Oakland nonprofit gym owners face challenges after recent flooding
A pair of recent Jefferson Award recipients found themselves in a bit of a bind this winter after torrential rains flooded their Oakland gym over the holidays.
Now they're hoping to turn the recent setback into something positive.
As a college English professor, Karin Spirn needed a hobby. When she discovered kickboxing, her whole world changed.
"It was so empowering. It built so much community, that it gave me so much strength and confidence, and it became one of the major passions in my life," said Spirn.
It became such a passion that Spirn co-founded the nonprofit gym Tuff Love Fitness in Oakland with her business partner Molli Khangsengsing.
Khangsengsing is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who shares her expertise to empower those with similar challenges.
"I've had my share of harassment and violence in my life," said Khangsengsing.
The small business owners have worked hard to become a staple in the community. That's why back-to-back flooding incidents -- the first happening right around Thanksgiving and the most recent the day before Christmas -- felt like a punch to the gut.
"We've been trying to divert water, but it's like a river when it comes out," said Spirn.
They are replacing flooding and fixing other damage caused by the flooding, not wanting to let their clients down.
"It helps us to take a breath, to say it's okay this is a crisis that we can overcome. We have the capacity to do it and our community will support us," said Spirn.
After all, perseverance, mental and physical strength is what is taught at Tuff Love. They have trained more than 3,000 people in free community self-defense classes since 2018 and were honored with a Jefferson Award last fall.
"For us to be able to be those leaders and help others, not just women, but also anyone who doesn't see themselves as being represented in a martial arts space, we can help provide that leadership, nurture those new young people coming up. That's really very much my passion," said Spirn.
Both Khangsengsing and Spirn say representation matters when it comes to training and leading.
"When we started training, we didn't see a lot of women in leadership positions in martial arts. I've never had a woman kickboxing teacher," said Spirn.
It's that "Tuff Love" attitude that has helped them, and others kick, and reach higher. Now it's inspiring them to be resilient during tough times.
Tuff Love is holding its annual fundraising drive to provide free self-defense classes for the community. More information is available at the gym's website.
