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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Until They Get Punched in the Face
Everyone has a plan, Mike Tyson once said, until they get punched in the face. Although he easily could have said, “until I bite their ear off,” Tyson’s quip is more profound than he realized. Boxer or not, everyone has a plan until they ‘get punched in the face’. Sometime after my first sparring session, perhaps as I was tending to my bloody lip and swollen jaw with a practiced nonchalance, it occurred to me that you can take a punch in the ring and keep fighting, but the punch of cancer is far too often a knockout. On May 16th, I will fight three 2-minute rounds and (knock on wood) leave the ring with nothing worse than some bruises. But during those six minutes, about 20 Americans will be dazed or completely shattered after being diagnosed with cancer. The Haymakers for Hope team are all too familiar with the punches of cancer. Co-founder Julie Anne Kelly felt the punch when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2002. Co-founder Andrew Myerson felt the punch too, losing a friend to cancer before graduating high school. I felt the punch too, when a college friend of mine died suddenly from complications following surgery to remove a benign-but-deadly tumor from his brain. So after watching my co-worker, Luke Owings, win his match at Haymakers Boston II, I thought of my old friend Ben. And I thought of Ben again when, 6 months later, Luke suggested signing up for Haymakers III. Later that night, still not convinced I wanted the long-term commitment, I opened up my copy of the Best American Sports Writing 1992 searching for inspiration. The story staring back at me was O Unlucky Man by William Nack. I read the somber tale of how in 1964 Sonny Liston went from heavyweight champion of the world to being best known as the fighter laying on the ground in the infamous “Phantom Punch” photograph after being knocked out in the first round by a loud-mouthed 22-year old challenger. Branded a 7-1 underdog before the fight, that man was then known as Cassius Clay. I put down the book and signed up for a fight of my own hoping to be more Ali than Liston but also eager to be a part of something larger than just the fight itself. I think when Julie and Andrew founded Haymakers for Hope, they certainly understood the power of the punch of cancer. They also understood the power of boxing – the power to jolt awake your inner fighter and inspire you to make sacrifices. But they could not have predicted just how powerful that combination of fighting cancer and fighting in the ring could be. Because Haymakers forces you to not only remember the old Tyson adage, but also to realize that anyone can get punched in the face. Please help me in my fight to KO cancer by donating: HERE
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
All You Need is Just a LOT of Patience
Patience is a virtue. Or so I’ve been told, since it sure as hell isn’t one of mine. Which is strange, considering I have three children that are all less than four feet tall, am a former kindergarten teacher, and am married to one of the most patient people on this green earth. In fact, I am so the opposite of patient that when John and I were house hunting, he went ahead and put an offer in on our house without telling me, for fear my impatience would cramp his negotiating style. Good call, John. In writing this post, I figured I should do a little research as to where this saying actually comes from. Patience, it appears, is one of the seven heavenly virtues, meant to counter the seven deadly sins. Upon further research, it appears that my personality and style tend to align more with the sins than virtues. This, however, is a topic for another day and time. So, why does this matter? What is the deal with “patience”? I cannot tell you how many times in the last ten months I have heard this word uttered, demanded of me, almost, when it comes to boxing. Okay, I can tell you. At least 36 times. That is how many weekly sessions I have had with Marc. Patient I may not be, but organized I am. What is unclear to many, and what was unclear to me for a long time, is that boxing is the thinking man’s (or woman’s) game. It is not just about brawling or fighting, not about beating down your opponent and throwing a barrage of punches. It’s not a bar fight in some nasty old hole in the wall in Binghamton, NY (no, I’ve never been involved in anything like that). This is sport, this is a game. And this game is all about patience. There is patience outside of the boxing ring. I spent the better part of this spring patiently waiting to become young again. How so? Well, late winter we learned of one very important USA Boxing rule change – the age a fighter becomes a Master fighter would change from 35 to 41. Which just opens up a whole new world of possibilities for a boxer, especially a female boxer of my size. Right after the National tournament the rule change would be in effect. The rules did change right after Nationals. At the national level. When would this change occur locally? Soon, I was told. You just need to wait. So I waited. Patiently. And when I say patiently, I mean outward patience. Like, I stopped asking Marc if the rule change had gone into effect yet every time I saw him. But the inner impatient child in me stamped her feet and cried out on a regular basis. There is also patience inside the boxing ring. I have learned, over time, that I need to take some punches in order to throw good punches. It seems counterintuitive, to sit in, and patiently wait (blocking and slipping, of course), while punches are coming at me. To wait to throw a punch of my own. To let myself get hit, take a punch…or two…or three, because the ideal time to counter isn’t always just right after one gets hit (patience, remember?). Although, what is most interesting about this strategy, what is most interesting about this whole patience game, is that there is such a thing as being too patient, waiting too long, and missing your opportunity. Ruminate on that one for a bit. It’s all about striking a balance, figuring out when the right time is to stop sitting in, and to step up and counter. I’m pretty sure this holds true not just in the ring, but in life, as well. Over the last year, my life outside the gym has been greatly impacted by my life inside the gym. And not just because I am now spending multiple days a week with an hour and a half (at a minimum) round trip commute to Nonantum, leaving John and the kids to fend for themselves for dinner on a regular basis, missing out on Wednesday nights out with my girlfriends, getting up early on Sundays (the one day of the week that I could actually sleep in) to get beat up. No, in addition to all of that, I like to think that as the days go on, I am growing as a boxer, and as a person. Like I said before – patience? Not my strong suit. Or I should say, it used to not be my strong suit, but I’m trying to fix that. Margaret Thatcher once said, “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.” I think I can live like that, both inside and outside the ring.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Boxing Stinks.
