Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Stockwell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Prior to starting this business, I was a newly divorced mother, with a little one starting school, and a parent suffering with Parkinson’s Disease. I had been a stay-at-home mom and freelance makeup artist and had to figure out how to make this new life work.
Then November 2015, I got a call from my dad. He said “Watch this news segment. I signed us up to go to Indiana and get trained in Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s. We need to do this for Mom and bring this to Phoenix.” So, that’s what we did.
We, originally, went around to a few assisted living facilities with patients with Parkinson’s, and asked if we could teach their residents. But with only a few people in the makeshift classes, we knew that wasn’t the answer. Soon after, my dad had took his early retirement and bonus option to build a space, and by October 2016, I was teaching Rock Steady Boxing Phoenix classes out of our humble, little gym and soon serving 40+ members. We’ve now been through COVID years and several locations and currently have two wonderful spaces conveniently located off the 101 freeway at Peoria Ave.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The objective has always been to help as many people as possible through the workouts and even moreso through the support and friendship. No one who has been involved in keeping our gym running has ever asked “What’s in it for me?” We all volunteer our time happily for our “Parkie” friends.
What has happened recently has been an influx of corporations, manned with salaried grant writers beating out smaller nonprofits like ours for grants that can drastically change the lives of our community members if put into the proper hands. We have been blessed to be noticed by and have received our first grant this year from the West Valley Mavericks Foundation, and hopefully this is just the beginning.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rock Steady Boxing Phoenix?
We are Rock Steady boxing Phoenix, a boxing gym, specializing in helping people with Parkinson’s disease. We help them slow the progression of their symptoms through workouts that include heavy bags, speed bags, balance, training, weights, high intensity interval training, yoga, dance, mat Pilates, and chair workouts. We accept all levels of Parkinson’s patients, even those with mobility challenges as we modify based on each client’s needs. What sets us apart from other Parkinson’s gyms in the area is that we are a family-run organization, and we started this because of family members with Parkinson’s disease. This is not a venture that we are told to do from a corporate office, we do not have staff who are paid to work for us. We do not have paid coaches. We have volunteers and people with good hearts who want success for our boxers. I am most proud of the fact that we have been able to help over 1000 boxers over our 10 years in business and through our classes of 20 to 40 members each day. We are very excited that we are now able to add a fourth day of the week for our boxers to attend classes and a Speech class to work on that aspect of the disease. This is one of the most important things our boxers do in their day, and we want to give them as many opportunities as possible to thrive. My favorite part of our gym, and what sets us apart even more, is that we have fun! Parkinson’s is not a fun disease, by any stretch of the imagination, but we get our group of friends together to work out, throw parties, have game days, have support groups, go to Bingo, and anything else we can to make life enjoyable while going through this struggle.
What makes you happy?
I am always happy knowing that when my clients leave my class, they’re ever so slightly happier and healthier than when they walked in. I’m happy knowing that I took care of my people to the best of my ability and that I tried my hardest. I feel thankful that I get to do what I do.
I get to spend each day with great people and get to go home to dinner with my amazing daughter, proud of what I did, and that makes me extremely happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Rsbphoenix.com
- Instagram: @rocksteadyboxingphoenix
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D6BSUdVyw/?mibextid=wwXIfr
