The grand re-opening of APJ Boxing, July 2021, and the fighters who train there. The film I made that day opens the page; the portraits were made that September, against the gym's wall of legends and a plain white one.
Fresh banners over the door: the club's name and number, a Grand Re-Opening sign, and a welcome to Poughkeepsie in the window.The lion flag and the hanging club sign turn in the breeze at the corner, with the crosswalk just beyond.
Inside, the walls are papered with fight posters and magazine pages, a painted pair of heavyweights trading right hands at the center.A row of fighter portraits pinned along a white wall, each one squared up and looking straight down the lens.
Close on the back of a shirt: the crowned lion, the club name, and Building Champs in gold.
Neon gloves blur toward the heavy bag in the back corner, the only bright color against white walls.Mitt work at the ropes, the coach calling combinations while the gloves pop into his pads.
Three boxers in matching orange tanks shadowbox in the ring, guards up and feet set wide.
Red gloves drive into a heavy bag, glasses and a headband holding steady through the punch.A wide grin at the heavy bag, red gloves still up while the room moves around him.
At the ropes in a purple club shirt, Coach Kariym throws a mock punch at the camera and laughs.
Against the poster wall, a man in a black cap watches the ring, a Tyson cover over his shoulder.Leaning on the ropes in an orange tank, Coach Kariym talks through the next drill with open hands.
A guest in a button-down ducks through the ropes for his turn as kids watch from the back.
In red gloves, the guest in the button-down throws into the mitts while the crowd lines the ring.Phones up around the ring as a boxer in a headband squares off, a spectator in a green superhero shirt among them.
A handshake by the ring between a man in a white tee and Coach Kariym in an orange Club X tank.
Coach Kariym Patterson, the club's founder, holds a mitt at the ropes in a purple club shirt, eyes on his boxer.A toddler with a blue pacifier presses one hand into a coach's mitt, holding the bottom rope with the other.
Coach Kariym talks mid-sentence in an orange tank, a stud in his ear and the poster wall behind him.
Coach Kariym grins under a toddler riding on his shoulders, both small hands resting on top of his head.Outside the venue, Coach Kariym leans in and talks with his hands while a man in a Bulls cap listens beside him.
Coach Kariym stands in the corner at the Less Guns, More Boxing show, a young boxer in headgear waiting at the ropes.
Coach Kariym breaks into a smile, shaking hands on the crowded gym floor at fight night.Coach Kariym brings his fists up against a plain wall, a watch on one wrist and a gold chain over the club shirt.
Coach Kariym relaxes into a smile in the club shirt, a gold chain and a stud earring against the white wall.
The whole club in red lines up in front of the ring, kids up front and Coach Kariym at the far right.Wider now, the same crew raises their fists together under the flags strung across the gym ceiling.
A young boxer with a sweep of dark hair holds his fists at his chin under green light.
Peeking over his fists, a small boxer stands against the wall of fight posters and magazine covers.A young man with a headband and his hair tied back holds his guard up in front of a Tyson poster.
Arms folded across the club logo, he stands square to the lens with Tyson's face over his shoulder.
The same fighter throws a jab straight at the lens, his other fist tucked against his cheek.Against the white wall, a young boxer lifts his fists to his chest and meets the lens without blinking.
The same boy flexes both arms high, the club shirt hanging almost to his knees.
Glasses, long braids and a wide smile, she stands easy in the club shirt with a chain-strap bag at her hip.Hair pinned up and head tilted, she brings her fists to her collar with a little attitude.
A woman with short blonde hair grins behind her fists, a smartwatch on her raised wrist.
An older member beams straight at the lens, dark curls framing her face above the club logo.She turns a shoulder toward the lens and curls her fists in front of the logo, still smiling.
Arms crossed and chin level, a young boxer with a fresh fade sizes up the lens.
The same boy turns sideways and presses his fists to his mouth, eyes steady over his knuckles.Braids down to her waist and a gold chain over the club shirt, she gives the lens a soft smile.
Now her guard comes up, braids spilling over her fists and a small smile breaking through.
A girl with braided hair and a gold chain grins wide, head tipped toward her shoulder.Fists pressed to her cheeks, the same girl tries and fails to keep from laughing.
Cornrows pulled back and fists at her eyes, a young boxer peers out from behind her guard.
A young man with a thin mustache holds his fists at his collarbones and stares straight ahead.In a Bulls cap and a gold chain, he stands easy with his arms loose at his sides.
Cap low and guard up, the same man squares his shoulders to the lens with the chain hanging between his fists.
A teenager with a halo of curls raises his fists, a cross on a cord and a bracelet at his wrist.A small boxer in braids squares up to the mitts, gloves nearly as big as her head.
A young boxer watches the pads closely, gloves up, while the coach sets the next target.
A kid in a white tank drives a straight right into the mitts, spectators watching from the ropes.A group gathers for a photo by the ring, two toddlers held up in arms and Coach Kariym in a red club tank.
