Robert Reid, National Geographic Travel’s ‘Offbeat Observer’ just published a wonderful article on The Bronx and The Grand Concourse.
In the article he writes:
“The man with graying dreadlocks raking outside a New York mansion is hip-hop pioneer Kool DJ Herc. He hasn’t switched careers, but is an artist-in-residence helping out at the Andrew Freedman Home, a one-time “country club” retirement home that’s now a workspace for graffiti artists, a 1920s-styled bed-and-breakfast, and space for homegrown art and theater. Up the street, a yoga class is under way outside Edgar Allan Poe’s 200-year-old cottage. Farther south, the intricate Beaux Arts façade of the 1913 Opera House, where Houdini once did tricks, is a newly opened hotel that fancies itself “boutique.” All 60 rooms are full, and staff advise guests to dine next door at the tiny Mexicozina taqueria, a neatly converted shrine of devotion to poblano specialties (like the best pig-ear tacos in town).
Few visitors to New York will have seen this. Nor have, to be honest, most New Yorkers. The reason is location.
The College of New Rochelle’s John Cardinal O’Connor Campus in Melrose sold last month for the asking price of $10.5 million in an all cash transaction according to the real estate firm, Massey Knakal.
As we reported back in February when the property was first listed, The College of New Rochelle will still remain in the building, however, they will scale back their operations to just 4 floors in the 9 story, 50,000 square foot building in this sale / leaseback transaction.
We predicted that the property wouldn’t last long on the market due to its strategic location in Melrose coupled with the growing confidence in the area by the commercial sector.
Recently there have been sales of a number of large properties in Melrose. The New York York National Bank building at 369 East 149th Street, just half a block away from CNR’s campus sold for $4.4 million in October of last year. The old 60,000 square foot YMCA building aka the Pyramid Reception Center, also in Melrose, at 470 East 161st Street sold for $6.65 million in October as well.
The College of New Rochelle’s property sits in an area that is rapidly growing and has transformed from one of blight to one that is highly desirable.
3 blocks away on 149th Street you have the Opera House Hotel which is the first luxury boutique hotel in the Bronx and right across from it, construction is well under way for Triangle Plaza which is a mixed retail and office development which will house a new campus of Metropolitan College of New York.
Crunch Fitness opened this Spring at the Opera House Hotel adding to the collection of fitness chains in Melrose such as Planet Fitness and the two Blink Fitness locations all located in the neighborhood.
Directly behind Triangle Plaza will rise one of five buildings that will make up the massive, 985 mixed income unit, La Central development that is scheduled to break ground sometime in the summer of 2015 (a 48,000 square foot YMCA with 2 swimming pools will be located in this building).
4 blocks north, another luxury boutique hotel, Umbrella Hotel, is slated to open come this September.
All one has to do is take a walk around Melrose, The Hub and the 149th Street corridor to see all the changes rapidly taking place.
It will be interesting to see what the new owners of 332 E 149th Street will do with the building.
Mychal Johnson is a Bronx resident and activist with South Bronx Unite. His recent focus has been the relocation of Fresh Direct to the South Bronx and the adverse affects it would have on the air quality in the area which has the highest asthma rates in the City. This roundtable connects to the PERCENT FOR GREEN’s focus on the history of the Environmental Justice Movement in the US in low- income areas and communities of color and links green urban issues to health, food and the economy. www.southbronxunite.com
This roundtable is brought to you by PERCENT FOR GREEN, a social practice project by Alicia Grullon. PERCENT FOR GREEN examines how art can facilitate community coalition to create solutions for environmental progress in the City and promote more discussion on Climate Change. The project’s objective is to co-author a bill with Bronx residents that protects the environmental rights of people in underserved areas.
PERCENT FOR GREEN is part of InClimate an exhibition curated by Regina Cornwell being presented under the auspices of Franklin Furnace Archives and its co-founder Martha Wilson.
