One-on-one boxing
Personal coaching for technique, footwork, defense, conditioning, and your individual goals.
Meet your coach
Gary “Kid”
Stark Jr.
A lifetime in sports. A fighter’s eye for the details that make people better.
Gary “Kid” Stark Jr. grew up in New York boxing gyms as one of the first fighters coached by his father, Gary Stark Sr. Their work together helped shape Kid’s career and a shared commitment to teaching the sport. He also learned from Roger Mayweather, Naazim Richardson, Nirmal Lorick, and Andre “Uncle Dre” Rozier.
Kid became a three-time New York Golden Gloves champion, won gold at the 2002 Empire State Games, and built a 25–3 professional record with nine knockouts. He won the New York State Featherweight title. When he turned professional in 2002, he became the first and only boxer signed to the legendary Roc-A-Fella Records, with Jay-Z and Damon Dash backing and managing the start of his career. In 2026, he was inducted into a boxing hall of fame.
Today he teaches boxing from the ground up, with close attention to stance, footwork, timing, defense, and purposeful conditioning. His coaching is demanding, detailed, and tailored to the person in front of him—whether that person is stepping into a gym for the first time or preparing for a fight.
Beyond the ring
Built across sports.
As a lead trainer at Chelsea Piers Fitness, Gary pursued certifications in health and fitness and expanded his work beyond boxing. He is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and USA Triathlon Coach Level 1. An endurance athlete himself, he has completed 11 triathlons and two New York City Marathons, and finished first in his age group at the 2019 Mahopac Triathlon.
Baseball was his first passion. Gary was the starting second baseman for Kingsborough Community College’s 1999 CUNY championship team. With a partial scholarship opportunity ahead of him, he chose to pursue amateur boxing. In 2021, he returned to the diamond as an assistant coach with the College of Staten Island Dolphins softball program.
Coaching experience
From champions to first-timers.
Gary’s work has included boxers Sadam Ali, Amanda Serrano, and Richard Commey, as well as developing fighters. He has also trained performers including Sophie Turner, Sam Rockwell, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
That range is central to Stark Boxing & Fitness: serious coaching, adapted to each person’s experience and goals.
