Professional Address CEO and Founder Joshua Samuel cuts the ribbon as Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha, left, Josh’s wife and baby, and Councilman Tony Tiscareno assist. Photo by Theresa Galusha

A new business has opened in Antioch with great expectations to take the business and education worlds by storm.

Professional Address Inc. (P@) was formed to help enrich the community, improve employment rates, and provide a safe online environment for young people. As a result, City of Antioch officials have partners with the company.

Community and business leaders were on hand when P@ celebrated their grand opening with a business fair, on Thursday, September 18,

The vision of CEO and Founder Joshua Samuel, P@ provides people with a professional online presence that is designed to help them attain success; providing students, parents, schools, and employers with a single, unified platform where they can come together to achieve their common goals.

The leadership team also includes President and COO, Timothy Negrete and Ashley Ondek, Director of Education.

P@ is a state of the art social networking platform that allows their users to present themselves professionally, and communicate in a professional environment. On the P@ website, users can quickly and easily create a professional resume, portfolio, and interview video that they can then send anywhere, electronically. As a site that their users can grow with, people of all ages can benefit from what P@ has to offer.

Students, even as young as elementary school, can have a P@ profile. Their site is controlled and monitored by their parents who make the final determination on what their minor child posts, and what they can access. All students can build portfolios, an archive of their achievements that showcases the inception of their talents.

In high school, students expand on their portfolios, begin building their resume, and start filming interview videos for college and career. Beyond K-12, P@ is a relevant professional tool for adults seeking to gain and/or maintain success in college, career, and life.

So, visit their website at www.professionaladdress.com, today to register for your own P@.

Kelly Gonzales Saleh (in purple) with friends at a Sutter Delta Medical Center event.

By Allen Payton

Seeing a need in the senior care services field, Antioch resident Kelly Gonzales Saleh decided to start another business and launched Pacific Senior Care Services, earlier, this year.

With a background in banking and insurance – she also started and operates Gonzales Insurance Financial Group – Kelly has combined her knowledge of finance, as well as her compassionate and caring nature to meet the needs of seniors, and others in finding the right level of care.

She works with individuals and their families to determine the best fit for their needs and budget.

Kelly, a bilingual native of Peru, and her team, work with assisted living facilities, in-home care providers, board and care homes for their clients.

In addition, they offer advice and insurance products in the area of long-term care, senior life, retirement and the very sensitive area of funeral pre-need planning.

One of her clients, a man named Mr. Cheney had very positive things to say about Kelly and her company.

“When my father’s health started to deteriorate, I realized that he needed assisted living. So I talked with one of the social workers at Kaiser Permanente, and she highly recommended Pacific Senior Care Services. I gave them a call and that’s when I spoke with Kelly the Director. She assessed my needs and then gave me the best recommendations.

They were successful in finding the best care and negotiated the best affordable price for us. Kelly operates in a spirit of excellence and professionalism. She’s very courteous and compassionate. I would highly recommend this service to anyone who’s looking for the best senior care.”

To learn more, visit their website at www.PacificSeniorCareServices.net or to set an appointment for yourself or your loved one, call their office at (925) 732-7100.

Owner Marcus Malu, right, shared a few words before cutting the ribbon during the Grand Opening of Malu Fitness in Antioch, August 9.

By Luke Johnson

Nearly a hundred people gathered Saturday, August 9 to celebrate the Grand Opening of Malu Fitness, in Antioch.

A list of local area celebrities and dinitaries were in attendance. Cal-Berkeley’s head football coach Sonny Dykes, professional basketball player Eli Holman and Brentwood Vice Mayor Joel Bryant all made an appearance.

After cutting the big red tape, employees and gym members gave back to the community and served free food to the homeless in downtown Antioch.

“I know how it is to be down on your luck. To be called a loser. To be called a ‘brokey-broke,’” owner Marcus Malu said. “The opportunity and doors that God has opened for me and the people He has put in my circle, why not take advantage of all those things? Why hold on to that hook up when you can have your hook up, hook you up, to hook everybody else up? It’s not, ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.’ I’m scratching your back because I know your back itches.”

Malu has been a personal trainer for five years, and has produced top tier talent. He worked with former Freedom High School running back Joe Mixon, who received over 50 Division I scholarship offers. Current athletes under Malu, Freedom High senior Dominic Fredrickson, Antioch High sophomore Najee Harris and Heritage High senior Sam Hinn combine for well over a dozen offers.

Malu is not just Marcus’ last name, it’s also an acronym which stands for “Making Athletes Live Unique,” which is their slogan. One thing that makes Marcus unique is that he trains kids, whose parents cannot afford it, for free.

“I grew up with nothing, but at the same time with the very little that we had, my parents taught me to always share,” Malu said. “If somebody ain’t got it, reach out and help them. It’s always been that way.” Malu Fitness is located at 8 Walter Way, off A Street. To learn more, call (925) 305-6249 or visit www.Facebook.com/malunique.

Aikido is a non-violent form of martial arts.