City residents are invited to round-tables, in public and domestic spaces, where we will engage in conversations on creating solutions for environmental imbalances we identify in our neighborhoods. What we learn from this process will form the basis of the new “Percent for Green” legislation.
PRECENT FOR GREEN will be running from the Longwood Arts Gallery, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street in HOSTOS Community College, June 5th and runs to August 6th.
Project programming consists of roundtables, workshops, presentations and discussions around climate change, the City undeserved groups, and environmental action.
The artist is present at the gallery between 12-3 until June 30 and then from 12-5 from July 1 through August 5, 2014. While in the gallery, she is available to help you brainstorm solutions, discuss legislation points or talk about the environment, economy, and society. Come make 311 calls, contact your local council member or write a letter to the mayor! Bring in any images you’ve taken and your concerns. If you want to use the space for a workshop, presentation, or discussion of your own, submit your idea to: percentforgreen@gmail.comt
PERCENT FOR GREEN is made possible with public funds from the Bronx Council on the Arts through the New York State Council on the Arts Decentrailization Program and in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
for more information go to: http://percentforgreen.tumblr.com/
www.inclimate.org
Take the #2, 4, or 5 trains to 149th street and the Grand Concourse (so easy from Brooklyn and only 20 minutes by car from the Queens Museum via the Triborough Bridge) or get the the BX #1 or #2 bus
Christopher Columbus High School shuttered last week after serving the Pelham Parkway area for 75 years. Famous students included Ralph Lauren, Kerry Washington, and Son of Sam David Berkowitz.
After serving thousands of Bronx residents from their humble office at 3176 Bainbridge Avenue during these past 18 years, West Bronx Housing & Neighborhood Resource Center has lost their lease.
West Bronx Housing, a subsidiary of Bronx Jewish Community Council, Inc is now in desperate search for a new home after their landlord accepted an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Our landlord has been very kind to us over the years,” said Sally Dunford, Executive Director at West Bronx Housing, “He hasn’t given us an official date but is willing to give us as much time as he is able to for us to relocate.”
The community based organization was able to stop 83 evictions last fiscal year alone — but that’s not all they do. They also assist folks with enrolling in food stamp programs, help seniors navigate the often complex world of Medicaid and Medicare, they even help a 90 year old woman read her bills and write her checks for her once a month. WBHRC also dabbles in some immigration work helping people filling out forms.
According to Dunford, with a small staff of 3 full time employees, 3 part-time employees, an intern and a volunteer, they were able to serve over 1,200 individuals with one on one attention.
“We serve the Jewish community best by serving the entire community well,” said Dunford echoing the mission of BJCC which sets out to help all the vulnerable in The Bronx, particularly seniors — regardless of their background.
In the current issue of Time Out New York, it’s a Battle of the Boroughs: Natives and longtime residents square off to explain why their home turf is superior to all others. This week, we’re spotlighting one borough per day online. Read on to see whether our arguments for Bronx dominance sway you or whether they only bolster your other-borough pride.
Heard of hip-hop? Started here. Grandmaster Melle Mel, DJ Kool Herc, Grand Wizzard….
NYC’s actual Little Italy is much farther north than most people think. Buy some fresh mozzarella and cannoli on Arthur Avenue to see what we mean.
The 28-acre, bucolic Wave Hill is the best daycation in town.
Just a couple weeks ago, the borough’s culinary ambassador, Baron Ambrosia, scaled a tree five stories high to save a stranded kitten. “I don’t care if the tree’s 200 feet high and on fire,” he said. “If you want me to get the pussy out of the tree, I’m gonna get the pussy out of the tree.” Dude has a way with works.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts’ First Friday shindigs are fun and culturally fulfilling, with everything from dance performances to Afro-Cuban films.
Note: The exhibition has been extended until August 16th.
Back towards the end of May last year, Thomas Stubbings of Austria was visiting New York City. It wasn’t his first time here since Stubbings has been visiting the city since the early 80s — but it was his first time in The Bronx in 30 years of coming to New York.