3 weeks into training. (Has it really only been that long?) 94 days til Fight. Here are some things I've observed. - Boxing stinks. Really smells. The gym doesn't smell somehow. Fitness Advantage is super clean and comfortable; however anytime I'm in there I stink like you wouldn't believe. Of course, I'm sweating like I've never sweat before, but I prefer to think it has something to do with the leather gloves, bag, and the sweaty hand wraps and not me. This theory doesn't explain why my hair elastic smells the same way. Oh well. I have to sit on a towel when I drive Dave's car home from the gym. I've been soaking his seats. - Your opponent's sweat flying into your eye burns nearly as much as her punch. - Trying to pick up your water bottle or mouth guard with your gloves on is hysterical and makes me giggle in the gym. Everyone else takes off their gloves but I can't get them back on fast enough. - Thinking that holding the bag for your partner is your "rest time" is a big mistake. If you lay your head on the bag while you hold it, you may actually get knocked out...especially if your partner is Christine. Christine is the best part of this whole experience so far. I met her right away because she is there every day, sometimes twice. She's originally from Rosi/JP like me, and she instantly took me under her wing. She is the most powerful woman I can imagine and she looks very intimidating; however her heart warms the whole gym. She's happy, funny and encouraging. Instead of concentrating on her own workout she watches me and has been teaching me everything she knows. I am so blessed to have her in my corner. The whole Fitness Advantage family is very special, actually. Everyone works really hard, encourages each other, fights each other, and jokes around. We're always laughing. I love going there, and I'll really miss it when the fight is over. I don't want to think about it yet. At this point I feel very well conditioned (thank you, DHAC trainers for the head start!), and I'm working on technique and power. I'm no longer nervous to spar. I'm starting to look forward to it because I see it as more of a chess game now. I have a few tools to avoid getting hit and I'm working hard at them. I especially love to spar the big men who aren't allowed to hit me back and I'm not afraid of hurting. That is fun. I get to spar my Haymaker's opponent on August 17th (Two 2 min rounds) to make sure it is a good match-up. I'm excited for this and hope that we're around the same level; although she's a full-time personal trainer with no kids to distract her, and she's 3 years younger. I know, I know....it doesn't sound good, but remember...I'm Irish. ;)
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
The Shannon Gargaro Cheering Committee
Studying the iced coffee selection in a West Newton café, Shannon Gargaro looks like anything but a boxer. The easy smile, the blonde hair, the distance runner’s frame. She looks the part of a fitness model or a weekend warrior. On this Sunday afternoon in August, however, Shannon has one physical feature that suggests she’s doing more than the local 5K circuit. It’s not that she has Manny Pacquiao’s shoulders; it’s her black eye. “It’s not a black eye, just a mouse.” Shannon laughs and tugs on her left eyelid to reveal the reddish bruise. “I’ve had two of them so far.” Shannon’s friends and family are a bit worried about her decision to box. This familial concern is a distinction that she shares with just about every other Haymakers contestant. We’re all novices, and boxing is scary. But if her friends and family realized Shannon’s dedication to this event—fitness and fundraising alike—they might worry less about Shannon’s safety and more about how much they’re willing to donate to her cause. Shannon’s training regimen is as unique as it is impressive. When she’s not boxing, running, or lifting weights, she’s at barre class, which she says helps her flexibility and leg strength. What do her barre buddies think of her boxing? “They think I’m superwoman!” They also worry about her face (thank you, two black eyes). In addition to her weekly regimen of twelve (yes, twelve) workouts, Shannon works full time as a Senior Account Executive for worksite disability income insurance at MassMutual. Says a colleague, John Brady: “I expect that she will put on a show. More importantly, she is raising money for a great cause.” Shannon’s fundraising strategy isn’t your typical email and Facebook one-two punch. As the owner of a portrait photography business, Bella Vita Photography, Shannon teamed up with her sister-in-law, a graphic designer, to create a promotional flyer for the bout (pictured below). Shannon will mail the flyer to her network, but she also plans to post the flyer at her local gyms and cafes. Shannon is a regular at the Keltic Krust café in West Newton. But her biggest fans are behind the counter at the Dunkin’ Donuts. Watching her frequent the shop for weeks sporting a steady rotation of boxing gear, professional-grade cameras, and business attire, the Dunkin’ baristas finally couldn’t contain their curiosity. Shannon explained the Belles of the Brawl. Their response: Where do we buy tickets? Wanting to see for myself, I spoke to two employees who now call themselves members of Shannon’s “cheering committee.” They have October 