This week's Someone 2 Know began his career working as a youth counselor and in gang, drug and alcohol prevention programs.
For the last decade Marcell LaGrone has been pursuing his dream of incorporating his love for helping others and his love of fitness - with a youth outreach program.
We caught up with him at 1270 E. Plumb Lane, the new location for his gym, ReDirect Athletics.
From bantam boxers, to full-sized fighters, coach LaGrone trains bodies and minds.
"Everybody has a struggle and if I can help you within that struggle and help you get to that next step in life, then that's what it's about.”
LaGrone’s gym, ReDirect Athletics in Reno is growing and recently moved into a bigger space near Wooster High School.
"We have ReDirect Athletics which is just our boxing and lifting program and we have ReDirect Outreach which is where we, I go to schools, I speak to schools and then we have kids from schools come in and that's our boxing program that's geared toward that youth”
As owner and trainer, LaGrone says the mission is to help anyone who's willing to put in the work, create new healthy habits, like redirecting anger - something he's all too familiar with.
“Growing up, when someone would anger me, I would fight. You think those things change when you become an adult, but they don't."
Marcell says by the time he got to college, that fighting got him in trouble.
"Got some assault charges, lost my football scholarship and things like that."
LaGrone says when he discovered boxing as an adult, his perspective - and his life - changed.
"Once I found that love I wanted to be able to introduce that to other people and let them learn the sport and learn what your body can do to somebody if you don't use it properly or what can happen to you, walking outside and thinking you're the big bad guy."
LaGrone says discipline, physical conditioning, exercise-induced endorphins - and mentoring - all work together.
"Those things are ways to kinda break kids down to be able to speak or break kids down so they can understand where their anger is coming from."
The gym space, equipment and gear - like boxing gloves and wraps - are provided at no charge to those who cannot afford it. Redirect athletics currently has 86 kids on full scholarships.
"Just because you don't have the funds or the ends to do these things shouldn't mean you can't get the therapeutic part of live the everybody else gets because they have the money to do it."
Coach Marcell has been running the program since 2012 and plans to continue expanding their offerings.
"Somebody had to do it for me, so why not do it for somebody else?"
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In order to provide all that youth outreach and training - ReDirect Athletics holds fundraisers.
And their biggest one of the year is *this Saturday, December 4th. It's called "Fights Under the Christmas Lights".
Happening from 7:00- 10:00 pm - there will be live boxing, dinner, drinks, shopping and raffle prizes.
For the location and a link to buy tickets, check this link https://redirectathletics.com/