About CKO Jersey City

I am Ahmed Elfezani, from North Africa, Libya. My passion is Kickboxing & Muay Thai. I started boxing in 2014 when I saw my future coach Esmail from Algeria. One day I was running on the beach and saw him hosting a training course on how to become a professional kickboxer. That’s when I decided to join his training course and continued for training for over 9 years. Even to this day I still have the same passion and drive to excel in this sport. I learned about CKO from Instagram after seeing a post about a class with coach Charlie, so I decided to join. Seeing how everybody was engaged and enjoyed the class made me love this gym and after my experience, I wanted to become part of the CKO team!

I specialize in Pad and Combat Training, so if you share the same passion as me, let’s start striking those mitts!

Coach Alma aka The Lion! Alma has had a love for boxing, kickboxing & general fitness her whole life. After finding CKO, Alma decided to become a trainer, sharing her passion and motivation with others. She has been a coach with CKO and personal trainer for over 2 years and enjoys every bit of it. Alma currently is working on entering the amateur boxing circuit all while studying for her certification in Nutrition. Alma achieves her greatest satisfaction when she coaching class. She loves receiving energy back from her members almost as much as she loves dishing it out.

Brian joined CKO Jersey City over 8 years ago as a member where he went through his own body transformation losing over 70 lbs. He has been a trainer for over 5 years now and holds personal trainer certification from ACE for the past 4 years. His classes usually are high pace and high-energy! If you don’t see him in the gym, you will most likely find him logging endless miles on the streets or trails.

Charles “Charlie” Taylor has been a competitive athlete for over 20 years, earning numerous titles on both the national and international stage in Olympic Style Taekwondo. Since training under Olympian, Master Kevin Padilla, since 1992 – Charlie has been surrounded by top-level athletes his entire career. In 2004 Charlie fought his way into a spot on the New York State Taekwondo Commission (NYSTC), an organization designed to mentor and sponsor top athletes for international competition. Here Charlie competed in numerous countries representing NY-USA during his bouts. Since his arrival to NYSTC, he defended his spot on the team throughout the remainder of his career as a fighter.
Simultaneously, Charlie served as an instructor at Padilla’s Sport Taekwondo School, where he taught Traditional & Olympic Taekwondo, Cardio Kickboxing, Boxing and mentored a number of elite junior athletes. While there, he developed a love for coaching and formed a unique style, drawing from years of training and applying his fighter’s mentality.
After a 10-year career in the corporate security world, he returned to his passion. Currently based in NY Metro Area – Charlie is the owner/operator of two CKO Kickboxing Clubs located in Bayonne and Downtown Jersey City. Charlie wears several hats, but his favorite is that of a fitness coach and motivator. Charlie has a fun but no-nonsense approach to supporting his member’s goals. Whether you’re aiming to improve your striking technique, build lean muscle or improve your overall wellness – Charlie can certainly get you there.
Charlie tries to instill a fighter’s mentality within all of his clients, because whether you’re in the ring or not – if you refuse to quit on yourself and continue to fight, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
He lives in Jersey City with his pitbull, Bigguy.

There are 2 elements of a CKO class that resonate with Ches: the intense energy levels brought to class by the members and the music. Back in Spring 2014, Ches started as a member at CKO Hoboken. Even as a member, he could feel the intensity of a class. The intensity is what drove him to begin his CKO career as a CKO Trainer later that fall. The second element of a CKO class is what really makes Ches the CKO Trainer he is today: the music. With Ches’s philosophy, music moves people, and it especially moves him. If you’ve ever taken one of Ches’ classes, you may have noticed the movie-voice guy introducing his music set by saying: “DJ Ches.” Ches is a DJ, emcee, and dance instructor, and with his DJ skillset, he personalizes the CKO class experience by creating and using his own music mixes. You can expect an intense workout and new music to dance to after taking one of Ches’s classes.

Ches furthered his fitness career by obtaining the NASM-CPT in Spring 2019. Aside from fitness, Ches works in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry for the company Novavax. If he’s not at work or CKO, he’s definitely spending that quality time with his Darling Fiancé and Goldendoodle “Nugz.”

I’ve come a long way in my fitness journey. That journey began 9 years ago when I was at a very low point in my life. I weighed 210 pounds and was feeling terrible. After several years of “working out” and making minimal progress, I began doing HIIT workouts and was introduced to CKO. CKO changed my life. I’ve lost 50 pounds with the help of the killer workouts and trainers at CKO. I have since went on to thrive at my career as a professional umpire currently working in Minor League Baseball in the Triple A East League. I spend my off-seasons as a trainer for CKO and it has become one of my favorite things to do.

Deen was a member at CKO looking to refuel his passion for fitness and martial arts. He was able to fulfill his urge to get in touch with his childhood after becoming an instructor at CKO JC and CKO Bayonne. He has a background in various martial arts and holds a black belt in ITF Tae Kwon Do from South Africa, where he is originally from, and has competed in national competitions. Deen is known for his techniques, ninja kicks, and ability to engage an entire crowd. Whether you’re looking to learn coordination, techniques, or self-defense – Deen will take you to the next level. Do you have an interest in personal training? Contact Deen to become a better version of yourself! Follow him on IG @ckodeen.

