Brooklyn Fitboxing Coming To Florida, Then NY

New York, NY (October 23) – Brooklyn Fitboxing, the widely popular European-based boutique gym franchise is making its way stateside. Brooklyn Fitboxing, backed by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and former middleweight kingpin and future first ballot Hall-of-Famer Sergio Martinez. Brooklyn Fitboxing is set to open its first center in Coral Gables, FL October 31. The second location, in White Plains, NY, will open shortly thereafter.

“This is an exciting time for me and all of us involved with Brooklyn Fitboxing,” said Martinez. “From the moment I visited the first center, I knew this was going to be something that I wanted to get behind and to be a major part of. With our expansion into the U.S. now set, the sky is truly the limit.”

Brooklyn Fitboxing is a fun and effective training experience, where music, fitness and technology converge to unleash healthy and engaging competition. The 47 minute training sessions combine non-contact boxing with high-intensity functional training for all levels.  The unique patented technology and high tech sensors in each bag, allow for real time tracking of rhythm, strength and calories burned in each workout, and a simultaneous scoring system in each class, enabling participants to compete against themselves and others worldwide.

The first Brooklyn Fitboxing opened in 2014 in Spain, the adopted home of Martinez, by entrepreneur Pablo Nebrera Salcedo. Salcedo, a graduate of UC Berkeley with an MBA from the esteemed INSEAD in France has over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry.  Martinez and his long-time business Miguel de Pablos entered into an agreement with Salcedo in early 2014, with the WBC following suit soon thereafter. Currently there are over 50 Brooklyn Fitboxing gyms operating across Europe, with additional gyms set to open in the coming months.

“We knew that we had a product unlike any other, and with the WBC’s backing, we were really beginning to pick up traction,” said Salcedo.  “Fitness is in the midst of a revolution in which the concept of wellness and competitive training experiences are becoming part of the millennial generation’s way of life and we believe that Brooklyn Fitboxing is leading this revolution across Europe. The next obvious step for us was to expand into the U.S. market and position ourselves as a global leader in the fitness industry.”

Heading up the expansion of the brand in the U.S. will be Kevin Rooney Jr. and Michael Chirico.

“I had known Kevin for many years. He was with DiBella Entertainment (DBE) throughout most of Sergio’s championship reign, and he was not only an associate of Sergio and myself, but a close friend. Given Kevin’s background and reputation, we felt that he could be a perfect fit to bring the brand stateside,” said de Pablos.

“I remember first seeing Sergio wearing this Brooklyn Fitboxing tee-shirt during the press tour for the Cotto fight and I was intrigued,” said Rooney Jr. “When I moved on from DBE at the end of last year, Miguel called me and said let’s sit down and talk. From there things began to move quickly. I met with Pablo and soon after I brought on my partner Michael Chirico.”

Chirico, is the owner of Westchester Fight Club, one of the premier MMA training facilities on the entire East Coast and the son of Emanuel Chirico (Chairman, Director and CEO at PVH Corp and Principal Executive Officer and President at Warnaco Group Inc.) one of the most highly respected and well known leaders in business throughout the entire world.

“Seeing the Brooklyn Fitboxing system first-hand, with their unique model of integrating music, technology and real time user feedback into the class, I knew immediately that I was looking at the future of fitness boxing and kickboxing,” said Chirico. “When you combine their innovative training experience, with the complex back-end CRM system that they have in place, it truly becomes a plug and play business model. A model that will work, be highly successful, across almost any market throughout the entire U.S.”

“For me, it wasn’t just the training experience that was so intriguing but also, from a business standpoint, I saw this as a huge investment opportunity for fighters across the U.S. and around the world,” added Rooney Jr. “This is a realistic opportunity for fighters from around the globe to own and operate their own business, a business that is a proven and highly profitable entity, and to set themselves up for life after boxing.”

For more information on Brooklyn Fitboxing, please visit www.brooklynfitboxing.com