El Rey Network is a pioneering American television network that has been at the forefront of showcasing martial arts. When it first began, founder and content curator Robert Rodriguez secured the largest collection of Shaw Brothers Kung Fu films of any network. I was honored to join the El Rey Familia when I joined the cast of MAN AT ARMS: ART OF WAR with Danny Trejo where we took a deep dive into weapons of the martial arts, history and fantasy. It was an extraordinary experience – a high point in my martial career. I RIDE WITH EL REY!

The El Rey Familia is tight so when Skip Chaisson from El Rey me that there was some new original martial arts programming happening, I was all ears. I was even more excited to learn that one of the programs was from someone from the San Francisco Bay Area – Champion June Castro. Her father, Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro, was one of the early supporters Tiger Claw (the parent company behind KungFuMagazine.com). We caught up to June to learn more about her new show, JUNE CASTRO’S FIGHT FIT BOOT CAMP.

Gene: How did Fight Fit Boot Camp come about?

June: Let me first give you a little background. My husband, Walter Michalowski, a former Muay Thai Champion, and I own and operate Sityodtong, (pronounced, sit-yawd-tong) USA also known Sityodtong Los Angeles, a Fighter’s Gym and Fitness Center established in 2003. Sityodtong Los Angeles is a state of the art Muay Thai and MMA Training facility located in Monrovia, California, just 25 minutes east of downtown LA. We are the West Coast Branch of the famous Sityodtong Muay Thai Camp in Thailand, known world-wide for producing legendary Champions.

In 2007, as a way to attract more students interested in fitness training with a bit of an edge, I created, a 4-Week Boot Camp called, “Fight Fit Boot Camp” tag line, “A better you worth fighting for.” Training was from 5:30am - 6:30am Monday thru Friday. The workouts included running, jogging or walking depending on whether you were in Company A, B or C. By combining Boxing and Muay Thai drills with plyometrics and pushups, participants loss weight and got in the best shape of their lives.

Following a calorie specific reduced meal plan, created by a nutritionist with a master’s degree in public health and training 5 days per week, the program guaranteed the participant would lose “10” pounds in 4 -weeks. On average 75-85% of the participants continued in the 4-week Boot Camp or signed up on the monthly enrollment. Fight Fit Boot Camp was a great way to introduce Muay Thai and Boxing to people who otherwise would have never considered training at a Fighter’s Gym. It increased enrollments and got Sityodtong Los Angeles in the forefront of the fitness scene.

After about 5 years, the 80-hour work week left little time for much of anything else, so I decided to change the format of Fight Fit Boot Camp into an early morning Muay Thai Fitness/Combat Conditioning class. With local gyms jumping on the bandwagon with morning boot camp classes coupled with staff reorganization, I felt it had run its course and decide to put Fight Fit Boot Camp on the back burner. Fast forward to the end of April 2020 at the start of a COVID pandemic and the country in lockdown quarantine, I receive a call from an executive producer at the El Rey Network, Skip Chaisson.

Gene: Have you ever done anything like this before?

June: Skip Chaisson was an executive producer that I had once worked with on a television pilot years ago. The TV show was sold as “Fitness on the Beach - meets Jackie Chan - meets Martha Stewart,” part workout, part martial arts (including a montage action fight scene), part talk show and part “how to” for vegan cooking. The show had a unique concept with great promise; unfortunately, it was 15-plus years before it’s time. The truth is It’s really not just “who you know” it’s also “timing” because we had a couple of high-level industry power players who were attached to the project.

Knowing that I was still involved in Martial Arts and Fitness, Skip asked if I was interested in pitching a show for the El Rey network. I thought about it for half a second and replied, “What do I need to do and where do I sign?” After several TV pilots, as well as numerous video and film projects that never quite got out of the gate, for me finally have my own television show and an opportunity to work with Skip again was a dream come true.

Gene: How much of Fight Fit Boot Camp is conditioning and how much is self-defense?

