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Frenchie’s Gym owner Santos “Frenchie” Ramos has passed away on the 10th of June. He was a really nice person and I always felt welcomed to his place. I saw him mostly behind his desk greeting members and chatting with friends. Sometimes he would do easy leg workouts in the gym too. After learning that I’m a performance artist, he passed me a handwritten note which read “Carlos Colón vs. Hercules Ayala” and told me to search for it online. The search led me to a video of a wresting match where he served as the referee. He later asked me if I had watched it and after complementing him on the show, he shouted: “You see! Performance artists!!” and flexed. Once after skipping two weeks of training he greeted me with a shout: “What you!? Where have you been! You will never become a champion if you don’t train!”. His gym made me feel welcomed in NYC and I was a client for five months. When I told him I was returning back to Helsinki, Frenchie acted like he didn’t understand and asked me when I’d be back. I think he tough I was polish, which I didn’t mind. I have a membership card as a bookmark and I’ve attached a cap I bought from him to my hoody, so that it acts as a shoulder pad. I really loved the view from the gym, to the Broadway/Marcy Av station and the breaths of warm air the trains pushed trough the windows. I only have one photo from the district. More: Brooklyn tough guy ‘Frenchie’ Ramos dies at age 76, owner of old-school Williamsburg gym for more than four decades (2019) Mikey Light and Larry McShane.