My new home.

I joined a boxing gym in Brooklyn named Gleason's. Boxing legends such as Mohamed Ali, Mike Tyson, Sunny Liston and Jake LaMotta have all trained there extensively. Current boxing stars like Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah are there too, training right along side fresh new hopefuls.

I've never experienced anything quite like Gleason's Gym before. There’s such a strong sense of community. The boxer’s all know each other by name. They even know each other's family members by name. Banners are strewn across the walls celebrating the numerous boxing titles awarded to the many of the gym’s current members. Champions are born there. And it all starts with the culmination of strong relationships.

I’ve hired a personal coach to give me professional training as boxer. In the short time that I’ve been under his tutelage, I've already met his uncle (an olympic boxing champion who represented America in the Munich 1972 Olympics), his eldest son (who is also a boxer, and is currently attending college as a film major), and one of his youngest sons (on the phone just to say hi and introduce myself). My coach wants me to feel like I'm a part of his family. Its funny. I go out of my way to prepare days in advance for each visit to Gleason's. I make sure to go in with total mental focus, being well rested, well fed, and properly hydrated, ready to put in work and break through my limits, all because I want to make my "family" proud.