SHAMROCK MEMBERSHIP SALE!

TWO CAN JOIN 2-GETHER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

$198.50 EACH for a 1 YEAR MEMBERSHIP

THRU MARCH 15th!

Call us @ 815 356 6572

CONGRATS TO CHRIS HILL ON HIS VICTORY @ THE UNIVERSITY CLUB on 12/27/12!

Chris Hill & Tony Prignits

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CONGRATS TO JIMMY GUSTAFSON & CHRIS HILL FOR THEIR VICTORIES @ KEMPER SHOW on 9/30/11!

11/17/11 - Chicago Tribune Article

Smokin' Joe Frazier and Pug's Boxing Club @ The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake: paintings & literature

By Lorna Heir Friday at 10:22 a.m.

Lorenzo Meyer working Joe Frazier's corner in Joe's last fight vs. Jumbo Cummings, Chicago, 1981

Legendary heavyweight champion Joe Frazier died earlier this month. Most will remember Joe Frazier for defeating Muhammad Ali in what is referred to by Boxing fans as the "Fight of the Century", the "Thrilla in Manila". Gary Dobry, the owner/operator and head trainer at Pug's Boxing Club @ The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake has other memories of Smokin' Joe. "My old cutman, the gym's old cutman, Lorenzo Meyer, was in Joe's corner for Joe's ill-fated comeback in 1981 against Jumbo Cummings. Lorenzo not only worked corners for pugs you've probably never heard of, but he worked the corner for some of the greats as well, like Frazier and James "Lights-Out" Toney. Lorenzo passed away in 2001. Lorenzo had a tight relationship with legendary trainer Emmanuel Stewart and the Kronk Boxing Gym in Detroit. In fact, a few days before Lorenzo died, he gave me an original Kronk varsity jacket Stewart gave to him as a gift, and pile of old boxing posters he collected throughout his years in the game. He also gave me his prized photograph of him working as the cutman in Joe Frazier's last fight. He loved that photo! He had it scotch-taped to his bedroom mirror. I was so moved by this that, in return, I painted a suite of paintings in Lorenzo's memory which exhibited at the Judy Saslow Gallery in Chicago in 2001 and I dedicated my first novel to Lorenzo, 'Kingdom Come'. 'Who is more important than one who can stop your bleeding?'"
You can read more about Gary Dobry at his websites, www.pugsboxinggym.com and www.onthecanvas.com
'Kingdom Come' is available at amazon.com

READ ARTICLE: CLICK HERE

11/02/11 - DAILY HERALD article

article & more pics, CLICK HERE

10/26/11 - Chicago Tribune

Youth Boxing at The School of Hard Knocks

By Lorna Heir Thursday, October 26, 2011 at 11:27 p.m.

Pugs Boxing Club's jr. prospect, Jimmy Gustafson

Gary Dobry, the owner/operator and head trainer at Pug's Boxing Club @ The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake was an inner-city kid. He played some of the same sports growing-up on the northside of Chicago that kids in the suburbs play. "I played hockey", Dobry tells me. "We'd take a hose and water down the alley until it froze. We'd play in figure skates that our folks bought us from the Salvation Army. The skates weren't the right size, but we'd wear a few extra pairs of socks until we 'grew into them'". Dobry switches gears and starts to vent, "It still takes me for a loop when I see how much money some parents spend on their kids sports in this economy. My mom couldn't afford rink-time. She couldn't afford all that fancy industrial-strength equipment. And it's not just hockey either, I know of parents who pay $100 a lesson for their kids to play volleyball in this whacked-out economy!"
The kids who participate in the Youth Boxing Program at Dobry's gym have parents who aren't just interested in having them participate in a sport that doesn't break the bank. These parents understand that what their kids get out of boxing is more important than boxing itself. Dobry is philosophical about kids boxing. He tells me, "The kids here learn whether they win or lose their fight, they're still champions. They understand that the average guy will never climb between those ropes and get into the ring. That in and of itself is a valuable lesson learned. If a kid gets through all the rigors of boxing training and ultimately faces another kid in the ring, where there is no place to run and no place to hide, an algebra test will be like a walk in the park." Dobry believes kids who face challenges in the ring will face the challenges that life has in store for them. "They walk in here kids, but they leave here as champions."
Youth Boxing starts again at The School of Hard Knocks on November 7th. The gym is located at 824 S. Main St. in Crystal Lake. The gym's website is: www.pugsboxinggym.com and the phone number is 815 356 6572.

