The latest
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Sparring with Jess Marino and Ray Folmer
Networking can be a tricky thing. You’re not always sure if you’re about to say the wrong thing. It can be awkward, painful even. If your efforts at networking result in your getting punched in the face, more often than not, things did not go well. However, in the case of Jessica Marino and Ray Folmer, that exact outcome proved to be the measure of true networking success. “You know that cheesy term ‘sweatworking’?” Jess asks me. “Ray’s my client. We’re both in finance. Part of the relationship is entertaining and since I’m athletically inclined, I started getting creative and asked, ‘Instead of going out and having a steak, do you want to come to a spin class with me or something like that?’ and he said ‘Yes, I would totally like to do that’.”One of their professional excursions led them to a Haymakers for Hope fight. After a night of watching others literally fight to beat cancer, they decided to apply together. A few months later, the two were sizing each other up in the ring, preparing to spar. “Sparring with Ray was almost comedy,” Jess chuckles. “I’m five-foot-seven and 127 pounds. He must have a hundred pounds on me and is 6 foot something. I was like ‘Ray, don’t break my nose. I’m not afraid to get in the ring with you, but if you break my nose, I will kill you.”“I’d never punched a girl before in my life, so that was really awkward,” Ray tells me. “I think I gave her a bloody nose that day.”“There was definitely blood in my nose that day!” Jess laughs, feigning indignation. “Ray was like, ‘You walked right into it!’ and I was like ‘Bullshit I walked right into it! You simply hit me in the face, you little jerk!”To paint the matchup as a David versus Goliath billing wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate, but not in the way you might think. “These training sessions wear you out,” Ray explains, a sentiment nearly every H4H boxer has expressed. “I wrestled in high school, but never picked up boxing. Picking up anything at 48 years old is a struggle. When you start getting punched in the face, it’s an eye opener.”As for Jess, this is probably a good time to mention that she’s an elite endurance athlete, a former gymnast who played soccer for University of Richmond, and recently raised over $650,000 for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund as the single female on the 4-person team division in Race Across America, a 3,000 mile non-stop relay bike race across the country from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis MD (her team finished as the champions). When we spoke, she was in Hawaii, recovering from the Ironman World Championship Competition she’d raced the day before.“I’m not sure my perspective is the one to...” she trails off, laughing. “I’ve been doing my boxing training on my, quote, light days. I’m supposed to be more or less relaxing, maybe doing a light run or a little longer swim on certain recovery days. Those have been the days that I’ve been boxing. What I’m trying to do in my athletic career is pretty different than most.” Regardless of whether the training is an unprecedented challenge or just another exhausting day amongst a lifetime of them, for both Ray Folmer and Jessica Marino, their involvement comes down to the people it helps.“It’s such a great cause,” Ray tells me. “Every single person that I know has been touched by cancer. My wife and I both had family members who have suffered from cancer. I don’t think anyone alive today doesn’t have someone close to them who’s been affected by cancer.”“The money I raise is going towards the UVA treatment center on behalf of #KickAsh,” Jess adds. “I’m fighting for a former college teammate, Ashleigh, who’s fighting a rare form of brain cancer. My best friend is also a cancer survivor and will be front and center cheering in the stands on fight night.” “It is a fight,” Ray continues. “People who have to suffer through it, they fight. This is the least I can do. If I can suffer for three lousy rounds to raise money and awareness, I think that’s a great thing.”“There’s no punch you could take that could compare to what the people I’m fighting for have gone through and are going through,” Jess adds. “We are literally fighting for a cause that I couldn’t pass it up. Anything I can do for the cause, I’m all in.”So how has this joint venture affected their business relationship?“As sales coverage and client, we have to talk to each other every day at work,” Jess says. “The majority of the conversation ends up being about practicing footwork or whatever. It’s pretty funny. Both business and pleasure, I guess. More often than not it ends up being about how last night’s boxing session was!”“Don’t tell work,” she adds with a laugh.***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
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Sparring with John Perna
