Croft fights to keep gym open

Croft knows the business of boxing and training.

What he doesn’t know — and he readily admits it — is the business of business. As the gym has struggled to rebound from health-related issues, both globally and personally, Croft finds himself in a fight to keep the doors open.

“I am a pretty optimistic fella,” said Croft, a 1987 Aragon High School graduate who won a national kickboxing championship and twice fought for a world boxing title. “I always feel like I can find my way out of any situation … which is how I’ve operated my life.

“In this case, I probably need a better plan.”

Right now, Croft is trying to raise $30,000 through gofundme.com so he can get an extension on his lease, which is coming to an end. The rent for the gym in what was basement jail in the old city hall building on B Street in downtown San Mateo nearly doubled. And an already struggling gym suddenly was staring its future in the face.

“I was paying a reasonable amount. … Next thing you know, the price doubled. I did my best to keep up with that,” Croft said. “[The building owners] have been really good to me. They’ve been working with me … but they want their money. They’re a business, too.”

Croft said he is about two-thirds to his goal, but is reaching out to the community for more. While the thought of throwing in the towel did cross his mind, he instead decided to get up off the mat and fight on.

“I did (think about closing) for a second. But then I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do?’” Croft said.

Croft said the COVID pandemic and ensuing shutdown of the world as we knew it was a major blow. And then, just as things started to reopen in 2021, personal health issues took Croft down.

“Things were finally started to turn around (post pandemic) and then I got really sick. I was in and out of the gym that whole time,” Croft said. “I had to go to the hospital. I was 85 pounds. I thought I was going to die.”

While in and out of commission, interest in the gym waned. While the kids’ programs he offers grew, the adult classes and training dwindled. Croft believes a big part of the allure of the gym is Croft himself and his fighting resume. If he’s not there, he believes it just becomes an anonymous boxing gym.

“A lot of people come to the gym for me — not to be egotistical. I set the tone and I set the atmosphere. If I’m not there, they can go to any gym,” Croft said. “[The business] just never came back (after COVID). The classes were never as crowded as they were. People started doing other things.”

Croft eventually recovered, with the help of wife Casey Morton-Croft. The couple married in 2023 and Croft credits her for him finally get his stuff in order. Their relationship goes back more than a dozen years as he served as her trainer and B Street Boxing was her home gym.

They reconnected when she called him to ask him to wrap her hands for a fight and found out about his health issues.

“Casey started nursing me back to health,” Croft said. “Without Casey, this would have fallen all apart.”

Now Croft is determined to put the discipline he learned in the ring and apply it to his business — including raising membership costs — which he done only once in 17 years.

“Casey is really helping me (handling the business aspects),” Croft said. “I (usually) handle things as they come along. … Normally, I’d just figure it out.

“Yes, absolutely (operator error). I’m not saying it isn’t. (I realize) I can’t run a gym out of a fanny pack.”

But training at B Street Boxing is the true boxing experience. Whether you want to get a really good boxing workout, get in shape, or even want to get in the ring and go some rounds, you can do it all at B Street.

“You’re going to get the real (boxing) experience. Be around fighters; people who want to get in shape. … Maybe even have a chance to try to punch a pro boxer without getting hit back,” Croft said.

So Croft is calling out for help from not only to the boxing community, but the greater community of San Mateo and beyond as he fights to keep his business open.

“We’re a little community gym. We’re not trying to be a franchise. I’m not trying to open 50 of these across the nation,” Croft said. “My goal is to have one, this one, and just serve the community. That’s really what I’ve wanted this gym to be.”

Croft will keep fighting, both in the gym and in life, and hopes to have his hand raised at the end.

“That’s the only thing that’s carrying me, is that fighting attitude,” Croft said. “A good fighter is really smart. They might not have a high level of education, but you have to be really smart to be a championship-level fighter.

“I’m not a dumb guy. I just have to bite the bullet and learn what I need to learn. I’m going to do that — learn more. Now I just have to find that rhythm.”

If you want more information about the gym, go to bstreetboxing.com. If you would like to make a donation, go to gofundme.com and search “B Street Boxing.”

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.