“I had been to New York about ten times but never to The Bronx,” said Stubbings yesterday as I visited with him while he was setting up for the opening of the exhibition this Saturday July 5th at Poe Park Visitor Center in Kingsbridge. “I still had the old images, the clichés of what The Bronx was. With each visit I had done everything to avoid The Bronx and going around it.”
So last year he decided to change all that and after researching tours that’s when he stumbled across MCNY Tours owned and operated by Bronx resident Alexandra Maruri.
“I’ve been to the Empire State Building four times and asked myself do I really need to see it a fifth time?”, he told me recounting his journey last year.
According to Maruri, Stubbings had arranged for a 6 hour historical tour of The Bronx but quickly turned out to be a ten hours excursion through our borough.
It was during that time where Thomas Stubbings’ perception of The Bronx began to melt away.
“The more I walked around, the more interesting, the more lovely these places appeared; so different from the images of The Bronx I was used to seeing.”, he told us.
That’s when Maruri and Stubbings came up with the idea of a photography exhibition to showcase the real Bronx and help dispel the myths and stereotypes of our borough came about.
They approached Lucy Aponte, Director of the Poe Visitor Center, with the idea and although she liked the idea, Maruri said, “…she felt the exhibit needed something extra, Ms. Aponte suggested to Mr. Stubbings to create an artistic comparison of both places, the Bronx and Vienna Mr. Stubbings home residence in Austria.”
And it was with something so simple as a visit to a forgotten and unwanted borough that ‘The Bronx Meets Vienna’ was born.
The exhibition will display 24 portraits shot by Thomas Stubbings; 12 of The Bronx and 12 of Vienna showing every day life in both places.
I asked if he would put similar photographs from both locations side by side but Stubbings said he wanted the exhibition to make people think about where each particular photograph was taken so it’s not as obvious. “The thought process is very much an important part of this exhibition.”, he says.
Indeed, after looking at several prints, I had to really look at them to be sure where they were taken.
I asked Stubbings what did he enjoy most about shooting in The Bronx and he simply replied, “The positive spirit, the energy, the mood of the people was so different from the expectations that surprised me. Everyone was so friendly.”
“Although we’re different, there are more similarities when you look closely,” Stubbings explained, “whether it’s children playing, or people walking with their heads down looking at their smartphones, we’re not so different. There some things which unites us and shoes how close we are.”
‘Bronx Meets Vienna’ runs from Saturday, July 5th through August 16th at the Poe Visitor Center in Kingsbridge. The exhibition will hit the road and will be shown in Vienna, Austria by the end of this year.
Opening reception with photographer Thomas Stubbings will be held this Saturday July 5th from 1PM – 4PM so make sure to come out and meet the artist and chat with him as well as give him a big old Welcome to The Bronx.
Operating hours are from Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9AM – 5:00PM
The Bronx meets Vienna Supporters
*A Special Thanks to TheAustrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) an agency of the Republic of Austria, part of the Austrian Consulate General in New York, Fordham Road BID, NYC & Company, The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, The Woodlawn Conservancy, & The Opera House Hotel & Welcome2TheBronx for their assistance and support.
JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thomas Porton, a teacher at the Monroe Academy in the Bronx, was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1995. He is the first and only teacher from New York City to receive that honor.
A Bronx teacher is not only the ONLY New York City teacher to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame but he also founded and runs the oldest HIV/AIDS educational program in the nation.
“As AIDS ravaged the city, Bronx teacher Thomas Porton took it upon himself to ensure students understood the deadly disease.
Porton, 65, recalled a student who was stunned in 1991 by the number of families devastated by AIDS asking him: “What are we going to do with this disease?”
So Porton, who now teaches English and drama at the Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design, founded Bronx Youth Creating Compassion — in spite of ill-founded opposition.
“We originally dealt with accusations of it being inappropriate,” he said.
Now, it is the longest-running student HIV/AIDS education program in the country, he says. It teaches 300 new students each year.”
Deliver Us From Evil, starring Eric Bana as former NYPD officer Ralph Sarchie, is a supernatural horror film loosely inspired on events that happened in the 46th Precinct in The Bronx which covers the neighborhoods of Fordham, Mount Hope, University Heights, and Morris Heights.
The movie is an adaptation of the book, ‘Beware The Night‘, written by Sarchie on his accounts moonlighting as a demonologist while still working as an officer of the NYPD.
During his tenure as a demonologist, Ralph Sarchie even became friends and worked with famed couple Ed and Lorraine Warren who worked on the real Amityville Horror case which the movie was based on. The couple themselves became the subject of the hit horror movie, The Conjuring, inspired by events of one of their cases back in 1971 on a Rhode Island farmhouse.
If the film is anything like director Scott Derrickson’s ‘Sinister’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’, then we’re in for a special treat as those two movies were filled with terrifying moments for us horror movie fans.
In an interview with The Daily News, actor Eric Bana recounts: “It’s a horror movie, so it was mostly night shoots,” says Bana. “We’d sleep through the hottest parts during the day. But the Bronx being a true character in the film, it couldn’t have been shot anywhere else.”
A review in the New York Times says of ‘Deliver Us From Evil’, “… But Scott Derrickson, the director, and his special-effects crew really deliver the creepy goods here, providing an apt climax for as taut and credible a movie involving demonic possession as you’re likely to see… A nighttime scene at the Bronx Zoo will certainly persuade you never to be caught there after dark. And if you had any doubts that the music of the Doors is a direct conduit to Satan, they’ll be dispelled here.”
Are you going to see the movie? What do you think about a major horror film (or any film for that matter) set and shot in The Bronx?
Check out this excellent interview about Bronx born and raised Will Sanchez now living down under in Australia bringing Bronx culture to the masses. Thanks to Ms Hennessey of Ms Hennessey Speaks Blog in Australia for allowing us to syndicate this interview and sharing it with our readers.
You can take the B-Boy outta the Bronx but you can’t take the Bronx outta the B-Boy! An adage that befits the enormously talented, skilled, rhythmic wonder that is William ‘Ill Will’ Sanchez, founder of the first ever breakdancing, tap dancing and comedy crew “Beat the Streets”! The crew, founded in the Sydney by the Bronx New York native is an original concept that combines the art of hip hop breakdance with the staccato injections of tap dance and topped off with an infectious comedic flow that has the audience enthralled from start to finish!
Watching the crew, which consists of five of the dance industry’s best performers, it is a heart pumping, non-stop feat that showcases not only Sanchez’ evident hip hop artistry but allows the audience to be interactive with the crew as they perform their street theatre ensemble throughout Sydney city. For Sanchez’ who started his affair with breakdancing back in 1995 under the tutelage of legendary B-Boy “Crazylegz” of the famed Rocksteady Crew, “Beat the Streets” is a dream fulfilled and an ongoing passion which continues to break new ground for his crew. Not just content with street theatre pop up shows, Sanchez is also an educator of dance and travels all over the country with his hip hop workshops teaching all levels and age groups. Not bad for the New Yorker who took a chance in 2009 and decided to relocate and explore the different areas of dance in Australia, a risk that has certainly paid off. Since arriving in Sydney, Ill Will has appeared in a legion of television commercials for companies Foxtel, Holden and Samsung, performed on ”Australia’s Next Top Model”, worked with Sony recording artist Timomatic and choreographed Stan Walker’s music video “Music Won’t Break Your Heart”, with no signs of slowing down.
Will Sanchez is the real deal when it comes to this hip hop dancing business. The man has travelled the world as a professional break dancer representing the USA Breakdancers and has performed on Broadway as well as countless movies, music videos and TV shows in the US. Having worked with international artists like Kanye West, Ciara, Neyo and Twister, Sanchez brings a wealth of industry moves, knowledge and experience to Australia’s growing hip hop dance industry. Watch his “Beat the Streets Crew” in action and you will understand that this is more than just a talented and humorous dance crew. They are a selection of the finest, fittest and funniest performers in Australia that have banded together to create something truly original and unique to come out of Australia’s dance community. A true labour of love for Sanchez, he is swiftly gaining respect in the dance industry as he continues to build on his vision of “Beat the Streets” into truly innovative and authentic entertainment company of its kind to come out of Australia. They will thrill you, inspire you and make you laugh…… but above all they will entertain you like you no other dance crew can!
