Colorado Springs boxing gym helps people living with Parkinson’s

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- At Rock Steady Boxing in Colorado Springs, the people aren't training for a title. They're up against a different opponent: Parkinson's.

KRDO13 photojournalist Collin Willis went to the gym to learn more about their mission. Owner Bill O'Donnell says Rock Steady Boxing has been up and running for about two and a half years.

"Some call me Coach Bill, some call me Coach, some call me jerk," O'Donnell said. "The hardest part is walking through those doors. That is the hardest part."

O'Donnell says the program takes the boxers through the same programs a championship boxer would go through. He himself was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2018.

"It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like, 'What are you going to do now?'" O'Donnell said.

He says the gym has become a place where people can come together as they fight the disease.

O'Donnell himself has made connections, especially with Bill, a member of the gym. He calls him his "right hand man," and something everyone looks up to.

"It's not for everyone," O'Donnell said. "But it does save the ones that need it. I think they feel that they have won every time they come here."

And as O'Donnell says, "Last round is the best round."

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