Tom Wilson once said that the “last place” he’d own real estate was in Pittsburgh, PA. Now, the boxing company he invests in, BASH, totally does.
Wednesday, BASH announced that it’s opening its first franchise in Pittsburgh.
“PITTSBURGH – ARE YINZ READY?!” BASH wrote. “We are THRILLED to announce BASH’s 1st franchise – bringing the 6 core punches to the #6Burgh itself: Pittsburgh, PA! Grown locally, rooted in community, & dedicated to the fight for more – the #BASHFam is no stranger to the grind. We live for it. So, when evaluating spots for our first franchise, it’s no surprise that the City of Bridges always rose to the top. Hello #Pittsburgh, get ready to #justBASH.”
“Owning a BASH Boxing franchise is a dream come true,” Haley Ascham-Miller, the BASH Pittsburgh investor, said in a release.
“Never in my life have I felt such a strong connection to not only a workout, but a community that makes you stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally. From the day I set foot in the Rosslyn studio, I knew that BASH was something I wanted in my life forever. Bringing this workout to Pittsburgh was a no-brainer; both BASH and our city promote community, resilience, hard work, grit, & family. It’s an honor to merge our hometown values with the brilliance of the BASH brand, and I’m thrilled to see what the future holds.”
The Pittsburgh location is expected to open in 2022.
“Wow! Amazing news!” Wilson said in the comments of the Instagram post. When Haley asked Wilson if he could call up some of his NHL friends to drop by, the big body-checker said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
It’s unknown if Wilson’s chilly reception outside of Washington — he was named the most hated man in hockey over the summer — will have any negative effect on the expansion of the BASH brand he has supported since 2019 (though some promoters would say any promotion is good promotion!). Wilson has long drawn the ire of Penguins fans for his physical play and trash-talking.
Here’s a few moments that might stick out to Penguins fans:
- In 2015, Wilson shoved Evgeni Malkin during warmups, leading to a line brawl which saw Wilson and roommate Michael Latta throwing hands on the Penguins bench.
- Two seasons later, the Penguins added more toughness, AKA Ryan Reaves, and the two players continued their storied rivalry of trash-talking and face-punching.
- Wilson was suspended three games for a headshot he delivered to Zach Aston-Reese in the 2018 playoffs.
- The Penguins looked for retribution from Wilson the next season and the Capitals forward knocked out Jamie Oleksiak in a brutal fight on the first shift.
- In 2021, Wilson injured Mark Jankowski with a late hit.
The hatred ran so deep that Sportsnet reported that a Penguins fan posted Wilson’s home address on Twitter after the Aston-Reese hit. “Good to know,” a fellow fan responded.
Wilson, who fosters puppies in his free time, frequently stops by the Arlington BASH location for workouts and promotes the gym on his personal Instagram, which has 206k followers. He recently even got his 56-year-old head coach, Peter Laviolette, to throw on a pair of gloves.
But while the BASH website sells a Tom Wilson line of merch on its website, there are no other mentions of the controversial NHL enforcer on its website. That means that Pittsburghers hoping for a good workout would have to look hard to find the Wilson connection, suggesting there’s a remote chance it will affect business.
In the end, if BASH works in Pittsburgh, it will likely work anywhere. And Wilson could follow in the footsteps of other NHL players before him like Tim Horton, who had a local company turn into a national chain.
