Dobry was actually born in 1958 according to the Marchese v Dobry trial discovery transcript.
In the article below he tells a different story:
Owner Dobry, 29, began boxing as a youngster in Chicago Park District programs. He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of the the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 1987 he moved to Paris to study medicine.
In 1987 he claimed to be 29. That means he was supposedly at “medical school” in Paris at age 18. So when did he get the bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of the the Art Institute of Chicago?
A KNOCKOUT BUSINESS PUG'S BOXING GYM SCORES BIG WITH ASPIRING PUGILISTS
Chicago Tribune (Pre-1997 Fulltext); Chicago, Ill.; May 28, 1995; Mark Mandernach. Special to the Tribune.;
Abstract:
"I came to Pug's without any idea what I was getting into," [Jerry] Norys said. "I played various sports growing up, and at this time in my life I was looking for something different. And they take boxing down to basics. Obviously, you won't see me fighting George Foreman in Las Vegas, but boxing is a fun way to get in shape. I never realized how hard it is to jump rope for 3 minutes."
Like Norys, Dave Fahlgren of Schaumburg, a salesman for Sundance Homes in Lake in the Hills, was also looking for a novel way to work out. "I used to do a lot of weightlifting, but that got old," said Fahlgren, 21, as sweat poured off him. "Mike Tyson was big stuff back in my days at Conant High School, and I've always been interested in boxing. But the only boxing gyms were in the city. Since I found Pug's, I've been coming just about every day. I'm addicted."
Dick Trindle of Naperville, a longtime observer of the local boxing scene through his work with the Illinois Association of USA Boxing, gives his endorsement to Pug's. "The Chicago suburbs need something like this," said Trindle, a retired special agent for the U.S. Customs Bureau. "Gary [Dobry]'s keying in on all age groups and skill levels, which is good. Most boxing gyms I've been in are pretty rundown, like you'd see in a `Rocky' movie. Pug's is clean, well-lit. He did a real nice job."
Full Text:
Copyright Chicago Tribune Co. May 28, 1995
Jerry Norys of Algonquin has found a perfect cure for the stress of operating his own furniture installation business and his 16-hour workdays: a nice punch in the nose.
Actually, Norys, 35, hasn't yet been punched in the schnozz, or anywhere else, and he may never step into the ring. But he is working to get in shape as any boxer would, except for the sparring, at Pug's Boxing Gym in Palatine.
"I came to Pug's without any idea what I was getting into," Norys said. "I played various sports growing up, and at this time in my life I was looking for something different. And they take boxing down to basics. Obviously, you won't see me fighting George Foreman in Las Vegas, but boxing is a fun way to get in shape. I never realized how hard it is to jump rope for 3 minutes."
Like Norys, Dave Fahlgren of Schaumburg, a salesman for Sundance Homes in Lake in the Hills, was also looking for a novel way to work out. "I used to do a lot of weightlifting, but that got old," said Fahlgren, 21, as sweat poured off him. "Mike Tyson was big stuff back in my days at Conant High School, and I've always been interested in boxing. But the only boxing gyms were in the city. Since I found Pug's, I've been coming just about every day. I'm addicted."
One of the few boxing centers in the suburbs, Pug's Gym caters to everyone from novice pugilists who have never thrown a punch to Golden Gloves champions and professional fighters. Many of its northwest suburban visitors are focusing on staying fit rather than facing fists.
Pug's, which is certified by the U.S. Boxing Federation, counts WLUP-FM's Danny Bonaduce among its members. Owner Gary Dobry of Hoffman Estates stresses that men and women of all shapes and sizes are welcome in his gym. Standard membership runs $499 a year.
"The twist is that we offer boxing on a fitness level, on a recreational level and on a competitive level," said Lisa Dobry, Gary's wife. "That concept opens up boxing to a lot of people."
Dick Trindle of Naperville, a longtime observer of the local boxing scene through his work with the Illinois Association of USA Boxing, gives his endorsement to Pug's. "The Chicago suburbs need something like this," said Trindle, a retired special agent for the U.S. Customs Bureau. "Gary's keying in on all age groups and skill levels, which is good. Most boxing gyms I've been in are pretty rundown, like you'd see in a `Rocky' movie. Pug's is clean, well-lit. He did a real nice job."
One of Pug's more serious boxing clients is Anwar Oshana of Hoffman Estates, who came to the United States from Syria in 1984 and is a professional fighter with a 5-0 record. Oshana, 22, is a three-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion, and the super-middleweight recently fought on "Tuesday Night Fights" on cable's USA Network.
"I come to Pug's a couple of times a week. I want to be a champion," Oshana said after giving the heavy bag a torrid combination of jabs, crosses and hooks.
Then there is Sheryl Harris of Bartlett, a sales coordinator at Woodfield Lexus, who on a recent evening was sporting a "Pugilist" T-shirt. "I wanted to get in shape and gain strength, and boxing, or more precisely the training that surrounds boxing, is a fun way to do it," she said. "I'm very comfortable in here. It's a relaxed atmosphere at Pug's, but people are also very focused on what they're doing."
Will Harris ever enter the ring for a little sparring session? "I just might," she said with a glint in her eye.
Owner Dobry, 29, began boxing as a youngster in Chicago Park District programs. He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of the the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 1987 he moved to Paris to study medicine.
He returned to Chicago and began working in the surgical pathology departments of several Chicago hospitals. But he couldn't shake his love of the fight game, and when a boxing gym became available in 1993 in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, Dobry bought it.