What is nocturnal, zips along from tree to tree, can be found on many different continents, and conquers whatever it sets its sights on?An owl, right?Well, yes, an owl, but also John Perna. “I go to work at 2am,” Perna, age 33, says. “I trade European stocks, so I have to operate on their hours.”While Perna sees some daylight through the small window of time he’s found to train for his upcoming Haymakers for Hope match on November 19th, there isn’t much else he’s got time for. Not right now, anyways. “Right now my life consists of work, working out, and studying for the Charter Financial Analyst Exam,” Perna explains. “I literally have no free time.”“I think I may have taken on too much this year,” he adds, laughing. With the fight two weeks away, Perna has another exhausting task to add to his plate: consuming piles of food. “I’m so sick of food at this point,” he explains. “To make weight, I’ve been eating nonstop for the last three weeks. I’m totally sick of it.”It’s a very strange thing to Perna to be actively trying to gain weight. That’s because, in order to make the cut to get picked for Haymakers, Perna successfully set out to lose quite a bit of weight. In the end, he lost over 100 lbs. “After putting so much effort into losing weight, it’s pretty weird to be going out of my way to do the opposite,” Perna admits. “Everyone in my family has struggled with weight at one point or another. When I applied for Haymakers in 2014 I was eating and drinking a lot. I weighed in at 280 lbs,” Perna remembers. “I realized then that there was no way they were going to find someone to match up with me at that weight.”His initial goal was to get down to 220 lbs. He changed his diet and stopped drinking altogether. After just one month of better diet and exercise, he had lost 25 lbs and was ready to apply to H4H again. Even at a more manageable 255 lbs, Perna was not selected. “I figured, hey, why stop now?” Perna says. “There’s always next year.”By the time the next round of Haymakers fights wrapped up, Perna was down to 210lbs. He remained proactive in his efforts to be selected, taking a boxing class once a week in addition to exercising and eating better. He met his future Haymakers trainer during this time and started to learn the ropes over the next 6 months. The day came when he got the call that he’d finally been selected. It was time to kick up the training regiment in a big way. Things were about to get serious. “I expected the training to be hard,” Perna says. “But I didn’t expect it to be that hard. I was in pretty good shape by the time the real training started, but this was just exhausting. It’s physically different than anything else I’ve done.”“I definitely threw up after the first session,” Perna recalls with a chuckle. “I really couldn’t even go twice around with a jump rope. I was really worried that I wasn’t going to get to where I wanted to be.”After a few weeks of struggling through the growing pains of it all, things started to click. People were telling him that he was starting to look like an old pro. At the toughest moments, he tried to focus on the people he was fighting for. When he signed up, his cousin Karen was battling Leukemia. He had a close friend whose mother was also battling cancer, as well as another friend whose brother had died from it a few years prior. At the time I spoke to Perna, he had individually raised over $16,000 for the cause and was down to near 180 lbs. “Throughout this process, I’ve learned that even if something seems hopeless, if I stick to it, I can make it happen,” Perna says. “I’ve learned I can take a punch to the face too.”With the fight less than two weeks away, Perna is a mix of excitement and nerves. “I’m a little bit of everything, a kind of mish-mash of emotions,” Perna says. “I can’t imagine how it will be the day of. It’s the culmination of a lot. Everybody’s coming out. That’s where most of the nerves come from. I need to make sure I don’t do something stupid, like walk into a left hand after five seconds in the ring.” If there’s one thing this man needs, it’s a vacation and that’s something he’s made sure he’s getting. “Win or lose, after the fight I have two weeks to finish studying for the CFA exam. The test is at 6pm. At 10pm that same night, I’m getting on a plane to Australia!”Last year, traveling became a priority for Perna. He plans to spend his time down under outback trekking, bungee jumping and skydiving. I comment that, from the sound of things, fear doesn’t seem to be something he has time for either. He laughs at that. “Actually, I was afraid of heights until last year,” he tells me. “I went to Costa Rica and was put in a position to do some waterfall rappelling and ziplining. I actually didn’t want to get on the zipline and fly through the trees, but there was a seventy-five year old Canadian grandmother in front of me. She took off no problem. I figured if she could do it, I could do it. The fear somehow disappeared after that.”It’s clearly been a transformative year for John Perna, physically, mentally and emotionally. He’s stronger, quicker, and more fearless. Wiser in many ways. Maybe he is an owl after all.***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
