As I stood looking out at downtown Cheonan
on what could very well be the balcony of my very own – our very own – boxing club,
I couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear.
Fear not that our dream of opening a boxing club will crash and burn or
fail but a fear that it may not happen. A
fear that we have this burning desire, this high hope and much anticipation of
a great dream that may be just that, too great.
I’ve never been one to follow the crowd,
never one to settle, and I’m well aware that we’re both taking a huge risk
with pursuing this dream. Regardless of how much we try to prevent it or whatnot, people’s
feelings are going to be hurt, bridges are going to be burnt, and pockets
are definitely going to be emptied. Whether it be the feelings of Junior Mint and my teammates who I am loyal to or that of my family who are hoping I'm returning to Canada, the connections I have via UP Boxing Club and the boxing community or that of my in-laws, relationships are definitely going to be tested. Many will be lost but many will become stronger and new ones will form. In a year from now I may very well be penniless, homeless and sleeping on a cold concrete floor or on the floor of the boxing ring but that's ok with me. I rather fail trying than to not try, that's a forfeit and I refuse to forfeit. There’s
definitely a lot more anticipated blood, sweat and tears that will be going
into this dream than any boxing bout either Snickers or I have ever fought
in. I’m more than willing to take that
risk though, to risk it all, I’m just afraid of not being able to take the
chance.
I sent out a questionnaire today, posted it
on my Flipside Fitness Facebook page, it was in regards to our new boxing
club and current boxercise classes. My
teacher at business start-up school had talked the other day about catering to
your customers’ needs and wants instead of your own. “You know what you like but your business isn’t
for you. Do you know your customer?” It seemed like a simple enough question but it got
me really thinking, hence the questionnaire.
I was surprised to note that many of the ladies coming out to the
Flipside Fitness boxercise classes would not only be open to attending a co-ed
class but they’d also be willing to attend a class taught by Snickers. Currently all my boxercise classes are hosted
on the weekend because that’s our allotted time given to us by UP Boxing
Club. I used to host weekday morning
classes but attendance was definitely hit and miss with those signing up actually showing up so that's when I stopped hosting them. However, my boxercise membership has since changed -- it's changed a lot -- and according to the findings of the questionnaire, so have the
wants of my members. Apparently they want weekday
morning classes so, like my teacher said, “Give them what they want.” I’m hoping to add some
weekday morning classes after my business class is over and done with and see what becomes of them. In two weeks I’ll be on holidays for the next
two and a half weeks so weekday morning classes will definitely be no problem
for me.
I’ve dedicated a lot of time and effort
into Flipside Fitness, it’s my baby, but I really want to take it to the next
level. Right now I feel so incredibly restricted with only having the boxing club
on the weekends and it's frustrating. It's frustrating wanting to do so much but only able to do so little. I need this new boxing
club – WE need this new boxing club – and I’ve never wanted something as bad as
I’ve wanted this.
When I close my
eyes, I can walk through every inch of it and see exactly how we’d map it out to
look like -- the boxing ring in the far
left corner, beside the manager’s desk with the large sofa lounging area; the
wall we’d have to knock down and the balcony where I’d stand out on, waiting to
yell at this girl or that girl for running late. Silly details like this that I’ve
already envisioned in my head, details
that make this place already our place in my head.
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