17 marked on their calendars.Further testament to Shannon’s drive comes from her trainer, Marc Gargaro. By both Shannon and Marc’s admission, they have a great relationship. Eight years ago, shortly after they met, Shannon signed up for private boxing lessons with Marc. She switched to group boxing lessons shortly thereafter and occasionally worked 1-on-1 with Marc. Now she’s back to training with Marc full-time, while the October 17 deadline looms. "She's surprised me with the patience,” says Marc. For her part, Shannon claims that she never argues or complains to Marc during tough training sessions. In the gym, Marc is the expert, Shannon the pupil. Any arguments can wait until they get home, where Marc is the husband, Shannon the wife. The couple has been happily married for two years. “I always say, ‘Live without regret.’” Shannon downs the rest of her iced latte and gathers her bags. She’s just come from a boxing workout, but she doesn’t want to be late for her 4pm barre class. “If I didn’t try boxing now—or something like this—I’d always wonder what I could have been, what I could’ve done in the ring. Could Marc have trained me?” It looks like he can, as long as he can keep up. To help Shannon fight to KO cancer, click here Flyer Info: Photograph Model: Shannon Gargaro. Photo by Lucie Wicker Photography. Flyer by Nicole Gargaro, Cole Gargaro Designs.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Link Between Pregnancy and Breast Cancer?
An article in USA Today outlines how pregnancy can increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women. One-third of all breast cancer cases in women under the age of 45 fall into the category of postpartum breast cancer, which is also referred to as pregnancy-associated breast cancer. Researchers believe that women might already have the breast cancer cells in their body, and the hormones naturally produced by a woman's body during the pregnancy can trigger an early onset of the disease. Doctor's don't fully understand this phenomenon, but have discovered that a woman's risk for pregnancy goes up in the first 5 years after giving birth.The good news is that postpartum breast cancer falls into a subcategory of breast cancers that is responding well to a new drug called Herceptin. Doctors have found that dealing with postpartum breast cancer patients is difficult, but with the new drug their chances of success are going up.To read the complete article: Click Here
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Mrs. S, I won't Let you Down
Upon registering for the charity boxing event Haymakers for Hope, one topic was who, in particular, I would be fighting and raising money in honor of. That choice was easy: Diane Stambovsky. To sum it up, Mrs. S. (as I referred to her) was my second mother. I first met Mrs. S. at her home in Springfield after a middle school basketball game with a couple of her sons. She was cooking dinner for her 11 children (not a misprint…). I thought there was no possible way one could cook enough food to feed everyone until she pulled out the largest batch of chicken wings I ever saw. She fixed me a place at the table and I was soon hooked. With so many teenagers and friends around, the Stambo house quickly became my new hangout spot. You can imagine some of the shenanigans we found ourselves in over the years. Whether it was the late nights or stumbling in at dawn, Mrs. S. made it clear I always had a place to stay. I quickly became part of the family and she often referred to me as her “adopted son”. Throughout high school and college she helped me through some rough patches in my life and was always there to offer advice and point me in the right direction. After pulling me out of another jam, I remember her specifically saying “Bill, whatever you need, we are here for you. I won’t let you down”. Cancer is a complex disease that can attack our bodies in many ways. The best we can do is continue to fight against it by raising awareness and funding research. One of the toughest moments I’ve ever had was going to visit Mrs. S. in the hospital while already knowing what the outcome would be. She truly fought hard, but the disease eventually won. I never really had the chance to thank her for all that she had done for me and helping to fundraise in her name is truly an honor. Mrs. S. this fight is for you, I won’t let you down.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Karen Areyzaga: Third time’s the charm
In October of 2012, Julie Kelly and the Myerson brothers were at Landsdowne Pub, holding a cocktail event for past Haymakers for Hope competitors, when an unfamiliar woman approached them and said, “I want to fight.” Fast-forward one year, and Karen Areyzaga has a fight. Prior to crashing the cocktail party, Karen had signed up twice before to fight for H4H. But with hundreds of applications for just 26 spots in each event, plus the requirement of finding a suitable opponent, Karen hadn’t landed a fight. Her official boxing record still read a stubborn 0-0, 0 KO. Karen knows a thing or two about persistence though, and because of it, the paralegal from Medford, MA will step in the ring for her first official USA Boxing sanctioned bout on October 17th. Just like they say: the third time’s the charm. Karen’s foray into the world of boxing began in 2011. She found