Ever Been in a Fight?
by Ryan VlastelicaAndrei
Hailed on: The Lower East Side
Hails from: Puerto Rico
Once, kind of. It wasn’t much of a fight; I pretty much got my ass kicked. [Laughs] It was just a dumb bar thing. I was drunk, someone ran into me and spilled my beer, I pushed him, he got me right in the face. I went down immediately. Friends had to haul me outside. They gave me a cold beer bottle to hold against my face, but I kept drinking the beer. It didn’t hurt that much, and for a while I had this bad-ass black eye. That was cool. But I’m no fighter.
Naeem
Hailed in: Hell’s KitchenHails from: India
No way, man! First of all, everyone likes me. No one ever gets mad at me enough to hit me, including my wife. Secondly, look how weak I am! I couldn’t win a fight against anyone, not even a kid. It wouldn’t even be funny. Plus, I’m into peace and all that.
Manuel
Hailed at: The Port Authority
Hails from: Brooklyn
All the time, growing up. High school, especially. There were all the gangs in the neighborhood and I was in one. We would beat the shit out of each other over the stupidest things. I don’t even remember what now. Probably talked about each other’s girls or moms or something. They weren’t too serious, but I probably got a bloody nose a few times. I probably won more than I lost at least. [Did your gang have a name?] No, we didn’t have a name because it wasn’t fucking West Side Story. We didn’t sing neither.
Matt
Hailed in: The Financial District
Hails from: Cincinnati
I don’t know if this counts, but growing up I wanted to be in at least one fight because I thought real men should know what they’re like as fighters. I was probably eight or 10. I was a dumb kid. So I asked a friend whose brother was into boxing if he and I could fight each other, using the brother’s gloves and sparring stuff. We tried it once for like 10 minutes and neither of us knew what we were doing. I remember we both got hurt, but it wasn’t anything you’d notice. All I learned from it was that I don’t like being punched in the face. Good lesson, right?
