As an 11-year-old, Ken “K.P” Peth was being picked on — enough that he decided to do something about it.

“A friend of mine was ordered to join the Butler Cubs (outreach) program through the judicial system,” said Peth, now 32 and living in East Butler. “He told me about the boxing program there.

“Yeah, I guess you could say I was bullied as a young kid. I joined the boxing program trying to get some revenge.”

But instead of punching someone's lights out, Peth's own light came on.

“I was humbled by that program and the discipline it taught me,” he said. “It changed my whole attitude. It changed my life.”

Peth wound up boxing and teaching the sport at the Butler Cubs for more than 10 years. He sported an amateur record of 68-6 and became a four-time Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion.

He even tried kickboxing for a while and was 21-1 in that sport. Peth never turned pro in either endeavor.

“Counseling and working with kids was more important to me,” the 1999 Butler High School graduate said.

Peth went on to graduate from Slippery Rock University in 2003 with a degree in sociology and criminology. He serves as an in-house counselor in the Butler area for George Junior Republic.

If not for the Butler Cubs boxing program, “I have no idea what direction my life would have taken,” Peth said. “(Coaches) Steve Six, Doug Rowland, Shawn Day ... I owe a lot to those guys.”

These days, Peth is trying to give Butler area youths the same type of discipline and direction the Butler Cubs Hall gave him. He is in his third year of operating Positive Mental Attitude, a boxing, kickboxing and personal training center located on North Street in downtown Butler.

He said Positive Mental Attitude is “all about maintaining the belief that you can transform difficult situations into something you'd much rather have. It's never about lying to yourself, it's all about empowering yourself.”

The PMA Center has done minor fundraising, but Peth primarily finances the operation out of his own pocket. He had three youths in the gym the first year, eight last year and more than 30 this year.

“I've circulated fliers through the Butler schools, advertised on the Internet, the word has gotten out,” he said. “We're a nonprofit business, so I'm working on getting some grants and expanding everything.

“We definitely need a bigger place.”

Wyatt Daugherty, 15, a freshman at Butler Intermediate, is one of Peth's three original students.

“My dad wanted me to get in better shape, so I'm here for the workouts and to develop different muscles,” Daugherty said. “My foot speed has gotten better and I'm running faster.

“Coming here has made me better in football and baseball. I've learned to deal with different people, too, from working out with them.”

Of the 30-plus youths frequenting the PMA Center, only 10 are involved in the boxing program.

The gym offers a Little Pugs program for children 12 and younger, self-defense classes and a women's “boxercise” program.

“Kids come in for different reasons, with different agendas,” Peth said. “We work with them. When they're in here, they're off the streets.”

PMA recently put together a board of directors to help set up activities for the children in the gym and outside of it. Kirk Bergbigler, a former Cubs boxer whose daughter frequents PMA, is on the board.

“I've known K.P. since our Cubs days,” Bergbigler said. “The Cubs do great things for kids, but there's room for two or three programs like that in Butler.

“K.P. is passionate about teaching life lessons and gyms like this fight child obesity at the same time. It's a win-win type of deal.”

Neil Convery, another board member, has known Peth since high school.

“He's a good guy who serves as a positive influence for people around him,” Convery said. “I respect how genuine that is and I respect him.

“Just seeing the kids coming in here ... They feel like they have a sense of purpose here. K.P. helps them out physically, mentally ... How can you not support something like that? He's giving kids in Butler a very worthwhile place to go.”

The PMA Center has 10 boxing handbags, speed bags, medicine balls, weights, balance pipes, agility ladders, agility rings and other workout tools.

“I've bought other equipment I haven't brought out yet because there just isn't room,” Peth said.

The most important item Peth works on in the gym are the youths themselves.

“I see kids come through these doors who were picked on, maybe weren't accepted in other sports and they're entering this gym for the first time — that was me,” Peth said.

“They fight out of anger at first, but we transform that into discipline. We teach kids how to humble yourself to learn respect, discipline and honor. We even get them to honor their parents.

“It is a perspective change, but it makes all the difference in the world. Instead of taking steps to get away from something, you actively overcome them ... create the solutions,” he added.

Peth believes a boxing facility brings people together.

“The boxing gym is unique,” he said. “A friend or complete stranger would not think twice about walking up to you and tying your shoe, wiping your nose, squirting some water in your mouth or occasionally cleaning some blood from your face.

“The gym has taught me that you may fail at something, but you're not a failure unless you give up. We don't want kids giving up.”

The PMA gym is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 1 to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The facility's website is PMACenter.org.