History of PGB
Unlike most businesses, Pink Gloves did not start as an idea; it started as a result. In 2006, I was a personal trainer in Helena, MT, when I received a phone call from a lady 60 miles away. She said, “I’m looking for a new trainer. I just fired my last one.”
I think it must have been my gut instinct that responded. “Can I ask why you fired your last trainer?” If you pictured those words coming from a nervous kid in his early twenties, you got it right.
“My old trainer would always break me down. His idea of motivation was comparing his clients to each other. He’d say things like, ‘You can only do six reps? Everyone else does at least 10.’”
My response was, “I’ll never do that to you.” That single mindset started a philosophy about only comparing ‘you’ to ‘you.’
I didn’t have a gym, so we trained on a soccer field. One day in an effort to add variety to the workout; I brought in gloves and punch mitts. As a kid, boxing was my passion – if you ever see my nose, you’ll notice how swollen passion can get.
That day, everything changed. She said, “That was so much fun. I have to bring a friend next time.”
Two classes later, her friend invited another friend. Then her friend’s friend invited a friend and so on until we had a group of ten women… all friends. The workout went from one-on-one to small group training. I would drive 60 miles – twice a week – to train. I’ll never forget one of the initial members saying, “We work hard, but we also know how to have fun.”
Then something really interesting happened, they started spending time together outside of the class. They were a team; encouraging each other in class and chasing their passions together on their off days. They became a community.
What does every good community need? – A name. Most people knew about Golden Gloves boxing and the younger version, Silver Gloves, but what do you call a group of women that ‘knock the stress out of the day?’ It seems obvious now, right?
What started in a field, in Montana, has now grown all over the United States and parts of Europe. Pink Gloves Boxing was never an idea of mine. It was the result of a group of women that believed in empowerment. I never founded Pink Gloves – Pink Gloves founded me.
Revealing the Champion,
~Garret Garrels