By James S. Woodman
Falling stock prices and the credit crunch have Wall Streeters like Vincent Quinones hitting the gym and the heavy bag more often.
“The guys on the [Stock Exchange] floor that first told me about the gym — they all lost their jobs,” Quinines, 42, said of the Trinity Boxing Gym. “So, yeah, there is also a lot of personal stress to get out….
“Personally, what I do is very stressful, and being able to get off work and go hit a bag is great for releasing that,” he added. Quinones works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, a few blocks from the boxing gym on Greenwich St.
Yet for John Snow, co-owner of the gym, Wall St.’s condition, good or bad, will deliver a steady flow of customers.
“Whether it’s an upswing or downturn on Wall St., people are always going to have problems to solve,” said Snow. “The flipside of the coin from now — if Wall St. is booming — markets will be going crazy and there will be plenty of stress from that as well.”
For the past 10 years, the gym’s owners, John and his brother Martin have tapped a lucrative market: high-profile, white-collar workers in need of a throwback to their hours of office labor. The gym—with its informality and basement-like décor that has been called “fight-clubby”—offers more than a casual environment for exercise. For many who began going to Trinity out of casual interest say that boxing has become a necessary part of daily life.
Austin Smith, an associate at an investment firm in Midtown says that what started because of a free 3-month membership and a desire to exercise has turned into “an addiction” that he believes has grown instrumental for his professional life.
Smith says that if he goes a week without boxing, sitting at his Midtown desk can become veritably more difficult. “I will actually feel less energy when I don’t box. I’ll sleep more, but its restless sleep where I’m waking up and constantly shifting,” Smith said. “I’ll be more shifty and feel the anxiety building up to get back to the gym.”
