As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Two New Opportunities... Sunday, August 25

Yesterday I was in Metro Manila's biggest yacht and today I was in a posh members-only club, the Manila House.  In between however, I was slaving away at rugby practice and pushing my fighters through heavy training at Empowered.  

Two days in a row I got dressed up... and by "dressed up" I mean I wore real pants.

Yesterday it was for a friend's birthday and today it was for my church's one year anniversary.

Both celebrations I didn't really want to go (that's the anti-social in me) but in both situations I was really glad I had gone.  Yesterday, at the birthday party, I met this cool young gal that used to play rugby.  I didn't realize it at the time but the guy that she and I were chatting it up with was her father.  I only clued in later when he made mention that he was so incredibly glad his daughter has met someone like me.  Apparently she's a black sheep too, just like me, and he says she's needing a strong woman figure in her life.  It was such a huge compliment but with it I know comes a lot of responsibility.  I'm cool with it though, ultra flattered, but I'm honoured to be considered as a mentor to her.  The plan is to get her out to rugby and see if she wants to come out to Empowered, at least even just for the Saturday morning Acacia Sole Sistas run.  I spent a good chunk of my evening talking with her and hearing her story.

Tonight's church anniversary party was being held in another banquet hall in the Manila House, down the hall from where we usually hold our church services.  It's a super fancy place to have church, I agree, but it's cool in that it's a smaller, more intimate crowd.  Unlike many other churches I've tried out here that are so modern, massive and rather showy feeling, this church has less than 50 in attendance.  You're able to easily become a familiar face, you see the same crowd every week, and I like that.  

I sat at one of the tables tonight and we all ordered to share.  I take it that's a common Asian thing.  I sat by one of the pastor's wife and got chatting with her about my Lil' Sistas Project.  As it turns out, her daughter is very much into starting something similar or at least looking to get involved with an outreach program.  I don't know what will become of her and I being linked through her mother but I'm optimistic that I can help encourage her or perhaps even get her to help me further expand upon what I'm doing for the Lil' Sistas.

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