{"id":619,"date":"2015-09-25T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T15:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=619"},"modified":"2015-09-29T13:44:20","modified_gmt":"2015-09-29T21:44:20","slug":"old-town-fight-club-a-wealth-of-training-conditioning-and-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/old-town-fight-club-a-wealth-of-training-conditioning-and-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Town Fight Club: A Wealth of Training, Conditioning and Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OTF<\/a><\/p>\n

By MJ Plaster<\/p>\n

When you first enter Old Town Fight Club<\/a>, the creation of owner Alek Loarca, you\u2019re struck by the fact that this is no ordinary gym. The eclectic atmosphere belies its purpose: to train and condition people to champion the fight of life. Don\u2019t let the modern ambiance fool you; the training is classic and combines self-defense with discipline.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"LOGO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The club\u2019s definition of a champion sets it apart. Old Town Fight Club has no intention of turning out mixed martial champions. Its mission is to turn out life and business champions. In describing his clientele, Loarca calls them \u201cnormal people who want a little something interesting. We even attract computer types.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> The 6,000 square-foot facility houses classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Muay Thai, boxing, women\u2019s self-defense, mixed martial arts, kids\u2019 martial arts, strength and conditioning as well as personal training. Loarca has not only designed the gym and the curriculum, but he has built everything in it. \u201cI don\u2019t hire instructors; I hire program managers.\u201d Loarca employs people who will own their \u2018sport,\u2019 who will take the ball and run with it.<\/p>\n

Catch Me If You Can<\/b><\/p>\n

Old Town Fight Club is the product of the mindset and lifestyle Loarca acquired through travel. He\u2019s toured and worked in 40 countries to date, and he\u2019s fluent in English and Spanish. In addition, he speaks some Portuguese, Thai and Indonesian. We caught up with him as he was preparing to leave for Israel and Egypt to conduct seminars.<\/p>\n

\"CAMEL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Loarca started his martial arts training in Taekwondo and boxing at the age of 12, Muay Thai at 16 and, at 21, he began competing. During his 10 solid years of travel, he supported himself by pursuing design jobs in marketing, and no one knew he was also training in the martial arts. \u201cI never pursued championship belts,\u201d he said. It was acquiring the mindset of a fighter that attracted Loarca to the martial arts. He credits the self-defense he learned through martial arts with saving his life several times while traveling.<\/p>\n

As Loarca traveled, he was helping other people build their gyms and build their dreams. One day, \u201cI read an article that said [the martial arts business] could be a billion-dollar business,\u201d he said, \u201cand I thought, \u2018Well, why not me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A Gym is Reborn <\/b><\/p>\n

Loarca passed through Southern California on his way to relocating in Hawaii, but a life-changing event occurred on the way to the islands. He reunited with a friend who was an instructor at a gym that was in financial trouble. The gym owner wanted Loarca to help with marketing. Instead, Loarca managed to buy the business and stay on the mainland.<\/p>\n

The club had been through five owners before Loarca came on board two years ago. Since taking ownership, membership has quadrupled. His teams have solidified according to country of origin\u2014for example, you\u2019ll find a Brazilian instructor (program director) for BJJ.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to make the gym about me. The sport is global; the conversation is global. The sport is made of thousands of different interpretations. When I go someplace new, I find something new every single time. I\u2019m 50 percent fighter and 50 percent business owner. I\u2019m here to build an empire\u2014making money, having fun and making an impact in the community,\u201d Loarca said.\"OTFC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe gym is fitness based, and the classes are designed to make [its members] fight-fit. It\u2019s not about being a fighter. Fighting is simply the vehicle. The addiction is the fitness and conditioning. It\u2019s like learning a new language,\u201d Loarca says. Each success produces more success. Even in loss, Loarca is optimistic: \u201cWhen you lose, you win when you try again.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the building owner doubled his rent, his business license and insurance were up for renewal at the same time. \u201cThey were going to close the doors on us,\u201d but Loarca thought about how he would make it work, and he dug in his heels instead of running for cover. \u201cWas I going to be the guy who just talks, or was I going to take action? I had to get creative, so I added a physical therapy section, and I forged a relationship with a local juice bar. I just kept moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had over 30 businesses in different countries. This is the first business I\u2019ve had where it all came together, said Loarca. \u201cI always remember to look back to see how far I have come,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd, don\u2019t get me wrong; I\u2019m not wealthy.\u201d Perhaps not in the strictest sense of the word, but Loarca is extraordinarily wealthy in other ways. \u201cI\u2019ve been blessed in everything I\u2019ve done, but this wasn\u2019t an easy fight. The hardest fight is in opening your own business\u2014that\u2019s the championship belt. It\u2019s about being a champion businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paying It Forward<\/b><\/p>\n

Quick action and marketing skills are the not the bedrock of Old Town Fight Club\u2019s success. While traveling, Loarca always found a way to give back to the host community. Paying it forward has become his key guiding principle. He offers five community-based outreach programs: scholarships for vets with PTSD, an anti-bully program, free lectures for communities, free women\u2019s self-defense classes once a month and boxing for Parkinson\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n

\"OTF<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition, he serves as a mentor to Luke, a 10-year-old student to whom Loarca has extended a complimentary membership. He instills life skills such as \u201cthe world is bigger than you\u201d as well as training and conditioning Luke in physical fitness. Luke is more than a \u201ckid he mentors.\u201d He is Loarca\u2019s little buddy, and in the near future, Luke and his father will accompany Loarca on a trip to Brazil.<\/p>\n

\"LUKE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

His pay-it-forward model has rewarded the gym handsomely. While not the intent, the outreach has attracted many new members to the club.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Currently, Loarca is writing a book about the spirituality of the fighter. You might call him a Renaissance Man. \u201cJames Dean, Indiana Jones and Andy Warhol, all mixed into one,\u201d is how one friend describes him. That\u2019s what he brings to the gym, and it\u2019s what the gym brings to its members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MJ Plaster When you first enter Old Town Fight Club, the creation of owner Alek Loarca, you\u2019re struck by the fact that this is no ordinary gym. The eclectic atmosphere belies its purpose: to train and condition people to champion the fight of life. Don\u2019t let the modern ambiance fool you; the training is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}