Young entrepreneur in Mullens opens boxing gym in hometown

MULLENS, W.Va. (WVVA) -Hope McNeely is a young entrepreneur in her twenties who wants a safe space for children and adults to be able to go to, so she created A-Train Boxing and Fitness Studio is located in Mullens.

It’s a studio geared towards the discipline of the sport of boxing.

“I would really like to see it grow. It’s a very healthy sport mentally and physically. I would really like for people to truly understand how boxing helps people mentally and physically. It’s not about black eyes, busted noses, it’s none of that. Especially in the kids and youth classes,” said Hope McNeely, Owner, A-Train Boxing and Fitness Studio.

McNeely says she has had people tell her she should open a studio in bigger areas but to her, it’s not about the bigger market.

“I’m really geared on keeping it home. Not only I’m home, but I’m also here in a place where I grew up. I’m in a building, I’m in my comfort zone, with tons of memories of my brother and my dad training people,” said McNeely.

McNeely grew up in the small town of Mullens, West Virginia looking up to her brother, and aspiring to pick up the sport that her dad and brother were both heavily involved in.

It was her dream to open this gym with her brother, Ashley, but unexpected life-changing plans happened, making Hope determined to do better… in memory of her brother.

“Initially my brother and I were going to have this gym. We were going to shoot for a couple of months after we proposed the idea and unfortunately, he passed away before we both could get through with those ideas. So that has been the most struggle for me, doing this alone, doing this with my brother in mind and it’s been hard because this is a very male dominant sport and I’m a female trainer,” explained McNeely.

McNeely says another struggle she has faced has been working in a hundred-year-old building and keeping it maintained and up to date for her business, but she’s willing to do the work here in Mullens for the community she loves.

Her business hours, location, and more information can be located on A-Train’s Facebook page here. A-Train Boxing Studio | Facebook

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