Old-school boxing and helping the homeless

For Vince Arevalo and Ted Hohney, the words “those kids have got talent” mean more than either one could have imagined.

“My wife and I have two sons,” began Arevalo as he sat inside the front door to Brick3Boxing, “and we had tried to interest them in everything from chess to basketball.”   He added that they were unsuccessful in their efforts, but that changed in 2020  until his family returned to the States after one of his wife’s military deployments.

“That’s when we decided to purchase boxing gloves for our sons,” he said. 

With two sons with boxing gloves looking to learn more, Arevalo met Hohney, a former boxer who knows his way around a boxing ring and asked him to coach his sons.  It wasn’t long after that Hohney noted their talent.

A friendship developed between Hohney, a retired Marine with 30 years of service and Arevalo, a father and husband who once lived for five years on the streets of Portland, Oregon.

It wasn’t long before the two men began work to realize their dream of opening a boxing gym.  Brick3Boxing gym opened at 408 Jefferson Street in downtown Olympia three months ago.

“We want to give something back to the Olympia community,” said Arevalo.

While most of the giving back is to the men and women who come to their gym to work out and/or learn more about how to box, the two men also emphasized that they provide necessities to the homeless individuals who stop by asking for some help.

“Water, food, even some clothing, directions to where they can get more help - we try to help the homeless as much as we can,” explained Arevalo. 

“We have been blessed to have what we have and to have come from where we have been, so we feel obligated to help.”

When asked why the gym’s name is Brick3Boxing, Hohney smiled and told a short story.

“I knew a guy named Gary Russell, who has since passed away, who would always talk about bricks,” he began. 

“When I asked him what he meant, he said that when he taught his sons how to box, he would tell them to hit their opponents as “two bricks to the body and the third one to the head.  When Vince and I decided to open this gym, that bit of boxing advice seemed good .”

Hohney added that the gym is about old-school boxing and the idea that discipline, purpose and completing the mission are as important as the sport itself.

Both men emphasized that boxing is a protected sport and that the headgear and gloves that today’s boxers use are designed with maximum safety in mind.  Also, Brick3Boxing is registered with USA Boxing and all of the equipment in the gym is insured.

“Stop by and check us out,” concluded Arevalo.  “It doesn’t cost anything to walk in, talk, and ask questions. All are welcome.”

 For more information,  email the gym at Brick3Boxing@gmail.com or text (253) 290-0194.

JM Simpson -  jm@theJOLTnews.com - is a veteran photojournalist who lives in Lacey.