Gloves Over Guns – George Rivera

Molly Schnellenberger 0:00

And during that event, we stopped for gun violence. That was about to happen, two incidents where people pull guns on themselves, oh my God, and they end up coming to the gym. They was gonna put the gloves on, talked about it. And you know what was crazy? It was miscommunication, really. So he was about to shoot each other, so miscommunication. And we got them in the gym. Us in a buck squad. They had them work out together. After that, they were best friends

Welcome to solving gun violence. A student led podcast from the University of Virginia's gun violence solutions project. We are dedicated to finding effective strategies to combat one of America's most urgent issues, gun violence. Each of our episodes feature experts sharing actionable solutions to improve public safety while upholding individual rights. My name is Molly K Schnellenberger, and I'm a second year student at the University of Virginia, and your host for today, for this episode, I'm being joined by a very special guest, George Rivera. George Rivera is the President and Executive Director of wartime fitness warriors, a boxing gym near downtown Charlottesville. He has quite the resume, as he is a three time state Golden Glove champion, a two time regional Golden Glove champion, a semifinalist in the regional Olympic trials, and a professional fighter with over 24 professional bouts in 2019 Mr. Rivera opened wartime fitness warriors, his nonprofit boxing gym with programming geared towards at risk youth. His work focuses on strengthening mental and physical strength as a strategy to prevent gun violence.

Mr. Rivera, thank you so much for beinghere today.

George Rivera 1:59

Absolutely.

Molly Schnellenberger 2:00

We're just going to jump right in. We are so excited to have you to start us off. Could you tell our listeners a little bit about what exactly wartime fitness Warriors is and what you guys do?

George Rivera 2:12

So wartime fitness Warriors is basically a nonprofit wrap around service to help misunderstood youth. I call them misunderstood youth, and we basically, you know, help them with a school work. We help them get stronger, mentally, physically, and have more self confidence and self love within they self.

Molly Schnellenberger 2:34

That is absolutely amazing. Thank you. Why do you do it? Why is this mission so important to you?

George Rivera 2:41

Because I was a misunderstood youth when I was coming up, when I moved out here to Virginia in 1996 from Harlem, New York City. So it was a culture shock for me, and I was labeled. I was misunderstood, and I know how you know them youth feel, so that's why I'm here to help. And I gave my sister My word before she passed, and that's who that is, my baby sister, yeah, so that's the reason why I started the gym.

Molly Schnellenberger 3:09

Yeah, I got to read a little bit about your story. But do you want to share? Yes, so comfort level, of course, yeah.

George Rivera 3:15

Oh, um, so a week before my sister passed, because I was doing box, I was doing boxing, I was coaching, I was working, I was doing all types of stuff. And she said something, this was my youngest sister, because I got five sisters and a brother, seven of us. Oh my gosh, siblings? Yeah, I'm the oldest. So, long story short, she said something to me. She was like, Why you always got a safety net? You could have did so much more in boxing, and that's my that's the youngest one, like talking to me like I'm supposed to be, you know, giving you advice. But it was true. So she was like, You need to cut the safety net and you need to get back to coaching, you know, boxing and getting back to coaching sports. And then on my dad's birthday, we were celebrating, she had passed away, she fell asleep behind the wheel, and I told I was gonna get back to coach and I was gonna get back into the ring. So I gave her my word. And my word is bond, so that's why, you know, when she passed, you know, and you know, I was going through it, you know, as far as, like, you know, boxing and everything. And my sister passed, and, you know, I was just in a messed up place. And, um, I gave my word. So that's when we started wartime fitness, 2019 she passed away, 2018 and you see her energy, her spirit is is real because, you know, she, she, you know, I keep her energy alive because that's her personality. She was always positive, you know, and that's why I keep that going.

Molly Schnellenberger 4:40

Yes, sir, absolutely. I think that it's clear through your work and how many people you've helped that you are making your sister so proud, you are absolutely honoring her memory. Could you tell me a little bit more, what's the theory behind your youth program, and how do you believe it prevents. Sort of interpersonal violence before it occurs.

George Rivera 5:02

Oh, because boxing is therapeutic. That's how I found out. Like, when I first moved out here to Virginia, I was getting into a lot of altercations, a lot of fights, and then once I got introduced to boxing, it helped me therapeutically, mentally and physically so and that's why I'm big on and passionate on helping the youth and getting them into the boxing program.

