At the corner of Germantown Avenue and East Phil Ellena Street in Mt. Airy stands an imposing Gothic Revival structure \u2014 St. Michael\u2019s Evangelical Lutheran Church. A cemetery with gravestones of soldiers from the American Revolution and Civil War surrounds the building, which was built in 1896 and last held a congregation in 2016.<\/p>\n
Looking in the stained glass from the outside, one might imagine it\u2019s filled with pews, an altar, and an organ. However, step inside and you\u2019ll discover something unexpected: a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jackson Galka, owner of North Star Mixed Martial Arts, is currently in the process of moving his business from its 5904 Greene St. site to the church at 6673 Germantown Ave. In addition to heavy lifting, this ambitious venture requires a lot of teamwork. But collaboration is nothing new for Galka, who has created a strong sense of community at North Star.<\/p>\n
Following his north star<\/p>\n
Galka, a Chicago native, moved to Wyncote as a teenager. After attending Cheltenham High School, he went to Ithaca College and earned an English degree. Then, he floundered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI moved back home with my mom,\u201d Galka said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have anything going on in my life. I was eating ice cream, just not feeling good, watching \u2018The Karate Kid,\u2019 and I realized I have all this free time. So I ran to the computer and googled\u00a0 \u2018Philly MMA.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he grew up enamored with Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, UFC, and wrestling as a kid, it wasn\u2019t until after graduation that Galka gave MMA the old college try. He quickly grew obsessed, driving an hour and a half to a South Philly gym every day, five to six days a week.<\/p>\n
In 2005, Galka began competing and turned pro in 2009. After some setbacks, he retired in 2012 with about 25 fights under his belt. But his MMA journey was far from complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I took my foot off the gas pedal of competing, I pushed the coaching pedal down,\u201d Galka said.<\/p>\n
He coached downtown and also worked as a landscaper, but dreamed of owning his own gym. In February 2017, Galka opened North Star.<\/p>\n
Developing community<\/p>\n
According to Galka, the mixed martial arts industry has exploded in popularity since the early 2000s. North Star has taken advantage of this growth, offering MMA, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes to all levels of athletes, from ages 6 to 60+.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was sort of a weird fringe activity maybe 20 years ago is now included in conversations of people talking about how they want to get in shape,\u201d Galka said. \u201c[North Star] caters to professional athletes as well as people who just want to train for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galka said the most important aspect of running North Star is not the quality of the training, but the community the athletes gain. In addition to getting physical exercise, North Star members are able to challenge themselves, make mistakes, and be a part of something bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially when we\u2019re punching, kicking, grabbing, and throwing each other, there\u2019s such a high level of trust that\u2019s required to keep everybody safe, that if it\u2019s not underpinned by a strong sense of community and safety etiquette and culture, it doesn\u2019t work,\u201d Galka said.<\/p>\n
Kevin Kerrigan, a member of North Star, credits Galka with creating this welcoming environment.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Galka] acknowledges each person as an individual and teaches to their strength,\u201d Kerrigan said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen folks that came into the gym that may not have been able to navigate social situations well. I\u2019ve literally seen people blossom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bringing new life to an old building<\/p>\n
The decision to move was gradual; Galka had his eye on the church for three years before signing the lease in May 2024. Although he enjoys the spot on Greene Street, he said \u201cthe writing is on the wall\u201d that it might be demolished and converted to a high rise.<\/p>\n
Moving to the church presented an intriguing challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a business owner, obviously there\u2019s a bottom line and a desire to make money and pay my mortgage, but there\u2019s also a desire to challenge myself, grow, and do cool things,\u201d Galka said. \u201cMoving to the space and adding a new floor is just a demonstration of my continued investment in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the current renovations ongoing, including installing sprung floors to mitigate injuries, Kerrigan is confident in Galka\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cJackson isn\u2019t going to do anything halfway,\u201d Kerrigan said. \u201cI think it has the potential to be one of the nicest, most modern gyms in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galka is working alongside his landlord Ken Weinstein to get the building ready. He hopes to interact with historic aspects of the property through social media and marketing.<\/p>\n
Classes at the new North Star gym are scheduled to start July 28, but Galka foresees a September grand opening \u2014 with a possible Halloween celebration in its graveyard in October. As for now, construction continues and Galka remains community-oriented.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place is its people,\u201d Galka said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to share this with everybody who\u2019s been a part of the journey so far and anybody who wants to jump in.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more, visit northstarmma.com<\/a>. Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the corner of Germantown Avenue and East Phil Ellena Street in Mt. Airy stands an imposing Gothic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-17808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}