Noah Neiman is adding a tweak to the traditional approach of self defense, starting with the phrase “self defense. In putting his personal flair behind his latest punch and kick project, The Pack, the muscular mastermind behind one of the world’s most iconic boxing-themed group fitness studios is redefining how many of us are taught to survive—and thrive—during moments of crisis.
“Street defense,” as the co-founder of the Rumble franchise coins it, goes beyond simply high kicks and haymakers, and even the occasional choke hold. Neiman’s vision for creating The Pack is based on empowerment and community often found in many martial arts studios, but now in a welcoming atmosphere geared toward the everyday athlete.
“Forget everything you think you know about self-defense,” Neiman says. “We call it street defense—and it’s about being ready for whatever life throws at you, not just in the gym, but out there in the real world.”
When it first opened its doors in 2017, Rumble taught the once-reluctant after-work athlete that boxing can be both a fun and energizing activity—especially when you add nightclub-like lights and a live DJ spinning top tunes. Now just a few doors down from his original fitness flagship, The Pack now expands on Rumble’s original energizing experience. It’s still got the cool lighting, top-level music, and elite instructors, and weight-training based cardio-crushing classes. Where The Pack’s elevated its combat curriculum is with a wide variety of martial arts based defense techniques—including boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and others
“The Pack is definitely not a derivative,” Neiman emphasizes. “It’s a unique experience and offering. The mission behind it is much different. Boxing is an incredible sport, but it’s just one element of what we do here.”
Street defense, for Neiman, is also a larger concept than just throwing jabs and right crosses at BOB—aka Body Opponent Bag. With The Pack, Neiman and his partner Andy Stenzler are looking to create a camaraderie culture for the everyday athlete who want to learn to throw a devastating punch when needed but remain intimidated by the perceived brutality of many MMA facilities. “I hate the term self defense,” he says. “It’s not always an engaging experience, and if it’s not an engaging experience, nobody’s going to come. So how can you impact them?”
With memberships starting at $75, the vision behind The Pack has become alluring enough that stars such as New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara, have also become partners in this street defense showroom. And it’s just the beginning, as Neiman suggests. After all, street defense and martial arts helped him turn his life around, and now he continues his quest to help others who may be vulnerable.
“I just want to keep creating avenues for people to have an incredible experience that’s highly curated and thoughtful,” he says. “This stuff saved my life, and I just want to keep creating avenues for people to have an incredible experience.”
The Pack: New Community, Newer Gear and Gains
No matter the myriad street defense methods you’ll learn at The Pack, common sense remains the top rule, according to the longtime trainer and martial artist. “First line of defense is always run away,” the Rumble founder admits. “Even me, I’m 205 pounds, trained in martial arts, boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, striking—I still want to run away. I don’t want to have any street fight.”
He adds, however, “But sometimes you can’t run away.”
That’s when you realize, upon first stepping inside The Pack, that the team has created much more than just a trendy training boutique, though the E 23rd Street venue certainly qualifies as a place to be seen.
With its thoughtful design, original branding, and the upcoming merch drop—courtesy of close confidants, including the Waterford Group’s Daniel Maynard along with designer Daniel Amaze —The Pack offers top-of-the-line TechnoGym benches for weight training, Rogue Assault Bikes for intense conditioning sessions, and, of course, rows filled with BOB. Neiman is hoping The Pack will help redefine what it means to train, connect, and grow—inside and out. And with Wilson and Ciara lending their star power and passion for wellness, the energy is becoming undeniable.
“As I stare at it, it all looks beautiful,” Neiman playfully brags before adding, “but they all play a key part in what we call getting you prepared, making you tough and strong and confident—that’s never going to go out of style.”
In addition to building external strength and physical endurance, The Pack’s mission continues to focus to foster greater internal empowerment with its clientele. Members will discover a movement where community and real-world readiness collide and create a greater purpose than just punch technique. “It’s really about bringing people together inside the studio, and having people cheer you on,” he says. “Feeling like you’re actually a part of what everybody tries to sell, but they don’t actually follow through, which is community and this return to tribalism and collectivism.”
However, no street defense community can function without plenty of striking, kicking, and top-notch coaching. In addition to boxing and striking, Neiman and his crew have been receiving expert-level input and guidance from other disciplines, such as the legendary BJJ studio Renzo Gracie Academy.
