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Fourteen successful years later, Chambar’s ability to endure the exasperating realities of restaurant tribulations is echoed in the resilient staff they secure, and when these staff have personal battles of their own, you will swiftly find Karri and Nico in the front row making sure their restaurant family are suitably supported. This is even true when the battles are real boxing matches, and their staff trade in their Aprons for Gloves to fight in Vancouver’s Restaurant Rumble charity boxing match. Yacine Sylla, former Chambar bar manager, was the first to forge this path, and set the stage for many other Chambar-ites who opted into the transformational journey that is AFG. This is his story.

Raised on the outskirts of Paris by a strong, single mother and three brothers, Yacine Sylla was no stranger to adversity. He was also no stranger to the kind of rough and tumble brawls that can be expected from four young boys living under one roof; though it may have been here that his fighting mindset was first fostered, his story of boxing didn’t follow for many years.

It was during University that Yacine settled into the restaurant industry, serving on weekends between full-time studies. The fast-paced lifestyle quickly took hold, and before he knew it, Yacine was smoking back-to-back cigarettes on breaks while choking down espressos. A few years later, leaving Paris after graduation to seek something greater for his life, his restaurant habit of smoking continued travelling alongside him. Landing in Vancouver in 2010, Yacine showed up at the doors of Chambar Restaurant after a colleague in London (current Vancouverite, Chad Clark) recommended he work there. He was welcomed by owners, Karri and Nico Schuermans, and quickly integrated into the close-knit family that Chambar is fabled for. In 2013 when he finally decided to drop his ten-year habit of smoking, he looked for something to compensate, and Aprons for Gloves was his answer.

With zero boxing experience and lungs that couldn’t carry him 100 meters, Yacine felt the weight of the challenge after puking on day one of training. But he persisted and noticed results within only a few short weeks. Karri and Nico were eager to support, having both been involved with boxing before; charmingly, Nico’s first Valentine’s Day present to Karri was a pair of white boxing gloves. Besides,

Chambar’s history was fraught with obstacles and complications, and Karri and Nico were strong believers in the positive outcomes that sprout from hardship. So when Yacine, high on the feeling of being fit, took a beating on his first day of sparring, Nico stepped in to help train him, fine-tuning Yacine for his upcoming fight. Yacine was hooked. Desperate to one day hold his own against the experienced fighters who would spar at Eastside, he completely surrendered to the process, and committed to a highly disciplined training regime with sheer tenacity. It is this discipline in particular that Yacine is known for, whether in his job, his relationships, or his training. It is also what earned Yacine a title belt in 2013, and then again in 2014, and even again, in 2015.

Now at home in Vancouver, with a wife and two children, Yacine continues to train, coach, and box at Eastside Boxing Club (the NFP boxing gym in Chinatown that hosts Aprons for Gloves,) and enthusiastically jumps at the opportunity to help other contenders get in shape; since fighting in 2013, Yacine has helped train Chambar contenders Lauren Maxwell, Rina Nand, Kade Lacasse, and Laura Starr, in their many AFG fights over the years, and he still volunteers at the event, holding pads for fighters and keeping pre-fight jitters at bay. His sprinting regimen will devastate you, but his belief in your ability to fight will keep you getting back in the ring. He is the Tyler Durden of Chambar Fight Club, and his legacy continues to nurture the fighter spirit that makes Chambar such an epic place to work.

Read more about Aprons for Gloves, and the transformational stories of the fighters involved (including Yacine’s story), in the newly released book, Blood, Sweat & Beers: A History of Restaurant Rumble, available at bloodsweatbeers.ca.