GLOVERSVILLE — A teenage mixed-martial fighter is taking a new swing at business.
Braeton Lawton, 19, plans to open a new MMA and boxing gymnasium in Gloversville by late April or early May.
“I got a great group of guys that are coming and are going to wait until I can open,” Lawton said. “I got a few young kids and I pretty much did it for them.”
More than 15 people have expressed interest in using the South Main Street facility, PowerHouse Boxing & MMA, according to Lawton.
The 2022 Johnstown High School graduate plans to run the leased space with his fiancé, former Miss Fulton County Outstanding Teen Lexi Dutcher. She’ll oversee operations during the day and Lawton, who works full-time as a bridge welder, will come in after he gets out of work at 3:30 p.m.
It’ll be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Once opened, he’ll hold classes for children, teenagers and young adults from 4:30 p.m. to close.
“It's not that hard in the grand scheme of things,” Lawton said. “You just got to show up and do what you're supposed to do.”
Among other priorities, Lawton is getting ready for his own MMA match coming up during the summer. Currently, the heavyweight ranks 31st in the state within his weight class, according to Tapology.
Overall, Lawton has been active in boxing for seven years and MMA, about two years. Like a bevy of area fighters, he’s put his skills to the test at Goju Ryu Ki Mixed-Martial Arts on East Fulton Street.
“For the last few months, I just kept having kids come up and ask, ‘Hey, would you be interested in training me?’ and ever since then, it's always been a thought in the back of my head,” he said. “So I decided to jump on it.”
Brandie Loucks and Karen Curry of EmpowHERing Designs helped get him a space of his own nearby the city’s historic Four Corners. The training center was approved by the Gloversville Planning Board on April 2.
Lawton believes he’s on pace to finish painting the walls by the weekend. Once that’s finished, he aims to move in equipment and hang up a sign.
Some of the beginning plans are still in the works. He’s working on getting a jiu-jitsu instructor. Between classes, he has also considered starting a once- or twice-a-week women’s self defense class.
“We still got to plan everything out, but we got a rough draft of everything,” he said.