The New York Fighting Scene

_MG_4550Recently I met with the photo editor at Harper Magazine and showed her my recent shoot of the New York fighting scene.  She asked me “why are you drawn to this project?”.  That was a very good question, I am not a fighter or a boxer and why would I want to document fighting?  I replied to her, making an analogy with the first Corrida I watched in Spain.  I am an animal lover and I didn’t really want to see a bull get played to its death.  I wanted to witness it as a cultural experience, to do it once and say I did it.  However when the bull fighter entered the Arena, I felt the energy, the intensity, the history and the pride surrounding bullfights.  You could feel this energy pulsate through your body.  It turned out to be an unforgettable experience and gave me a whole different perspective on bullfighting.

These are the same elements that I wanted to capture and that drew me to this project.  Intensity, history, pride and the energy surrounding the fighting scene. And in New York, I knew I was going to get both history and the real people.  I researched for classic NY GYMs with lots of history and came up with John’s GYM in the Bronx and GLEASON’S  in Brooklyn.   _MG_6288Not being a fighter made this project a little more challenging.  When I contacted the people involved the first question was “who in the hell are you?”.  The unfriendly, intense attitude continued until I took some photos and brought back some pictures to show them.  After seeing the first pictures things changed and I was welcomed into this somewhat raw and intimidating environment.

I wanted to capture the training of the fighters as well as the coaches and the environment.  I let them do their  thing and just danced around them.  On the fight night the goal was to show the intensity of the moment before, during and after the fight. Check out the three galleries, John’s GYM in the Bronx, Gleason’s GYM in Brooklyn and Friday Night Fights.  If you enjoy this blog don’t forget to like me on Facebook

 

JOHN’S GYM in the Bronx

_MG_5282

_MG_5703 _MG_5794 _MG_5857 _MG_6017

_MG_6116

_MG_6288

_MG_6351

_MG_7309

_MG_7406

_MG_7419-Edit-2

_MG_7720

_MG_7706

_MG_7636-Edit

Gleason’s GYM in Brooklyn

_MG_7265

_MG_7107

_MG_7129

_MG_7150

_MG_6807

_MG_6420

_MG_7170

_MG_6865

_MG_6915

_MG_6641

_MG_6664

_MG_6938

_MG_6970

_MG_7015

_MG_7223

_MG_7239

_MG_7262

 

 

 

Friday Night Fights

_MG_4550

_MG_4644

_MG_4676

_MG_4692

_MG_4758

_MG_4764

_MG_4837

_MG_4858

_MG_4920

_MG_4931

_MG_4962

_MG_4967

_MG_4969

_MG_5140

_MG_5163

 

Comments 2

  • I was advised this weblog by my cousin. I am not certain whether or not this submit is created by him as no one else know this kind of detailed about my problems. You’re extraordinary! Many thanks!

  • Great, quick piece that carries ita??s own mood all around with it. Which is very good. Dropping Chandler like that and not subsequent up? Not so very good. Tends to make people believe about artwork and the genuine daily life reflected there

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *