Coach Ramon Espada turns on the lights to the gym. The sound flickering of fluorescent lights echoes the room as the light begins to reveal its surroundings to Espada. In the middle, there is a boxing ring and on the outside, a multitude of boxing bags, and various other equipment that will be used throughout that night.
'The ring is my sanctuary,' Espada said. 'I really think that the rings is the best place where I can gather my thoughts because it is funny, people associate boxing with violence; I associate it maturity.'
It is that mentality that drove Espada, a former boxing coach at a multitude of universities, to take the initiative to create something bigger than himself. Espada, a native of Los Angeles, found himself looking at sights on the street that were not what he considered to be, the ideal situation he wanted his own kids to be living in.
'I saw these kids getting into gangs on the street,' Espada said. 'And I saw all of this wanted to find a way to get these kids off the streets and out of trouble.'
So with the love for boxing and his goal to take the kids off the streets, he founded the Pico Union Boxing Union also know as strictly the Union. However just finding the organization was the easy part of Espada's path, he now needed to find a facility in which to hold his project. This is when he turned to the Pico Union Housing Corporation and Roberto Guerrero. Guerrero allowed Espada to use his building, with a big space to hold a boxing facility for the club but on one condition and one condition only, his club must be free for the kids. An offer that Espada clearly could not refuse, he now had his space to help take the kids of Pico Union off the streets and teach them lessons.
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To Espada, boxing is more than winning and losing. A coach who has one more than three national championships at various schools including the University of Southern California, Espada is more intrigued with the hidden messages that he finds to be learning and what he can teach to the youth through boxing. This is what he thinks is the most important aspect of the game that he wants to teach the inner city youth when they came in to practice.
'I think that is what people doo not realize can be most important when in the ring,' Espada said. 'When we are with these kids we are teaching them basic fundamental values of what it means to be a good person. They are on the streets and they see the violence of gangs and poverty and it can be easy to be get sucked up in that world. Our goal is to change that.'
However, Espada does not take on the task of mentoring these kids alone. Along with Espada to take on this big task is a handful of college students that he coaches outside of his community project. These kids are there to help Espada with the day to day tasks that are required and to hopefully serve as a mentor or a role model to kids that desperately need one.
'That is the goal I have when I bring in these college students,' Espada said. 'I want these kids to be able to look at them and think 'hey I am not any different than those guys or girls.' That is a major factor here because you often find these kids being down on themselves, but when they see these students, they see what they can be and what they ultimately are.'
The Pico Union Boxing Club has been going through some tough times as of late, however Espada still believes that there is some merit to what they are doing and has faith that they will be able to push through and continue to influence the endangered children of Pico Union. Through his mission he has been able to help kids that have seen danger and seen trouble and change their lives by giving them a way out.
'I know that the hard times will pass and I know that these kids are getting many life lessons.'