Inspiring Conversations with Rich Recio of Crowned Boxing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rich Recio.

Hi Rich, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I am the owner and co-founder of Crowned Boxing. Here’s a quick glimpse of how my story started. The first 12 years of my life was an actual living hell. I was born with a severe case of eczema and grew out of it in my early teen years. The condition that I had affected my life in multiple ways – physically, emotionally, and mentally.

By the age of 12, I started hanging out with a group of friends that liked causing trouble. At the time I didn’t really think too much of it but my older brother who was 9 years older recognized the pattern. Him and his friends bought us a set of boxing gloves just so we can spar with each other so if we ever got into a situation in the street, we knew how to defend ourselves. As the youngest and the smallest, I always kept losing against my friends, which in turn, motivated me to shadow box and hit the punching bag we had at home. Coincidentally, that summer of 2004, the Olympics was on TV and I stumbled across the boxing events. I instantly knew that I wanted to be a part of the United States Olympic Team for boxing.

My journey for boxing began – day in and day out, I trained. I have been in and out of different boxing gyms here in Los Angeles. Additionally, I was mentored by professional & amateur fighters as well as sparred with them. The dream of being a part of the US Olympic team was something that I kept moving toward but never manifested. My father and I kept getting into arguments about my path but at the time I didn’t realize how he was trying to protect me. As a kid, I didn’t understand how brutal the sport of boxing was. I soon stopped chasing the dream just to make sure I didn’t sabotage the relationship with my dad.

As I got older, I realized how challenging it was to raise me as a child. By the age of 21, I knew that I wanted to do something big for my mother like retire her. So that became my new dream, I just wasn’t sure how. I got into lifting weights and fell in love. It got to the point where I was spending more time at the gym than I was at my part-time jobs, which were at H&M and Victoria Secret. People around me kept suggesting that I become a personal trainer and at first it didn’t really pique my interest until the idea of getting paid to be in the gym all day really sunk in. I got my personal trainer certificate and got an interview at the 24hr. fitness gym. Long story short, I didn’t have what they were looking for – 5 months after, I attended an open house interview at the Glendale Equinox and just kept advancing to the next stage of interviews – there were 4 separate interviews. I got the job at Equinox as a personal trainer and intended to help people along their fitness journey. Within my first 6 months, I gravitated towards teaching the science of boxing with the people I was training.

After 4 years at Equinox, I switched gears and went private. I bounced around different parks, houses, and gyms that welcomed independent coaches and landed in a boxing gym in Glendale, CA. After 9 Months of coaching out of this boxing gym, it became my own – which is now known as Crowned Boxing.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?

One of my struggles was dealing with anxiety and depression at the age of 20 years old – this lingered for about 4 years. I became socially awkward and lost touch of who I was. I questioned if this is what adulthood was going be like, then I started searching for answers and started questioning everything. I started to work on myself internally and did the day to day work of reshaping my mindset. This was one of the hardest things I’ve had to intentionally do, but it was worth every single bit.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Crowned Boxing is a one-of-a-kind, premiere boxing fitness studio located two blocks away from the Americana in Glendale, CA.

Our mission is to make an intimidating sport fun for everyone. We specialize in teaching the fundamentals of boxing to anyone who wants to learn as well as get a good sweat in. Our goal is to teach the sport in the simplest way possible while getting those in shape and helping them reach their fitness goals.

Here at Crowned Boxing, we offer class-based sessions as well as personalized 1 on 1 training sessions. We also offer open gym sessions – for those who want to use the facility and get a great workout in. We have classes every day (except Sundays) and classes just for the ladies as well as children!

What is awesome about our facility is that we have a very versatile staff coming from different backgrounds while specializing in the art of boxing.

The name Crowned Boxing was created to show that everyone is a champion – whether it is in the ring or after a great workout.

It has been a true adventure building the brand of Crowned Boxing and I couldn’t have done it without my awesome team right beside me.

Who else deserves credit in your story?

There are a lot of honorable mentions but the ones that really influenced my current position are the following:

My mother, who showed me what a good work ethic really means.  My father, who taught me the importance of patience and having faith. My older brother – he taught me how to be a people person while having a long-term vision for success. He advised me to pick one thing and work at it until it pays off.

Garo Mardigian is one of my long-term clients, mentor and now business partner of Crowned Boxing. He helped me open up a new perspective towards business while influencing my growth.

Jade Lico, Operations manager of Crowned Boxing. She has been there for me in more ways than one and has helped me build the foundation of Crowned Boxing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crownedboxing.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/richrecio
• Facebook: facebook.com/crownedboxing
• Twitter: twitter.com/crownedboxing
• Youtube: youtube.com/crownedboxing
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crowned-boxing-glendale-2
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@crownedboxing

Image Credits
Melody Melikian