My Story

I was lacking confidence and felt soft, so I started boxing in August 2022. I trained hard for months and got addicted to the progress I was making.

Once I decided to compete, I started sparring harder to prepare. I got a concussion from a sparring session in April 2023. I was still new to sparring at the time.

I got back to intense training and sparring soon after, even though I still had symptoms. Returning to intense training and sparring too soon after a concussion can come with very serious consequences. Don’t do this.

I had my first fight in June 2023 and won by unanimous decision. I broke my thumb in the first round, which sidelined me for 6 weeks. I was hungry to get back to competing.

Right after I came back from my thumb injury, I got another concussion from sparring. I wasn’t getting beat up. I was just being reckless. I wasn’t paying attention to defense and was taking a lot of unnecessary shots to the head.

My concussion symptoms lasted 10 months. I had nonstop issues with fatigue, headaches, vision problems, balance and coordination issues, brain fog, and emotional distress.

I sought help from my doctor, two concussion specialists, and was sent to the ER when my symptoms flared up drastically. They all told me the same thing: “Rest until you feel better.” I diligently followed their advice, but it didn’t help. I was constantly getting symptoms from light head bumps, light exercise, screen time, bad sleeps, and more.

I had to drop classes and barely made it through the ones I stayed in, all while being socially isolated and unable to work out without symptoms flaring up. I was sick of feeling lost, fragile, frustrated, and hopeless.

I got fed up and started doing my own research, and discovered what had been holding me back. New research-backed methods can treat and prevent concussions and persistent symptoms much more effectively than the standard rest protocol, but most healthcare professionals aren’t yet educated on them.

After diving deep on these methods and implementing the necessary rehabilitation, lifestyle changes, and mindset shifts, I came to a full recovery after 10 months. I’m now 100% healthy and back to full-intensity training and sparring, but now I spar smart.

It shouldn’t have been so hard to find the strategies that helped me heal and get back to training intelligently. You only get one brain. This knowledge needs to be accessible to those who need it most, the fighters. That’s the mission behind this project and why I built Persistent Concussion.