Reigning champ

OUR ARTICLE

Sneakers pound stairs as quads burn, but instead of stopping, fists are thrown in the brisk winter air. Shadowboxing a worthy opponent, your inner demon or any contender who foolishly believes they can steal what’s taken a lifetime to earn. A black pullover hoodie wraps the ears, sleeves are pushed up. It’s winter in LA, but it’s 5 in the morning. While it’s not Canada cold, if you don’t keep the blood pumping, the season will bite. Your breath makes a fog, your lungs are heavy — it matters not. There is only one master of this journey, and until someone has the mite to knock you off your chariot, you are the reigning champ.

Head into their flagship on La Brea and grab the gear you need to turn your passion into a daily routine.

Slim sweatpants cover your legs, bunching tightly at the ankles. The burning is felt, but instead of giving up you drive your feet in the ground and push lower. The first glimpse of the morning sun is seen berating through the boxing gym window. You’re so close to your goal now that you wouldn’t stop if you were a vampire and those beating rays would turn your skin into mush.  Your focus is singular, and it’s not on the black coffee that can be smelled, steaming, and waiting for your completion. It’s of your wrapped hands moving a mile a minute, every punch faster, more precise, every one of them leading towards the moment you put on your Reigning Champ grey, tiger fleece hooded robe and take your first step towards the ring — on fight night.

It’s 10’ o’clock at night. The daily rituals are done, Seinfeld is airing reruns on Fox, your friends are calling you from the bar, the world is running amuck, but you’re not part of it. A black nylon duffel bag hits the ground, and where a white Spalding Reigning Champ basketball comes out, your cell phone goes in. It wouldn’t matter if the net is chain, polyester, or missing altogether, shots are going through that rain-washed orange rim nonetheless. Black, athletic mesh streetball shorts taper the thighs. You don’t think about the game from last week, you envision the one tomorrow. The past is the past, and you know if you want to shred that championship from another man’s hands, you have to work twice as hard. And you will, because it’s all for the moment you can finally breathe above water as the Reigning Champ.

Head into their flagship on La Brea and grab the gear you need to turn your passion into a daily routine. The shop has a handsome, modern aesthetic, and is decked out in the three colors that speak the loudest: black, white, and grey. The brand is a reflection of the undisputed, so before you check out, grab a Stadium Jacket, and make it the one that reads Cassius Clay on the back. Because in the words of Ali himself: “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”