Molly Schnellenberger 5:27

How does this work in practice? Exactly, for example, can you tell us about someone you've worked with, a kid you've worked with, and how the program impacted them, or how you saw personal growth for them?

George Rivera 5:38

Absolutely, I had one young lady who joined our program who didn't want to be here no more, and almost succeeded twice in making that happen. And you know, mental health is real. And when she got into our program, she got better in school, she actually got into other sports. And then when she stopped doing the mother sports. She went back, you know, to was getting back to doing stuff that wasn't healthy. So then when she got back into boxing, she graduated school, started, you know, taking courses and becoming her own business owner. So our program worked, and she was in our program for about, like, almost three years.

Molly Schnellenberger 6:20

That is such a powerful story. Thank you for sharing.

George Rivera 6:23

Oh yeah, it was tough. And like I said, we got a 10 step program. Is nothing like our 10 step program, and it works. We have plenty. Again, I've been dealing with for the last since 2019 at least, over 1000 kids, and all of them been doing great, been doing great confidence. Some of them mentally, not there. Now. They more confident. They having fun, like I said, and that's why I named our gym wartime fitness warriors. I didn't put it a boxing gym, because it's more than boxing, like I said, we're gonna motivate the world.

Molly Schnellenberger 7:00

Could you kind of talk a little bit more about the 10 step program, what that looks like, because I've read it personally, and it's super detailed, and it's super detailed, and it's clear that you've put so much heart and thought into it correct. I'd love for you to share that here.

George Rivera 7:16

So basically, it's a 10 step program, and it's slow. That's why we say baby steps, because each program you take is gonna get you closer to the next step, instead of overwhelming somebody, do small victories, build your confidence up baby steps. That's why I don't even do diets, cuz, you know, I can't just crash out. So I do baby steps when I was training. I eat good three days a week, then I go four days, and then the goal is to get six days and in one cheat day. So that's what I did with the 10 step program. And in each step you get close to, by the time you finish to the 10th step, completely different. You're gonna be more confident in yourself. He's gonna change you for the better. I got a couple gentlemen that was 319 pounds. He got down to 190 and he completed a whole 10 step program. And just through your program, wow, through my program. Then I got a young another young man, Panama, we call him, oh, that's another thing. If you come to the gym, you gotta get a boxers.

Molly Schnellenberger 8:22

You get a boxing nickname. Oh my gosh, that's so fun.

George Rivera 8:26

So I got a gentleman. His name is Joseph, but we call him Panama because he love eating Spanish food and stuff like that. So we call him Panama. He was 230 now he's 165 and he's now, he ended up becoming a boxer, and he was the most shyest person you could ever meet in your life. Now he's confident he's in the ring. He's actually doing classes teaching other fighters how to fight. He's been with us about, like, a little bit over two years, and I had him go to Nationals and everything. So like I said, it's more than just throwing punches.

Molly Schnellenberger 9:03

I just love that you meet people where they are, no matter where they come from, correct their background, and it's a no judgment zone, diverse, correct, yes, absolutely. And building people up into the leaders they want to be and the world needs to see. I think that's just so admirable. How do you identify these community members who might be struggling or who would benefit from this program, and how do you connect them with these resources and the program you provide?

George Rivera 9:31

Well, we've been working with a lot of you know, other organizations like HUD sports, bucks squad, but I think their new name is Central Virginia violence interrupters, but we work, you know, with them, and we work with a couple other nonprofits, like the r bar and stuff, and, you know, with this community, so a lot of kids, even with the school systems, a lot of the kids get sent to us through local community. In schools that you know kids that's really misunderstood or need help.

Molly Schnellenberger 10:04

So what does the process look like from sort of day one to maybe the first week in getting them to come back to the gym, and then you said you had somebody come for three years straight. How does how does that? How do you build upon that first day and build those relationships with those people, energy.

George Rivera 10:23

Remember when I took we don't judge nobody. We know everybody's welcome. So once they come up in there, we have a conversation. And I explained to them baby steps, you know, and then we go from there. Build Confidence, build trust, build you know, build accountability, because we big on discipline. I'm very big on schoolwork. That's why I'm so thankful for students demand action for helping us out with the students. That's that we have coming up in there with tutoring, because I check their report cards, I speak with with the principals. I go to the schools, pop up on them so they see again. I was a misunderstood kid, so I understand and kids know they see. They know this, this teacher or this person really cares or really not. So once they see me, they see them, and I was them so again, and I hold them, you know, responsible. I check on them, and it's a process. So even if they don't have to compete to come to the gym, but they do, got to work out. They do, got to put that work in, and they do got to get their grades up. So, and that's how that process, process a go.

