LOCALS
This page: Remy Fullwood. Opposite: Fullwood with Larry Thomasson.
in their CORNER Remy Fullwood uses boxing techniques— and his own experience—to help clients fight Parkinson’s by FINN COHEN photography by JUSTIN KASE CONDER
O
n a Sunday night three years ago, Sylvia and Larry Thomasson were watching the news in their Zebulon home when a report came on about an organization that uses boxing to treat people with Parkinson’s disease. Larry Thomasson, who had just been diagnosed with the disease, immediately perked up: “That’s what I want to be in,” he told his wife. For about four years, the Thomassons
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had been shuffling between doctors who could not explain his symptoms—his right hand and arm had started shaking uncontrollably, and he had trouble speaking and swallowing—and they’d finally gotten a diagnosis. According to the report, boxing has well-documented benefits for people diagnosed with Parkinson’s; the full-body sport relies on handeye coordination and balance, and drills that emphasize repeated movements that can help offset physical and cogni-
tive degeneration. The next day, Sylvia Thomasson started calling Triangle-area gyms to find availability. The first few gyms she called weren’t able to give her specifics about their programs, but when she called a no-frills, sweat-stained gym tucked into a corner strip off Glenwood South, she reached Remy Fullwood. Fullwood, the owner of Jawbreaker Boxing, is a former professional boxer who’s trained under a U.S. Olympic boxing coach. He cuts an imposing figure