boxing, not in search of an acceptable outlet for aggression, as some find the sport, but rather in search of a healthier lifestyle. A self-professed “girly girl,” Karen wasn’t attracted to sports as a child. But after years of sitting behind a desk as a paralegal, Karen was anxious to break out of the sedentary lifestyle. She hired Lindsey Zwart to be her personal trainer and quickly found herself enrolling in boxing classes at Avalon Fitness in Charlestown. A couple of months later, Avalon’s then-boxing trainer, Jose Cetina, noticed Karen’s steady progress and suggested she start training at his other gym, the Cambridge YMCA. Karen remembers being more than a little intimidated about the change; “I was so scared. I was like, ‘Are there going to be real fighters there? Are they going to be hitting each other?’” It was there that she met Melissa and Mara, H4H participants in 2011. She also met Jose’s fellow boxing trainer, Dan Parks, who would eventually encourage Karen to give H4H a shot. In terms of fitness, Karen has come a long way since she first strapped on a pair of gloves at Avalon Fitness. She has lost over 100 pounds, competed in obstacle-style Spartan Races, and has led a more active lifestyle that helped encourage her friends and family to get off the couch and join her. For all her personal goals, however, Karen views H4H as an opportunity to support cancer research in ways she hasn’t already. In her career as an intellectual property paralegal, Karen has proudly supported cancer-fighting organizations like Agios Pharmaceuticals, Dana Farber, and Boston Children’s Hospital. Her experience supporting these cancer-fighters is enough to cast some perspective on the all-important fight night. “Win or lose this fight, I already won. I’m going to be raising money for a great cause. I’m going to show my friends and family what I love to do. And I’m going to feel amazing on that day. So I already won.” On October 17th, Karen will celebrate a journey that began with the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle and quickly escalated to the training regimen of a committed boxer. Her journey will culminate before a crowd of 1,000 of her closest friends and family, a fact that is not lost on Karen. She was in that crowd two years ago, watching her training mentors prove their toughness. Now it’s her turn to show off her newfound toughness. “Hopefully I can inspire someone else to want to get out there and do Haymakers too,” she says. All it takes is a desire to box, and a dash of persistence.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
The Waiting...is The Hardest Part
Erin Newman is wide-eyed as she looks around the gym at the Nonantum Boxing Club, where she and her sister boxers—all fighters in the 2015 Belles of the Brawl— have come for a trial spar to confirm their matches. It’s a steamy August Sunday and the air in the gym is thick with humidity and intense anticipation. “It’s so exciting,” says Newman, with a smile. She’s not nervous about sparring but only because she’s not sparring. Her opponent’s team has asked for more time, so Newman, along with a few other fighters, must wait a week to test her match.It’s an ironic twist in Newman’s journey to Haymakers, considering she was preparing to fight in last May’s Rock ’n Rumble at the House of Blues, when the trial spar revealed that the match was no good. “My opponent was very skilled, very advanced,” says Newman, who’d joined Redline Fight Sports in Cambridge for the “great boxing workouts” in 2012, but had never sparred until January of this year. “It wasn’t about winning or losing. My trainer just felt it was for my safety. We had to pull out.” Newman was disappointed, but Julie Kelly suggested she wait and try for the Belles event, because a match would be more likely with an all-women’s show. “I realized it just wasn’t my time. It made a lot of sense to me to wait.” Still eager to participate in the event, Newman asked if she could volunteer. ‘That’s when they invited me to be a Ring Card Girl,” says Newman. “That was awesome! So that’s what I did!” At Haymakers for Hope events, the role of Ring Card holders is saved exclusively for people who are fighting cancer or have beaten it. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, Newman went through surgery and treatment and has been cancer-free for seven years. That night, as Newman sat ringside and watched her almost-opponent’s fight, she felt some sense of relief. “That fight! She was just incredible!” Still, Newman, a social worker and yoga teacher, is clearly not one to back down from a challenge. She endured cancer treatment and her subsequent divorce in fairly short order, and then trained for the 2012 New York Marathon—only to be put off by Superstorm Sandy. “I trained so long, and then it was cancelled!” she laughs, perhaps realizing the trend of these delays. “So I trained again and ran it in 2013.” When that was done, Newman went looking for her next challenge. Back at Redline, she was watching a few girls train for Haymakers events, and she was inspired. “I remember watching Nikki Chu and Jess Gerber train, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’ It was so cool. And knowing Jess was also a cancer survivor, I thought I could do it, too.” Training with Wahset Tafari has made all the difference for Newman. “I’m just hooked on his positive energy,” she says. “He is so steady, so constant. He reminds me not to take myself so seriously. I can get in my head too much, and he’ll tell me, ‘Don’t think too much, this is fun.’ He puts things in perspective.” As the trial sparring gets underway, Newman takes pictures and cheers on the other girls from her Redline team who are also fighting on Oct 7. At the end, she prepares to head downstairs, where each fighter will be filmed and photographed for their fundraising websites and fight-night videos. “After watching the sparring, I think my teammates did great! Everyone did great! And I feel less nervous, compared to when I was driving over here,” she says. “I just met my opponent, too. And I think we’ve had a similar experience of having been matched previously and not being able to do it, so I’m hopeful that it will be a good match.” While there’s no doubt it has been an emotional rollercoaster for Newman, she says this fight is not about her. “I think less about my own experience and more about my friends who are living with cancer—and especially those who have passed,” she says. “I kind of channel their energy and want to fight because there’s a lot they couldn’t do towards the end of their lives. A good friend of mine passed away last April. She was such a badass. She was a snowboarder, and lived in Colorado. She had cancer for many years, but still lived such a full life. So, I feel like I’m really dedicating this whole experience to her.” Looking ahead to fight night, Newman couldn’t be more ready. “I feel good about it,” she says. “It’s starting to feel real now. I’m starting my fundraising, and I just got the email about tickets going on sale, and oh my God—it’s really happening!”After her trail spar a week later, Newman and her intended opponent were re-matched to more suitable opponents.*Margie Kelley is a mom, freelance writer, master gardener and sometimes boxer. She fought in the 2013 Belles of the Brawl, and managed to convince her husband Chris to fight in the Rock ‘n Rumble in May. Settling arguments has taken on a whole new meaning in their house!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Sparring
Jen Royle is a Beast. It’s a word she has affection for; a word that’s seemed to follow her around as she’s pieced together an impressive career for herself in the worlds of both sports broadcasting and the culinary arts. It’s a word that’s undergone a transformation in recent years, evolving in its meaning. Not all that long ago, referring to a woman as a Beast likely wouldn’t have left you much in her good graces. Today, it’s among the highest of compliments. A Beast is an unstoppable force, someone perpetually finding themselves in the spotlight and consistently shining. Someone who can do it all. Someone you can count on to give their all. You bet on the Beast. Jen Royle is a Beast.She’s been a Beast as an Emmy winning sports reporter, as a radio/video host for WEEI and with her video series for the Boston Herald. She’s been a Beast on ABC’s reality cooking competition “The Taste” and as part of the team that launched acclaimed restaurant Babbo in the Seaport. She’s currently achieving Beast status as a professional private chef with her new company, Dare to Taste. And the rampage shows no signs of stopping. Royle has Beastly plans for the future: a restaurant she hopes to open in the not-too-far-off future. The name?Beast. “It’s just one of those things,” Jen tells me. “It’s my personality. I’m always saying it, ‘Aw, this guy’s a Beast!’ I even have a bulldog who I refer to as Little Beast.”Beastliness aside, there’s something about Jen Royle that puts you at ease the second you meet her. She’s open, engaging, and unapologetically honest. We hadn’t met prior to our conversation, but she immediately goes for the hug upon our meeting, a practice I’ve found over the years to be as reliable a measure of warmth and kindness as anything else. She swears often in conversation, but it comes naturally, feels right; it’s almost charming. She grabs a bagel, comes back to our table, and begins showing off her injuries. Since we are meeting to talk about her intense training for the upcoming boxing match for Haymakers For Hope on October 7th, there is some irony to the fact that, despite willingly subjecting herself to an onslaught of punches on a daily basis, all of her injuries occurred outside of the ring.She counts fourteen cuts and scars in all, stopping to point out those that needed stitches. They litter her hands and forearms, a veritable connect the dots of nicks and gouges. Just the other day she lopped off a chunk of her knuckle chopping a cucumber, which is healing slowly due to its location. “I cut the piece off my finger, picked it up off the floor and put it in my contact lense case with solution,” she laughs. “It’s sterile, right? They sewed it back on, but I’m a little concerned about how it’s going to heal. It’s in a weird spot.”Such is the life of a professional chef. Sports and TortsDespite her proven culinary talents, Jen Royle initially made a name for herself after college as a sports reporter, finding success covering the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, and Ravens.