Written by Carlos Contreras.
“You’ve heard about them before via this blog. They’re a CrossFit gym; but, Black Box is so much more than that – and it’s the reason why we are circling back to tell you a bit more about what they’ve got going on.
“Black Box is a CrossFit affiliate with classes 6 days a week, and open gym hours 7 days a week. Currently, are working on building a youth strength program for at-risk kids within our community – and our newest program that just launch is called RESET. RESET is a specialized program for people who want to lose weight and “reset” their lifestyle. A gym, especially a CrossFit box, can lead to some fear walking into a space that is unknown. RESET is a safe place where people can experience exercise, quite possibly for the first time, in a supportive and educational environment,” said Jessica Gentry Co-Owner of Black Box.
When we heard about RESET, their plan to work with young people at the JDC and some yet to be announced work with war veterans, we figured they deserved a little additional #CommunityDialogue love. Gentry and her partner Chacho Taylor’s love for community isn’t hard to glean from their engagement with community outside of their doors. Both are parents who are raising or who have raised kids here. We asked Gentry a bit about that “journey” as an Albuquerque business owner.
“Well – it’s been a crazy journey, to say the least. I owned a youth specific strength and conditioning facility in Albuquerque for years and my business partner owned a MMA gym in Santa Fe. Neither of us planned on doing it again, but the opportunity to buy Black Box came at just the perfect time – you know what they say, everything happens for a reason, and all of the pieces fell into place… so we didn’t question it, we just jumped! Our vision for Black Box is to be a place where people can change their lives, no matter what that journey looks like for them. We just want to give back in ways that is beneficial for Albuquerque, our community,” said Gentry.
Both her and Taylor are native New Mexicans – and even though they both left following career aspirations, they’ve been pulled back to the Land of Enchantment by their passion just the same. Of Albuquerque, she said,
“It’s special in a completely different way and that is why we love it. We are raising our families here… we have roots here – friends that are family. Albuquerque has become an incubator for our passion and what we want to accomplish.”
Speaking of accomplishing things… These two are accomplishing quite the feat; they’re turning a specialized style of fitness into something that is inviting and intriguing for people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and fitness levels. RESET their new program is a testament to this reality. We asked how it came about.
“I had two women call me in May that were curious about CrossFit and Black Box. I asked them to come in and see for themselves what it was all about. My heart broke when one told me she was too out of shape to workout with the people who were in the gym training during that time. The crazy part is – everyone here is on their own path and our gym family is like nothing I have ever experienced before – so I knew that wasn’t true, but I couldn’t convey that to them and I felt so helpless. That afternoon I had one of my coaches ask what we thought about creating a time slot for this exact type of person. So, we thought what would create that “feeling” where is was ok to be a beginner, to not be where you want to be “just yet”, and to have others in the same boat. That is where RESET began,” said Gentry.
RESET isn’t the only “special” offering that will be coming out of Black Box – for this, Gentry credits Taylor, saying, “ I guess that is what happens when your business partner is a creative guy! An adaptive athletes program in coming in the Fall of 2018, and the at-risk youth program starts Aug 1st., but who knows – we are open to ideas and feedback from the community too.” Neat right? Wanna see what it’s all about? We asked Gentry, what about those who are wanting to check it out – the box, something new… ? To that, she said, to you…
“Come in – seriously, I have been a competitive athlete all my life, and had my mind made up about CrossFit before I even gave it a shot. But Black Box is solely focused on being an welcoming community and our training methodology is proper movement above all else! We offer a week free, also… so no excuses to not drop in!”
First week free? What? Come on… what’s stopping you. Stop in sometime and thank them for their service to our community at the very least. They’ve done a lot and have no plans to stop. The sky seems to be the limit for this gym. Ending our conversation with some positivity when asked about possibilities, Gentry said this about the future of their creation.
“Our main goal is to positively impact as many people in our community as possible – You’ll have to stay tuned on the upcoming things we will be rolling out.” Cheers to that Ms. Gentry. Thanks for opening a business in Burque.”