‘Building better people’: Boxing coach and his Hollywood gym the focus of new documentary
A South Florida boxing coach is showing young fighters the ropes both in the ring and in life And his no-nonsense tough love approach is now the focus of a new documentary Courtney Allen has this Spotlight The punches were flying on a Thursday evening inside Flaco s Population Gym in Hollywood Jose Flaco Perez I used to be skinny and flaco means skinny in Spanish So coach gave me the nickname Flaco and it just stuck Owner Jose Flaco Perez opened the gritty graffiti-filled gym in It s where the Brooklyn-born former boxer has guided the next generation of fighters for the past decade Jose Flaco Perez The type of kids you ll see in the undertaking come from all different walks all different financial demographics all different cultural backgrounds Despite their differences Flaco preaches the same things Hard work discipline and accountability Jose Flaco Perez I create a safe atmosphere for you to grow and mature and learn Now Flaco his students and the small Hollywood gym are getting a little movie star healing They re the focus of a new documentary Paolo Mugnaini The moment I walked in I knew this gym was something different from the other gyms Paolo Mugnaini is the filmmaker behind Fighting Spirit The Battle Within Last weekend it won best short documentary at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Paolo Mugnaini There s invariably been this thing about how boxing is a metaphor for life The film weaves together themes of perseverance and self-esteem Jose Flaco Perez He presented me the final product and I thought it was amazing but I m pretty biased being that I m the main guy on screen And the main guy is tough Jose Flaco Perez In this world where sensitivity has become a values I think you come here and it s a little bit of a throwback Paolo Mugnaini What I see is that underneath not sugar-coating things there s a lot of love there is a lot of passion for really building better people People like -year-old Maj who has been coming to Flaco s gym since he was Maj In school sometimes I used to get bullied So then me learning boxing it improved my confidence and it made me more happier overall He s not bullied anymore Maj Once you find respect that s all you seek and you give it out So it s like Oh yeah I love to respect people and I love being respected ' Thirteen-year-olds Rami and Pacman nicknamed after the legendary fighter Manny Pacquiao also grew up in this gym Pacman my coach Flaco he s really a father figure to me So I know I could trust him you know I could call him when I need something Both teens won national titles in their weight divisions this summer Rami This is something I want to do professionally for sure cause this is what I love to do And whether Flaco s students go on to be professionals in the sport or not Jose Flaco Perez I pride myself not only in creating great boxers but creating amazing individuals And that is something worth fighting for Mugnaini has already entered Fighting Spirit The Battle Within in other well-known film festivals Courtney Allen News FOR MORE INFORMATIONFlaco s Area GymFighting Spirit The Battle Within If you know of a person place or group that you think we should highlight email us at spotlight wsvn com
