 Today, we're excited to welcome someone who owns the ring. Reese Scott joins us to talk about finding her true passion, fighting the odds, and opening women's world of boxing. This is School of Hustle, the show where we find advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon, the VP of Social Hierarch Go Daddy, and I live and breathe the hustle of business. Today, we're filming from the hustle of it all at the WeWork Times Square in New York City. Reese, it is so great to have you on the show. It's great to be here, Shannon. Thank you. I want everybody watching to give Reese the biggest warmest welcome. Thank you. Well, you opened New York City's first privately-owned women's boxing gym. Yes. But you didn't grow up practicing to support your whole life. And what inspired you to open women's world of boxing? Oh, wow. No, I grew up eating Twinkies. And, yeah, I was obese my whole life. I was actually, yeah, and that's actually, you know, how we got here. I was about 220 pounds when I started boxing. And I, you know, worked in corporate and I wasn't doing anything except doing my job, doing a thing. And I started boxing. I just kind of wandered into a gym because of just where I was in my 220 pounds. Yeah. And I felt like I needed to do something. So I said, OK, let me just go for a walk and see where it takes me. And it led me there. Why boxing and not cycling or a treadmill? Keep in mind, I started boxing 15 years ago. OK. So at 220 pounds, I'm not thinking about getting on a bike. OK. Like I was thinking about I need something to help me figure out who I am. I need something to challenge me. I need something to make me feel alive because I've been grinding on this corporate gig for so long and it's a creative job and I no longer feel creative. And now I'm like numb and I need to feel alive or what's the point? Well, it's interesting that your background is in creative work on the publisher side. Yeah. Right. And it is very different to what you're doing now. But there must be some sort of similarity between the two. Do you translate any of your past experience into what you do today? I translate all my past experience. Do you really? Absolutely. I still get to be creative as a boxing coach and as a gym owner and as, you know, the person who does all the things. Because, one, working with so many people, so many different people, everyone learns differently. So that keeps me on my toes. That keeps me creative because my goal is to reach the women and the girls that I train to reach them and to teach them in order to teach them when you have to learn how they learn. And what sex did you take to make this business a reality? For me, it was making a list of all the things that make me happy. And that's just truly where I started. Where am I the happiest? What am I doing when I'm happy? And it was strange because it was for me coming to the boxing gym and the most unwelcoming, uninviting place. Think 15 years ago, bunch of sweaty guys. I was one, I think, of four women who were in the gym. They didn't want me there. But ironically enough, it was the one place where I felt so comfortable because it was the one place that made me focus on me. Boxing makes you so present. You have to be present because everything is connected. And the mirror work that's involved in boxing, you have to look in the mirror. You have to look at yourself. And that's one of the hardest things to do, you know what I mean? For people to really like take off all the layers and really look at themselves in the mirror and really be honest with what they see looking back at them. And for me, that's what boxing was. So being 220 pounds, having this career that I had built because I worked in publishing for like 19 years. So it's like, OK, am I really going in that hole? Oh, at your age, are you? My parents thought I was crazy. Are you really going to switch careers and to work for yourself and do this boxing thing? And I'm like, yeah, I think I am. I love to teach. I love to share what I learned and what I noticed coming up in the boxing gyms, the few women that would come into the gym. The men weren't teaching them. My mission was to learn as much as I could from as many people as I could to study, to train, to come license, so I can teach other people. When that is my goal, if you are my goal, you are my goal is to teach you. I'm not worried about what anybody else is saying about me. I'm not worried about what anyone else is doing. I know that for me, my goal is to make sure that the environment is safe for you and for me to teach you as much as I can. What does a typical experience look like for somebody who comes to your gym? Oh, I mean, it's I think it's awesome. One of the things that people say the most as soon as they walk in is they say first they take a deep breath. Every woman and even a lot of men that come into the gym, they're supportive and just ask me questions, whatever they come in and they take a breath. And for me, that's everything. Because when I designed my gym, I designed it with everything in here. I wanted to feel like home. It's not just a boxing gym. It's a it's a community. So when people come in, they say they take a breath and then they say, I feel the love in this place. What boxing gym I had and people walk in and say they feel the love. They smell the stench, but not in my dreams. You know what I mean? It's like stinky, stinky. Exactly. And it's like they walk in and they're like, wow. And in that deep breath, their guard comes out and then we can talk. And then they tell me why they're there. They want to learn. They want to fight. They just want to learn self-defense. They want to build their confidence, whatever it is we're going to do. That's right. Slowly and steadily. I do think that a really good gym is a place where you celebrate like a personal best, a personal achievement. You celebrate each other as part of that community you mentioned. Absolutely. Is there any one particular customer viewers who stands out to you as having that major inspirational story? Oh my gosh, there's too many. You're finding it only one. Yeah, exactly. I've seen, I've witnessed so many women change their lives. You know what I mean? And just looking in the mirror and just owning where they were and deciding where they want to be, where they want to go and making those changes for themselves, whether it's quitting smoking, whether it's quitting drugs, whether it's leaving an abusive relationship, like all the way leaving a toxic job. Like I've seen so many just success stories from these women who come in who just whether they want to learn how to box or learn how to live. And in speaking of success, what does success look like for you? How do you found that you've reached it yet? I have not reached success. I have, you know what, because I don't think there's just one success. OK, I do, I do. I think that when you set goals and, you know, you