We work in hospitality PR, of course we’re going to be out and about at all hours. We build the lists at the door of places like Sip&Guzzle, Cosmo Night Club, and Superbueno. Our jobs often demand late hours of socializing with a bar tab, and our work environment is sometimes a bar’s standing area and we have to be comfortable with crowded spaces and high-energy atmospheres.
While most of the time, we’re having the nights of our lives, occasionally, our workplace can feel unpredictable, especially for women at night, and instead of just gritting our teeth, we decided to do something about it – Fight Club for publicists. March saw us start six weeks of Muay Thai training at Five Points Martial Arts in Soho, once a week, during the work day as a voluntary perk for the team.
We’re not just here for a good sweat (though trust us, the sweat is real). Muay Thai, aka the “art of eight limbs,” teaches us to strike with fists, elbows, knees, and kicks—all while building the kind of confidence that turns a polite “I hope this email finds you well” into an unspoken “I’m speaking.”
Self-defense is now part of our professional toolkit. A few sessions in, we noticed something interesting: it wasn’t just our roundhouse kicks that were improving. We started carrying ourselves differently—standing taller, speaking with more authority, and shutting down unwelcome advances with ease. Turns out, knowing you can knock someone on their ass does wonders for your confidence.
And the team bonding? Unmatched. There’s something about kicking and punching together that forges a kind of camaraderie you just can’t get from happy hour. We’re not just co-workers anymore—we’re sparring partners, and nothing says trust like knowing the person next to you can land a perfect jab-cross combo.
The deeper meaning here is this: the publicists who make up the NYC hospitality space are not closing ranks in the name of safety, we’re holding the line firmer. Call it “The Publicst’s Revenge”, team bonding, or group fitness, our team is perfecting the jab-cross every Tuesday afternoon.
