1ST CLASS BOXING AND FITNESS

Paul Tillery "Coach Superman" is the owner and operator of 1st Class Boxing and Fitness at Marley Station mall. He opened 1stClass Boxing & Fitness formly named Hardcore Boxing and Fitness in 2009 in a small gym tucked along Ritchie Highway in Pasadena. He moved the gym to Marley Station in the hopes of attracting more traffic.

“I think the big misconception with my gym right now is — people think you have to fight,” Tillery said. “I just use boxing as an engine to get people back in physical shape.”

Tillery’s love of the sport started early in life. Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, Tillery played traditional sports like basketball, football, soccer and track — but never boxed, he said.

“It was always a sport I watched on TV, always admired,” he said. “It never was a sport readily available to me growing up.”

That changed when after a stint in the Navy, Tillery found himself in Chicago in the late 1990s and decided to finally try his hand at the sport.

He ended up winning two Golden Gloves titles as an amateur heavyweight before returning to the region in 2003, he said.

Tillery continues to train and box as a professional. With hopes of fighting in the near future.

1stClass Boxing and Fitness has around 40 students, ranging in age from 5 to into over 50. Tillery is of the mindset that you’re never too young to start training. The overwhelming majority of his students are there a few times a week, if not every day, he said.

But if you ask Tillery, he’ll tell you he’s not just training boxers, he’s molding character. He keeps his young students so disciplined that if a student’s grades are not up to snuff, he will refuse to train them.

At 6 feet 2 inches and 230 pounds, Tillery doesn’t look like someone you’d want to get in a scrape with. On the other hand, he doesn’t appear intimidating or unapproachable.

In fact, as he instructs his younger students about where to hold their hands or how to shift their body weight with a punch, he appears to have a natural rapport with them. He has the kind of demeanor one would expect from a kindergarten teacher rather than a boxing coach.

“It’s definitely a tough workout,” he said, “but anyone can do it"