Category: Community News

Jersey City Kickboxing owner Paul Clark says that at his gym, students are more than students — they’re family.


Kids, teens and adults who take classes at the gym don’t just get healthy and fit or train to compete, they also get to bond with Clark, his staff and each other.

For instance, Assistant Trainer Anna Gizulewski tutors some of her younger students and helps them with their homework and several of the gym members get together a couple times a month to see boxing matches.

“I want to get involved in my students’ lives and care about them,” said Clark. “It’s a relaxed environment here…we have a lot of parents and kids who train together. We also have many at-risk teens who come in after school and it gives us a chance to help them out.”


Clark’s family approach is partially inspired by how he got his own start in muay thai while growing up in Atlanta.

“My dad basically started me when I was four years old, so I’ve been doing it for 31 years now,” he said. “I had to do kickboxing every day, most times twice a day. I’ve competed both nationally and internationally, and trained over the past five years going back and forth to Thailand.”

Clark fell in love with the sport because it allowed him to push himself to new heights.


“I like that it keeps you young and healthy, and gives you a healthy respect for yourself and other people as well as self-confidence that you know you earned because no one did it for you,” he said. “It’s like learning the guitar — you have to put the work in yourself.”

As a coach at his own gym, Clark says he helps his students get those same benefits, as well as accomplish their personal goals.


“There are people who want to lose weight and just study the basics and do exercises to get in shape. I had one couple who lost 100 pounds a piece and over 60 people who lost over 30 pounds in three to six months.

“I also have some younger people in their mid-20s to early-30s who spar and train very hard, but are also working professionals, so they’re not interested in competing but do it to get in shape and get out aggression. And then we also have adults and teens who compete all over the New Jersey-New York area,” he said.

In all his classes, Clark tries to stay faithful to the martial art’s origins.

“One thing really different about my gym is that I really strive for (teaching) muay thai boxing like they do in Thailand, in regards to the environment and what you learn, we’re different from other martial arts. We don’t wear uniforms and bow to each other; we have a family atmosphere,” he said, adding that they’ve also even gone to Thailand to train at a traditional camp in Bangkok and explore Thai culture.


For Clark, the gym’s family dynamic is much like that of the Brunswick Center and Downtown Jersey City in general.

“It helps to know who your neighbors are. We support each other, watch out for each other’s businesses and watch out for each other’s kids. It’s nice.”



Since she was a child, Judith Elins, Director of Jersey City Ballet, has been dancing “literally nonstop,” starting out at local dance studios in Irvington and Union, N.J., and eventually making her way to New York City. There, she worked with teachers and instructors who inspired her to pursue a career in dance.

“When I’m dancing, it’s the one time my mind is completely and I just get immersed in the whole process,” said Elins. “I love music and movement. When you’re dancing, that’s all you’re thinking about for that moment, and it’s a great feeling.”


Now, Elins is helping others free their minds and dance nonstop — or rather, learn nonstop.

At Jersey City Ballet, Elins and four other teaching artists work with dancers of all ages to provide them with ongoing dance education.



“This is not a place where you walk in, we say, ‘This is your recital dance,’ and you work on it all year and then come back to work on another dance,” explained Elins. “There’s value in that for sure, but this is a place where people can come in and out, take classes and learn. Whether a child just wants to audition for a college program or be involved in community theater, or wants to become a professional, we give you the tools to get to that level.”



They start ’em young, with a pre-dance program for kids ages 3 to 6, and ballet classes starting at age 7. In the double-digits? No problem. Jersey City Ballet also offers adult classes for curious beginners, former dancers returning to the art form or for professionals looking to improve their skills.


Eventually, Elins hopes for her students and other established dancers to form a ballet company and the Jersey City Ballet Theater, which she envisions bringing JC national recognition for its art scene.



“When I first moved here, I didn’t see many families or a huge artist community but I’ve watched it grow in the past 13 years,” said Elins, who lives in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, just a stone’s throw away from Brunswick Center.



“Families are staying and putting down roots here and in the neighborhood there’s a big sense of community, and a lot of great programs in the area,” she said. “We don’t have to travel to Manhattan for quality arts education.”



Being part of a micro-community at the Brunswick Center, she added, makes Jersey City Ballet even stronger.



“I like the energy of being up here with all these different businesses,” said Elins. “I’m very much a collaborator so I love that there are other people to talk to and share ideas with.”



As the owner of IronPlate Studios, a fitness and nutrition studio with locations in Jersey City’s Brunswick Center and in Hoboken, Kristin Reisinger says many people assume she’s always been super fit. Growing up, however, Reisinger says she wasn’t happy with her body.



“In my teens and 20s, I was never skinny,” she said. “It wasn’t until I met a pro bodybuilder who turned me on to competing that I learned about training and nutrition’s integral roles in changing the shape of our bodies. 



”It increased my confidence, made me feel empowered and made me feel better overall with everything I did on a daily basis, even in my interpersonal relationships. It leaks into all facets of life.”



She shed the pounds and competed in NPC Figure competitions and was eventually so intrigued by fitness and health that she left her career in the music industry to become a personal trainer and registered dietician. In the 17 years since, Reisinger says she’s helped many others transform their own bodies and lives.



When demand grew too high for her private training sessions, Reisinger opened a studio at the Monroe Center for the Arts in Hoboken. Eventually, she outgrew that, too, hiring three other personal trainers including her right-hand woman Caitlin Harrington. And now, Reisinger has her sights set on JC.



On their first visit to IronPlate Studios, clients get a tour of the fitness center and undergo an assessment so the training staff can make them a personalized training and nutrition plan. One-on-one training sessions are available, as are small group sessions. Nutritional consultations also come a la carte.



This isn’t a place that throws diet drinks or products at the problem, Reisinger says, but a program that helps people make the right life choices for them.



”We talk with each client about their goals and make a plan for them. It’s different for everybody–the frequency that they come in, how much they need to work outside the studio and whether they need nutritional guidance,” said Reisinger.



IronPlate specializes in bridal, pre- and post-natal fitness and also helps clients of all ages with various weight or health problems.

“Everyone who comes in usually has some kind of issue whether its knee problems due to weight or they might be on blood pressure medication like one of my clients who was only in his late 30s but weighed about 240,” she said. “He’s probably about 180 now after one-and-a-half years and his doctors are thinking of taking him off the medication.



”We want our clients to do well with weight loss and other things like their confidence and health,” she added. 

”We make an impact–we help people learn to exercise properly and make better choices with their diets. We want them to feel like their best selves. We want to help people learn to take care of themselves in a healthful way.”

“The longtime Jersey City resident says she’s also excited to be part of the fitness community at the Brunswick Center.

” I was looking at another location but when I heard about what was going on here, I signed the lease in two days,” she said. “I love Jersey City and I’m pretty emotionally attached to it. I think what we’re doing here is a great thing.”