There no secret the tech industry suffers a reputation for harmfully disrupting a community.
But not everyone in tech is to blame for the negative effects.
In 2015 Ben Kovacs and Joel Lunenfeld founded the non-profit Guardian Gym, a buy-one give-one mixed martial arts gym/after-school program that now boasts over 300 adult members and youth mentees.
Kovacs attributes the success of the gyms growth partly to Dick Costolo example at Twitter.&He talked to the people, he made everyone feel important, everyone thought he was their friend,& Kovacs said.
&And I realized that we needed to build a similar type culture if we wanted to be here for the next couple of decades.&The first of its kind gym is outgrowing its current space and is in the process of securing a second location to meet the community needs.
Kovacs plans on having a proper classroom space, nap pods, indoor/outdoor BBQ and lounge area, as well as an all-youth jiujitsu and boxing program from 5-9 p.m.
that runs concurrently with the adults.&Imagine a place a kid could go every day and essentially have everything they need to be healthy, to get their exercise out, eat nutritious meals, and of course do their homework,& said Kovacs.You candonate to the new site on their Gofundme page.