Fallon is a kicka$$ instructor with a passion for fitness, music, and all things martial arts. She spends much of her time kickboxing for skill and fitness. She also enjoys weight lifting which fuels her challenging but fun workouts for personal training. Whether you want to nail the basic kicks and punches, light up some pad work, or take charge of your weight loss journey – she’s your gal! Fallon’s background in dance fuels her hype playlists and music-driven CKO classes. Fun fact – she’s also a competitive BJJ purple belt! Knock it out with her on the CKO bags!

JC Velasco is a Marine Corps Veteran with over 4 years of military fitness experience. He also has an athletic background of over 10 years, which allows him to oversee and help achieve member’s fitness goals. While some may know, JC started as a CKO member. His can-do attitude was infectious during this time and his peers quickly followed suit. His ability to motivate, mentor and teach other members was observed, and was quickly recruited among the CKO instructor ranks. JC’s objective is not only to help members achieve their fitness goals but also to inspire optimal wellness. He defines his classes as simple and challenging. JC is very approachable and always wants to build a friendly relationship.

John moved to Jersey City from Brighton, UK, and joined CKO JC as a member when we first opened our doors in February 2013. Before long, he was bitten by the CKO bug, and he undertook the CKO trainer program – fast-forward to the present, and he is one of our most experienced trainers with a host of tasty drills and trademark British humor! Every class contains a great balance of high-intensity cardio mixed with strength training with a strong focus on exercise form. He loves a full-body workout experience and will leave you with a full sense of accomplishment. John’s areas of expertise include strength and conditioning, muscle-toning, general cardio fitness, and he is ACE-certified in Personal Training, Fitness Nutrition, and Weight Management.

Juli is a Brazilian psychologist that started her own transformation story after hitting 230lbs and discovered an unknown passion for fitness and personal growth. This mother of 3 girls decided, one day, that enough was enough and invested in fixing her nutrition and going all in high-intensity workouts. It didn’t take too long for her to see that more than just working out, her joy was also on helping other people achieving the same level of results.
For almost 5 years now, she made the switch to become a coach and a Certified Sports Nutrition Specialist to pay it forward, helping the members of her community achieve their fitness goals. Between her charming accent, dance moves, and empowering words, this lady will inspire you to get laser focus on hitting your goals!

Lauren Schultes has been a trainer at CKO for over five years. She joined CKO as a member in 2015 and was instantly hooked! After a short period of attending classes, the CKO Team approached Lauren and asked if she ever thought about becoming a trainer. Lauren quickly came to love the idea. Soon after, she completed training and became a CKO instructor in March 2016! As an elementary school teacher, the instructing classes came naturally to Lauren and she immediately fell in love with it. Lauren loves teaching classes just as much as she loves hitting the bag! She can’t wait to see you in class!

Mallory has been with CKO Kickboxing since 2014 when she joined as a member. Shortly after in 2015 she became an instructor and has been hooked ever since. When not striking the bag, Mallory can be found teaching Kindergarten in Bayonne.

In 2008 CKO Bayonne was coming to town and before there was even a bag hung I joined for the year. I immediately became “addicted “ which led to my desire to join the instructing team. I obtained my CKO certification and as they say, the rest is history. My training style is intense, empowering, and limitless. When I’m not at CKO you can catch me inspiring today’s youth as a high school social worker.

Randolph Jacobs is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, former Early Childhood Educator, and Grand Champion Martial Artist in Continuous Sparring & Weapons from Washington, DC. As a child, he had a love for Martial Arts and always imagined being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to fight off the villain, Shredder. His real-life bad guy battle was Asthma. Training in Martial Arts helped him defeat Asthma, build up his body, and years later, he received his Black Belt. Randolph is currently in pursuit of his Child Development Associate (CDA) renewal. He has trained children from age 3 to adult in fitness and Martial Arts for over 15 years. Randolph has been training & teaching with CKO Kickboxing for three years.

I’m coach Sam! A New Zealand born native who recently relocated to Jersey City. Shortly after arriving I began training at CKO and was instantly compelled to become a part of the family. I have 5 years of experience training in Kickboxing/Muay Thai in New Zealand and am always ready to light up those bags!

When SJ is not at her day job as a music industry professional at a music publisher in Brooklyn, you’ll find her in front of the bag teaching at CKO. SJ joined CKO as a member back in 2019. She loved the staff, trainers, and community so much, she decided to become a trainer herself. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, combo-heavy high-intensity class, she’s the trainer for you. You’ll always leave her class feeling like you got the most out of your workout!

Stephanie has been a member of CKO since 2010 and fulfilled her life-long dream of becoming a CKO instructor in the summer of 2020. She began her CKO journey at the Clifton location and brought her skills and passion to the Bayonne and Jersey City locations shortly after. In addition, Stephanie is a certified MAX Challenge Instructor in Hoboken. Stephanie’s goal for each member taking her class is to get a great workout in, have lots of fun while doing so, and to enjoy their CKO journey. Stephanie strives to be a guide and inspiration for all members to achieve optimal health and happiness!