Thanks for your time Will – so excited to talk to you about your amazing street theatre ensemble you have put together out here called “Beat the Streets”! I caught your show (along with your crew members) at Darling Harbour with my son and we were both blown away by your talents – can you tell us what Beat The Streets is about and how it came to be?
Thanks so much for having me Maxine! Beat The Streets is a high energy Break dancing, tap dancing and comedy show. It’s a concept that started in the streets of times square and something that I really wanted to bring to the street performing world in Australia, which is very dominated by circus acts. I decided to move to Australia in 2009 and wanted to start a new company from scratch. It began with 3 b-boys working the streets at Manly beach, I then realised I needed a point of difference to separate what I was doing with all of the other breaking crews. That’s when we decided to bring in tap dancing. From here the group grew to 5 members and everything else fell in to place. We came up with a show structure and name and became “Beat The Streets”.
You are a native New Yorker, repping the Boogie down Bronx, and have been dancing and performing most of your life in the world of hip hop breakdance and b-boy arena. I read that your mentor was the legendary ‘Crazylegs’ from Rock Steady Crew and under his guidance you have taken your career to international levels. Can you share with us those early days growing up in the Bronx and how hip hop helped carve out your destiny?
Growing up as a kid in the Bronx in the 80’s/90’s was pretty tough. If you didn’t become part of something to keep you out of trouble, chances were you would end up in a gang and never get out of there. I started martial arts in 1995 and after only 6 months I heard on the streets about some guy named “Crazy Legs” teaching at my local community centre for free, something he was doing purely to give back to the Bronx community. I went in for my first class in September of 95’ and haven’t looked back since. If I hadn’t have started dancing I would still be in the Bronx caught up in the wrong scene with the wrong people. The world of Hip Hop has allowed me to travel the world, meet some incredible people and opened my eyes as a youngster that there is so much outside the streets of the Bronx. In saying that, I’m so grateful to have grown up in a place so rich with Hip Hop culture, the Bronx will always be home for me.
You have danced in battle competitions and worked professionally alongside music stars Kanye West, Neyo and Ciara to name a few. What do you think has allowed you to remain as successful, motivated, consistent and relevant in the dance industry from then to now and beyond?
The thing that has kept me successful and motivated is my passion for dance and the ongoing support from my family in New York. I train in different styles to stay relevant in this ever-changing industry and have been lucky enough to be able to make a living out of dance.
Why Australia as your current home base? What do you see in our dance community that has encouraged you to stay and grow your Beat the Streets brand?
I first visited Australia in 2002 and instantly fell in love with the place. I came back again in 2008 and met my now fiancé. By 2009 I was living in Sydney and realised how alive the dance industry was. Beat The Streets took off almost instantly as there was nothing else like it in Sydney at the time. I was excited by the fact that I could expand myself and try other aspects of dance which I never would have had I stayed in New York. I was at the age where I was ready for change and Australia offered the perfect platform and opportunity.
Beat The Streets provides classes to the general public, teaching kids and adults the fundamentals of street dance and theatre. How has the Australian public taken to your style of dance and theatre and if people are interested in learning how do they get involved?
At the moment we don’t have a regular class. The boys and myself have been busy so find it hard to keep something regular going. However we all travel and teach workshops around Australia and hope to get a weekly class going when we get a little more time.
You are in a crew with about 5 other dancers, performers and the like? How did you choose who you wanted to align yourself with in this crew and how would you best describe their personalities, energies and talents?