"I saw it as an experiment, to see if I could run a small business," said Dobry, a super-heavyweight who still enjoys climbing into the ring for a little sparring. "Fighters came from Bucktown, Wrigleyville, Evanston, the northern suburbs, all over the Chicago area. But it was getting tough. I was living in Hoffman Estates, working at MACNEAL Hospital in Berwyn and running my own boxing gym. So last year I decided to move the gym to Palatine and get out of the medical business. Things are a lot easier now."
Dobry is the cheerleader at Pug's, encouraging everyone, laughing, making sure a good time is being had among all the hard work. "Our motto is, if it's not fun, we don't do it," he said. "A lot of people are intimidated to walk into any kind of gym, particularly a boxing gym. So we promote fun. Little successes lead to big successes. Some boxing gyms, they beat you up like a piece of meat. We don't do that here. You could be a member at Pug's for years and never take a shot to the nose."
Indeed, Pug's is as much a fitness center as it is a boxing gym. Equipment includes five heavy bags (stuffed bags weighing about 50 pounds), two speed bags (small, inflatable bags used to establish a boxer's rhythm), two double-end bags (which extend from ceiling to floor) and the obligatory boxing ring. There's also a treadmill, exercise bikes and other weight equipment.
Of course, the walls are festooned with boxing memorabilia, including an autographed photo of Roberto Duran, a poster promoting the Joe Frazier versus Jumbo Cummings fight at Chicago's Ampitheatre in 1981 and a print of a defiant Muhammad Ali lurking over a fallen Sonny Liston in 1965. And a TV on the front counter shows non-stop boxing videos.
Many members who come to Pug's never step into the ring. Anyone who does spar is required to wear headgear and a mouthguard.
"If you ask me, boxing is a very misunderstood sport," Dobry said. "The beauty of it is that you keep getting hit in the face, but you have to keep a poker face. And the movements are beautiful. Boxing is like a ballet, and you mix in a little brutality. It's the best of both worlds.
"Then there's the fitness angle. Boxing is a great way to get in shape and stay in shape, and you never even have to get in the ring. Just training for boxing provides a fantastic overall body workout. If you don't think so, just give me one hour of your time. You'll become a believer."
One believer is Lisa Dobry. "It's been a lot of fun since we opened in Palatine," she said. "When we were in Chicago, I wasn't so sure. But things have worked out very well for us here."
Pug's has a staff of seven trainers who work with everyone from beginners to Golden Glovers. Barry Levy of Chicago, who works for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, has been a boxer for 12 years. "Boxing is in my blood, and I've learned a lot from Gary," he said. "To me, coaching is a blast."
Trainer Gary Kruse of Chicago is a CTA ticket agent with a 46-24 record as an amateur boxer. "I've only been knocked out once," said Kruse proudly, sporting a George Foreman versus Tommy Morrison T-shirt. "I teach people how to box, not how to punch. I teach the science of boxing, movement, good defense, conditioning."
Jim Younan of Hoffman Estates works for Phillips Lighting in Roselle when he's not coaching at Pug's. His favorite flick is "Raging Bull," and he has a 32-2 record as an amateur welterweight boxer. "Everyone has talent, and boxing is one way to find that talent," he said. "I don't box competitively now, but I keep boxing through the fighters I work with. If they win, I win."
On one recent evening, Younan spent a lot of time with Jeff Geoff of Mt. Prospect, a 1993 Hersey High School graduate and former kick-boxer who's working toward becoming a professional boxer in the lightweight division.
Trainer Yale Loiacono of Chicago, who works at his father's restaurant, Vince's Pizza in Des Plaines, boxed in the U.S. Army in the mid-1980s, where he compiled an 8-1 record. "My competitive nature brought me to boxing, and now I enjoy coaching," he said. "I enjoy helping people improve their confidence through boxing, to carry themselves in a more secure manner."
Along with daily workouts, Pug's will also be the site of upcoming Chicago Recreational Boxing Association tournaments. The next bouts are planned for June 17. Dobry is also working to build a youth boxing program.
"There are very few boxing gyms like Pug's anywhere in the country," Dobry said. "Most gyms are in gutted-out warehouses in bad neighborhoods. Here, you can look out the front window and see a forest preserve."
With that, Dobry stepped back into the ring. There were three aspiring pugilists, all in their early 20s, waiting for instruction. Dobry had a trio hopping around the ring backwards, forwards and sideways, looking like interpretive dancers as they practiced their footwork.
"Boxing is a lot more than punching the other guy in the nose," Dobry hollered, as the three-minute horn sounded once again.
Boxing workout
Many members never step into the ring at Pug's Boxing Gym in Palatine. They come for a boxing-style workout. A horn sounds every three minutes, letting members know another "round" has just ended.
The workout includes three rounds each of the following:
Shadow boxing.
Mitt work with a trainer.
Hitting the heavy bag.
Working on the speed bag.
Working on the double-end bag.
Sit-ups.
Skipping rope.
[Illustration]
PHOTOS 5; Caption: PHOTOS (color): Trainer Jim Younan holds the bag for Charlie Karner, 25, of Elgin. ``Everyone has talent, and boxing is one way to find that talent,'' Younan says. Tribune photos by Hung T. Vu. PHOTO (color): Dianna Lewis of Buffalo Grove is among women who enjoy working out at Pug's. PHOTO: Both novices and professionals can go a couple of rounds at Pug's Boxing Gym in Palatine. PHOTO: Pug's owner Gary Dobry: ``Boxing is like a ballet, and you mix in a little brutality. It's the best of both worlds.'' Tribune photos by Hung T. Vu. |
