Daniel Hayes

Transcript

I will dominate you you will not outwork me you will not out compete me period is winter 2016. I'm a top-ranked amateur a Golden Glove Champion going into my professional debut in a foreign country against the local favorite so I'm in the locker room I'm warming up I'm synchronizing my breathing with my punches I take a deep breath in take a deep breath out I opened my eyes and it's as if everything just slows down I hear my walkout music like a predator on the hunt I step in the ring I lock eyes with my opponent I'm looking for any weaknesses sensing any nerves smelling

any fear we touched us it's on first couple rounds I'm getting his rhythm and his timing so in boxing it only takes one punch boom he hits me over him right I'm dazed I'm blurry I'm hearing those ringing sounds instant kicks in I just move I get my feet under me all of a sudden the crowd gets into it they start chanting Mexico Mexico Mexico now when I hear this this awakens the demon deep down inside me all right let's go let's Rumble so I got his rhythm and his timing down so I began pressing him for IT Crowd gets real quiet it only takes

a couple minutes now he's bleeding bruised then after one hard straight left where I connect my fist to his face I start feeling a numbing sensation in my hand and everything goes quiet something's wrong here but I ignore it I'm gonna hit him with it anyway I hit him again and again and again I punch my way to victory victory that was all up until I found out I broke my hand I had to get two pins and reinserted just to realign the bone and just like that everything I had been working for Came Crashing Down I'll never forget that fear it was crippling coming

out of surgery I had tears coming down my face because I could barely put my hospital gown on and then the nurse goes why are you crying I thought you were supposed to be tough I know I was I was a superhero and all my Powers just got stripped I lost my confidence I lost all my physical and mental strength and over the next few weeks I lost my identity my days were spent like this drinking tequila one bottle a day then I'll go to McDonald's I'll get 20 nuggets and a Big Mac this is a continuous cycle for me day after day week after

week so then I try to muster up the willpower and I'll be like all right not today I'm not going to do it again today but once the sun was set it get dark I start with one drink that then turns into the whole bottle at the lowest point I'm walking to McDonald's tears coming down my eyes I'm saying not again you're doing it again you are worthless as you could imagine I began to put on some serious weight I became so embarrassed with my body and self-conscious then one night I'm brushing my teeth I'm looking in the mirror and it's as if I saw

myself for the first time in weeks what are you doing to yourself I was in a fight with myself and I was losing that night I decided to fight back I took the fight to My Demons of anxiety depression and self-loathing and as soon as that cast came off I had a motivation and strength unlike anything I've ever felt in my mind I was back I even developed a few new skills in the process I became an entrepreneur opened up a cryotherapy business with two locations everything is going great there was a brief moment in time there where I was actually proud of myself but

my victory was short-lived July 15th I'm on an airplane I get this sudden urge I bought for the restroom I didn't make it in time yeah and that moment right there was the beginning of the lowest point of my life my body was breaking down due to an autoimmune disease called colitis I lost 30 pounds in just a couple weeks it got to a point where it was so bad I wasn't even able to drink water it would go right through me I was in and out of the hospital all summer it was so cold and quiet at night in the hospital and I remember

those bone chilling shivers Allah will live I remember searching ways to end it all I would literally look in the mirror and see myself Wither in front of me and there was nothing I could do to stop it then one day I'm on the phone with my dad and he says son lean in there's something to learn here ever so slowly small step by small step I began to find my way back into the light it took me months to regain my strength but I had One Singular Focus during this time to get back to where I once was November 2019 almost three years to

the day in which I broke thy hand I stepped back in that ring for Redemption and what I've learned through all this is my true strength as a man was never built in a gym or boxing ring it was built in my deepest and darkest and struggles when I choose to lean in and learn when I choose to get up and fight when I choose to stand up and speak in moments of adversity lean in because the stronger version of ourselves is on the other side thank you

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