Coach Reggie and Coach Kelley spent countless nights studying boxing, breaking down fights, and creating drills together outside their Ferguson home. The energy and explosiveness of their training began attracting attention. Soon neighbors were gathering at the end of the driveway just to watch.

At the same time, both coaches were living very different professional lives.

Coach Reggie worked security at Busch Stadium. Between shifts he could often be seen walking the halls shadow boxing before heading to 12th and Park Recreation Center to help Coach Harold Petty work with fighters.

Coach Kelley was working as a marketing manager for major national brands. In the office she became known as the woman in business clothes throwing shadowboxing combinations in the hallway before rushing home to train again.

When gyms shut down and people were stuck at home, they began inviting friends over to learn boxing and stay active. A few training videos were posted online and suddenly the driveway began filling up.

Soon the driveway became a boxing ring.

There was no shade at first. Just brutal summer heat and freezing winters. Fighters trained in extreme temperatures, sometimes over one hundred degrees or below zero.

But people kept showing up.

For two years STL Boxing Academy operated outdoors through every season. During that time the team began producing champions, professional fighters, and national level athletes.

In 2022 the team moved into a pole barn gym on three acres of land. For the first time the gym had walls and a roof. There was still no heat the first year and no air conditioning.

But the wins kept coming.

National champions.

Pan American champions.

A 2023 Team USA world champion.

At the same time UFC star Joaquin Buckley climbed into the top ten in the world with coaches from the gym in his corner.

Eventually the team outgrew the barn as well.

After months of planning and licensing, STL Boxing Academy opened its current facility, becoming the only 24 hour boxing gym in the Midwest.

No investors.

No sponsors.

Just relentless work and belief.

What started in a driveway is now one of the fastest growing boxing communities in the region.

And the story is just getting started.

Welcome to STL Boxing Academy.

In 2022 the team moved into a pole barn gym on three acres of land. For the first time the gym had walls and a roof. There was still no heat the first year and no air conditioning, ever.

But the wins kept coming.

National champions.

Pan American champions.

A 2023 Team USA world champion.

At the same time UFC star Joaquin Buckley climbed into the top ten in the world with coaches from the gym in his corner.

Eventually the team outgrew the barn as well.

After months of planning and licensing, STL Boxing Academy opened its current facility, becoming the only 24 hour boxing gym in the Midwest.

No investors.

No sponsors.

Just relentless work and belief.

What started in a driveway is now one of the fastest growing boxing communities in the region.

And the story is just getting started.