“Boxing is an incredible sport, but it’s one element of what we do in here—how do we evolve that?” Neiman explains. “Can I teach you now strategic punch placement using these BOB bags that have a body and a face? Can I teach you elbow strikes in case, God forbid, somebody grabbed you by the shoulders, and you have to know how to throw a slicing elbow and live in your power in that moment?”
Stronger Together: Why The Pack Aims to Build Community, Confidence & Collective Power
Self-defense courses, particularly martial arts classes, have exploded in popularity nationwide. A study estimated that nearly seven million people participated in some form of practice in 2020—a number that has surely grown since the year Khabib Nurmagomedov last defended his UFC title with a second-round submission over Justin Gaethje.
Every powerful punch thrown at The Pack, Neiman says comes with even more powerful stories of fear and survival. For Neiman, street defense has become a deeply personal mission, shaped by the real-life, life-and-death encounters people face every day.
He recounts a 2022 encounter in which a Rumble student approached him after one of his New York City classes. Visibly shaken, her voice trembling, she recounted a horrifying situation in which her then-boyfriend tried to aggressively pin her against a wall. “I just instinctively balled up my fist, and I threw it right at his nose,” she told him.
The skills she’d learned in Neiman’s boxing class had given her the confidence—and the ability—to fight back. “That was really the seedling,” he recalls. “What we do is obviously fun, it’s a great workout, but it’s also giving people a touch of the boxing world and the community that I love. It’s empowering.”
The need for The Pack continued to develop on the West Coast, as Neiman introduced a friend to BOB, the imposingly square-chinned, human-shaped punching bag. Despite years of Rumble and other boxing-related training, his female friend found BOB strikingly intimidating. Neiman saw this as an opportunity for immersion therapy, encouraging her to confront her fears head-on. “This is part of it,” he told her. “Sometimes you have to stand your ground and fight.”
With each jab, kick, and elbow, her confidence grew, her initial apprehension transforming into a radiant sense of strength. “It was almost like I gave her the access codes to being tough and showing aggression,” Neiman says. “She just lit this bag up.”
From Rock Bottom Came The Pack
If you know Neiman, you’ll soon learn that every detail he puts into his projects has a deeper-rooted meaning than just creating cool vibes—even The Pack’s three-headed dog logo becomes deeply personal. In addition to his Greek mythology fascination, Neiman shares that Cerberus emblem represents the “pack mentality” he learned from his own canine trio—the late Oz, and Zo and Tyson—as well as the three core modalities of The Pack’s training ethos: strength training, the Rogue Assault Bikes, and street defense.
“The Cerberus stands for just that, the pack mentality that I learned from my dogs, caring after me and me caring after them, and being a part of a group,” he says. “Then it’s also just an incredible, I believe, visual identity, because I love creating things that keep curiosity.”
Neiman’s life story has become the embodiment of the need for community. Even an invincible-looking, 200-plus-pound, imposing athlete needs help. Before he became a celebrated fitness entrepreneur, Neiman faced some of his darkest days, struggling with addiction. It’s a life-changing moment he’s now confident to share with others.
“I had a hard night partying, and was really in a bad place with myself, and I almost OD’d,” Noah recalls. “I woke up the next day and I was like, ‘Dude, this can’t be my life.’” That pivotal moment set him on a new path, one that would lead him to the doorstep of Warren Stout’s jiu-jitsu academy in Pittsburgh. “I’m driving around and this guy, Warren Stout, is hanging a sign on his business that says ‘Warren Stout, Renzo Gracie Pittsburgh Jiu Jitsu Academy.’ I ended up just instinctively swerving, pulling over, and walking over to Warren and asking, ‘Can I be a part of this? I need this.”
Getting back into training with Stout, a black belt under the legendary Renzo Gracie, Neiman not only improved his BJJ skills, but also found purpose and community—kick-starting his quest to return to NYC and pay the fitness favor forward. “I truly don’t think I would be alive right now without that moment,” he admits. “That got me the confidence to move back to New York, which kicked off my Barry’s career.”
Now, as he launches The Pack in New York City, Neiman says his life and life’s mission is coming full circle, getting to once again work with Renzo Gracie Academy, where he currently trains with Muay Thai instructor Elijah Clarke—one of many potential crossover endeavors he hopes to bring to his Pack community.
“I have a lot of friends that have supported me throughout my years, and I would love to support them back,” he says. “I send people to their gyms, and they send people to ours, and we play well in the sandbox. And it’s all for the betterment of our customer, which is the most important thing.”
