![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Barton-spars-with-youngster-5-2015.jpg\")
<\/a>Located at 146 E. Main St. in Van Wert, The Sweet Science Boxing Gym has quickly become a favorite spot for those looking to take out a little aggression. Owned and operated by Van Wert High School graduate Paul Barton, the gym is a natural fit for someone who seems to have been born into the sport of boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely come from a fighting family,\u201d Barton said, adding, \u201cmy father was number five in the world and my brother was number one in the world. My mom\u2019s dad and my dad\u2019s dad were both pro fighters as well, so it definitely runs in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating high school, Barton had the opportunity to become a camp manager for his brother, who was preparing to fight on the television show \u201cThe Defender.\u201d It was during that time that Barton fell in love with the training aspect of boxing.<\/p>\n
He developed his training skills with a move to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was working with big-name athletes and executives. But when he began training kids at Iron Glove Boxing Gym, he knew he had found his niche.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really fell in love with training kids,\u201d Barton said. \u201cMost of them have never experienced boxing as a sport and they would come in and get bit by that boxing bug.\u201d<\/p>\n
That \u201cbug\u201d, Barton said, has hit Van Wert and he\u2019s been impressed with the immediate interest from not only area youth, but clients of all ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter how old you are. If you\u2019re 20, 30, or 60, you can\u2019t shake that bug once it bites you,\u201d Barton said, adding that a large percentage of clients at the gym are women over the age of 30. \u201cWe have a lot of younger kids as well, but I\u2019ve been really pleased with the number of women who are getting involved and looking to get in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton said boxing is a great way to not only lose weight and get in shape, but a way to eliminate some of life\u2019s stresses — a 1-2 combination, so to speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe someone has had a particularly stressful day at work and they\u2019re just looking to unload some of that,\u201d Barton said. \u201cBoxing is a great way to do that. I can\u2019t think of a better way to get around a bad day than punching stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sweet Science gym has all the normal bells and whistles one would expect to find at a gym, but Barton\u2019s 1-on-1 personalized training takes the training one step further.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen people who have been doing the same thing over and over for years and not getting where they need to be,\u201d Barton said. \u201cWhen they come in here, it\u2019s just me and them. There is nobody else involved. It\u2019s one-on-one and people respond to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Satisfied (and thinner) clients serve as proof for Barton that he is headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a guy who has lost 20 pounds in a few weeks, and another guy who lost 30. We have a woman in training with us that has lost 10 pounds over the last three weeks, and she\u2019s really been struggling to take off the weight. So it\u2019s successful,\u201d Barton said, adding that the battle to lose weight and get fit begins in the brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not checkers,\u201d Barton said with a laugh, \u201cbut people assume you have to be masculine, but that\u2019s just not true. Boxing is more mental than anything. It\u2019s not thinking about the punch that\u2019s coming at you, it\u2019s thinking about the punch coming at you three punches from now. It\u2019s thinking about the move you\u2019re going to make five moves from now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton said the gym is a work in progress, and he feels very good about his decision to return to his hometown to try to make a positive impact on the community he grew up in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard a story about a girl here who was doing heroin in the bathroom and it really affected me,\u201d Barton said, adding, \u201cit truly made me sick to my stomach to hear about all these kids getting mixed up with bad stuff. I may have snuck a cigarette when I was younger when my mom wasn\u2019t looking, but kids now are using these drugs that have serious consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the first things Barton did upon his return to Van Wert was organize a dodgeball tournament to raise some funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe donated $700 to Westwood to get one person treatment and get them off drugs,\u201d Barton said, adding, \u201cif you\u2019re a resident in a community and you care about that community, you have to do your part. It\u2019s that simple: If everybody chips in, the problems aren\u2019t so big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton is already working on a \u201ckick addiction\u201d kickball tournament that will take place this summer, although with the gym open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, Barton has little spare time between the gym and his job on the railroad. It\u2019s been a labor of love for the hard-working husband and father.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call myself \u2018Team No Sleep\u2019,\u201d Barton said, adding he typically puts in about 20 hours of work a day. \u201cIt\u2019s a sacrifice right now, but that\u2019s just what you have to do to get things running.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at the end of the day, Barton can rest easy knowing he is doing something he loves — and something that can make a positive difference in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoxing is a business I know in and out and I\u2019ve been involved in it one way or another all my life,\u201d Barton said. \u201cI\u2019m doing something I love and something I\u2019m passionate about and that\u2019s what keeps me going.\u201d<\/p>\n