You spend enough time in pro MMA gyms and you find out that they all have a vibe. It seems to come from the Fighter that heads the gym. Xtreme Couture, with the leave your ego at the door, motto is pure Randy. There is great camaraderie there, but every one is going Hard. Cung in the middle of shooting with me, had one eye on the guys he is training, yelling at them to go harder. Urijah’s gym, is the California Kid kick back fun gym. What a great life for a guy. They are super chill and hang out together, train all day, eat lunch in the sun outside the gym and party together when it’s time. The first gym I went to was Joe Stevenson’s. The guys did not know what to do with me, so decided to try and gross me out. They tried hard…I told them it was going to be impossible to gross me out…I live with a 15 year old boy. By lunch time they declared me cool, and a girl who can hang with the guys.
champions there. They train at such a great level it was really fun to watch. They push each other to try new things, devise new moves to escape and laugh, smile and slap each other on the backs. One of the fighters came in with his new baby and everyone rushed to hug him and shower congratulations on him. Warmth and love raining down from these fighters. I love Babalus’s portraits. They have such a gamut of emotions in them. Super tough guy, laughing, a hint of trouble….it is all there wrapped up in a very cool guy.
No ones hands should move this fast. No ones arms should be able to hit the bag like that, for as long as he does. Manny Pacquiao is at the top of his game. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot Manny and Freddie training together in preperation for the big Hatton fight. These two men who train at such an elite level, truly love what they do. Freddie puts on his gear and his eyes sparkle. Manny smiles as he is going beyond what seems humanly possible to do. They play with each other in the ring, while pushing to extreme levels. I knew he would beat Ricky Hatton in the fight. No one could match his speed and striking right now. I was granted a portrait session with Manny after he was done training. I was so grateful to Manny, Freddie, Michael and Rob who all made it happen.| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
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