Nanuet Home To Rockland's First TITLE Boxing Club

Vitaly Sapiro was on vacation in Jamaica with his family around Christmas time 2011 when he was taking stock of his life.

“I was just thinking about the things I wanted to do and how a lot of people don’t ever get to really do what they want,” he said. “I always loved being around sports and coaching my kids’ sports teams. I wanted to be involved with sports or fitness somehow.”

On Jan. 2, he left his job after more than 25 years working on Wall Street. Within the next month and change, Sapiro will open a TITLE Boxing Club in Nanuet, the first in Rockland and just the second in the state. It’s located at 253 West Route 59, behind P.C Richard and Son.

“Boxing is an incredible workout,” he said. “How often do you see an out of shape boxer?”

TITLE was a large retailer of boxing gear and equipment when it branched out into clubs starting in Kansas City. Eventually it started to grow and opened other clubs in the midwest and now has clubs in more than 30 states.

“I just fell in love with the workout and the people running the franchises,” Sapiro said. “It spoke to me as a business person and investor, and it spoke to me as a consumer. There just aren’t places to get workouts like these elsewhere, and it’s really a club environment not just a gym. It allows you to share your passion with likeminded people in a family-friendly, non-threatening environment.”

While it’s a boxing gym, there isn’t sparring or fights.

“We don’t train fighters, we train like them,” Sapiro said. “You don’t have to be a fighter to train like one.”

Sapiro said while looking at job options he came across TITLE and really bought into their business model. He said he spoke to others who purchased franchises elsewhere and found not just people who had spent a lot of time working in fitness, but also a lot of people who were successful business people looking for something new.

He’s from Closter in Bergen County, NJ, but said he’s very familiar with Rockland.

“My family and I have been coming to Rockland for years to shop,” he said. “The Palisades is the mall we go to. I know Rockland very well.”

The signature workout is called the Power Hour, and it’s a total body workout that Sapiro said can burn up to 1,000 calories. It starts with 15 minutes of high intensity cardio training followed by eight three-minute rounds punching a heavy bag, with minute-long intervals between rounds where the exercisers will have a minute of active rest, where they jump around or do something to keep moving. That’s followed up by 15 minutes of abdominal and core training. It’s all instructed by a professional trainer.

The club will also offer between 25 and 35 classes throughout the week, offering different kinds of boxing and/or kickboxing workouts. They’ll also have personal training, as well as cardio machines and weights if members want to stop in and do their own exercising.

“I think most people who are going to come in are going to want to participate in the classes, though,” Sapiro said. “It’s about the camaraderie. It’s an effective motivating tool. You’re all feeding off the same energy.”

Sapiro said the gym is open to people of all fitness levels and people don’t have to have any prior boxing or kickboxing experience. He also said classes are open to kids as young as eight, just as long as they have a parent with them.

“So far at other clubs, we’ve seen that 70 percent of the members are women,” Sapiro said. “It’s really just a great workout for all different kinds of people at different health levels. If you’re looking to get into better shape, build endurance, lose weight, whatever, it’s great if you stick with it. Whether you just had a baby and are hoping to lose that weight or just want to lose weight for whatever other reason.”

The club is scheduled to have a soft open some time in the middle of April and will look to formally open about two weeks after that. Sapiro said they’re still figuring out some details, such as class schedule and hours, but noted TITLE will be open seven days a week. A lot of other details will depend on demand, he added.

The club will have 54 heavy bags, so he said people shouldn’t have to wait to use them. They will also offer classes throughout the day to ensure people with a wide range of schedules can make them.

So far they have more than 100 pre-registrations for membership and it’s looking like night classes will be the most popular.

Sapiro said they also plan to be active in the community and can plan workouts for groups, such as for employee wellness programs. He said he has also spoken to a varsity coach from a county high school about workouts for the team. They’re also looking to participate in charity events, as well.

“We want to be a part of the community,” Saprio said. “The response so far has been great. We’ve got people interested in coming from all over Rockland and even from New Jersey. We want out members and staff to interact very closely and know each other. We don’t want people to come in and be just a number.”

Currently, the club is taking pre-registrations online at its website, www.titleboxingclub.com/nanuet, or by calling 845-367-0424. They are also running promotions over on their Facebook page. They are also offering the first hour workout for free.