Rising Stars: Meet Jacob Callos of La Palma

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Callos.

Hi Jacob, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My boxing journey began at the age of 10, on the island of Maui, Hawaii. My parents enrolled me in boxing to learn how to defend myself. After a year of training, I had my first amateur bout and won. I was hooked! From age 11-17 I had numerous amateur boxing and kickboxing bouts, I obtained the Hawaii State Boxing Championships 3 times, and placed 3rd in the National Junior Olympics tournament.

After high school, I moved to California for college. School was my number one priority once I moved, and boxing was just a sport I did in the past. Moreover, all my hard work and sacrifice in school paid off, and I obtained a degree in Radiologic Technology. Years would past, working in the medical field as a X-ray/ CT technologist, and the world shuts down due to Covid.

The Covid 19 Pandemic kick started my fitness journey. I started running, meal prepping, and finding ways to stay active. Once gyms started to open back up, I looked into some near by boxing gyms to get back into boxing. I started posting myself on social media hitting the bag and mitts, and some of my coworkers and friends inquired about me training them. This is where I started my Boxing Coaching journey.

Coaching was just a fun hobby I enjoyed doing in my free time. However, I started taking coaching a little more serious when I got the opportunity to train a former NFL player. I stepped up my training program and started sharing the progress my clients were making. Once people started to see my clients progression, I had grown to 20 clients, including adults and kids classes, all within 6 months, and coaching only during my free time.

As time went on, I had grown to over 40 clients consistently with three assistant coaches helping me with adults classes, all female, kids, and teenage classes. After about a year and a half, my team and I had grown to a point where I needed to consider getting my own gym or start turning clients away.

So, I took the chance and opened up my own boxing gym in January 2024. We have been open for a year now, and we have grown so much. Our gym consists of seven coaches and about 100 clients who call Sakada Boxing Club their home gym.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not smooth at all. Building my team of coaches, growing my clientele, training at the gym full time, all while working full time at the hospital and being a husband and father to my two young children were/and still are the greatest challenges to owning my own business. I had to learn to be present in all aspects of my life, even though some days I am running on fumes.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well I work as a Radiologic Technologist/ CT technologist in one of the busiest hospitals in Southern California. At this job I work in the Emergency room helping individuals that have had traumatic injuries; I also work in the Surgery department were I assist surgeons in numerous cases including and not limited to spine surgeries and cardiac surgeries.

However, I am know as the business owner of the only boxing gym in the City of La Palma. I have been working hard at putting Sakada Boxing Club on the map. My team and I have been traveling all over SoCal from LA to San Diego, working with other gyms and entering boxing events.

What I am most proud of with my business,
is creating an environment that is welcoming to people from all walks of life. My team and I created a family friendly environment, that makes our clients feel more like family.

More importantly, I am most proud of the man I have grown to be. I am a proud family man that never forgot where he came from.

How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is seeing my kids and wife happy. As cliche as this sounds, I truly love seeing my family smile and laugh. All of my daily sacrifices from early mornings training people, then going straight to the hospital to work, and getting off from work and head back to the gym to coach makes it all worth it, when my family greets me with hugs and kisses when I come home from my long day of work.

Pricing:

• Kids and Teens monthly rate, $185 for training 3 times a week
• Kids and Teens monthly rate, $200 for training 4 times a week
• Adults training monthly rate, $175 for training twice a week
• Adult training monthly rate, $200 for training 3 times per week

Contact Info:

• Website: https://WWW.SAKADABOXING.COM
• Instagram: Sakada_boxing