Molly Schnellenberger 11:36

I want to ask what sort of challenges you face as the director of this program, and, yeah, just how has it been hard

George Rivera 11:44

um finance? Because we work with a lot of misunderstood youth, and I don't want, you know, finance to be the problem, but um getting, you know, getting a spot in Charlottesville, Charlotte like they New York City now, with these prices for rent and stuff like that, and then just to fund a program, you know, it takes a lot, because I'm only one person, so, you know, and I'm working with hundreds and hundreds of kids. Since we started in 2019 we probably worked with over 1000 kids, and I'm by myself doing it. So that's why I'm thankful for the volunteers that, you know, help out in a couple of fighters that help us out with the youth. So but definitely finance.

Molly Schnellenberger 12:26

If you were to receive more funding, what's like the first thing you would would do with it? What's the number one priority right now?

George Rivera 12:33

Get a bigger building. Number one because, because we're growing, and then also, um, you know, get more supplies for the youth so they can, you know, can engage in our programs. And also workout equipment, which we need that, you know, big time. And also transportation, because some of the kids, you know, they don't have transportation to the gym or back home. And, you know, we have, you know, some boxes and and staff that helps them out. Some of them actually ride bike there.

Molly Schnellenberger 13:09

Oh, yeah, I can see how that would definitely create, like, an accessibility issue, especially because Charlottesville is pretty big, correct. So we're going to shift gears just a little bit. You've been a resident of Charlottesville, since you said 1996 how have trends in gun violence and violence in general changed in the city over time? And are there any trends you've seen?

George Rivera 13:30

Yes, in the last five years, is getting worse. And honestly, since I moved down here in 96 the last five years, the gun violence it's been more where, when I was coming up, you know, living in Harlem, the gun violence was drug wars like and I seen people killed in front of me. I remember going to the hospital one time, and my mother tried to close me and my brother eyes, and we had to step over a dead body. I just got shot up with a Uzi, so, yeah, and this is starting to remind me of Harlem, because it was so much gun violence, like every day or every other day. We used to hear a lot. I'm from the polar grounds. Yes, that's a rough neighborhood, yeah. So we seen a lot of gun violence where I was from, and living in Charlottesville since 96 the last five years, it's starting to remind me of Harlem, because it's always a shooting and it's getting worse and worse.

Molly Schnellenberger 14:28

Yeah, that's a very powerful comparison. Thank you for drawing that. I've only lived here for a couple of years, so I can't speak much to trends, so I appreciate your input there. As we were talking about earlier, Charlottesville is not a huge city. It's relatively small in the grand scheme of things. But a lot of people, when they think of gun violence, they sort of think of they picture big cities like Chicago or Detroit, maybe New York, but we're a small city, and we're surrounded by, like, a lot of, like, dense Rural. All county with that in mind. What impact do you feel like firearms have on conflicts in communities like ours? Right?

George Rivera 15:09

Well, that's why I'm big on the programs that we do. And we actually did a gloves up, Guns down event, because, again, misunderstood. So you think Charlottesville misunderstood. You think it's always no gun violence is, you know, UVA, everything is, you know, nice but, but they don't understand. Is gun violence everywhere? Yeah, prudent here, and if you keep overlooking, oh, it's just Charlottesville, you're gonna have just as much gun violence as New York City, as Chicago, as La so that's why now is the time to, you know, get these programs, get the mental health programs going on, get solutions, just like Baltimore is doing now in their city, with boxing programs and stuff. And you see how much within the last two years, how much gun violence has slowed down in Baltimore, and that's big, because that city has a lot of gun violence.

Molly Schnellenberger 16:08

Could you tell me a little bit more about this? Gloves up guns down event, just for our listeners who might not know what necessarily you're talking about.