Junw: The 1-hour show is a “fitness” based workout that combines fight training drills from Combat Sports. So will viewers be able to punch, elbow, knee and kick their way out of a bad situation? If you believe, “repetition is the mother of skill,” then it’s a definite possibility. The final segment of the show is titled, “Tactical Self-Defense,” a term I used when I taught Self-Defense seminars many moons ago. Rather than a “how to” in regards to defending against various SelfDefense scenarios, I demonstrate “options of resolve.” Since there are so many variables that influence an actual street situation, there wasn’t enough time in the 8-minute segment to really be able to “teach” a particular defense or technique. However, if I can inspire and motivate viewers to heighten their awareness, seek out and train in a particular Martial Art or Combat Sport, I’m good with that.

Gene: Where does Fight Fit Boot Camp draw its Martial Arts techniques?

June: Mainly Combat Sports including Boxing, Muay Thai and some MMA. In the Self-Defense segment, I use a variety of martial arts including Shaolin, Kenpo, Karate, Muay Thai and Kali.

Gene: How do you think your dad might have reacted to the Fight Fit Boot Camp Television Show?

June: My Father, Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro, was one of my biggest supporters and without a doubt he would be an absolute “proud papa!” That’s the bittersweet part of my show that my Father is not here to actually see it. He and my mom were present at every television pilot I was involved in and to be so close so many times and now to have it come to fruition, is heart-wrenching that he’s not here.

Gene: Did you make concessions from your normal teaching curriculum for Fight Fit Boot Camp to accommodate non-martial arts practitioners?

June: Through the years, I have taught Karate Aerobics, Cardio Kickboxing, Combat Conditioning and Boxing and Muay Thai Fitness, so the curriculum was nothing new for me. The main thing to focus on when teaching a “fitness” based Martial Arts/Combat Sports workout to a novice is to keep the drills simple. For example, if the drill is jab, cross, jab, cross, right knee, left teep (a lead push kick in Muay Thai), then verbal cues is all you need and simple corrections can also be called out. Plus, I’m right there punching, kneeing and kicking right alongside them, so learning is both “visual” as well as “audible.”

Gene: Is the Fight Fit Boot Camp program a progressive curriculum or can viewers drop in on any episode?

June: Whether a viewer is tuning in to “Punch Up the Volume” or “Winner’s Never Quit” in each episode I cover “basics” from skipping rope to footwork to combinations used in the “cardio segment.” The format is fun and easy to follow along at home and the intensity is similar to a class workout . . . it can be as easy or as intense as “you” make it.

Gene: In the Fight Fit Boot Camp trailer, you show some combat applications. Will participants need a partner to follow Fight Fit?

June: No, participants will not need a partner for any segment of the show. However, training with friends and or family members while watching my show can be fun and builds camaraderie. The trailer was designed to highlight my training and background in the martial arts and combat sports.

Gene: What has challenged you the most about teaching in a TV format?

June: The most challenging part about teaching in a TV format is to maintain a high energy level and that’s all you. Regardless of how many hours you’ve been shooting or how many times you’ve performed a particular drill or combination, your performance has look easier than what it really is. Teaching a live class, even if you had a strenuous day and you are about to teach your 6th class of the day, the effort you put out is returned to you in tenfold by students energy and enthusiasm. My Father use to say, “This may be the fourth class you are teaching today, but remember it’s the students first class.” Without fail, regardless of how tired I would be starting the class, by the end I would be invigorated.

Gene: With El Rey Network’s emphasis on diversity, how has been for you to join in amongst our ranks?

June: The whole experience has been very cool, I can actually say now, “I ride with El Rey!” From all of the executives, to Legal and the social media department, everyone at the El Rey Network has been very welcoming and supportive. I am also grateful for the opportunity as a woman and a woman of diverse ethnicity to be able to showcase the Martial Arts, in particular, Combat Sports.

Gene: As a woman of color, how much has discrimination played a part in pursuing roles in film and TV?

June: Anyone pursuing a career in the “industry” experiences discrimination on some level, some experience it more than others. For me it was, ”You’re too ethnic,” and then the next audition, “You’re not ethnic enough.” Once a casting director looked at me and said, “What are you?!” I smiled and replied, “I’m a human being, like just you.”