“Growing up in Boston you’re forced to be a sports fan. I always just wanted to be a sports reporter or a chef. Ever since I was little.”While successful in sports broadcasting, Jen began to realize over time that the stress and intensity of working professionally in sports coverage had made her become indifferent towards the teams that she had revered as a child, towards sports in general. In 2013, she stood out on the field at Fenway Park amongst the celebrating Red Sox, her Red Sox, as they claimed another World Series title. It was there that she realized something.“I didn’t give a shit,” she states plainly. “More than that, I realized that this line of work was killing me.”She’s referring to the scrutiny and vitriol that came with the territory of being a strong, opinionated, professional female sports writer and reporter. Her experience in Baltimore was especially difficult.“Fans can take things too far,” she states candidly. “It was mentally exhausting. I couldn’t handle the hate, how toxic people could be. It was crushing my soul.”She knew it was time to walk away, and she did. And yet, despite her childhood dreams, it was still a surprise to her when the path she took led to a kitchen.“Growing up, I was mesmerized by Julia Child,” she says, smiling. “I found cooking shows therapeutic. I still do. I’ve just always cooked. Always, always, always.”Jen was fortunate enough to have the opportunity be on the “The Taste”, ABC’s cooking competition where judges, including Anthony Bourdain, evaluate dishes from both professional chefs and home cooks based on a single blind taste. Jen remained in the competition until the series finale, having knocked out many professional chefs in one-on-one competitions along the way. She finished fifth. “The highlight of that experience was Anthony Bourdain saying that my clam chowder was the best that he’d had in his life,” she recalls. “I just started crying. I couldn’t believe it.”After shorts stints in culinary school and helping to open Babbo in the seaport of Boston, Jen realized she needed to be in control of her own fate. That’s when she took a leap of faith and opened her own private business as a professional private chef, which she calls Dare To Taste, publishing two cookbooks of her own in the process.“I learned that sometimes you need to do the wrong things in order to know that they’re wrong for you. Sometimes the mistakes you make along the way are the stepping stones that get you to your goals.” Putting On The GlovesIt’s this spirit of trying things outside of her wheelhouse that is now getting Jen Royle punched in the face on a regular basis. As painful as that may be, her past experiences have taught her how important pain is as part of the process.“I don’t like to lose,” she tells me, switching gears to talk about her training for Haymakers. “I don’t like to feel like I could lose. But now I’m in the ring with skilled female boxers who are kicking the shit out of me and it sucks. It sucks, but I know it’s making me better, tougher, more confident. You have to take the hits before you can walk out of there a champion.”Royle currently trains with Tommy McInerney, who has trained many of the Boston Bruins, including her friend, former Bruin Shawn Thornton, who put her in touch with McInerney. McInerney has trained male boxers for Haymakers in the past, but Royle marks the first female competitor he’s trained for the event. “In so many ways, this fight is a reflection of [Tommy],” she says. “I want him to be proud of me. I want to win. I have that competitive spirit.”It’s that competitive spirit, mixed with her self-described “big mouth”, that got her involved with Haymakers for Hope in the first place. She describes it as both her best and worst quality.“Look, and you can print this, there are some bitches in sports that I hate. Girls along the way that have made my career difficult. Women don’t always support each other. I’ve definitely been on the back end of that,” she tells me honestly. “So I went to one of the Haymakers’ men’s fights and afterwards I tweeted them, ‘Hey Haymakers, you should let females do this. There’s a few bitches I’d like to fuck up’. I wasn’t being serious, just my normal sarcastic self. Next thing I know the director was like ‘Jen Royle, guess what...we DO do this for females’. Be careful what you wish for.”“I signed up the next day,” she adds, laughing. Who She’s Fighting For: Part IIt’s only fitting that Jen Royle is fighting in part for the woman who taught her just how big a mouth could be. “My grandmother Millie was a great, great woman. One hundred percent Italian,” she remembers. “She was a feisty, screaming loud, fun loving, get-over-here-and-kiss-your-grandmother-type woman. Generous. Always the biggest presence in the room. Always. She was the type of woman you always wanted to be around. She taught me to be a good person and a hard worker. God, did she love her grandkids.”Jen was sixteen when she lost her grandmother to non-hodgkin's lymphoma in 1991. “When she died, I thought my world was over,” Jen tells me. You get the sense that watching her mother lose her own mother was as traumatizing for Jen as the loss of her grandmother itself; it’s clear she’s fighting in honor of both women equally.