Read Article, CLICK HERE

MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE!

9/26/11 - Dobry will be Guest Artist @ N.I.U.

Northern Illinois University will host guest artist Gary Dobry whose work is currently on display @ The Jack Olson Gallery in the show "Inked". Dobry will speak on Monday, September 26, at 5:00pm. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Gary Dobry

9/13/2011 - Patch Article

Boxing Coach to Lecture at NIU on the Art of Tattoos

Gary Dobry, owner of the School of Hard Knocks, will talk about boxing, his paintings and tattoos at an art gallery in DeKalb.

Gary Dobry

There are two Gary Dobrys: the boxing coach and the artist.

When he’s teaching a boxing class — with the “ding” of the automatic round counter sounding and people shadowboxing in front of mirrors at The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake — Dobry speaks crudely, hollering at his pupils, telling them to keep their hands up and to throw more jabs.

But he is soft-spoken and careful when talking about art. And his take on tattoos as art may make you dizzy, like a stroll down Queer Street, a term in boxing that connotes an out-of-body experience caused by a Sunday punch.

“A tattoo is literally you wearing your heart on your sleeve,” Dobry said. “It’s like when scientists beam messages into outer space, hoping for a response, for just a trace of humanity. A tattoo is a visual message, meant to elicit a response.

“From the time cavemen first painted images on the wall, it’s always been about one’s need to get some sort of response.”

During a lecture at Northern Illinois University later this month, Dobry will specifically focus on the kinds of tattoos found on boxers. Dobry said a boxer is likely to get a tattoo after a big ring loss, after he gets clobbered. Look at Mike Tyson, he said.

Gary Dobry

Dobry has two tattoos, one on each of the beefy upper portions of his arms. They are renderings of boxers striking the classic pose: one the devil, with horns, a pointy tail and on fire, and the other an angel, with a halo.

Ask Dobry to explain his own tattoos, and he is vague and evasive, in an artistic way. He wants you to figure it out for yourself, for he believes there is a relationship between the viewer and the artwork totally apart from the artist.

Dobry, a few years ago, worked as a part-time tattoo artist, as an apprentice under Ernie Gonzales at Fox Lake’s Electric Art Tattoo.

“I was never as good with a tattoo machine as I am with a paint brush,” Dobry said. “Ernie taught me a lot. I wanted to grow as an artist. Ernie gave me that chance.”

Last year a show focusing on tattoos was well received at NIU so the university decided to have another, said Peter Van Ael, coordinator for the art gallery and museum studies program at NIU.

“Gary does it very well,” said Van Ael, commenting on why Dobry was one of a handful of artists asked to the show. The exhibit is called “Inked: Tattoo Imagery in Contemporary Art,” which runs through Oct. 13, according to NIU Today.

A reception for artists is planned from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at Northern Illinois University’s Jack Olson Gallery, at the School of Art, 200 Visual Arts Building, DeKalb.

Dobry will be lecturing from 5 to 6 p.m. Sept. 26.

Dobry vs. National Golden Gloves semi-finalist, Ruperto Chavez

Click HERE to read article

9/7/2011 - Patch Article

Cary-Grove's Chris Hill Stands Out at Pug’s Boxing Club

The senior at Cary-Grove High School is in the gym six days a week.

Of the young group of boxers training at The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake, one kid from Cary sticks out and will likely have his first sanctioned amateur bout sometime this fall.

Gary Dobry, head coach of Pug’s Boxing Club, said Chris Hill, a 17-year-old senior at Cary-Grove High School, is among his most dedicated pupils.

