Fighter Series: Matt Friend
The goal of our Fighter Series is to inspire others through the bravery, courage, strength, and perseverance of real-life heroes. Matt Friend’s story fits that description perfectly. Matt started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2018 and just three years later was diagnosed with hydrocephalus which required emergency brain surgery. The biggest emotion Matt said he experienced leading up to his surgery was fear. With surgery of this nature, the worry of not surviving the operation had him, understandably, extremely worried
The operation is highly invasive and disrupts many of the skills that we take for granted every day. While Matt’s surgery was successful, things like speaking and basic coordination became much more difficult than before. With that being said, he is quickly regaining the skills that he had prior to the surgery and has already been back in the gym with his favorite fighter, Gilbert Burns, stating:
“I love the feeling of accomplishment afterward. I also believe that some physical struggle is good for me. It teaches me about myself which I carry with me and use on my journey. It also subconsciously reminds me of the progress I'm making and the fact that I will recover from this“
When asked what Matt would say to someone going through a fight of their own, these were his thoughts:
“Since this has been my experience I feel qualified to talk about it, and knowing that others source me as inspiration, that idea is further cemented. This is not a short nor a particularly fun road to be on but something that has helped me tremendously is being grateful for the opportunity to recover, some people aren’t that lucky. I think about this question often, “how bad do you want it and how hard are you willing to work for it?”
Life is a short journey, and for some, it is even shorter. Although it is easy to say, and hard to feel, we should take every day as a blessing and an opportunity to live our life to the fullest
How bad do you want it, and how hard are you willing to work for it?
Fight for It.
