Gym owner rises from the canvas

Walking back into the Box on Boxing Club last July after a weekend upskilling with a Wellington men’s support group, Lee Tepuia saw nothing out of the ordinary.

It has been almost a year since then, but he’s been continually reminded of the events of that weekend after a violent video was recorded in the gym and shared across social media.

And while Lee and the Box on Boxing team have addressed the video with members, supporters and those involved in the video, it’s left them with a better plan for the future.

“I was shocked what had happened, and it really rocked me because it wasn’t just the violence in the video, but also a betrayal of trust within the boxing club.

“I went through a real dark patch last year where I didn’t know what’s going to happen with the club and the work we do.”

When the video first circulated through social media, colleague Maxine Sweeney was the first to question Lee – and has been working alongside him in the last year.

"We were really straight up about what had happened and got it blessed to restore that aroha”, says Maxine.

“One of the coolest things about Lee is that he trusts, and that’s what connects him to people as a youth worker, but it can be taken advantage of, and he’s grown from that.”

Part of the recovery process included speaking with people involved in the video.
“We know the families, because we have been able to engage with many of their kids, they are part of the Blenheim community”, says Lee.

“I was straight up that I don’t condone anything in that video, but I’ve told everyone since opening Box On Boxing that I’m not going to leave anyone behind because they have doors closed wherever they go.”

And while Lee says that the video has caused its fair share of issues for both his own mental health and the club, he feels there have been silver linings.

“I’ve always advocated the gym as a safe place for hard conversations. I’m thankful for the people around me who showed up for me and helped pull me out of that, because through it all I knew I needed to still show up for the community.

“This journey has brought some big business learnings too though  – the gym now is all CCTV-connected thanks to sponsors, we’ve stopped third party hire, I’ve found a business mentor and local boxing has a really exciting year ahead”.

And while both Lee and Maxine have grown from their last year, they say they’ll continue to hold open doors and give everyone a chance with the right guidance and nurture.

“Rangatahi that we work with come from all sorts of homes and situations, and we don’t sit in a place of exclusivity, because we are community first, and community is everyone, and everyone is all,” says Maxine.

“We’ve been dealing with it on and off for a year, everyone we have worked with is aware and there are not any secrets so now we can just move forward.

“We’re not denying what happened a year ago, we’d just rather focus on the beautiful things that happen when our kids realize how powerful they are.
“I’ve got people that are training in our mixed open class that you will never probably think they’ll be training together, but they’ve got this connection where they feel comfortable coming in and keeping the vibe in the gym high”, summarises Lee.

“We’re not about closed doors; you walk in our gym and we will have those conversation to help you and we will not judge you – the focus is the community beyond boxing. Whatever I can do to keep this kaupapa going, I’ll keep going”, he added.