Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to ANDY LE. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi ANDY, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Our mission is to help people find their community through the art of Muay Thai. We think it is vital to focus on the people and connections that are created within our gym. The Muay Thai industry, in itself, is intimidating enough, and we wanted to make it approachable for everyone; those who have never heard of the sport and those who have trained for years. When we decided to open a gym, me and my business partners kept coming back to the idea that we wanted to create a chill and fun environment that we, personally, enjoy training in and being apart of. This was at the core of all our business decisions. It also allowed us to make an inclusive environment that put people at ease because they recognized we are a group of people who simply love Muay Thai and spending time together. An easy way for us to demonstrate this has been through our social media. We put a primary focus on the people and their intimate moments that are constantly shared between each other while training. Muay Thai is a personal sport that requires a great deal of trust in your training partners. We want every person from every walk of life to feel like they belong in our community, because Muay Thai is for everyone! An example being we have two members in our gym who trained through their entire pregnancies and felt comfortable continuing to train while 6 months pregnant because of the care and respect all of our members showed them. What is even more beautiful is that they both have returned to our gym after giving birth, and they are met with literal open arms (hugs all around!) with that same care for their physical well-being. An additional asset that we are so grateful for is that we have two Physical Therapists, including myself, on site almost every day. There have been many members who have come with previous or new injuries that are able to be addressed immediately while also modifying training to meet their needs. This gives our members a peace of mind knowing they will not be pushed beyond their limits, in fact, they are encouraged to listen to their bodies and regularly work with myself and Joe.
Although we have a relaxed environment, we put a primary focus on beautiful and technical Muay Thai. We aim to provide the highest level of coaching and encouraging everyone’s personal goals. We have a few individuals who are fighting in local promotions, and we take their fight camps very seriously. This means pushing them to their breaking points within the confines of our community (the safest environment) Fighting exposes people to potential injuries that are life altering, thus, we do not take fight camps lightly. We must ensure our fighters are prepared for anything when they step foot in that ring, so they can protect themselves and demonstrate the purest form of technical Muay Thai. Fight camps require the whole community to step in and push fighters to sharpen their skills, stamina and strength. While pushing them, you can hear echoes of encouragement all throughout the gym with several high fives and pats on the back when the grueling training sessions are over. It is a labor of love to prepare someone to walk into the ring, and everyone feels it. That is also why when one of our fighters fights, a majority of our gym members show their support, even making the drive 3 hours away. Because, we are all in this together.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Vietnam and came to the United States during my teenage years. I have been involved in this industry for over a decade. Within that timeframe I have met some awesome people that I still train with and rely on in a coaching capacity. My passion is to help people achieve their goals while creating meaningful connections through the sport of Muay Thai. I firmly believe it is my job to create an environment in which others are able to find their community through the art of Muay Thai. My background as a Physical Therapist relates to Muay Thai in a very natural way. I am passionate about assisting people prevent injuries and enhance their performance through specialized training and movement. My background also allows me to be a more effective coach in how I am able to explain and relate physical anatomy to movement.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When building our social media, I gave the creative reigns to my wife. Her vision was to capture what it’s like to be in the gym within a few snippets of content. This meant her capturing seemingly mundane activities, like cleaning the gym and deciding where to put the mats. However, those easily looked-over moments were where the magic was. Our community was working together, disagreeing, coordinating, and reaching a decision because they loved this place just as much as we did. She has a knack for following trends online and slightly changing them to match our gym. One of her favorite videos she has captured was our first time working out on the roof of the gym. I vividly remember her running back and forth on the gym gathering footage from all different angles, even including our members walking up to the roof. I asked why this was her favorite and she said “because it shows our community’s personality while also reflecting how cool our physical location is”. She finds the beauty and community in every nook and cranny.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I was a Muay Thai coach before I was a Physical Therapist. Before getting my degree in Physical Therapy, I would push fighters in the traditional tough and relentless pursuit of preparing fighters for the ring. Occasionally, it could mean pushing people beyond their limits, which could be a dangerous approach in the long-run. Thankfully, none of my fighters were injured, however, after becoming a Physical Therapist, I had to adjust the way I coached. Physical Therapy puts a strong emphasis on injury prevention with a more evidence-based and scientific approach. Honestly, it was a struggle for me to balance both roles at the beginning. When training people for fights I wanted to ensure they were prepared, however, their safety became the highest importance. Thankfully, being a Physical Therapist helps to easily identify limitations so I do not put my athlete at risk for injury.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.muokboxing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muokboxing/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=1782ed8b-728e-4bc6-a58d-3dacef150199
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@muokboxing