Fitness Street Testimonial #1

 

Hi Brad,

 

We met at Cocoville in October. Thank you again for all you do. I saw your recent video so I wanted to share my Fitness Street story with you. My apologies for the long message, but sat down for 30 minutes tonight to tell you about what Fitness Street and the Fitness Street series means to me.

 

 

I first heard about Fitness Street in 2019 while traveling through Spain. I had recently gone through a bad breakup and was traveling solo to find my purpose and joy in life. I realized that I had freedom to work from anywhere and I was starting to spread my wings. During my trip, I had shared the situation I was in to a few people: the first was the driver at my hotel. I told him I could live anywhere in the world. “If you were me, where would you go?” He pulled the car over, ripped out a piece of paper from a notebook and wrote 5 places in Thailand (one of them being Soi Taied.)

 

A week later, I met a very special girl in Madrid, who had just arrived in Spain from Fitness Street. She told me about her training, how healthy the lifestyle was and that I MUST go. So after hearing about Fitness Street from two people with literally no connection to one another, I knew the universe was telling me to visit.

 

After 3 weeks I went back home to Los Angeles, and discovered that someone broke into my apartment and robbed me of everything I owned. (Yes, literally everything was gone!) I closed my lease down, packed my remaining things that hadn’t been stolen in two bags and convinced my best friend to come with me to Fitness Street in Thailand. This is when I started watching your videos to see what life was like on the Soi. I was so inspired and knew I had to go. 2 weeks later, [name removed] and I flew to Hong Kong for a few nights, went to Macau for some fun and then flew to Phuket.

 

Over the course of the next 2 months my life was transformed. This was my first time ever training Muay Thai, so I was a total beginner. But I trained 5-6 days per week, learned the art of 8 limbs, improved my skills, got in the best shape of my life and met amazing people. On the weekends I would go to Phi Phi Islands for fun and beach time. My friend left back to America but I stayed on Fitness Street for another 2 months. I had found my groove by challenging my body and freeing my mind of the rat race that was my regular life in the United States. On Fitness Street, everyone is equal. No one cares what you do for a living, how much money you have or what car you drive. We are all there with 1 goal: to better ourselves. I was in love with the lifestyle and balance.

 

After a few months in Phuket I traveled around Asia for another couple months. It was a great experience in Bali, the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan, but I missed my life on the Soi. I ended up going back to America to be with friends and family. After the initial allure of the western comforts wore off, I fell into deep travel withdrawals and depression. I had an incident where I took a pill that was unknowingly laced with fentanyl, I overdosed and was revived by the paramedics. I was in the hospital where they told me I was unconscious and not breathing for 11 minutes and was lucky to be alive. I knew I had made a terrible mistake, needed to change my life and was lucky to get another chance.

 

Two days later I flew from Los Angeles to Shanghai (where I explored for a week) and then I went back to Fitness Street to train and recalibrate as I processed what had happened. I stayed for a few weeks before I got very bad food poisoning, went to the hospital in Phuket and ended up going home early (just at the end of 2019.)

 

I stayed in America and then was locked down after signing a lease at the start of the pandemic. During this time I built a new business and was motivated by what I was working on. I also continued to train Muay Thai and made it a staple of my routine. While many people were struggling, I found solace in what I had discovered on Fitness Street. This kept me grounded and thankful for the Muay Thai and healthy lifestyle journey I was introduced to on the Soi.

 

Unfortunately in August of 2020, my best friend [name removed] who traveled with me to Fitness Street, died unexpectedly at 26 years old. I said his eulogy in front of 500 socially distanced attendees at his memorial service. People contributed more than $40,000 for his GoFundMe so his mom could take some time off work to grieve. He was a larger-than-life person who had a huge impact while he was alive. Before our trip to Thailand, he was struggling with mental health and had gotten into a very bad place. The trip gave him hope, helped him kick his addiction and extended his life. It was his first time ever leaving the United States. During the pandemic, he fell back into depression and was struggling. It’s better I leave the details of his passing out of this story, but it broke my heart and it’s still something I deal with every day. (He told me that our trip to Fitness Street gave him new life and perspective. I am thankful for the trip and time we had together at this magical place. Experiencing it with him as his last hoorah is so special to me. Nai Harn Beach was his favorite place in the world.)

 

Fitness Street is a place that will always be near and dear to my heart. It was a transformative trip for me and my friend and the last place we went on an adventure together. In October of 2022, I was able to make a solo trip back to the Soi for a few weeks. When I landed I was picked up by the same lady that took care of me when I was sick during my last trip. I felt like I was at home. I quickly got back into my routine of training and eating healthy. I have watched your videos before, during and after my travels to Fitness Street. I live vicariously through your training when I’m not there and I love seeing familiar places and faces. Your energy represents what Fitness Street is all about.

 

I am now committed to coming back to Fitness Street every year. I have a trip planned for 2023 and I cannot wait to be back. Now I’ve been training Muay Thai multiple times a week for over 3 years and have gotten a lot better. I incorporate my favorite dishes from Trooper Eats and other places in my daily diet. I have a Muay Thai trainer here in America who lived on the Soi, that I train with 2 times a week. I try to stay on top of my game and put myself in the “Fitness Street mentality.” It keeps me grounded, reminds me of the hard times and provides comfort knowing the Soi is always there when I’m ready to go back. I get better (as a person and a martial artist) every day and know that each time back to Fitness Street is a checkpoint in my life.

 

I am sorry for the long story. I’d be happy to share this over a zoom or video call if it makes it easier for you. Thanks again, Brad. You’re a saint. The unofficial Mayor of Fitness Street.