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Behind the Scenes - NYC Media Day
One month ago our friends over at Gauntlet Films turned our 32 fighters into movie stars for a day as they filmed some jaw-dropping video shorts featuring these badass men & women in their element. Thank you to EverybodyFights NYC for hosting this year’s Haymaker’s NYC Media Day.Thank you to Emily Winiker Photography & Justin Barnes for capturing these epic shots!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
An Inside Look at H4H Media Day
Been to a Haymakers event yet? If you have – you’ve seen the kick-ass intro videos our fighters get to walk out to prior to their big bout. Action packed and totally intimidating, these videos set the stage for the battle that’s about to go down and show a glimpse of the hard work they’ve put in for the past four months. Thanks to our friends over at Gauntlet Films we host a full-on media day, this year at Sorabella Training Center in Waltham, MA. From battle ropes, keg presses, sled pushes and of course some heavy bag work and shadow boxing, our fighters get a complete movie-making experience – guaranteed to make them look more hardcore than Rocky. Check out some images from the day below and stay tuned for sneak peaks of the videos before Rock ’N Rumble VII on May 18th!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Taking Back The Date
Dates are important. And while this isn’t a knock on mutually agreed upon dinners out together or largely unappetizing wrinkled brown fruit, these are not among the dates in question. Consider instead the intimate pairing of the name of a month with a number less than or equal to thirty-one. A Date is a marker in time, the indexing of important memories and events, a framing of both the linear context of our lives and cyclical natures of our years. Dates are persistent, arriving once every year to remind us what we should be thinking about or remembering. With the exception of leap-year-rebel February 29th, Dates, and their associated meaning, will confront us annually, without fail. There are wonderful dates. On October 25th, my son celebrates a birthday. On December 24th, we keep an eye out for Santa Claus. There are less than wonderful dates. On January 20th, I am reminded of the passing of our family collie, Chester. On September 11th, our nation mourns a tragedy. Sometimes dates can feel like an unwanted guest, moments in time that you wish you didn’t have to revisit. So often you may be having a great day until a persistent rapping upon your front door calls out and when you answer it, there’s that Date again, back and looking to reminisce. And so, for better or worse, we ascribe to Dates a great deal of power in our lives. And yet, we are not powerless against the relentless confrontation of meaning that such powerful Dates carry with them. Though the month and number will remain, it is not impossible to change the Date. .......Jeff Scola met Katie Marvinney at work seven years ago. She was from Cleveland, he grew up outside of Worcester, and they both landed positions at EMC in Boston, starting the same summer. “I was definitely interested first,” Jeff remembers. “But we would always hang out in groups. So I kept trying to whittle it down. If we went out with a group of ten people, next time maybe I’d shoot for just five people. Then four, and then three, and then all of a sudden, boom, she was on a date with me and she didn’t even know it!”“Yeah,” Katie laughs, “I eventually said, ‘Okay I’ve got to give this a try’.”Today she’s glad she did. In September of 2015, after five years of knowing each other and having dated for three, the two decided to take things to the next step and move in together. Things were great. They worked, laughed, ate pad thai and watched everything that HBO had to offer. Jeff and Katie lived happily together in that apartment for six months. And then came February Fifth. February Fifth was destined to be an unwanted guest, the kind that wouldn’t be leaving them alone any time soon. An awful Date. Just terrible. One to be forgotten if possible. At work, Jeff had just gotten his new goals for the year, and he was stressing out. The goals were directly correlated with what his earnings for the year would be and, at the time, it felt overwhelming. When he arrived home later that day, there was February Fifth waiting for him.“It was such a shock. Katie had a healthy lifestyle. She ate well and exercised,” Jeff remembers. “You don’t expect breast cancer at twenty-seven.”