In The Ring For Charity! |CULTURE|

 A little while back our friend Brian told us about this charity boxing event he was about to be in called Founder Fights. The event pitted members of the Boulder, Colorado tech community, who have all taken up boxing against each other, as a way to raise money for charity. We loved the idea of people bringing their fighting mindset into the ring, it really resonates with what we're trying to do here at YORK Athletics. We wanted to find out more about the event, so we hit up Coach Carrie, who's the owner and trainer at the Corner Boxing Club, and one of the masterminds behind Founder Fights...

 David Mandell of Pivot Desk came in one morning and was like ‘Founder Fights. I bought the domain name.’ I immediately knew what he was talking about. 'Let’s do a founder versus founder boxing match.' I thought it was perfect because one of our goals here at The Corner Boxing Club is to connect the business community and the startup community with the local community. You have a disconnect between the people in Boulder who have been here for a long time and the startup community. This event is a way to prove that the founders want to be a part of the community and want to do some positive things for it. 

 We are going to be working with Blue Sky Bridge. David actually mentioned a couple different charities and Blue Sky Bridge was one that really resonated with me. They are court advocates for children who have been abused and have to deal with the legal process. Also, we are going to be donating to the Colorado Golden Gloves Charities. That organization is really important to the local boxing community.

Founder Fights Promo from Whistling Boulder Productions on Vimeo.

 You're very involved with the youth development program at your gym, right? How do you see the Founders Fights event having a positive effect on the youth?

I think it has a positive effect on the youth and the founders. When these bigwig founders, CEOs and venture capitalists walk into my gym, the first people they will normally meet is one of my youth. Either Zakiyy or Nick, one of my other kids will end up helping them by wrapping their hands or showing them around the gym. So it kind of puts my kids in a power position because they’re the ones that are guiding the CEOs and helping them. Then in return, the kids kind of look up to the CEOs, which rubs off of them. It's kind of a mentor-ship that goes both ways.

Carrie what's your background? You're a national trainer right?

 I was on the US Team for about two years and was captain of the US Team.  Now I am one of the elite National coaches. In addition, I am the only one star IABA coach in Colorado, and I am a Fellow of Applied Functional Science, which provides me with a background in rehab, physical therapy and strength and conditioning.

We’ve had a boxing gym in Germany that has reached out to us about doing an international boxing show. Denver Startup Week is kind of watching to see how this fight goes and might try to pull of a remake in the fall. Dallas Startup Week has expressed interest, as well as San Francisco.