Holyoke boxer Jovanni Feliciano spars with his teacher and owner of Raw Talent Boxing, Isaac Reyes, at the new gym on 176 Main St. in Indian Orchard.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — What started out as a dream and a drawing on their daughter’s tablet has turned into a reality for Isaac and Nancy Reyes.
After a year of planning and back-and-forth conversations with the city, the husband-and-wife duo has officially opened Raw Talent Boxing & Fitness at 176 Main St. in Indian Orchard to give back to the community through their own vision.
“Our daughter drew out this place on her tablet,” said Nancy Reyes in an interview. “And eventually it went from a tablet to a real-life thing, and that’s been really cool to see.”
Even before the tablet, an opportunity to run his own boxing gym was always on the mind of Isaac. A longtime boxer and instructor himself, Isaac said the sport has changed his life in many ways, including relieving him from the “rough end” of Springfield.
“Boxing saved my life,” Isaac said in an interview. “It took me out of the streets.”
He began boxing at 18 years old at the South End Community Center, trained with the Whitley brothers at Whitley’s Boxing in Holyoke, and went on to win the Western Mass. Golden Gloves in the cruiserweight division in 2017.
He then volunteered as an assistant coach at Heart of Champions in West Springfield, where he helped students develop their skills while also teaching them about discipline, resilience and personal growth.
He now wants to carry those same teachings to his new gym in Indian Orchard.
“It feels like a dream come true,” Isaac said.
According to the Reyes’ and city officials, the new gym was made possible with the help of Project Manager Wilson Darbin, who helped provide a $50,000 grant from the Small Business Assistance Program started by the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development.
The grant program is for eligible businesses that need to pay developmental costs associated with new furniture, equipment and interior buildout. According to the city, the program is complimentary to the Storefront Improvement Program, which is intended for ground-floor, for-profit businesses in Community Development Block Grant eligible areas, located in Springfield.
Projects eligible for CDBG funds include anything from housing rehabilitation, microenterprise or other business assistance, public facilities and more.
In comments before the official ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 4, Mayor Domenic Sarno thanked his staff for using the Small Business Assistance Program to help Raw Talent.
He reminisced about his days working in the South End Community Center, where boxing was a popular activity for youth residents. Sarno said he envisions Raw Talent carrying that legacy with its gym.
“Not only are they teaching physical fitness here, but they’re also teaching mutual respect and being able to use your mind to deal with any type of adversity,” Sarno said. “The more activity we can give to our young people in every corner of the South End, the better opportunities for them.”
The new gym will be open from 6-9:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as 5-9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. According to Nancy Reyes, the gym will offer classes to children aged 5-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a cardiovascular class for ages 13 and up as well as other classes for advanced fighters.
Nancy said the cardiovascular class will focus on isometric exercises combined with boxing techniques that include slipping, hand-eye coordination and moving, among other things.
But for the Reyes’, the new gym represents more than just teaching techniques.
“[Isaac] offers life experience to the youth,” Nancy said. “I’ve seen the dedication and the love that he has for the sport and also for the youth … it’s been a blessing to be able to be by his side and to help him fulfill this dream that he’s had.”
Raw Talent’s opening comes in the midst of multiple efforts to revitalize Main Street in Indian Orchard. In late May, the Latino Economic Development Corporation announced a partnership with state Rep. Orlando Ramos (D-Springfield) on an $100,000 initiative to boost small restaurant growth and neighborhood revitalization in Indian Orchard over the next several months: tinyurl.com/4nn38smh.
Nancy said she is excited to be a part of Indian Orchard’s future vitality.
“We’re really blessed to be part of the Indian Orchard community,” she said. “And we really feel that we’re going to be able to serve the people in this community as well as in Springfield and in the surrounding areas.”
Readers can visit the Raw Talent website, rawtalentboxingandfitness.squarespace.com, to learn more about what they offer. The monthly membership to the gym for ages 5 to 12 is $75 and $65 for those 13 years and up. One-on-one training, meanwhile, is $35 an hour.