“Starting that day, the whole year was tied up in chemo and radiation,” Katie adds. “It felt like all of 2016 was hijacked.”February Fifth was a Friday that year. Katie spent nearly every day after that in the hospital. Jeff did as well. He didn’t miss a single treatment. It was exhausting for both of them and one day the two decided to get away, even if just for a few days. They left town, wanting to get far outside of the city, to clear their heads and try not to think about how hard things were. They drove to Stowe, Vermont to stay at the Edson Hill, a gorgeous historic inn. It was perfect, simultaneously rustic and modern. Up on a hill overlooking the mountains and the town below. It was just what they needed. It was also overbooked. They were more than happy with their alternate accommodations, but Edson Hill stuck in their minds, even as they drove back to Boston. Katie had fallen in love with the inn and, even once back in the city, insisted throughout the following year that they had to go back. While the year to follow was difficult, interspersed among the endless rounds of chemotherapy, the surgery, and the shaving of Katie’s head were a few beams of sunlight shining through some of the gloomier vistas. She and her coworkers successfully raised thousands of dollars for local charities, one of which Katie ran a 5K for while in the the midst of chemotherapy. As a result of this, Katie got the attention of some Boston-based corporations, even leading to her being featured during a Red Sox game. Although begrudgingly at first, Katie also agreed to participate in a philanthropic fashion show, in which she brought down the house when she dropped her hood and proudy revealed her shiny bald head. The crowd went wild. And yet Jeff looked at the calendar and knew who would be soon be coming for dinner. February Fifth. But, instead of being confronted by the difficult memory that marked the first anniversary of Katie’s diagnosis, Jeff took matters into his own hands.“A few weeks before, Jeff had said that he wanted to start a new tradition on February Fifth, aside from just remembering how hard that day and the following year had been,” Katie says. Jeff, remembering how much Katie had loved it, decided to book them a night at Edson Hill. The inn was full for Friday and Saturday, but they could take them on February Fifth, which was a Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday. (Historical Note: For fans of the Atlanta Falcons, February Fifth would remain a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.)“I was like, it’s the Super Bowl! We can’t be away for the Super Bowl! The Patriots are in it. We can come back!” Katie says. They were alone, seated outside by a the warmth of a crackling fire. “But he said, no, it’s a special weekend, a special day. Let’s just stay.”“So all weekend, we had been trying to figure out what we could do, some tradition to make this February Fifth special. I asked him if there was anything that he wanted to do between now and when we left Stowe. He said ‘I have a couple things in mind’, which was the first time he had indicated that there was anything that he wanted to do on this day. That’s when he took the cup of coffee out of my hand and said ‘I want to take the day back’.”“Then he got down on one knee and said some, well, very nice things,” Katie says, downplaying the sincerity and honesty of this moment.“I was nervous, trying not to give anything away,” Jeff remembers. “I was just terrified. But it was perfect. It couldn’t have worked out better.”And just like that, February Fifth went from a day to be looked upon as tragic, to a day to be celebrated and looked forward to. The dedication, love, support, sacrifice, vulnerability, strength, and perseverance that these two individuals have shared form the backbone of a relationship destined for greatness. I’d put money on this one, folks. “When all of this happened, we weren’t engaged yet. He didn’t sign up for this just as much as I didn’t sign up for this, but he really didn’t sign up for this,” says Katie. “You were stuck with me at that point,” Jeff says lovingly. “No, you were stuck with me!” Katie kids him back. “Well, we’ve definitely got the ‘in sickness’ part of our vows out of the way,” says Jeff. “Now we get to move forward with the ‘in health’ part.”“If we can get through this, we can hopefully get through anything,” Katie adds. So far, that’s looking to be true. Katie, just a couple of months after finishing radiation, recently completed the Boston Marathon, all twenty-six miles of it. Jeff, meanwhile, is currently transforming himself into a boxer for Haymakers for Hope. “She’s definitely my inspiration. I don’t know if I would have kept it up after the first couple of weeks if I hadn’t been thinking about what Katie went through.”