper No. 12 whiskey and gave it to Conor McGregor, which he will reveal in a new book.
Lobov spoke to TalkSport and said the two were talking about McGregor doing vodka to make more money following the Diaz fight. Yet, it wasnāt as easy as just McGregor putting his name on the alcohol.
āThe selling point of my book will be the Proper 12 whiskey story. A few people know, but this was actually my idea. I was the person who came up with the idea to do a whiskey for Conor,ā Lobov said.ā
Lobov then told McGregor he should do whiskey instead as he had previously done a college presentation on the liquor and studied it. With that, Lobov knew quite a bit about it and began working on creating the whiskey and came up with a deal that he ended up giving McGregor.
Although Proper No. 12 was Artem Lobovās idea, he knew Conor McGregor could make it massive. The former UFC and BKFC fighter also turned down any money the Irishman gave him.
āLucky for me, when I was studying in college, I used to work in the bar at the Radisson Hotel and I had a friend who worked in the bar with me,ā Lobov continued. We were just two 18-year-old kids. I obviously, left and did my own thing but Ivan stayed working in hospitality and worked his way up to be the general manager of a hotel. He put me in touch with a man called Niall of Classic Drinks, a top drink distribution company in Ireland. Niall was kind enough to meet me, at the Radisson actually, and he was very generous with his information. Once I got that information, I went on and met all different whiskey distilleries. I called some and met some in person. I did my research and put a beautiful deal together.
āOnce the deal was ready, I went to Conor and I said, āConor, I have the deal ready for you. This is going to be a billion-dollar deal, no messing here.ā Iām not sure if he took me seriously or not at the time with the billion dollars,ā Lobov said. āI introduced Audie [Attar] and the rest of the Paradigm [Sports Management] team to my deal and all the people I was already working with and then we got going. We continued working on it and as you can see it was a massive success. Iām really happy to see that and Iām really happy to be a part of it.ā
World renown Irish fighter considering a Vodka label until Russian teammate points out Irish Whiskey as the more pertinent business decision? Peculiar.
Proper 12 is just a dumb name stuck on a purchased product from an established distiller.
What in the fuck does Lobov think he did?
The only thing that made it anything close to a billion dollar idea was Conor and his fame.
Iām sureāArtem Lobovās Proper 12ā would have been a smashing success 
Good way for Artem to permanently destroy any bridge with Conor
Isnāt that what he said?
Probably.
Good for Artem.
Thats what i thought
Dana doesnt own Howler either but who the fuck cares
So why did he turn down any cut of the deal or any money Conor has offered him?
GREAT Question , hes a fighter and not a biz man ??
According to his own story heās an amazing business man ā¦ but even if he was rubbish at it, he seems to indicate that Conor has tried to give him something for his contribution, which heās turning down.
Apparently the pride and happiness of being a big part of it is the most important thing and Conor can keep those pointless mansions, hypercars and yachts I guess lol
No Idea why
Grandpa Artemā¦
Writing on his Instagram to launch the product, McGregor wrote: "I have spent a lifetime studying this craft under the tutelage of my late Grandfather on my motherās side, Christopher āJakesā Moore, and I have put just over 3 years into the making of this liquid alone.
"Over the years, Iāve been approached by many Irish whiskey brands asking me to endorse their product. I have nothing against endorsement deals; I have several with brands and products I believe in, that is no secret. However, something about simply endorsing an Irish whiskey didnāt feel right to me. I wanted to do it my way - from start to finish.