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The Hippie Palace- LA's New Premier Gym


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By Chad Stevens, Reporter at MMA-LA

 

 

 

A quick look into the windows of the brand new “Hippie Palace,” gym in LA will leave a lasting impression to anyone who walks by. I stopped in to talk to the owner, and see what the buzz is all about. As I stepped into the doorway, I realized that while from the streets it looks as though the windows are fogged from a mixture of body heat and precipitation, the smell of the place let me know that this was not the case. I walked over to the front counter, where a skinny teenager was sitting in front of a computer, leaning back and strumming on a small ukulele quietly.

 

“Hey man, like, how can I help you?” he asked.

“Can you show me where the owner is?”

He lazily pointed over to a tall, bulky man with a beanie over his dreads holding pads for a clearly ‘out of it’ fighter.

 

“Hi, Mellow Mood?” I asked.

“Ello! Waa gwan?” he said.

 

(for the sake of the reader, i’ve translated the rest of Moods responses into English.)

“Hi Mr. Mood, i’m here to do an article on your new gym. What can you tell me about the place?”

 

“I started this place as soon as I retired. I knew I didn’t want to leave MMA entirely, but my body started to be unable to perform the way it used to. And, I wanted a place that wasn’t so taxing on fighters like my old gym was. I wanted a place that was relaxing, and full of positive vibes. Positive vibes are essential to kicking ass. So, I started this gym and hopefully it will let me train the next generation of fighters.”

 

Mood himself was at one point, one of the most skilled fighters in the world. A former Synchronicity champion, he was at one point the #3 p4p fighter in all of MMA. After vacating his SYN belt and retiring, he had a change of heart after 6 months. However, age had caught up with Mood at this point, and he finished his career at 4-3, losing his last fight via submission.

 

“This game is something that not many people choose to walk away from. Usually they are told by an athletic commission or an organization that they cant come back. Thankfully, I was able to make that choice on my own.” Mood said.

 

The Hippie Palace is a private gym in which only 30 fighters are allowed access to at any point- most are part of the Keyboard Warriors alliance, and are managed by Mr. Punch and Mr. Winger.

 

“We have a great mix of athletes, we have a bunch of young prospects training with some experienced fighters. It really brings a good mixture of experience and talent to our gym.” Mood said.

 

The gym includes veterans such as Vladimir Tarlac (14-7), Aoki Aoki (16-10-1, former KOFC Champ) and most notably Edward Scissorhands (38-19=2, 14x Destiny champ and 2x EVO champ)

 

“Can I interview some of your prospects?” I asked.

“Sure, there’s one over there.”

 

A young, skinny fighter with hipster glasses was now talking to the kid at the front desk.

As I got closer, I could hear their conversation.

“Like my new Gi man? It’s made out of hemp fabric.” the fighter said.

 

I introduced myself, and the fighter introduced himself as Arlo Rochester. I remembered reading an article about him in MMA-LA when he first started MMA. He seemed noticeably more skittish and paranoid than he did in his first article.

 

“So how have things been since the interview you did?” I asked.

 

“Great, man. I’ve been out here living my best life. Signed to the best org in Japan, Budokai, and have just been trying to find my inner chi. This place helps me keep all of my chakras aligned, ya dig?”

“I think so. I heard you were thinking about starting a podcast?”

“Yeah, man. It’s going to be called “The Flower Power Hour,” and i’m just going to talk about like, whatever I want man. Vegetarianism, Yoga, and my obsession with Japanese MMA.”

“Speaking of, how has Budokai treated you?”

“It’s been awesome. Rei is the man, man. I love it. I hope to finish out my career there. Hopefully I still have a long career ahead of me.”

“Great to hear. Anything else going on?”

“Yeah, i’m starting a podcast called ‘The Flower Power Hour,’ hopefully it’ll be ready to listen to soon."

“Thanks for answering my questions, I’ll let you get back to your conversation.”

 

I walked back over to Mood.

“There’s definitely a sense of free spiritedness in here- are there fighters here who aren’t such hippies?”

“Ya mon. Most of the fighters here are more serious about their training. Go talk to Montresor. He’s kind of the opposite of a hippie, but he gets along real well with Edward Scissorhands and he’s a hell of a grappler. See if you can get an interview from a fighter from Mr. Winger’s camp as well.”

 

Montresor Poe is a grappler who recently started training at the Hippie Palace, under the guidance of fellow former Hot Topic worker Edward Scissorhands. He wore what appeared to be mascara and a shirt that said “Nemo me impune lacessit." Which translated from latin to: “No one attacks me with impunity.” As it turns out, at least one person has attacked him without impunity. Poe was knocked out in his MMA debut in 5 seconds. However, Poe stated that the MMA fight was strictly a money move, and that he was only a grappler, and would not take fight in another MMA fight. He is signed up to make his grappling debut during TWGC.

 

The fighters under Mr. Winger’s careful eye at the Hippie Palace include Lawdera Hawthorne and Junior Santiago. Hawthorne is a RISE top prospect, after having been a competitor in Budokai, JAG and MMAHelsinki. Known as “Doom” for his love of the rapper MF Doom. He’s known for his KO power, as he has KO’d his opponent in every win he’s had.

 

Junior Santiago is a KO artist who is known as “La Killer Unicorn.” He is a Brazilian signed to Budokai. As of July 23rd 2019, 4 of his fights have won fight of the night honors, and 1 KO of the night award. A Bantamweight fighter, he says he’ll move to any division within 135-170 to receive a title shot.



I walked up to Mood for the last time.

“Well Mr. Mood, thank you for the opportunity to interview some of your fighters.”

“Ya mon. come back anytime! Likkle Muore!”

 

Roster (As of July 24th 2019)

 

“Zen” Indigo Starseed (216756)

Edward Scissorhands (220437)

Vladimir “Violence Incarnate” Tarlac (289272)

Brando “The Tragedy” Reigns (294460)

Aoki “Aoki” Aoki (300381)

Andre 3000 (325964)

Arlo “Flower Power” Rochester (338815)

Holden “The Body Catcher” Caulfield (344183)

Atticus “Hands Of Justice” Finch (344408)

Montresor “The Brick Layer” Poe (348959)

Dru “D Money” Quick (350259)

Santiago Junior (331540)

Ladera “Doom” Hawthorne (332429)

 

Coaches (July 24th 2019)

Scot “Tiny Nipples” Gallagher- BJJ and Wrestling

Arlen6- Muay Thai

Houston “6 Rounds” Hensley- Conditioning

Ali Winger- Boxing

Ted “Spinning Back Kick” Hartman- Muay Thai

Bert “The Machine” Norman- Boxing

Nils Holgersson (224460)- BJJ and Wrestling

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