“For Jeff to be there every day...” Katie says, trailing off. “He didn’t miss a treatment. Jeff is very active and goes to the gym every day, so for him to put that on hold and focus on me meant a lot. I’m so happy that he’s able to focus on himself again and get back in shape---”“Wait, how out of shape was I?!” Jeff says, feigning incredulity. “Seriously though, we feel lucky. When people look at what we went through last year, we might not seem lucky, but we are. It puts everything in perspective. We don’t sweat the small stuff as much. She has to go run 10 miles. I have to go get punched in the face for three rounds. But you know what? We can. We just feel lucky to be in a position where we are able to be doing this.”And while Katie is cancer free, Jeff remains concerned. “My biggest fear right now,” Jeff says, “is that on fight night, she is going to hop in the ring and throw haymakers of her own like DON’T TOUCH HIM!!!!”“I might!” Katie laughs. “He’s been such a rock for me. He’s stayed so strong through all of it. And I know he will be during the fight on May 18th.”May 18th. Just another Date for Jeff and Katie to smile about when it comes calling each and every year.
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock 'N Rumble VII: A Look Back
What a night!!! Over $550,000 raised ($82,000 more than last year), about 2,000 cheering supporters, 16 AMAZING fights! On behalf of the H4H team, we just want to thank you. While each event keeps getting bigger, it never loses its intimate feel. Rock 'N Rumble VII was truly special and it would not be possible without everyone's continued support. A HUGE thank you to all of our amazing photographers who captured the event!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock ‘N Rumble VII: Adam Chicoine
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Rock ‘N Rumble VII in Boston on May 18th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether their mom is battling, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Adam Chicoine, fighting out of Sorabella Training Center in Waltham, MA.Where are you from? True New Englander for life. I grew up on the North Shore in Newburyport, MA and moved to Burlington, VT for college and then some. Currently, I find myself in Watertown, MA after bouncing around many of the local Boston neighborhoods for the past 8 years.Where’d you go to college? I went to the University of Vermont where I studied Microbiology, Chemistry, Psychology and Bowling.Did you play any sports growing up? Sports have been a huge part of my life. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and soccer and as I got older I have really gotten into golf. Snowboarding tops the list though!What do you do for work? I work at Brigham & Women’s Hospital where I manage the Human Immunology Center which is a center designed to bring clinicians and researchers together across many fields in a collaborative effort to study the human immune systems responses in heath and disease.Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? Realizing the metaphor of “fighting for a cure” is about as cool as it gets. I have always loved watching boxing on TV and appreciate the intricate technical aspects of the sport as well as the sheer entertainment value of a gladiator event of sorts.I think I fantasized about one day being in some kind of head to head/test of wills/game of thrones bout but never thought an opportunity as legit as this would ever come along until I found Haymakers. And here we are…Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? My friends and family would probably say I have a screw loose (and I probably do) but for me…The most profound words of wisdom I have received from anyone who has fought a battle with cancer are to never take anything for granted and appreciate every moment, to try not to sweat the little things, and take advantage of opportunities while you have them and live life to the fullest. I take those words to heart and this opportunity to fight not only allows me to fundraise for a great cause I believe in but also for me to test myself both physically and mentally and to grow as a person, to stand up to my fears and win, lose or draw put my all into something with no regrets and own that with pride.You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure - where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? My inspiration to participate in Haymakers began when I was introduced to cancer at a very young age. I lost my cousin Hannah to melanoma and my grandfather GranDon to pancreatic cancer within a couple of years of each other. Witnessing their battles and never wanting to see anyone else have to experience what they did launched my path and eventual career toward research for a cure. Today it all finally culminates with this fight.Unfortunately, my childhood dream of finding a cure has yet to manifest itself and in the meantime I have witnessed many other close friends and family get the dreaded news.Thankfully though, there have been many successful stories from my Aunt Karen who’s in full remission from breast cancer for 5 years, my father who caught melanoma at an early stage before it metastasized, and some of my best friends Kevin, Chuck and Mike D all go through their battles with various forms of cancer and come out in