Hard Knox Astoria is a martial arts and fitness facility. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
May 6, 2025 By Jessica Militello
Hard Knox Astoria may sound like a rough-and-tumble gym, but for many in the neighborhood, it’s a second home.
Since opening in 2023 at 37-20 Astoria Blvd. S., the gym has provided more than just martial arts training. It offers a safe space for people to let go of daily stress, connect with others and regain a sense of purpose through community and fitness.
“We do things a little bit differently here,” said founder Bonafide Warhawk. “It’s not just a straight training facility; we actually try to help people.”
Warhawk helps one of his students put on his hand wraps. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
The Astoria gym offers a wide variety of classes, including street self-defense, Muay Thai, kickboxing, spin, strength and conditioning, and fight fitness. It also provides unique touches like a retro arcade machine loaded with 3,000 games, designed to evoke the sense of belonging found in neighborhood pizza shops in the 1990s.
“If you don’t feel like working out, but you don’t feel like being home, just something’s bothering you, there are 3,000 games you can play on there,” Warhawk said.
Classes in session at Hard Knox Astoria. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
Warhawk, a Queens native and lifelong martial artist, was inspired to pursue martial arts after a violent encounter in high school. He was stabbed in the eye while trying to defend a friend, leaving him permanently blind in one eye. The experience drove him to seek peace, discipline and purpose through martial arts training.
Kids gather around the gym’s arcade game, which has over 3000 games. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
“I felt really defeated,” said student Alyssa Carino. “Coming here was my first step in getting out of my comfort zone. In my first class with Bonafide, I threw up, and then we stopped and talked for about an hour and a half. I don’t even know if I ever mentioned this to him, but he doesn’t know that conversation meant so much for me.”
Warhawk holds pads for one of his students. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
Before founding Hard Knox, Warhawk worked as a personal trainer at New York Sports Club in Forest Hills. There, he met Aman Sadiyan, a client who would later become his business partner. The two envisioned a gym that emphasized not just fitness or technique, but personal growth and flexibility—offering more than just one-size-fits-all classes.
“We created a very elaborate fitness system,” Warhawk said. “Instead of putting fitness into the martial art classes, we pulled the fitness out and created an entire system where different instructors teach different methodologies, even though they all follow a specific formula template.”
Initially, Warhawk held classes in local parks and rented spaces before expanding into the current facility. Today, the gym includes a main training floor, a spin studio, and a weight room.
Students showing off their strength after working hard in class. Photo credit: Hard Knox.
Hard Knox’s mission extends beyond physical fitness. Warhawk and Sadiyan aim to create a place where people can let down their guard and find a sense of belonging.
“I think ultimately, when you remove all the external layers, you’ll see that all of us are facing similar challenges, just in different ways,” Sadiyan said. “Having a space where you can come in, put all those masks down and just recharge yourself… that’s really the importance of places like this.”
*This story first published in the May issue of BORO Magazine.
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