I chose dancers that inspire me and are versatile. All of the members of Beat The Streets are honest, humble, creative, loyal and easy to work with. Sean is the tap dancer of the group, Stevie G is the acrobat, Kamikazi is a B-Boy who specialises in parkour, Joe Bananas is our power head and B-Boy Blond who often works with us is one of the top 10 best b-boys in the world. Each guy brings something different and equally important to the group and I’m so lucky to work with such talent every day.
Coming from the Bronx NYC you hold within you the foundation of hip hop’s Holy Grail. Your dancing career has taken you around the world, introducing you to people from every walk of life. Tell us how you still remain a Bronx boy at heart and what do you miss about your hometown?
You can take the boy out of the Bronx, but you can’t take the Bronx out of the boy! This is so true! I will always have that little ghetto in me that comes from growing up in a place like that. I still yell across supermarket isles, will always blast loud hip hop music in my car and speak a lot louder than Aussies do. I miss my loud Spanish family, the food, the hip hop culture that is EVERYWHERE when you walk around the Bronx and my good old block parties.
What are you currently listening to? The artists or music that inspires you and why?
I listen to a real mix of things. My inspirations in music are Jay Z- he has a great story of starting from nothing, something I can relate to on a smaller scale of course. Eminem- because he speaks the truth, Lil Wayne- Good beats, Kanye- true artist, Drake- for his different sound and I also love house music, good DJ’s mixing great music.
What do you think are the pros and cons between street theatre and on stage theatre or performances as you have experience in both?
Street Theatre is the toughest audience to entertain. If you can make it on the streets, I feel like you can make it work on any stage. I personally prefer street shows because it’s what I have done my whole life; I feel comfortable and love the challenge of holding a random audience. It’s exciting to bring people joy when they don’t expect it.
What does Hip Hop mean to you?
I was born where Hip Hop started, so it is a way of life for me.
In August of 2012 Ms Hennessey launched her first blog page dedicated to interviews captured with a host of local and international Urban Music personalities, reality TV stars, music producers, artists and overall tastemakers in the industry.
With interviews ranging from hot Aussie Hip Hop artist Miracle, to pioneering US Hip Hop DJ / Producer DJ Premier, Civil Rights Activist and Poet Nikki Giovanni to our own Urban Hip Hop authoritarian Rodney O, Ms Hennessey conducts her interviews to relay to her readers as real conversations in Hip Hop, drawing on the professional and personal worlds of all of her interviews to bring forth a human interest light that engages, celebrates and educates her readers.
With over 10 years music journalist experience under her belt Maxine Johns aka Ms Hennessey has written on and continues to document the past, present and future role that the Australian Urban community plays on the global stage.
I’ve got a big dog, and I always clean up after him. If I forget to bring a bag with me when I walk him, it’s not a problem: a dozen small black plastic bags will blow by us in the course of a ten-minute walk, and I can always grab one of those. And several million of them will end up in the ocean EVERY DAY.
That’s one reason why I approve the proposed tax (or ten-cent charge) on single-use plastic bags. Let’s face it: nobody has to pay that tax, when bags are so little, and so easily crumpled into something tiny and unobtrusive.
The ladies who read this will know that it’s no strain to carry a reusable bag or two; many of us already do that. (We adapted to having an endless supply of disposable bags in supermarkets, bodegas, and other stores. No doubt we’d adapt pretty quickly to not having them, too.) And the men who just haven’t formed the habit yet will find that it grows on you easily.
The arguments against the tax seem silly to me, and shallow, and frankly self-indulgent. The bags are ugly, fluttering in trees, blowing up and down streets, clogging storm drains. They are serious pollutants, in addition to doing great damage in the oceans. They increase the cost of citywide sanitation efforts. They are manufactured from nonrenewable resources. It seems silly to defend their use just because it might be hard to remember to bring one (or several, if that’s what you’ll need) the first few times you go to the store.
It’s also true that the multiply reused bags might not be very hygienic, but that problem goes away if you wash them occasionally. No big deal.