control or on top.Currently, a dear friend of mine Chris continues to defy the odds battling stage IV lung cancer. His love and devotion for his wife and two girls gives him the inspiration he needs to fight day in and day out and he refuses to give up because it is simply not an option.There is nothing that drives me more than to put myself in any one of these people’s shoes and to fight as they have with dignity and integrity.My hope is that in a way, participating in Haymakers can provide some hope and inspiration to each of these people who mean so much to me in my life and to fight in honor of those that I’ve lost.What is going to be the most difficult thing to give up during your training? (beer, cheeseburgers, time spent watching TV?) The most difficult thing I will have to give up is the already small amount of free time I had to begin with. I know that this whole process is going to be truly rewarding and worthwhile in the end but having to opt out of some events with friends or family that I look forward to all year because they would jeopardize essential training time is tough to swallow.In addition, I recently got engaged to my fiancé Aleka (only 2 weeks in to training) and it has been a challenge to find the quality time we deserve to celebrate it. She’s been incredibly supportive and understanding and when this is all over we’re going on a vacation!When you’re not throwing punches and training -- what other hobbies/interests do you have? Most of my hobbies and interests are related to the sports I mentioned above but when I’m not playing or watching them I love to travel and be outdoors. Whether it’s a short trip to the ocean or a hike in the mountains up north I find a lot of benefits from getting out of the city hustle and enjoying some nature therapy. Oh, and bowling, love bowling.Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? Hahaha! I have a lot of support in this fight but if I had to guess I could probably name a couple friends that would like to see me get smacked around a bit if for nothing else than to fulfill an opportunity they missed themselves.Be sure to check out his fundraising page here and wish him luck on Instagram! Best of luck, Adam!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock ‘N Rumble VII: Dan Macgregor
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Rock ‘N Rumble VII in Boston on May 18th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether their mom is battling, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Dan MacGregor, fighting out of Everybody Fights in South Boston.Where are you from? Straight outta Little Compton, Rhode IslandWhere’d you go to college? Williams CollegeDid you play any sports growing up? I’m a bit of a sports addict – you name it, I’ve probably tried it: basketball, baseball, golf, track, tennis, surfing, swimming. Eventually, I honed in on soccer, played in college and then very briefly with the New England Revolution Reserves.What do you do for work? I work for State Street Global Markets on the FX Sales & Trading desk. Think the old Wall Street movies where people yell “buy” and “sell” – I do that, but the modern day technology version. So much more tame.Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? I always had an urge to play a bit more of an aggressive sport growing up. My old man played football in college, and I naturally wanted to follow in his footsteps. However, the town I grew up in was too small to have a football team, so the other type of futbol found its way into my heart. I’m also hoping somewhere down deep I’ve got the boxing genes – my Grandpa Mac was a boxer in the Navy (on the USS Massachusetts) and from the arm shots I remember as a kid, I think he was pretty darn good.Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? I try and live my life by the motto: “Everything in moderation, including moderation,” which essentially means do everything to the extremes and hope it all balances out. I have been to several Haymakers events and have always been inspired by the people who commit five months of their lives to undergo a physical and mental transformation, while also combating cancer. I think the dedication it takes to learn a new sport and stand toe-to-toe with an opponent jives with my motto. And a little bit of fist-to-cuffs won’t keep me away from helping find a cure for this horrible disease.You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure - where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? It’s pretty hard to walk through life and not know a friend, co-worker or family member who has been affected by cancer. Medical research has come a long way to defeating cancer and if any of the funds I can raise through Haymakers can move the needle a degree closer to zeroing out the cancer equation – then I am all in.What is going to be the most difficult thing to give up during your training? (beer, cheeseburgers, time spent watching TV?) Saturday and Sunday morning sausage, egg and cheese on an everything bagel. I love bagels – I once went on a bagel crawl through the five boroughs in NYC. It was heaven. And how can I not acknowledge giving up booze – it’s been tough, but then I think about how badly I don’t want to be knocked out in front of my family, friends and co-workers at a sold-out House of Blues. It’ll be worth it.When you’re not throwing punches and training -- what other hobbies/interests do you have? I still play a lot of soccer and I’ve also recently gotten into sprint triathlons. Previous to my boxing diet my wife and I used to also enjoy being foodies – or rather, eaters – and hunting down new restaurants in Boston.Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? That’s a tough one, but I’m sure my older brother wants to see me take a few licks. He’d be coming in from Chicago, and I’m not sure he’s forgiven me for all those times he lost our wrestling matches as kids. Love you Tim! Be sure to check out his fundraising page here and wish him luck on Instagram! Best of luck, Adam!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock ‘N Rumble VII: Kim Lipman
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Rock ‘N Rumble VII in Boston, MA on May 18th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether their mom is battling, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Kim Lipman, fighting out of Elite Boxing & Fitness in North Attleborough, MA.Where are you from? I grew up in Augusta, in central Maine. When you tell someone where that is the response is always, “Wow, that’s way up there” and in reality, it’s like calling Worcester, Western Massachusetts (because it’s not…). Where’d you go to college? Did you play any sports there? I started college at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I played 2 years of club soccer there before transferring to University of Southern Maine in Portland. My junior year I played softball and missed my senior season due to an ACL injury. Growing up I pretty much played every sport my parents were willing to drive me to including soccer, softball, basketball, skiing, and even a little ice hockey. What do you do for work? I am in medical device sales and work for a really cool company that is changing how doctors practice medicine. I know from firsthand experience that the more funding and resources that are out there, the better chance there is to improve patient outcomes. I am grateful to be able to make a contribution to that through Haymakers. Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? While playing I was always competitive, and never shied away from contact. But boxing was never something that I ever considered, ever. My grandfather was a big boxing fan and ‘worked’ the local fights as the timer and bell guy. He used to joke about hitting the bell early if someone was really getting pummeled (a situation I hope to not find myself in!). Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? I attended the very first Haymakers event at The Castle and always had an interest, but quite frankly, didn’t have the gumption. As time went on, sadly, more and more people in my life were affected by cancer, and my drive to help, and generally be more giving grew. You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure - where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? At my aunt’s house, there are pictures of my cousin Jason Garfield playing peewee hockey and I never met him because he lost his battle as a teenager. My cousin Brianna Boston passed away when she was about 6 years old from brain cancer. She spent much of my high school soccer season on the sidelines with my jersey on. My parents have both had scares, but are luckily ok. At the end of the day, I am like everyone else in that I could fill pages of the friends and family that I think about even just in the first few weeks of training. While I miss beer, cocktails, and delicious food, I feel fortunate to be able to make the choice to not eat some things I want or to go to the gym even if it’s really early. I am so lucky to be part of this event and hope to make all those who support me proud. I am in medical device sales, and while I have no problem asking to close a sale, it’s a lot harder to ask people to put up their hard earned money to support me, and Haymakers. I know that I will train like crazy to make those people proud.Come fight night, I will have friends, family, coworkers, and hockey teammates all out there supporting me. My hockey teammate will even be a ring girl celebrating her winning battle with breast cancer. While I hope to come up on top, I can certainly guarantee that we will all “win” in fundraising. Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? And lastly, after years of slight torture, I know my younger brother won’t mind seeing me take a couple punches.Be sure to check out her fundraising page here and wish her luck on Instagram! Best of luck, Kim!
