Calasanz came to this country with a dream and knew what he had to do to achieve it. Coming to the U.S.was a long journey. Even though Calasanz worked at the most popular bank in his home country of the Dominican Republic, some of his earliest stories in America came while he worked at the restaurant Victoria Station. He went there and applied for a busboy position, only the chef, a Peruvian man named Carmelo was working in the kitchen, and they did not need a busboy, but rather someone to wash dishes since they were expecting 600 customers that night. Carmelo could not do everything by himself and asked Calasanz to do the work that five people would normally do since the restaurant was shorthanded. Good thing for Calasanz that he was able to understand and write in English. It was the beginning of his career in the states and he made a lot of money. During the first three months, Calasanz did almost every job in the restaurant including cooking, bussing tables, waiting tables, and soon he was the top waiter and eventually a bartender.
Calasanz never forgot a woman he met at the restaurant named Joan, who was studying to be a journalist; she was one of the most beautiful human beings he ever met. She thought Calasanz had a great personality even though his spoken English was not perfect. There was no doubt that she was any man’s dream girl. Calasanz came here with the ultimate goal of making a movie and for eight years he did not look at anyone, all Calasanz did was study and train, hoping to emulate what Bruce Lee did in this country, and felt like there was so much left to accomplish. With Joan it was different, even though he was nervous around her; it was hard not to glance in her direction.
Around this time, Calasanz was in the U.S.A. for less than one year, but was very popular already and had a body that was possibly better and stronger than Bruce Lee at his peak. Calasanz trained day and night, with two percent body fat and 135 pounds, just like Bruce. Calasanz wanted to model himself after Bruce Lee so much, that if he weighed more than that 135 pound limit, he locked himself inside a car with the heat turned up to act as a sauna to sweat off the extra weight.
Even though Calasanz does not drink, Joan once offered him a glass of red wine, so this one time, he made an exception. He could not say no because she was such an impressive and engaging woman. Personality, intelligence, humor, good character, she had it all; guys would just stare at her. Joan really saw something in Calasanz and believed he would achieve anything he set out to accomplish.
With all the hard work Calasanz had to do to get the recognition he so desired, Joan was a bright spot, she always believed in his success. If she is out there somewhere, reading this, Calasanz would like to say “Thank You” for everything.
Having good character is very important to Calasanz. He is the son of Eugenio Martinez, one of the most respectful, respected, and serious men in the Dominican Republic. Calasanz’s father raised the best 11 kids in the country and raised them all to follow his good character and respectful ways.
Another incident in the restaurant involved a manager that showed poor character involving a man who worked there as the general manager. The waitresses were very scared of him, he terrorized everyone, especially the ladies, but not when Calasanz was there. This person finally got fired for his behavior and was never to be allowed to ever enter a Victoria Station restaurant. Even though Calasanz believed this was a harsh punishment, he should not have treated people the way he did.
Calasanz enjoyed his time at Victoria Station and that is why he is sharing these stories. That company treated him very well and was a building block to get to where he is now.
Calasanz Martial Arts and Fitness
507 Westport Ave,NorwalkCT06851
1.800.414.9544
