CHRIS ROMULO

Getting knocked down. Getting back up.

Photography: Sarah Charlie Benjamin   |  Stylist: Douglas Wright

We all admire great fighters. There is something primal and awesome about the glory that comes with winning a fight. What we often don’t witness are the many knockdowns and losses one has to endure on the path to becoming a great fighter.

Chris Romulo knows a thing or two about getting knocked down. A near-death experience in a street fight at 20 gave Romulo the motivation he needed to turn things around and become a professional Muay Thai fighter. The journey that followed brought him championships in Thailand and a North American pro title. Eventually he settled in Rockaway Beach, NY where he built a gym for the community. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy landed the hardest blow yet, wiping away his gym and leaving the family homeless for a year. Since then, he has rebuilt the gym and become a pillar for wellness in a once devastated community. We sat down at the gym in Rockaway Beach to discuss his new book Champions Uprising, building a physical culture and what it takes to overcome obstacles while sons Jube and Gio showed us their sparring skills.

Kiser Barnes: You just wrote a great book CHAMPIONS UPRISING about your personal journey becoming a fighter and a dad. Tell us about your relationship with your father and how that defines your relationship with your kids.

Chris Romulo: My relationship with my Dad has not changed much over the years.  We still don't talk much; however, I don't have the same feelings of blame that I used to when I was a kid.  I have matured as a man and I accept things the way that they are. I'm not at a point in my life where I need to change that. What it has done for my relationship with my kids has been a blessing and a challenge at the same time. On a daily basis I consciously attempt to be the dad I never had, but I still also carry habits from my childhood that I struggle with. At times, I hold my emotions inside and don't use constructive words to help me express what I am thinking to my sons. Or sometimes it's the reverse – I’ll let my emotions get the best of me and say things that do not help the situation.

KB: Talk to me a little about the book. What inspired you to write it?

CR: I wanted to write Champions Uprising to leave something for my kids to read at some time or another in their life to help them along their own journey, just when they think things are getting tough. Even as a young kid, I've always wanted to make sure I gave some meaning to the Romulo name.... Although I am no longer inspiring others in the ring, I am continuing on my mission, but this time through story telling. I'm excited to use my voice to inspire people to take on life with a champion's mindset.  The book is about my journey as a lost soul finding his inner champion. The response has been outstanding. People are inspired by my words and it has been so gratifying knowing that I can touch people in other ways beyond my fighting.

KB: You and Sarah moved to Rockaway before Rockaway was cool, before the hipsters invaded, and several years before Sandy hit. Having to build a gym from the ground up must have been challenging. What has that process of rebuilding post-Sandy been like for you and the family?

CR: My wife and I opened our gym in Rockaway Beach in 2010 just before I retired from fighting professionally. It gave me a chance to help not only adults, but kids and teens in particular and offer them a safe place to learn and build confidence – something I wish I had at that age. Within 2 years of opening, it was all lost under six feet of water. We watched Hurricane Sandy drown the Rockaways along with all of our hopes and dreams, losing both our home and our gym. We bounced around for months, living between my mom's living room and my best friend's basement until we got back on our feet. To return to some sort of normalcy for both our family and our [gym] members, I taught classes wherever I possibly could, from the living room of a temporary apartment to the dance floor at the local Knights of Columbus building. 

One of the main ways we were able to rebuild was just declaring to each other that we would. We wouldn't let such a huge challenge break us down and hold us there. It was a decision that involved a strong mindset, a strong passion, and a strong will to not give up.  Plus, that's the fighter in me. I'm not going to give up. You're going to have to kill me to stop me.

KB: You've spent many years training as a fighter and now you coach. The fight ring is a great place to learn life lessons. Talk to me about legacy. What are some of the lessons you've learned in the ring and how do you translate those lessons to your kids?

CR: Not to sound like Rocky, but what I've learned that has been crucial in teaching myself how to be a man without my Dad's guidance (and passing it on to my sons) is that sometimes it's not about the pain you can dish out in a fight but how much you can absorb and not show the effects.  This plays an important part not only in the ring but in every day challenges that will hit you emotionally and physically.  You want to be able to absorb all kinds of hits and stay strong to keep moving forward with any endeavor that you are faced with.