just you want to continually improve yourself. I don't think it's just, oh, oh, you made it. And I'm like, I haven't made anything. Like, you know, I've reached this one goal and I have other goals. And now, one, I have to maintain this status while I elevate to another another status. So there's no making it in successes. I feel like for some women, it's just a success to wake up every day because some days are harder than others and they can't, you know what I mean? So, yeah, I don't measure it with just like one thing. Thank you so much for opening up and talking to me about getting your business off the ground. Thank you. Now we are going to play a fun game called Hustle Time where we are going to set a clock for 60 seconds. OK, and see how many questions you can get through in that time. Can I have 60 seconds on the clock? OK. Can I peek? First record you bought with your own money. Commodores. Favorite Disney movie. Aladdin. Favorite movie. Color Purple. Dream Dinner Guest. Oprah. Best place you've traveled. Cuba. Favorite New York City tourist attraction. Oh, Times Square. What's the first app you open in the morning? The first app I open? Yeah. Instagram. Cool. Which would you rather give up for life, pizza or sandwiches? Sandwiches. Would you rather never be able to teach or mentor or never be able to learn? Oh, never be able to learn. How would your mother describe you? That laugh. Never went good to the leisure. Red Velvet Cake. One word you wish you could take away from the English language. Oh, it starts with an N. A favorite workout. Arms, legs or abs? Abs. Boozy brunch or morning workout? Boozy brunch. What is your favorite word? Willie Wonka. Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp? Gene Wilder. Biggest splurge. Oh. What is it? My gym. I was going to say that. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. That's without coffee. That's without coffee. Nice. Give me a five. Favorite part of your day? Morning. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten? Do everything yourself. Worst piece of advice. Do everything yourself. How do you use your career to inspire others? I do what I do from the heart. And yeah, that's it. Ever felt like walking away? Every day. And then walking back. One thing you still need to learn? Time management. What do you want people to learn from you? Everything I could possibly teach them. What's next for you? Now. Who inspires you? Everyone. Who challenges you? Everyone. That's true. We let everybody in social know that you were coming as well. And Jeff actually sent in two. Okay. Did you experience any challenges getting started in what many would consider a male-dominated industry? Yes. Tons of challenges. One, from a woman going into a boxing gym to learn how to box. That's one, going in as a client. Then two, after training for years and years and years as a client and then stepping into that world of a trainer. Back 15 years ago, men, even now in some of the gyms, a lot of the older boxing trainers, they feel that women don't belong on the floor. That's what they call the gym. They don't belong on the floor as trainers. So earning that respect as a trainer, when you have to earn respect as a client to walk into the gym to train, they see you coming every day. Okay, she's serious. Okay, maybe we won't bother her as much because she's serious. Then, oh, she's training. Oh, we're gonna try and be little herds and miniature all these things in front of her clients. But she still keeps coming back and she's doing well and she's getting more clients. And she actually looks like she knows what she's doing. Okay, we're gonna respect her a little bit. Then it's, okay, wait, she's opening her whole gym. Who does she think she is? You know what I mean? So there's always that undertone. You know what I mean? It's very, you know, just being a woman going into this world because hearing every day, this is a man's world. You don't belong here. Women don't belong in a gym. Hence women's world of boxing. How did you raise capital to start your venture? I asked everybody I know, did the thing my parents said, don't do, don't cash out your 401k. I was like, you know, let me cash that out. Cause you know, this is my thing. So yeah, I owe everybody. I mean, we just met, but I'm probably owe you too. So, you know, it's like, you trust me, I owe you. It's like family, friends, like everybody, everybody. I do have one last question. Yes? From one of my favorite people, our pug noodle. Noodle loves athletics and fitness. In fact, he has some decent athletic ability and endurance. But Noodle has never tried boxing. Noodle feels he's a lover and not a fighter and he's also shy about people watching him work out. What advice would you have for someone who wants to try boxing but has some reservations about this whole opponent aspect? I tell people, if they have the curiosity, satisfy the curiosity. Okay. It's that simple. Okay. You don't have to walk into a gym feeling like you should know everything. We don't know the thing we're taking classes to learn. So no one expects you to know the thing that you want to try. And that's really hard for a lot of people because they walk in and, oh, I'm sorry, I don't know anything. Well, never apologize for what you don't know, but I applaud you for walking in and willing to learn. And also knowing what you don't know. You're saying I'm going to learn more. Exactly. And curiosity is a sign of intelligence. Exactly, right? Exactly. That's great. Hear that Noodle? So try Noodle. You hear that? You can try with me. That's all you do. Well, this is fantastic. And before closing every show, I like to do sort of a final thought, like a fortune cookie at the end of a Chinese meal. I have three thoughts, three quotes. I'm going to read them to you. And I would like for you to listen and tell me which one resonates the most with you and why. Number one, take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live. Two, fitness is not about being better than someone else. It's about being better than you used to be. Three, fearless is having fears but jumping anyway. Fearless is about having fears but jumping anyway. They all resonate with me, but that one, that one is everything. That's everything. That's everything. And why is that? One of the scariest things that anyone can do is leave their comfort zone. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Well, I loved this conversation. Likewise. Thank you for having me. You're welcome. Thank you for being here. We really appreciate you opening up and talking to us. Thank you. And I know that everybody watching got a lot out of this too. And I want to remind everybody watching to follow women's world of boxing across social and follow GoDaddy as well because we are bringing many more fabulous entrepreneurs your way just like Reese every week. So follow GoDaddy across social and we'll see you soon. Bye.