By Allen Payton

Brandy Lucky is a rarity in martial arts, as a woman sensei (teacher, in Japanese) of her own dojo.

“I really was, 30 years ago, when I started,” she laughed. “I started fresh out of college.”

Lucky is the sensei of a new studio in Antioch, known as Evolve Aikido & Movement Center.

Aikido is a Japanese, non-violent martial art, she explained. There’s no kicking, hitting or punching. It uses the force of the attacker to take them down.

“The founder would say if any of those are included, it’s not Aikido,” she stated.

Lucky first learned about Aikido at a dojo in Stockton, where she developed their juniors program and women’s self-defense program, before starting her own in Santa Rosa.

That dojo still exists, today and was handed over to one of her apprentices.

Her newest location, which just opened at 1211 Auto Center Drive in Antioch, is more than Aikido. Evolve offers instruction in Tai Chi, Jiu Jitsu, self-defense, yoga, dance and tumbling, plus cheer and gymnastics.

“It’s inspired movement, which is different than going to the gym,” Lucky said. “It gives you far better results than just being on the treadmill for 30 minutes.”

Each of the instructors are well-known and high-level in their fields. The dance instructor, for example, has a Masters degree in Dance.

Lucky is a 4^th Degree Black Belt in Aikido and a Brown Belt in Kung Fu, as well.

“I got into this because I realized I could help change people’s lives,” she shared. “That trumped everything – my college degrees, the vision of who I wanted to be.”

“Seeing the results in a student who, after just a few classes, would think of themselves differently, walk and carry themselves differently makes it all worth while,” Lucky added.

The classes are affordable with an introductory price of just $5.00 each and instruction is for all ages.

She is starting an eight-week Beginners Course in Aikido in September and there is limited space. So, be sure to pre-register by calling 207-8656.

If you’re interested in starting on a new path of personal evolution, to feeling safe, healthier and more powerful, call Evolve Aikido & Movement Center, today.

Please join us for an afternoon of huge sales, music, raffles and giveaways to celebrate another successful year at your local Max Muscle Sports Nutrition store at 5887 Lone Tree Way, Suite R in Antioch near OfficeMax.

Family‐Friendly Gym Aims to Become a Positive Presence in the Community

Double Trouble Boxing (DTB), an Antioch-based boxing gym welcoming members of all fitness levels, will hold its official grand opening event on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 1908 A Street in Antioch, CA beginning at Noon. The free, family‐friendly affair will offer food and giveaways from local sponsors such as Celia’s, Costco, Juarez and Subway; a bounce house and other treats for kids; and a waived enrollment fee for new members who sign up during the event.

“We are thrilled to be hosting our supporters and the community at our grand opening on May 10,” said Michael Alexander, co‐owner of DTB. “Sharing our love of the sport of boxing as well as helping people achieve their health and fitness goals are passions of ours, and the event is our opportunity to showcase these passions as well as our first‐class facility and staff members.”

Boasting a custom‐built boxing ring and state‐of‐the‐art sound system, the 2,119 sq. ft. gym also features a wide variety of weight training and cardiovascular equipment, including free weights, treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles. Classes offered at DTB were designed with athletes of all skill sets in mind, ranging from cardio and technical boxing to cycling and kids’ boxing. Personal training with DTB’s certified fitness instructors is also available.

DTB is located in the heart of downtown Antioch’s business district, a move which Daniel Castillo, co‐owner of DTB, says was strategic. “A large part of the reason we chose downtown Antioch for our gym was that we have deep ties to the community,” said Castillo. “Both Mike and I attended school in Antioch, so the city will always feel like home to us. In addition to helping revitalize the area’s economy, we wanted to provide the city’s youth a place where they could come and participate in a positive after‐school activity,” he said, referencing the large number of elementary and high school‐aged children that are members of the gym.

Despite its relative newness, DTB and its staff members are already an active presence in the Antioch and East Contra Costa County communities. The gym recently sponsored and hosted special training classes for young, African American males in conjunction with a local mentoring and advocacy program, and DTB’s staff members participated in a volunteer cleanup day for the City of Antioch. Additionally, both Alexander and Castillo are frequent attendees and presenters before the Antioch City Council. The DTB owners say that they look forward to seeking out, participating in and supporting other community‐oriented initiatives in the future.

About Michael Alexander:

Michael Alexander is the co‐founder and co‐owner of DTB and also serves as a trainer and instructor at the gym. An Antioch native, Alexander became a professional boxer in 2007 after serving in, and boxing for, the United States Marine Corps for four years. He received his degree in kinesiology with a concentration in human performance analysis from San Francisco State University.

About Daniel Castillo:

DTB co‐founder and co‐owner Daniel Castillo is also a trainer and instructor for the facility. He graduated from Pittsburg High School in 1999 and became a professional boxer in 2006 after several years of Golden Gloves fights under his belt as well as professional appearances on HBO, Showtime and Spike TV networks. Castillo is a professional sparring partner to many of the fighting industry’s elite athletes, including UFC stars Nick and Nate Diaz.

For more information about DTB, visit the gym’s website at ww.antiochdtb.com.