I fight for my family, for our future, and for my gym.



My Family: When I was a kid, my grandfather seemed larger than life. He worked with his hands in an iron foundry, seeking to rebuild a community for a family relocating from the coal mines of Appalachia. His presence could command a room with a whisper or just a look. He was a fighter. Then, the fight with cancer that took his life brought our entire family to its knees. His "it's too late, but we'll do what we can" prognosis introduced me to this disease that has touched too many of us, and continues to impact our lives every day. I fight in PawPaw's memory, but also as a way to pay forward the fight, tenacity, and stubbornness that he helped instill in our family.

Our Future: Since my grandpa's death, our world has seen incredible progress in cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment. Despite the many lives lost, a cancer diagnosis often carries more hope than it used to. Change can feel slow, but through my work in overdose prevention and recovery advocacy I've learned one particular thing about life: that we fight for change not because solutions are easy and the road will be short - we fight because solutions are hard and the road may be long. Along with the other Haymakers fighters and the impact we make, I believe in our ability to help create a future where fewer families have to fear this disease and where more researchers and advocates have the resources to make change.



My Gym: Every fighter involved in this event has an army of coaches, volunteers, and training partners behind them. When I began working out at Fly Kickbox in 2021, I was simply looking for a non-judgemental place to be patient with me while I tried to get out of the house and get some activity after two pandemic years had left me worse for wear. While I entered my first class nervously, I have since become part of an incredible community of kind and empowering people. So many of the gym's members use boxing to blow off steam from their day jobs as doctors, nurses, researchers, clinicians, and social workers impacting this cause in their own way. They will go through this process along with our Fly fighters, and we couldn't do this without them.