Nestled between the sounds of crashing waves and bustling Ocean Boulevard traffic, once a week as the sun sets on Long Beach, a budding group of boxing enthusiasts sweat, train, swing their fists and most importantly, support one another.
It’s not often that the words sunset and boxing are seen together, but Long Beach resident Iñigo Ibrae has proved that the two are a perfect match. His nonprofit Devotion Fitness, which he founded in September 2021, has been offering sunset boxing classes to residents every Friday on a sliding-scale donation-based membership.
The sunset boxing classes focus on providing a fitness-based space of inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community “and the underestimated folk of Long Beach,” according to its website.
“We have a variety of body types, heights, sizes, gender identities and gender expansive people,” Ibrae said. “I would say it’s like you don’t have to be fit to attend … Even though it’s outdoors, it feels very welcoming.”
The club now trains “anywhere from 10 to 16 people,” each Friday evening, Ibrae said, including a core group of beginners whose skills have steadily grown throughout the program. The sunset boxing classes are led by Ibrae himself, who took up the sport last year and “just fell in love with boxing.”
“It’s very intense but it’s also rewarding … I personally dealt with some anxiety so I found whenever I would kind of talk to traditional therapists, just talking itself didn’t really remedy the problem,” Ibrae said. “When I started getting into physical activities, it just kind of relaxed my mind.”
Ibrae soon became enamored with the sport, and began frequenting a local boxing gym multiple times a day to train. After a month of training, he found that the biggest barrier to his growth was that he didn’t feel safe in the space.
“Most of the boxing gyms I would say 99% of them are very manly and they’re very traditional and sometimes that attitude is what deters people from trying boxing or staying,” Ibrae said. “So I think that was mostly the challenging aspect, feeling safe and feeling not judged.”
Ibrae created Devotion Fitness as a way to continue his training in the sport he loves while providing the opportunity to other LGBTQ people who may feel intimidated by traditional boxing gyms.
“[There’s] multiple stories from our participants who share a similar experience, where they just don’t know how to navigate the gym culture without feeling some type of discrimination,” Ibrae said.
Ashley Ricart, who has been attending the sunset boxing classes for “at least a month and a half” said that along with the accessibility of the program, the “community aspect” is what makes Devotion Fitness stand out from traditional fitness facilities.
Luzien Albanese runs through some punching drills while holding five-pound dumbbells in their hands at a Devotion Fitness class at Bluff Park on Aug. 19, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Karina Ciocca records some of the students at Devotion Fitness practicing punches at Bluff Park for an Instagram Reel that the organization will use to show off the growth of their students. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
River Coupwood (left) and Kayla Rees (right) drill through some punching and dodging exercises with Devotion Fitness at Bluff Park on Aug. 19, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Iñigo Ibrae, the founder of Devotion Fitness, a non-profit that teaches boxing-based fitness classes for the LGBTQ community, leads the class in a set of abdominal workouts as they warm up for the boxing instruction at Bluff Park on Aug. 19, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
“There’s a lot of little conversations, a lot of laughing, a lot of affirmations,” Ricart said. “We build each other up. So when we’re doing the patterns, anything like that, we’re making sure to let each other know that we’re doing a good job, right? None of it’s negative. We’re not putting each other down, so it’s just a really uplifting space.”
Sunset boxing participants set aside the last Friday of each month to host a post-workout potluck-style picnic, where everyone brings their own food and sits on blankets to eat and connect. Ibrae and Ricart said that most people hang out after each class to form friendships and make plans for the weekend with one another.
“There’s a group of people that come there each week and they’ll just sit on a blanket and knit … if they don’t want to box,” Ricart said. “They’ll color and have conversations, take pictures, and then maybe next week box. It’s not about being the perfect boxer; it’s more just learning this new sport and I guess getting back in touch with your body and being surrounded by queer individuals like yourself.”
For many, one of the biggest barriers to the sport is the high cost of membership for a boxing gym, which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars a month, depending on the facility.
Devotion Fitness aims to remove this barrier.
Their classes are donation-based, and there is no minimum donation amount or required experience needed for the sunset boxing classes, as well as the newly-introduced skate and fitness program, Revival. Ibrae notes that all of the participants have so far have “been taught from scratch.”
Beginners are always provided with supplies, as Ibrae explained that attendees naturally buy their own gloves once they get hooked on the sport.
The next immediate goal for Devotion Fitness is to recruit trainers for its free classes and expand its programs to include more free events and opportunities for youth in the city, such as a nutrition and wellness workshop. Ibrae said the nonprofit is also seeking donations, sponsorships, collaborations and volunteers.
He said a future goal he has for Devotion Fitness is to occupy a building in the city and use it as an inclusive gym for the community. Plans for the gym also include mental health and wellness workshops, poetry slams and other community events.
“Our dream is to be the first boxing and fitness gym to offer sliding scale boxing memberships in Long Beach,” reads a statement on their website.
“At the traditional gyms I saw that it was very heterocentric and it’s very binary,” Ibrae said. “So being part of the LGBTQ community, I’ve always felt like I couldn’t relax within the gym environment.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Devotion Fitness can become a member through their Patreon page. Members receive “exclusive access” to future Devotion Fitness events, according to their website. To contact Devotion Fitness regarding a donation, collaboration or sponsorship, email Devotionfitnessinc@gmail.com.
Sunset boxing classes begin at 6:30 p.m. each Friday in Bluff Park on the stretch of lawn at the crossroads of Orizaba Avenue and Ocean Boulevard.
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