“I remember feeling so badly for my mother. She’d never get another hug from her mother again,” Jen recalls, tearing up. “It upsets me to this day. Seeing your parents go through pain is worse than anything. My mother doesn’t have her mother anymore.” I ask Jen what she thought her grandmother would say if she knew her granddaughter would be hopping into the boxing ring in her honor.“You’re crazy Jennifer!” she replies, laughing, and then quickly taking on Millie’s persona, a loud, comic screech. “What are you doin’? That’s not lady-like! You’re gonna get your ass kicked!”Although her grandmother passed away almost 25 years ago, it seems getting rid of her hasn’t been all that easy. “My mother’s gone to a medium three different times in an effort to talk to my father,” Jen tells me, cracking up. “As soon as she got there, the medium was like ‘Alright! Whose mother is Millie?! Is Diane here?’ and my mother was just like ‘Oh God...’ Another time, my mother lost a diamond ring that Millie left to her while she was making lasagna. Mom ripped the whole dinner apart, was down on her hands and knees. Couldn’t find it. The next time she went to the medium, the woman told her without knowing anything, ‘Ah. The ring. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a material thing.’ I mean, how could she have known that?”Something tells me there won’t be anything, not even death itself, that will keep Millie from being ringside for Jen on October 7th. Who She’s Fighting For: Part II“While my grandma is over in the afterlife yelling ‘Get Me Outta Here!” laughs Jen, “my dad’s probably like “Would ya leave me alone, already? I’m dead!”She describes her father, Frank, as a quiet Irishman, an observer, the strong-silent-type “ying” to the boisterous Italian “yangs” in the household. He was a Boston lifer who went to Charlestown High and loved the Red Sox. He made a career as a salesman selling KitchenAid products. One gets the sense that perhaps on some level, Jen’s affinity for sports and cooking was set in motion by the life of her father.“As a salesman for KitchenAid, I had every appliance you could ever imagine,” Jen tells me. “My dad got me everything I ever wanted cooking-wise.”“He loved The Rolling Stones. He’d blast them until the basement shook. That song ‘Start Me Up’ was his favorite. He would blast that damned song, the house would shake, my mother would be screaming FRAAAAAANK, and he’d just bust into the room dancing, right up in her face,” she says between laughs. Another thing Frank loved was cigarettes. When you hear Jen talk about that particular habit, there are traces of a seething anger in her eyes. “I knew he’d die from cigarettes. I always knew,” she states plainly. “There was never a doubt for me that those would be the end of him.”Unfortunately, Jen wasn’t wrong. In 2006, Frank was diagnosed with lung cancer, which quickly spread to his brain. The doctors gave him six months. He died in four. “He died in the bedroom in front of all of us. He was fighting for his life for hours. Each breath was painstaking,” Jen recalls. “My brothers and I finally had to tell him ‘It’s okay. We are all here. We love you so much. You did such a great job with us. It’s okay.’ He died five seconds later.”“If I could say one thing to people with loved ones who have cancer,” she goes on, “I would tell them to say what you need to say, to do what you need to do. Now. Don’t wait. That day’s gonna come when it’s too fucking late.” Back To The BeastJen tells me that her mother will be there cheering her on as she helps to raise money for cancer research in honor of her father and grandmother. I ask her what her mom thinks of it all. Jen says it’s hard to tell. “It’s not that she doesn’t care,” she says, “It’s that she’s so used to me taking chances, trying new things, being in the public eye, that she isn’t even phased anymore,” Jen laughs. “There Jen goes again. Business as usual.”The way things are going for Jen Royle, that figurative statement will be a literal one before we know it. “If there’s one more daring thing I do, it’ll be that. Opening up my restaurant. Beast,” she says excitedly. “It’ll be the best thing I have ever accomplished.”I ask her what she’s been cooking recently, what dishes she’s most excited about sharing with the world.“I’m obsessed with soups right now. Butternut Squash Soup. Tomato Ginger Soup. Cauliflower Soup. Even in the summer I’m obsessed with soups.”And what about her famous clam chowder, the one Anthony Bourdain told her was the best he’d ever tasted? “It’s fucking awesome,” she says beaming. “I’ll make you some sometime.”That’s in writing now, Jen. I’ll let you get through your training and the fight, but once it’s over?I’ll be ringside, waiting patiently with my oyster crackers.***Chris Randa is a freelance writer, film producer, and special education teacher. He lives with his wife and son in Millis, MA. Check out his work at www.kerpunkerplunk.com and follow him on Twitter at @ChrisRanda
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Grudge Match: Joe Joyce vs. Cancer