Read more ›
Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock ‘N Rumble VII: Dante Leone
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Rock ‘N Rumble VII in Boston, MA on May 18th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether their mom is battling, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Dante Leone, fighting out of Sorabella Training Center in Waltham, MA.Where are you from? Born in Boston, MA. Except for a few years in Florida (woof!), I spent most of my life growing up in the suburbs outside of the city. What up, Needham!Where’d you go to college? Boston University. You might be seeing a pattern here; it appears that I’ve fallen into what many call, “The Boston Blackhole.” I escaped for a little during a stint at Sydney University in Australia but was pulled right back in.Did you play any sports growing up? Like all good kids in Suburbia, I played soccer for many years and then tried my hand at lacrosse. After realizing I wasn’t great at either, I switched to track. …Somehow I don’t think running will do me much good in a 20x20 ft. ring. I also practiced Tae Kwon Do for a few years as a kid; again, not much help here seeing as kicks aren’t allowed.What do you do for work? Somewhere in-between corporate finance, FP&A, and corporate strategy is where you’ll find me; it depends on the day of the week. I work for a pretty cool company next to South Station that has been incredibly supportive in this endeavor (more on that later).Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? Not quite. The only fighting that I get into these days is trying to win a battle against a large pizza. In all seriousness though, I’m fiercely competitive, but I’ve never been a fighter. I knew very little about boxing until recently, but I’m always up for a challenge and love finding ways to push myself, both mentally and physically.Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? Well, let’s just say that I was made an offer that I couldn’t refuse.Quick story – a coworker and friend of mine participated in Belles of the Brawl 2016. She trained for a year and a half. Two-a-days, diet, sparring, you name it, and on fight night it paid dividends. A week before the event, a group of coworkers and I participated in a class at The Club (Everybody Fights), which was videotaped as a promotional piece for the company and our fighter. The class was awesome, and so was the video. But, it turns out two videos were made that night. The videographer, a friend of mine, had made a highlight/blooper reel just of me. Lucky me! Everyone had a good laugh, but it got the conversation going, and on fight night I was talking with my CEO about the class and how much I liked it. One thing led to another, and after watching our colleague have her hand raised high for the big “W,” he asked if I would carry the torch for the next fight. Even if libations hadn’t been involved that night I wasn’t going to say no. The opportunity to challenge myself with something new and fight for a great cause was too much to pass up.You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure - where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? While I’m very fortunate to not have had anyone in my immediate family fight cancer, we all know someone that has. A friend of mine lost his mother to cancer just last month and another friend battled cancer twice before the age of 27. Cancer is never more than one degree of separation away and I can find plenty of inspiration from seeing how my family and friends that have been afflicted by it have taken their illnesses head-on and with such dignity.What is going to be the most difficult thing to give up during your training? (beer, cheeseburgers, time spent watching TV?) Super-hoppy beers, pasta, pizza, and lack of portion control. I won’t get on my high-horse and say that I’ve given them up entirely, but I’ve made some pretty serious cutbacks. As much as I hate to admit it, the results have shown, and it’s given me something to think about after all of this is over.When you’re not throwing punches and training -- what other hobbies/interests do you have? Travel. Every year I plan at least one big trip to a country that I know nothing about. When I’m here, I love snowboarding in the winter, and when the weather is warm you can usually find me on a motorcycle, freefalling from a plane, or scuba-diving.Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? It’s a tie between my brother and my sister. Seeing me get taken down a few pegs by getting rocked in the face is something that they’re both excited for. If you hear someone on fight night yelling, “No Tae Kwon Do!!” that’ll be him (I’m not sure what it means either).Be sure to check out his fundraising page here and wish him luck on Instagram! Best of luck, Dante!
Read more ›Showing 301 to 310 of 445 results