George Rivera 16:16

So we did a gloves up guns down event here in Charlottesville, because the gun violence was getting, you know, um, more and more frequently. And during that event, we got with a couple nonprofits. We got a buck squad at the time. We got on with Tez, got some people that's big in the community, that did the gloves up guns that event, that actually even went in the ring and put the gloves on. And during that event, we stopped for gun violence. That was about to happen, two incidents where people pull guns on themselves, oh my God, and they end up coming to the gym. They was gonna put the gloves on, talked about it. And you know what was crazy. It was miscommunication, really. So it was about to shoot each other. It was a miscommunication. And we got them in the gym. Us in a buck squad. They had them work out together. After that, they were best friends. So we stopped about four situation where guns were going to be involved.

Molly Schnellenberger 17:14

That is so amazing. Yes, yes. Thank you for telling me about absolutely.

George Rivera 17:18

So that's one of the reasons why we did the gloves up and guns down, and again, showed his other avenue to go to besides shooting each other, put them gloves on. And you know, and like I said, you'd be amazed on what a boxing event could do

Molly Schnellenberger 17:34

To close out on that mental health idea. I want to go back to that and talk about it as a strategy for violence intervention. What do you believe, let's say, is the role of mental health in the gun violence epidemic, and how do you think programs like yours are making an impact?

George Rivera 17:54

I believe is a big, you know, a big, you know, mental health is a big problem, as far as like gun violence, just for like suicides, if you look at suicides, is through gun violence. And we had a situation in Crozet with a young man was screaming for help, screaming for help, and his family even got involved with trying to get the guns removed from from him. Yeah, and it did not happen. They didn't take the guns from him. He was screaming. He had mental health, and he ended up killing, I think it was two people up in Crozet, a nice neighborhood, in food line, and then, you know, off duty cop end up taking this young man life who was screaming for help, screaming for help. So that's why, you know, these programs, is very important, that we need to really fund them, and really need to get down to the resources of helping, you know, the youth and adults. Because this was, he was a young man. Yeah, lives was lost.

Molly Schnellenberger 18:55

The situation in Crozet was so sad, and to think that if there had been somebody who intervened, correct that could have had a totally different outcome.

George Rivera 19:03

The family was screaming for help, screaming for to get that young man help, and they didn't do and they allowed him to keep the guns and lives was lost. So that's why we big on mental health, big time.

Molly Schnellenberger 19:17

Yeah, I agree so much. I think mental health is, you know, one of the biggest things we need to look at with this mental or this Gun Violence Crisis is because, like you pointed out, the majority of instances of what we consider gun violence are suicides. And that's very real, very sad, but it's, it's a very real fact, and I'm glad that you brought that up, and we could, like, shed some light on that. Absolutely, I do want to talk about your program just a little bit more. Let's get it, because it is so amazing what you do for the community. So I want to say, or ask, when you look to the future, what are say your goals for the program and wishes for the community? Community as it pertains to like we were talking about mental health prioritization and gun violence reduction, correct?

George Rivera 20:07

Well, the future I see with our program, and I say it all the time, a lot of future leaders and bosses, and I believe our program is going to motivate the world, because we have wraparound service on everything mental physical health, and we build a lot of confidence. And as far as, like, um, you know, everybody set trends. We're a trendsetter. You know, it was okay to be you. It's okay to reach out for help. Because when I was coming up, you know, y'all a lot younger than me, but when I was coming up, when you asked for help. People used to make fun of you, people used to joke. People used to tease you, and especially in my culture, because, you know, I'm half Puerto Rican and black, so when we used to ask for help, they used to joke, oh, you going to, you know, are you going to talk to somebody or, you know, something wrong with you, you know? So a lot of people in our culture don't like ask for help. And you know, if we say it's mental, oh, you got to be mentally strong. So that's why I feel like a lot of people don't ask for help, because they feel like they're gonna get teased, they're gonna get bullied, they're gonna get, you know, talked about. So with our gym, is none of that. You know, it's no judgment, is no labeling. There's none of that. You come over here, everybody except you. We family. We won't get through this together, and it's just not for kids, because I got a lot of college students. Yeah, absolutely. You know older, older people in a 60s, 70s, they're still young. Yeah, in our prime, it's all mental. So we do a lot again, not just for the youth, for everybody, like I said, boxing is therapeutic. It's more than just throwing punches. So that's what I see with our gym, a lot of future leaders and bosses in and out the ring and help motivate the world. Because even we did our gloves up guns down in Charlottesville, I think was like two years ago, we had a couple other cities that started doing it, Danville, they reached out to us, um, you know, Richmond, um, was it Roanoke? So we just gonna motivate the world. And two, I know I'm talking a lot because, but two, don't keep going. Um, friend of mines that I went to school with here got killed a month before that. Gloves up, guns down. Event, one of them in Charlottesville, in front of his daughter, yeah, and then another one in Fluvanna, and they still haven't figured out, you know, that situation, but that's what I'm saying. And this is here, yeah, gun violence is real. So you can't keep, you know, sweeping underneath the rug. You gotta, we gotta do something to, you know, slow it down.