“The most important thing for a boxer is his work ethic,” Dobry said. “Guys like Chris Hill are rare. He’s always in the gym.”

Dobry added that Hill keeps his hands up and has good form.

Hill spent Sunday morning sparring several rounds with Bill Briska, a 16-year-old who attends Crystal Lake South High School.

Hill and Briska took turns exchanging the classic orthodox 1-2-3 combination, which consists of the jab, cross and hook.

Hill's friend Spencer Kube first brought him to the gym about two years ago.

Spencer is the younger brother of Alex Kube, a standout player at Cary-Grove High School who recently finished up his college football career at Northern Illinois University.

Hill said his ring idol is Ricky Hatton. But he doesn’t see himself ever becoming a professional fighter.

“I box to stay in shape,” Hill said, “to stay active.”

Hill aspires to become a psychologist and would like to go to a university with a boxing club, such as Northern Michigan or Southern Illinois, so he can continue training.

Click HERE for article

8/29/11 - Jack Olson Gallery @ Northern Illinois University

Inked: Tattoo Imagery in Contemporary Art

Glen Davies * Gary Dobry * Maren Erwin * Michael Ferris Jr. * Mitch O'Connell

Curated by Agnes Ma and Peter Van Ael - Reception: September 22, 4:30-6:00

Article on: Inked: Tattoo Imagery in Contemporary Art

JUNE 9, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

Two Heavyweights Show their Canvases

By Lorna Heir June 8 at 2:18 p.m.

'Sexus', drawing by Gary Dobry

Crystal Lake boxing gym owner, Gary Dobry, and Chicago Blues Legend, Bumble-Bee Bob Novak, get together for a 2-man art exhibit opening at the Art Matrix Gallery at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago on June 17th at 7PM.
Dobry met the "Bee" when he was a teen-ager sneaking into Chicago blues clubs like the Kingston Mines where Novak was a mainstay siding for local blues icons like Hound Dog Taylor, Pine-Top Perkins and Chicago Slim. Novak graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago the same year as another Chicago icon, Ed Paschke. At the School of the Art Institute Novak and Paschke, best of friends, studied under Isabelle MacKinnon, a student of Hans Hoffman. Dobry was an apprentice to both Novak and Paschke and was himself admitted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on the strength of reference letters from both Paschke and Novak.
Dobry and Novak paintings and drawings will exhibit through July 15th and they will also be playing the same blues they played in the clubs and streets of Paris in the early 1990's at the June 17th opening. Dobry will also be exhibiting in, and sitting on the panel of, the 'Tattoo' exhibition opening in August at the Jack Olson Museum Gallery at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb. For more info on the Zhou B Art Center exhibition contact Art Matrix gallery director, Daniel McClenaghan at 773 254 4020 or Gary Dobry at the School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake, 815 356 6572

to read article click HERE !

FEBRUARY 22, 2011 - Examiner Article

Crystal Lake boxing coach, British historian to discuss granddad, Jack Johnson

Tony Prignits shows a picture of his grandfather [on the left in the photograph] who was Jack Johnson's sparring partner.

Tony Prignits is planning a fact-finding expedition next month to London, to find out more about his grandfather, Fred Drummond, who was a long-time sparring partner of Jack Johnson.

Prignits, a 69-year-old boxing coach at The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal lake, plans to meet with Harold Alderman, recently named a Member of the Order of the British Empire [MBE], recognized for his work as a boxing historian.

“It won’t be all work,” said Prignits, a native of London who speaks with a strong Cockney accent. “Mr. Alderman and I no doubt will stop by the local pub for some tea and meat pie.”

A lame foot coupled with a strong dislike of training handicapped Drummond’s boxing career, which at one time was “highly promising,” wrote Alderman.

From today’s perspective, Drummond’s time in the ring is probably most noteworthy for his being a sparring partner of Jack Johnson before and during Johnson’s reign as world heavyweight champion. Johnson held the title 1908-1915.

