The Jewish Bulldog: How Ben Sinakin Found His Fight—And His Light

By Rahul Kothari, Contributing Writer | The Positivity Project

In a modest gym tucked into a Philadelphia neighborhood, long before the sunrise and the clank of iron, a man named Ben Sinakin begins his day. While the city sleeps, he is already moving—running, lifting, cleaning, and smiling. Always smiling. You wouldn’t guess that just a few years ago, he was grieving, living out of his car, and struggling to understand who he was without the father who had been his guiding light.

But then again, this is a man who was born to fight—in and out of the ring. They call him the Jewish Bulldog. And this is his story.

A Legacy Forged in Sweat and Spirit

Ben grew up in South Philadelphia, the son of a boxer-turned-manager who raised him in the gym. "That was our bonding time," Ben says. "He wasn’t just my trainer, he was my best friend."

From the age of eight, Ben was lacing up gloves and running drills while his father, a Vietnam veteran and car salesman with a knack for negotiation, kept him on a disciplined path. Ben wasn’t pushed into boxing—he found it naturally. "I used to be the chubby, happy kid they called Pork Chop," he laughs. "But I wanted to fight. I had to learn to protect myself."

His love for boxing became inseparable from his love for his father. The gym became church. The ring, a classroom. And his father, the rabbi and professor of his spirit.

The Rise

Ben's teenage years were filled with athletic excellence. He was captain of both his high school football and baseball teams, but boxing remained his truest calling.

By 14, Ben was already making headlines, winning the Golden Gloves and feeling like a celebrity at school. Over the years, he sparred with champions, including future world title holders, and carved a reputation as a fierce, smart, and technical fighter. Trained by old-school mentors like "Candyman" and Bilal Downing, Ben learned not only how to hit—but how to think, how to endure, how to lead.

He earned his nickname, the Jewish Bulldog, from his grit, power, and relentless pursuit of self-betterment. For Ben, boxing was never about hurting people. It was about healing himself.

The Fall

Then came the pandemic.

Gyms closed. Fights were canceled. His father’s health declined. One of his trainers passed away. And after a childhood advisor betrayed him by lying to him, convincing him to leave his promoters and eventually trying to blackmail him and eventually blackballing him from the ring, Ben lost his footing entirely. "I was mentally destroyed," he says. He gained weight, lost purpose, and eventually found himself sleeping in his car.

But even in that darkness, he kept running.

The Climb Back

Two lights helped guide him home.

One was Miranda, the woman who saw the real Ben beneath the grief. "She stuck by me when I didn’t even want to keep going," he says. She encouraged him to find work, to rebuild, to heal.

The other was his reconnection with his mother, whom he had grown apart from as a child. Their reconciliation gave him a deeper understanding of struggle, resilience, and unconditional love.

Now, Ben is a supervisor at Planet Fitness—back in the gym and back in his element. He runs every morning, trains like he still has a belt to earn, and lifts others with the same spirit his father lifted him with. His smile, unshakable. His purpose, reignited.

"I want to open my own gym one day," he says. "Not just to train fighters, but to keep kids out of trouble. Just like my dad did for me."

Rediscovering Purpose

Ben began working at a local gym, quickly rising to a supervisor role. He runs two miles to work every morning, trains before opening, and greets every guest with the warmth of someone who has seen darkness and still chooses light.

"Being in the gym again brings me peace. It’s my happy place," he says. "It’s where I feel closest to my dad."

He dreams of opening his own boxing gym, one that can serve as a haven for kids in need of discipline, mentorship, and purpose. "My dad kept me out of trouble by keeping me busy with sports. That saved my life. I want to do that for someone else."

Faith, Family, and Fighting Forward

Ben's Jewish faith, and the prayers inked on his body, remain a source of strength. He learned from his father, and his Muslim trainer Bilal, that interfaith respect is powerful. "They would sit and talk about the Torah and Quran like best friends. I saw the beauty in both."

It’s this layered identity—boxer, believer, bulldog, mentor—that defines Ben. His journey isn’t over. He still dreams of one last fight, one final win to honor his father’s legacy. But whether that day comes or not, he’s already victorious.

He fought the fight most of us never see—the fight for peace, purpose, and belonging. And he’s doing what he was born to do: put smiles on faces, one jab at a time.

For more stories like Ben's, visit www.thepositivityproject.org and discover the power of people lifting each other up through adversity, grit, and grace.