At some point in his life, Frank Kubach decided he needed to do something in order to help children in Philadelphia. Now 68 years old, the owner of the Front Street Gym has spent a majority of his life putting underprivileged and misunderstood kids into the boxing ring.
With the help of trainer Orlando “Dallas” Perez, the Front Street Gym hums with the thunderous sounds of speed-bags and jump ropes.
“What happens is we bring a kid in off the streets and they turn out to be really good kids,” Kubach said. “If I had the money I wouldn’t even charge a kid just to keep them in here.”
Perez (nicknamed Dallas for his love of the Dallas Cowboys), said keeping kids off the street and right in school is his personal mission.
“A lot of these kids are not wealthy, they come from poor backgrounds. We take them to fights, to [boxing competitions], to show them there’s more to the world than what’s in their neighborhoods and what’s on their street.”
On the first 75-degree day in the Philadelphia area since the beginning of spring, the walls were littered with boxers eager to improve their footwork.
While some school age boys were out playing in the streets of the community, these dedicated young men were inside applying the lessons of what they learn in the ring toward their everyday lives.
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