Moreau gives his students a fighting chance

By MARK QUIRK
New Hampshire Union Leader

LONDONDERRY -- Over the past four years, Tom Moreau has made an impact not only on the faces of the nine fighters he has battled during his professional mixed martial arts career, but on the lives of numerous people in the area as well.
And while his opponents in the cage, seven of whom he has beaten, may not particularly appreciate what Moreau did for them, there are lots of people he has trained who do.
“I was in a lot of trouble,” said 26-year-old Eddie Brito, one of Moreau’s students at the Moreau Training Center. “I think it would have been tough (without Moreau). He just changed me, talked to me, calmed me down.”
With a record of 7-2, Moreau is one of the most popular local MMA fighters. About four years ago he decided to share his love for the sport with others by opening a training center. Now in its third and largest site, Moreau’s Training Center is located in the YMCA of Greater Londonderry.
Brito grew up in Dorchester, Mass., and said he used to run with gangs when he was in high school. He got into a lot of fights and drank and smoked a lot. Then a friend of his suggested Brito should stop by Moreau’s gym, and it was a life-changing experience for the young father of one.
“It’s calmed me down a lot,” Brito said. “I wish my parents put me in the sport when I was young.”
Now Brito is a lot more focused and productive. He has a full-time job and helps train the younger kids at the center in ju-jitsu.
Brito has lost 50 pounds and said he hasn’t had a drink or smoked at all since he started his training. But the training isn’t just for physical well being, Moreau said it also helps people with other parts of their everyday life.
“Within three months I’ve seen students go from Cs and Ds to Cs and Bs,” Moreau said. “The focus is improving.”
Moreau didn’t have a tough life growing up in Derry, but it wasn’t an easy one either. His mother left when he was 8 and he was raised by his father after that. Having such a strong role model in his life has resonated within Moreau, who is now the father figure to many at his gym.
“I wanted to be him,” said Lenfest, who has been following Moreau ever since he started fighting. “(His training) gave me a lot of confidence. It let me see who I want to be.”
That is why Moreau opened the gym.
It didn’t have anything to do with money. In fact, Moreau sold off most of his other business, Moreau’s Tree Cutting, so he could devote more time to his center. He sold almost all of his equipment and went from having five full-time employees working for him to just two part timers now.
“I knew getting into it, if anything it was going to cost me money,” Moreau said. “This is what I want to do full time.”
It did cost him at first, Moreau said, and now he’s just about breaking even. He trains about 50 people ranging in age from 4 to 49, including his own 8-year-old son Tommy who is part of a youth program called the Little Spartans. Classes at the gym include judo, ju-jitsu, strength conditioning, boxing and MMA. Moreau also has a nine-man fighting team called Team Valor that takes part in local MMA events.
One of his fighters, Devin Lenfest, will be on the card Friday night at Combat Zone 35 being held at Rockingham Park. Moreau, who is likely be No. 1 in the region at 170 pounds when the next local rankings come out, was supposed to be part of the co-main event there, but had to be scratched on Monday when he was diagnosed with an infection.
Although the infection is temporarily keeping Moreau from ruining the physical appearance of his opponent, it won’t stop him from helping others at his training center.
“If I can be that person I’ll be that person,” Moreau said. “If I can help one person out of 20, at least I helped someone.”