Prignits is eager to see what else Alderman has learned about his grandfather since he last visited England a few years ago. Prignits is also looking for a copy of a front-page newspaper article from 1911 about an exhibition bout between Drummond and Johnson. Prignits tried to purchase the article, which was for sale on eBay last year, but was outbid.

Alderman is an old-school historian, according to Prignits. Alderman doesn’t use a computer. He gets all his information from books, periodicals and newspapers that are mouldering in the libraries, archives and basements in the greater-London area.

Meanwhile, Johnson is in the news again. Members of Congress have been urging Barrack Obama, the first black president of the United States, to pardon Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world. Johnson was imprisoned in 1920 for dating white woman.

The Obama administration has stood firm. Obama contends that pardons should be given only to those who can benefit from them -- the living.

Johnson died in a car accident in 1946. He is buried Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery.

According to Alderman’s research, Drummond passed away in 1953 or 1954 at the age of 78 or 79.

Read Article: Click Here

11/6/10 : Chicago Tribune Article

"Life After Ed Paschke and Henry Miller", Solo Exhibition, Gary Dobry, 11/19 – 12/14, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago

By Lorna Heir Nov. 6, 2010 at 2:44 p.m.

Nexus Plexus (with Venus Rising), 2010, Gary Dobry

Gary Dobry, a former boxer schooled in the "manly art", is the head trainer at Pug's Boxing Club in the School of Hard Knocks located at 824 S Main St. in Crystal Lake. He's more than just a "knockout artist". This year alone Dobry's paintings have exhibited at Galerie L'Art Rien in Paris, France and the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. On November 19th a solo exhibition of the paintings Dobry did with writer Henry Miller's last great love, Brenda Venus, will exhibit at the Chicago Art Matrix Gallery at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago. Henry Miller is recognized as the leader of the 60's sexual revolution and is best known for his literary masterpiece, 'Tropic of Cancer'.
Dobry was an apprentice and life-long friend of Chicago artist, Ed Paschke. In this body of work Dobry and Venus celebrate finding their own artistic voices after being under the strong influences of their mentors, and join those voices to sing praise to Miller and Paschke. Selected Miller watercolors of Venus, from her private collection, and selected Miller love letters to Venus, as published in 'Dear Dear Brenda' will also be on exhibit with Dobry's paintings. The show opens November 19th and runs through December 14th. For more information, contact the gallery's director, Daniel Pierre McClenaghan at 773 254 4020 or Dobry direct at the School of Hard Knocks, 815 356 6572.

READ ARTICLE (click here)

10/7/10 : Pug's Boxing Team adds Veteran Trainer Tony Prignits to Training Staff

Tony Prignits @ Hard Knocks

Pug's Boxing Club welcomes British veteran boxing trainer Tony Prignits to the Pug's Boxing Team training staff. Head trainer, and Hard Knocks' owner, Gary Dobry says, "Tony has trained me personally for years and that relationship eventually evolved into Tony helping me work some of my own fighters. I'm big on technical skills, turning out 'technicians'. Tony is that old-school, Jake LaMotta-type of trainer that motivates fighters to be finishers. He's the proverbial "Mick" type of trainer of Rocky fame. Tony helps me produce well-conditioned wrecking machines that can get the job done. I soon realized that the marriage of our training approaches was producing well-schooled fighters that were finishers as well." Pug's members can get 3 months of training with Tony and the Pug's Boxing Club for only $150. Non-members can get 3-months of competitive training with Dobry and Tony for $299. Call us for more details: 815 356 6572

6/7/2010 : Chicago Tribune article

Hitting the canvas not a bad thing for Crystal Lake boxing coach

6/7/10

One from the "Mentors Series." Days ago Gary Dobry finished this portrait of Brenda Venus, Henry Miller's muse.

Paintings by a Crystal Lake boxing coach will be on display later this month at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, Calif.

