Saint John Kickboxer Fights to Get Colleague a New E-Bike After Theft
SAINT JOHN — A string of break-ins has brought colleagues closer together in the core of Saint John.
Amanda Ryall was shocked this week to return to her business, KickBasics Health Studio, housed at historic 24 Coburg St, to find her door jamb had been pried open and items stolen. The business is one of many housed in the historic building in Uptown Saint John. The others include well-known artist Norman Jackson’s studio, Asia’s Best Cuisine, and the special event venue the Kent Theatre.
It was there in a storage room at the former movie theatre that Barry Porter kept his forest green Coswheel brand e-bike for safekeeping. Porter, who lives nearby and works at the building as a handyman, thought the large storage room in the well-maintained, secure building seemed like a good place to protect his investment.
Porter bought his $2500 bike about a year ago and has been relying on it for transportation ever since.
“I got rid of my car to save costs on insurance and got an electric bike,” Porter says. “I didn’t think I’d lose it here.”
Now, he says, he’s had to find ways to get around without his bike.
“I’ve been walking. But I had plans all this week because it was nice, to go to the beach, but I never made it there.”
The thieves who broke into the building ignored other items of higher value and instead targeted Porter’s bike, alcohol at the bar in the theater venue, and other easy-to-grab items. Now Ryall and her colleagues at 24 Coburg are coming together to help Porter get a new bike and to show solidarity with each other after the break in.
“I almost cried when she told me [she was putting on the fundraiser],” Porter says.
On July 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the building is doing a fundraiser to raise money to buy Porter a new bike.
“Right now I’m going to be putting up 50/50 boards and we are taking cash donations,” Ryall says. “We’re going to have a barbecue, a yard sale, a silent auction, and a bake sale.”
“Jackie Fitzpatrick from [Town Yoga SJ], is going to do a drop-in, by-donation class from 11:30 am to 12:15. And then [KickBasics] is going to run a drop-in kickboxing class from 1 pm to 1:45 pm.”
Painter Norm Jackson is donating some prints for sale and there will be gift certificates from other vendors for the silent auction.
The broken door jambs have been replaced and repainted, the broken decorative moulding around the doors in the historic building repaired, but the sense of unease and violation still remains for Ryall.
“Nothing that was stolen of mine was of high financial value,” Ryall says. “But a lot of it was sentimental.”
She says she lost electronics including a tablet, boxing gloves, duct tape, and that all the food out of her fridge was stolen “including my coffee cream”.
Ryall’s kickboxing gym is somewhat of a community centre, with a focus on providing empowerment and fitness for low-income women, with $5 drop-in classes and personal training for $25. It’s a labour of love and she tries to keep her costs as low as possible to pass the savings on to her clients.
Most dishearteningly, bottles of wine she had specially made for her five-year anniversary (a peach raspberry sangria and dragon fruit wine from Barley, Malt & Vine) were also stolen.
“I was saving it to drink for Monday,” she says.
The culprits in the break in haven’t been identified nor have any of the stolen items recovered. The safety profile of the neighbourhood is changing however.
Building operator Shane Cassidy says that he’s noticed more people in distress in the neighborhood over the past few years. They and other businesses in that neighbourhood are reporting that there are people hanging out in doorways causing safety concerns for business owners and customers.
In his vigilant clean ups around the large property, Porter reports that he’s occasionally finding intravenous needles and crack pipes, something that was unheard of just a few short years ago.
But the show must go on, and for Porter it is. He’s building a stage for an upcoming Art Battle at Kent Theatre. The projects don’t stop and neither does he.
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
Editor’s note: This story was last updated on June 26, at 1:45 p.m.