Kelsey Shoemaker
The Victory Arts Center in Fort Worth’s southside (probably a little too south to be Near South) has stacked up enough uses to become a bit of a charming hodgepodge. The building’s latest tenant — which will join its apartments and artist studio — comes in the form of a boxing gym.
The new gym, called Sanctuary Boxing Gym — a name that serves as an homage to the building’s history as a nunnery — will set up shop in the basement and open to the public June 21.
The name might sound like an oxymoron to some, but owner Cyrus Moshrefi — who’s a certified black belt and previously trained at the home gym of Mohammad Ali — emphasizes his desire for patrons to view the new boxing quarters as a sanctum of sorts.
“A lot of people might think: a boxing gym and a sanctuary? No, boxing sounds like hell,” Moshrefi says. “But once you get into it, you see how the physical worth you put behind the training affects you mentally on a positive note.”
Differentiating itself from other gyms that require monthly payments and binding contracts, Sanctuary Boxing Gym is sidestepping the idea of membership fees and will incorporate a pay-what-you-can system.
While the gym will pack plenty of punching bags and sparring rings to delight boxers new and old, Moshrefi is more interested in creating a community and lifting people’s spirits and confidence.
“You learn how to beat your biggest opponent, and that is yourself,” he says. “I want people to know that the person in the mirror is not who they really are. I want people to walk out of there thinking they can take care of themselves first.”
According to Moshrefi, the new gym will prioritize self-defense classes. The owner believes that learning to defend yourself is a valuable skill that everyone should hone — boxing is more than looking good and having mass behind the glove. With an opening day on the horizon, Moshrefi is easing into classes for the public ranging from self-defense, bootcamp, yoga, and kickboxing.
“It’s mesmerizing to me that some people can be huge, but don't know how to use their muscles,” Moshrefi points out. “I’ll have big guys I’ve trained who have gone to the Marines, and when I say, ‘Let me see your jab,’ they don’t know how to throw a punch.”
