Alexander Garcia has been fighting his entire life and always had dreams of becoming a world champion. After training diligently for years, he finally won the Golden Gloves and was well on his way to making his dreams a reality. Unexpectedly, this would end up being his final fight inside of the ring.
From Average Boy to Olympic Boxer
Alex recalls his time as a world class boxer and explains how he is still looking to become a world champion, except now he’s working his magic outside the ring. Alex grew up in New York having what seemed to be the average American childhood nowadays, “I was pretty much a normal kid up until the age of eight, I mean, “normal” right? It's normal now to be overweight, insecure and bullied” he says. Once he hit eight years old, things started to change, “I found myself training through boxing...Over the next couple of months I started to tighten up physically and become a lot more confident” said Alex. From that point on he became a scholar of the sport learning the ins and outs as well as developing his own technique.
Career Highlight
Alex started to gain recognition from the boxing community and ended up going to the Olympic Games at the age of sixteen. It wasn’t long before Alex would experience his proudest moment as a boxer, he says “a year later I competed in one of the most prestigious boxing events, The Golden Gloves. I ended up winning all five bouts, including the final match at the Barclays Center.” His boxing future seemed to be as bright as any but unbeknownst to Alex, this would be his final bout.
The Shocking Discovery
When asked “why did you stop boxing?” Alex said “…some time after the Golden Gloves I noticed something wasn’t right while sparring, I was becoming more and more sensitive to concussions and getting hit.” He describes the final nail in his boxing careers’ coffin; “It’s crazy because I’ve never been knocked down in my career or even appeared to be hurt in the ring, but I remember walking back to my assistant coach's car, and couldn’t remember the car that we came in…I was like, okay, that's a problem so I decided to use my degree and went into investment consulting.”
Hard Life Without Boxing
His consulting time didn’t last long though as he was miserable with his new life path feeling what he describes to be empty inside. “I realized that I couldn't do something unless I was passionate...so after six months, I quit that job and decided to become a coach,'' says Alex.
Finding His Real Purpose In Life
It was with coaching that Alex found his new career path, “I realized I have another passion, and that’s helping people become the strongest versions of themselves; mentally, physically and spiritually” he says.
What it Means to Be a FighterHeart
A FighterHeart athlete takes the cards they’re dealt and creates the best hand possible. Alex Garcia has felt the highest of highs, winning the Golden Gloves in front of thousands at the Barclays Center, as well as the agony of not being able to pursue his original dreams due to injury. Despite his hardships he still plans to come out on top speaking frankly about one of his primary goals, “I'm going to be the best boxing coach in New York City'' he says. He left us speaking about how to find magic in life, “I think when you're able to let go of one identity and give yourself a new one, that’s when the magic happens.”