It was also frustrating losing a project because I didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes, even though it was written for me. Then there was an incidence where I was replaced because although I was a person of “color,” it was the wrong color. The key for me was to not take it personal, to not dwell on what’s fair or “woulda-shoulda-coulda,” but to hold my head up high … and my middle finger even higher. Lol!

Gene: How has the pandemic affected your training and teaching?

June: When June Castro’s Fight Fit Boot Camp got green lit, we were a month into the mandated closure. For me, getting in the type of shape I needed to be in and to create and produce “10” 1-hour episodes, the gym being closed worked to my advantage.

Not having to run the business, teach classes or produce and promote a local “In Gym” fight as well as a sanctioned Fight Night event scheduled back to back, I was able to completely focus on my training and the production of the show. Also, since my husband wasn’t teaching or able to train the Fight Team, he put me through a brutal 4-week Fight Camp. Some of the fighters, with no upcoming scheduled fights, also helped with some of the choreography and hours of rehearsal time.

A month later, gyms were allowed to open, then two weeks later the “outdoor training only” restrictions were put in place and to date still remain. We are very fortunate to have a large gated parking lot and pop-up tents and extra mats all in storage, so we were able to set up outdoor training the next day. However, between Southern California’s triple digit heat waves and historic fires, outdoor training was nearly impossible. Now we’re heading into colder weather and the rainy season, so we, like so many other businesses, are doing what we can to stay afloat and weather the storm.

Gene: Do you have any advice for our readers about how to cope with pandemic stress?

June: A way of coping with the pandemic stress or just stress in general is to take the attention off yourself and direct your focus on helping others. Whether it’s checking on elderly neighbors, calling loved ones or having empathy for those less fortunate, offering aid and assistance to those in need changes your perspective and does absolute wonders for your self-esteem. In addition, to change your attitude, try changing what you’ve been doing. That may be to get your butt off the couch, put down the food, turn off the electronics and start exercising to release those endorphins. Being grateful for everything you have rather than focusing on what you do not have is a game changer.

Gene: What inspires you?

June: My Father has been a great influence and inspiration in my life. He came from a large family and he grew up very poor. I had always known that my Father came from humble beginnings, but it was only a few years ago that I found out he got his first pair of shoes when he went to high school. My Father would say that they didn’t have a lot growing up, but there was always food on the table and lots of love in their hearts and in their home.

With four children, two still in diapers and another one on the way, my Father risked everything to provide for his growing family while pursuing his passion, the martial arts. He quit his job and put every cent he and my Mother had and opened up the first Kenpo Karate Studio in Northern California.

He did all the construction himself, from building dressing rooms and benches, to painting, to laying down the mats, installing carpet to hanging and framing mirrors. When my older siblings were of school age, my Mother was able to help run the front office. She said before that, my Father did everything himself; he trained, he taught all the classes, signed people up, collected the monthly dues and at the end of the evening rushed home to make dinner for his family. It was also during those early years that my father created the “30 key dances” of his system.

My Father’s success was not the multiple locations, his children in private schools or the 15 room home on half an acre in a suburb of San Francisco, but the thousands and thousands of lives he touched, and inspired to be their best, myself included.

Gene: What keeps you motivated?

June: Love. Life. Love of life . . . and the sands of time.

Gene: What’s next for June Castro?

June: I have several books I am working on, one is my Father’s life story titled, “Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro. His life, his art, his way.” It is definitely a labor of love and I hope to have it completed by the end of this year. I am also working on a long-awaited Women’s Self Defense book, a Healthy Cookbook with lots of easy to follow, don’t miss the carbs, recipes and a Children’s book series. I don’t want to give too much away about the books, but it’s all very exciting.

A big shout out to KungFuMagazine readers, my Martial Art Family of followers and fans for your support and helping me get the word out, so we build our audience and kick butt in the ratings. Keep sharing, keep following and keep watching, “June Castro’s Fight Fit Boot Camp,” a better you worth fighting for.

For more on June Castro’s father, Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro, see Tea with Grandmasters: Pearls of Wisdom from Martial Pioneers Ralph Castro, Ming Lum, Art Novak and Wally Jay  and Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro 1931-2019.