One of my closest friends moved from DC to the Bay Area. After working out there in tech for several years, he took a break to go back what he did when he left college: youth development. He had a chance encounter that transformed into the opportunity to lead a struggling boxing gym in Deep East Oakland.
The organization hadn’t much in the way of media assets – no collection of historical photos or videos to build anything. No one took the time to tell the gym’s story, which was rich is the history. It’s founder, Stanley Garcia, a highly respected boxer, had an idea that he pursued when he retired from boxing. He was dedicated to making the lives of youth in East Oakland better. Many youth came through this program and went on to become valuable community members.
I took several trips out to Oakland, to document this beautiful place and the people connected to it. I ended up with terabytes of media and new friendships and hope for the future of Deep East Oakland.
This is the capitol campaign video used to raise money for the much needed changes to keep the organization alive for another 30 years.