“I’mhonored to have this opportunity,” says Joe Joyce, about that moment onNovember 19 when he’ll climb through the ropes of a boxing ring in the centerof The Theater at Madison Square Garden to take down the opponent that tried tokill him five years ago. One might call it a grudge match:Joe Joyce vs. Cancer. Only this time,Joyce will be fighting to raise money for cancer research and for treatmentslike those that saved his life. Joyce was just settling in to a newpost at the Japanese bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities in 2010, when he wasdiagnosed with testicular cancer and his world was turned upside down."Nothing in life can prepareyou for hearing those three dreaded words: ‘you have cancer.’ It was a shock,” he says. “I was 35, I had mywife and two young kids; my son was 3 and my daughter was a newborn. I asked my old boss, who was a cancersurvivor, for advice, and he sent me to Sloan Kettering for a consult. They said the good news was that, of all thecancers, mine had a high cure rate. Sothe next morning, I was in surgery." Joyce recalls it was a very sad andscary time for his family. He started chemotherapy immediately after surgery,and was still in the hospital when his father-in-law, who had been ill, passedaway. “That was a very tough time,especially for my wife, Lindsay,” he says. Over the next year, Joyce wouldendure several rounds of chemotherapy and six additional surgeries. He lost 50 pounds and by his own admission,“looked pretty rough.” But Joyce looks back and sees asilver lining. He met Adam Glazer, whowould later fight in the 2013 Haymakers for Hope event, during his chemotherapytreatments. Glazer was in treatment aswell, and the two bonded immediately. “We went to treatments together,”recalls Joyce. “We were even in the hospital for a month together. We kept each other going. We’d hold our IV poles and do laps around thehospital. We were keeping each otherup. If Adam was feeling down, I’d kindof keep him going and he’d do the same for me. We still call each other War Buddies.” When Glazer fought in Haymakers in2013, Joyce was watching and cheering him on. “It was an unbelievable experiencefor him, and he tried to talk me into doing it last year, but the timing justdidn’t work out,” he says. “I told mywife I was going to do it this year. We— my wife and kids and I—all agreed that we had to devote ourselves to itcompletely. Lindsay got behind me rightaway—I couldn’t do it without her anyway.” Though he’d never boxed before,Joyce signed on and started his training this summer at Gotham Gym. “I started training three days aweek, working the heavy bags and learning the footwork, and then in the thirdweek, my trainer Mike Castle said,‘We’re sparring today.’ And I said, ‘OK, what does that mean?’” Right away, he says, he “felt verynervous,” especially when his sparring partners— Haymakers teammates Max and Sydney told him they’d both been boxing for a while. “So I took my first punches and itwas an eye-opener for sure,” Joyce says. “But you move, and you just doit. You learn how not to get hit. I just thought to myself, ‘You’ve faced muchworse—so what if you see a little blood? It’s OK.’ ” On training days, Joyce isgetting up at 3:30 a.m. to take the train from his home in Long Island toGotham Gym for his early-morning workouts, before heading to Mitsubishi UFJ,where he is now Director of Operations. It makes for a long day, but when Joyce gets home, his kids, now 8 and5, ask him all about boxing. “They’re really proud,” he says. While some of Joyce’s relatives sayhe’s “crazy” to fight and worry he’ll get hurt, he says his friends and hisentire firm are completely behind him. “The company has a charity committee to talk about supporting differentcauses,” he says. “But right now it’s all about this fight. They’re holding meetings about buying ticketsand making t-shirts for fight night. They know what I went through and they’re excited.” Still, that’s just the beginning ofwhat makes all the training worth it. “Adam was right,” says Joyce. “Hetold me that not only would it feel good to train so hard, and to raise moneyfor cancer research, but that all aspects of my life would improve. My focus, my drive, my determination. I already feel renewed in my outlook anddrive. Boxing really has helped me focusin every area of my life.” A former college basketball player,Joyce felt he’d been in decent shape before he got sick. But after treatment, his focus shifted to hisfamily and his job. “Then one day I realized I hadn’tbeen to the gym for a long time,” he says. “So this has gotten me back. Andnow, my leg strength and my shoulders—wow! It’s all coming back. It’samazing. The feeling I have when I walkout of that gym? It’s great. Five yearsago, I never thought I’d have the strength to lift my kids again, never mindboxing! It feels great to get myconfidence back.” Now, Joyce can’t think of a betterway to use that confidence and newfound strength than to beat cancer again—thistime in the ring. “When you’re going throughtreatment, you fight every day. Youfight to find strength to get to the next day. You fight to make it to the next treatment. When Haymakers for Hope came up, the idea ofliterally fighting for it meant so much to me. “Cancer took a lot out of my life,”Joyce says, pausing a moment to compose himself. “That’s why this fight means so much. Cancer took my mom and almost took me. So I’m gonna kick its ass.”Margie Kelleyis a mom, freelance writer, master gardener and sometimes boxer. She fought in the 2013 Belles of the Brawl inBoston, and managed to convince her husband, Chris Fitzpatrick, to fight in theRock ‘n Rumble in May. Settlingarguments has taken on a whole new meaning in their house!
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