Molly Schnellenberger 22:49

So this idea of boxing as an avenue to prevent violence, is that an original idea? Have you seen it elsewhere, and have you seen it appear in other places over the years.

George Rivera 23:05

Well, we all know Mike Tyson and how much boxing has helped him, and I'm gonna go back to Mike Tyson, because you see how much boxing has took from him. So that's why our program is different from everybody else, and I'm challenging other boxing gyms, and a lot of other boxing gyms is starting to understand my vision on why we do and why we train the way that we do. For example, Mike Tyson, boxing saved him. Right? If there was no boxing, what would it be? Look what happened when his trainer passed away. He didn't know how to be in a social environment at the time. They didn't help him with his grades, so they made him rely on boxing. That's why, with us, I teach them, they grades good trades school, so they don't have to rely on boxing. One of my favorite fighters, and I know him personally on Pinel Sweet Pete Whittaker, y'all probably don't know who that is. Look him up. A Hall of Famer from definitely Hall of Famer from Norfolk. Once he got done with boxing, he was back in the street, and he made all that money for Norfolk, put all that money to the city, and he ended up getting hit by a car drunk. Look them up. Peneloitica, good guy. So instead of having the game play the students, I'm having the students play the game. So even if they don't decide to do boxing, they know how to read, they know how to write, they know how to become their own boss. They know how to take a trade, they know how to take care of themselves. So they just don't rely on boxing. So that's why, you know, I'm challenging them all, all them gyms that been here 4050, years. Okay, you got this world champion from there, but can he do something else besides boxing? So there's no other program like this, and it's here in Charlottesville. So UVA, help us out. You. Yeah, we team us UVA. So think about it. We they college team with a pro team with a high school team, and is right here. So hopefully, you know, we get some more help from UVA.

Molly Schnellenberger 25:12

Well, I want to go ahead and ask this last question, because this is a question we ask everybody, and that is, what does the solution to the gun violence epidemic look like to you?

George Rivera 25:29

That's a great, yeah, one you cannot get rid of guns. So that's definitely not a solution. I think one of the solutions that we can do is talk about resolving conflict without guns. Yes, that's one. Like really focus on, on on that. And that comes from at an early age. Because if you think about it again, even when I was young coming up and, you know, it was drug wars is, you know, now is, you know, always guns involved, TVs, you know, in the neighborhoods. So the only solution was, who gonna shoot? Who first or don't get caught? Don't bring a knife to a gunfight. You know how many times I heard that? So as a you and I think it needs to start as a young age, school system, not in school system. How do you resolve stuff without using guns, communication? How can you get into an argument without it going to that point? Or how can and I think that need to get started at a very young age. And I remember me at 1516, years old, walking around in New York City. And my mentality, I'm straight A student getting good grades. But my mind was, I ain't no punk. And if somebody tried to punk me, and they tried to jump me or something, I use because that was the mentality. So I think at a young age, we really got to start that starts with the home, and start with the schools that start with everybody, programs, teachers, everybody, where you look at another solution besides using guns, just like we did the gloves up and guns down. Event, they even had some young kids that was in Charlottesville because that was using guns to handle beef. And they was meeting, I think it was on one of the basketball courts where they put the gloves on. So that shows me they're watching. They show they saw another way. So I think part of the solution is how to resolve stuff without using guns. And that starts again from the top.

Molly Schnellenberger 27:58

So that's all of the questions we have for you here today. We are so very glad you could join us absolutely. Um, yeah, of course.

For more information about Mr. Rivera's work, check out their Instagram page at WTF underscore warriors for youth programming and at war with 3 Rs time fitness underscore LLC for adults. To learn more about the University of Virginia's gun violence solutions project you can visit gvsp.virginia.edu, make sure to press follow to get the next episode right when it posts. We'll see you next time you.