Gary Dobry - owner of The School of Hard Knocks Boxing Academy in Crystal Lake - works as a painter, tattoo artist and novelist in his spare time.

In September, Dobry embarked on a series of acrylic-on-canvas paintings focusing on movie actress Brenda Venus, who was a love interest of writer Henry Miller when Venus was in her 20s and Miller was in his 80s. Miller's 4,000 love letters to Venus between 1976 and 1980 was turned into the book "Dear, Dear Brenda."

Miller, who died in 1980 at the age of 88, was an exotic intellectual who wrote the novel "Tropic of Cancer," published in Paris in 1934. The novel is known for its graphic descriptions of sex, but it was also considered a literary masterpiece. Miller, advocate of a free-love society, was a point man for the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. He faced obscenity charges when the book was released in the U.S in 1961.

Dobry said Miller has had a profound impact on his life as an artist. Dobry went to college in Paris in the early 1990s and made money the same way Ernest Hemingway did 70 years before, by giving boxing lessons. And, like Hemingway, Dobry weaves boxing into his artwork and he writes about it.

But his true hero is Miller.

"I moved to Paris because I wanted to walk the same streets Miller walked and breathe the same air Miller breathed," Dobry said. "Life is like a crooked path through the forest. One just follows where it leads."

Dobry's exhibition to be shown in Big Sur is titled: "Life After Henry Miller & Ed Pashcke," also known as the "Mentors Series."

Dobry's personal mentor was Ed Paschke, a renowned Chicago painter who died in 2004. To this day, Paschke influences Dobry's work. Dobry uses stark colors and strong images the same way Paschke did. Dobry said he was Paschke's apprentice and lifelong friend. And it was a reference letter from Paschke that helped get Dobry accepted to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dobry's last show was in January at the Galerie L'Art de Rien, Paris, France.

His art has been on exhibition with Paschke's, Andy Warhol's and Leon Golub's.

His three novels "Kingdom Come," "En La Lona" and "In Good Faith" will also become part of the Henry Miller Library.

Venus just finished up her work on "Love and Sex in L.A.," a film that she wrote, produced and directed.

Dobry's artistic statement:

An artist takes in everything, an overload on the senses, and out of that abundance of information must find his own unique voice. Brenda and myself were under the influence of two strong voices, Henry Miller and Ed Paschke. Somehow we were able to liberate ourselves from our mentors and find our own voices. In this body of work we join those voices together to sing praise to Miller and Paschke.

3/25/10 Fitness Examiner

Pug's Hall-of-Famer, Jeff Lanas, meets-up again with his nemesis, Roberto Duran

Duran vs. Lanas: Former foes are all smiles at a get-together in Rosemont over the weekend

March 25, 1:30 PM

Chicago Boxing Fitness Examiner

Tim Kane

Former Chicago Golden Glove champ Jeff Lanas met up with legendary boxer Robert Duran at the Rosemont Convention Center over the weekend.

The two duked it out more than 21 years ago at the International Amphiteatre in Chicago. It was a close fight that went to the scorecards. Duran won the decision. Many who saw the fight felt that Lanas won and Duran was given the decision because he was scheduled to fight Iran Barkley for middleweight championship a few months later.

"Duran was great," Lanas said of the meeting they had Saturday. "He was real nice."

Lanas wondered if Duran would remember him. Duran was in town signing autographs. Lanas got into a long line of fans waiting to meet the great Panamanian fighter.

"As soon as we got to the front of the line Duran said to me, 'Jeff Lanas, I remember you. You were a great fighter.' Then he gave me a hug and he invited us to meet with him privately."

Lanas said he joked with Duran's people about getting hit below the belt during their fight October 1, 1988.

"I told them no harm was done," Lanas said. "I had another kid after that."

Duran, 58, was one of the toughest and best-known fighters of his era. He fought all the greats, including Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. Duran won 103 fights as a professional and lost just 16.

Lanas, 48, won the Chicago Golden Gloves in 1982. He fought professional in the mid- to late-1980s. He won 17 fights and lost four in his pro career.