In this episode of You Did That!, I welcome Liz Parr, the owner of Guvnor's Boxing Club in Long Beach, California. She is also a Womens Boxing 5x US Champion and a Team USA Athlete. She is currently on the long, long road to creating champions, all while owning/running her own boxing club. Most importantly, she is remembering to create a life outside of work. You can learn more about her classes, her athletes, and a little bit about her life by following her instagram page @guvnorsboxingclub.
We are celebrating her for not only excelling in her athletic career, but for starting her own business in a male-dominated field.
Main Topics Discussed:
Where did the name “Guv’nors Boxing Club” come from?
Liz: A lot of different things. My husband’s from Manchester, and we support Manchester City. The hooligans are called “guv’nors”. There’s somebody called Lenny McLean who was an underground bare-knuckle boxing champion—all-around gangster, badass, fucking bipolar guy. He was also “The Guv’nor”. I love him so much. My gym was named after the feeling I felt when I watched him.
When was the moment your business became official to you?
Liz: When they handed me the keys and all of the money went out of my account. Not only did I give everything that I had, but I also went negative. I remember my stomach hurting and wanting to puke. I didn’t know anything about running a business, and not a lot of people wanted to help. When I felt that there was nothing left, it became real.
Do you know other women who have done what you did?
Liz: I don’t, but I don’t think that there aren’t any. There are probably women out there like me but don’t put themselves out there as much. They just go about their business. They’re doing their thing. What they do is on a need-to-know basis.
What other challenges did you face when you started your business?
Liz: Money. When you’re self-made—when you don’t have any credit or anyone who is going to cosign for you, it’s a lot harder. There was nobody loaning me money, and I wouldn’t have accepted anyone anyway, because I never want to sink somebody else if I fail. I’d rather go down by myself.
How does it feel not having a lot of people who look like you in professional boxing or owning a boxing gym?
Liz: It’s being advertised more than back then. It’s bigger in other countries like Mexico, who have been headliners for a long time. I just think that, sometimes, the general population doesn’t care about women’s sports unless they’re actually a fan of the sport. The people I respect were really excited for me, and I got help from many trainers. I just think of it as a job that needs to be done, and I’ll do that job regardless of how you feel about me. Other people’s opinions don’t pay me.
What is the favorite thing that you learned about yourself as a result of this process?
Liz: That I love training kids. Even though I knew it then, I know it more now. I like to watch them learn, and hopefully imprint a little bit of my personality in them! I really love this special connection to them, where I’m not their parent or really their friend. I’m this person who is teaching them things that they can apply in their life years down the line.
Learn more about Guv’nors Boxing Club:
Follow them on Instagram: www.instagram.com/guvnorsboxingclub