Rumble Boxing Studio could have emerged in New Brunswick instead of Alberta. Back in 2000, Rumble owner Cissy Chen was on a flight from Beijing to Vancouver, where she was to pick up a student visa and head for the University of New Brunswick. Instead, a pair of passengers from Calgary convinced her to steer clear of the Maritimes in favour of Alberta.
Cissy did just that, completing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Calgary. With a successful career under her belt, Cissy sought to pursue her other passions – fashion, music and fitness.
On a trip to New York, Cissy discovered a boxing studio called Shadowbox. She had previously heard about models who worked for the lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret and were doing boxing workouts to keep runway ready. Cissy put two and two together – connecting trends in the forward-thinking cultures of Calgary and New York and developing a new idea.
"A lot of our products and concepts are aligned with New York," Cissy says. "If people can ride on a bike in a spin studio to the beats, we can punch to the beats." With this in mind, Rumble was born.
