A Fighting Chance

No Excuses is one the most inspirational
real-life stories you will ever read. 

Kyle Maynard WAS one of my real life heros already and I had never even met him in person. Yesterday I finally got to meet him and hear him speak to my team. He is the REAL deal! What an inspiration! If you haven't heard of Kyle here is a snippet of who he is from Wikipedia: 

Kyle Maynard was born in Suwanee, Georgia, US. Maynard competed in the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships. Maynard had a record of 35 wins, 16 losses as a high school wrestler. He graduated from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee with a 3.7 grade point average.

He is the recipient of an ESPN Espy Award for Best Athlete With A Disability in 2004. His radio and television interviews have been featured on talk shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live. He has modeled for clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.

Maynard works as a speaker for the Washington Speaker's Bureau, specializing in motivational speeches. He is also the author of the memoir No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life (Regnery Publishing, 2005; ISBN 0-89526-011-5).

He attended the University of Georgia, but was forced to put his undergraduate education on hold due to the high demands of his motivational speaking career.

Maynard has trained in mixed martial arts (MMA). A documentary film, A Fighting Chance, focuses on his MMA efforts. His amateur debut fight was at Auburn Fight Night at the Auburn Covered Arena in Auburn, Alabama on April 25, 2009. He lost his first mixed martial arts fight to Bryan Fry on a unanimous 30–27 judges' decision.

Kyle Maynard is also the owner of No Excuses Crossfit gym located in Suwanee, GA. http://www.noexcusescrossfit.com/

Kyle Maynard @ UGA Wrestling Club

With a combination of perseverance and faith he has overcome odds that most of us can not even imagine. Coach Ramos (his HS wrestling coach and now my mentor at GAC) shared that a lot of times Kyle would be asked whether being born the way he is was a blessing or curse. Kyle's response, without hesitation, was "a blessing." A blessing because he has impacted so many lives with his faith and story. 


Kyle shared that he had a documentary coming out on ESPN this fall called A Fighting Chance but you can see it now. It's about Kyle and his adventure as he is training to become an MMA fighter. I sat down last night and watched the first ten minutes....I can't wait to see more. Check it out, it might just CHANGE YOUR LIFE.