Lee’s father died ten years ago and sadly never was able to see him follow in his fathers footsteps. “He passed away ten years ago; I was just eighteen when he died. Part of me wishes I could have got into this earlier for him. He died young; it would have been nice for him to see what I’m doing. But now, I think he’ll be looking down proud.”
What motivates Lee to do why he does comes from his childhood: “The things they said. it stuck with me as I grew up. It never really left me that feeling of vulnerability. Even after I finished school, I kept asking myself ‘how can you fight if you can’t see?'”
Lee didn’t have the easiest childhood, he was bullied and grow up in a tough town: “The bullying was mainly psychological, they’d tap me on the shoulder and whisper ‘how can you fight if you can’t see?’ I’d turn around but there would be nobody there, and then they’d push me and torment me. They’d call me names, they’d try and provoke a reaction from me.”
This was a massive turning point for Lee, for many people too, things can go from bad to worse, or, you can step up and make a change, Lee don’t the latter. “I needed to overcome it, not being able to face my fears, I wanted to find my confidence, to be able to look after myself. I remember the first day I walked into the gym: I was very nervous, uncoordinated; out of shape. But that didn’t matter to the guys here. They treated me like anybody else. The first day you walk in here you realise that the fears that have been holding you back for so long were all needless.”
Lee explains that there are always reasons to fight, it doesn’t mean that all people who fight are guys that like to fight and get in trouble. “The image to people on the outside is that it’s a nasty, brutal sport. People think fighters are bad guys. But they only see the end product when we fight; the blood and the bruises. To many people it’s just two men beating each other up, but it’s really not.”
Page 2 of 3: