How Los Angeles boxing gym gives hope to those with none – in and out of the ring
- Jackrabbit Boxing Gym, in notoriously violent East Long Beach, California, is getting young men off the streets and saving them from themselves
- Its non-profit academy reaches more than 1,000 families each year, helping those who need it most
Long Beach in Southern California, with its year-round sun and proximity to the sea, may look idyllic. But even in a city as gang-plagued as Los Angeles, Long Beach has an especially fearsome reputation.
For 20-year-old Jared Gomez, growing up in the neighbourhood was hectic, he says. “I got in fights. I tried to fight two teachers in high school. I was always getting kicked out of school, getting suspended.”
Gomez seemed destined for the same life as many other young men in the area – one of violence, incarceration and, all too often, premature death. But if fighting was getting him into trouble, it would also play a part in saving his life.
Videos of local youths in the boxing ring started popping up on Gomez’s Instagram feed a few months ago. He overheard friends talking Jackrabbit Boxing and Fitness, so he decided to pay a visit.
“Boxing has helped me grow a lot, as a person and as a man. It’s kept me out of trouble,” he says, sitting in the ring one hot afternoon in June. “I’m not really a hothead like I used to be. I don’t pop off like I used to.”
Gomez has found something in the ring that evaded him on the violent streets. Though some observers may find the sport barbaric, for Gomez boxing has given him a feeling that he has trouble putting into words: “It’s just kind of peaceful.”