Climate change is real, and is threatening many aspects of life. At each step, with each new choice, it’s likely that we’ll have to make decisions weighing our entitlements and convenience against a healthier, safer, better life for our children and grandchildren. I’d like to see us all approach these problems with heart, and an eye to the future.
But I also think that we must involve communities in this decision, and if many people agree that the bags should be reduced in number, I do believe that a good public relations and information campaign would smooth the path to our new way of handling bags.
All we have to do is keep calm, and carry bags. Not so much, really.
About Killian:
Killian Jordan is an editorial consultant who has lived in the Bronx for the past seven years. Jordan is a member of the Board of Bronx Council for Environmental Quality and CB 4’s Parks and Recreation Committee.
Disclaimer:
Comments, views, and opinions are that solely of the author and should never be misconstrued as that of Welcome2TheBronx or any other authors of this site. Welcome2TheBronx only edits articles submitted by readers for grammar and spelling leaving fact checking up to the author.
Welcome2TheBronx encourages reader submissions for consideration for publication on our site. It is our mission to be able to provide a platform where Bronx residents can have their voices broadcasted to a wider audience.
To submit an article, email us at submissions@welcome2thebronx.com
THE CRUNCH PHILOSOPHY: There are no judgments here — No too much or not enough. No glares of disapproval. Here we keep open minds. We are nurturers. We seek only to encourage, empower and entertain. There is no one type. There is no one reason. There is no one way. What we are is a diverse community; what we have is a culture of fun; what there is, is room for everyone: all kinds of people with all kinds of goals who’ve chosen to come reach them with us. CRUNCH. NO JUDGEMENTS.
CRUNCH perks:
• Great facilities with functional training areas, Premier Strength equipment, top-of-the-line cardio equipment and more
• Top compensation plan of any commercial gym
• Continuing education opportunities with in-house certifications and workshops offered monthly (i.e. discounted NASM-workshops, TRX-STC, TRX Rip Trainer, Kettlebell Concepts, Annette Lang, guest speakers/presenters and much, much more).
• Complimentary dotFIT Nutrition Certification
• Complimentary membership
• Semi-Annual Team Trips & Activities
• Discounts on services, products, and much more!
• Complimentary membership and discounts in club
• Semi-Annual Team Trips & Activities
EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Ability to build clientele by administrating fitness assessments and safely conducting personal training sessions
• Ensures accurate administration of client programs, including dotFIT programs, supplement purchases, measurement tracking and workout programs
• Assists in all revenue generating activities, including but not limited to: complimentary workouts, supplement booths, body fat tables, seminars, and workshops
• Ability to sell the value and importance of personal training sessions to our members.
• Responsible for achieving personal monthly revenue objectives set forth by the company
• Organization skills and ability to maintain a neat presentation of the fitness floors at all times
• Ability to adjust and operate all fitness equipment
• Possess an enthusiastic, passionate, friendly and ambitious personality
PREFERRED EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS:
• Current CPR
• Current dotFIT certification (or must be willing to obtain)
• Certification from organization recognized by Crunch (NASM, NSCA, ACSM, NCSF, ACE, AFAA, NESTA, TRX)
• High school diploma or general education degree (GED)
• A degree in a related field is preferred (Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine, Physical Education, Nutrition, Fitness Specialist, etc.)
EXPERIENCE:
• Personal Training experience preferred but not required
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
• Physical effort required for daily duties include lifting heavy weights, squatting, bending, reaching, spotting & prolonged standing and walking. Must be able to frequently lift and /or moves up to 45+ pounds
TO APPLY: Please email your resume to ptresumes@crunch.com with the subject heading “Crunch at the Hub Personal Trainer” and include in the body of your email:
1. Why would you like to be a Personal Trainer at Crunch?
2. Do you currently hold a Personal Training Certification? If so, please list all applicable certifications.
3. Please advise your availability to work Monday-Sunday.
4. Have you interviewed for Crunch or worked for our company in the past? If so, please provide detail.
