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What! Trade in seniority for obscurity? Work ceaselessly for the promise of uncertainty!! Why stray from the beaten path for the road never traveled!!! A CONVERSATION WITH LIGHTWEIGHT BOXING PRO CHRIS "HOLLYWOOD" HERNANDEZ
As we pursue all the possibilities life and the world has to offer us, is it not uncommon for many of us to change careers once, twice, several times in fact during the course of our lives. I’d even go so far as to say that just as every man, even the most common of them, is promised the thrill of the hunt while in pursuit of a better and richer life, so too is this cultural rite unique to the American experience. As outsiders whom are entirely unfamiliar and therefore critical of the idiosyncrasies of the phenomenon known as the American way of life incidentally now also argue, we have begun to suffer from a host of root problems that were long ago planted firmly into the terra firma of American society. One being such that we as a nation lack traditional heritable values and disciplines that they say lends itself to our ability to concretize our heritage in regards to inheriting, embracing, and perpetuate our father’s trade skill as our own. This they of course propound solely for the enrichment and further preservation of our respective society. The presupposition that apprenticeship learning and craftsmanship have now continued to be passed over by every new generation’s idea of identity and worth in favor of individual self-gratification and self-actualization, as opposed to each citizens effort towards the community as a whole, I only mention so as to illustrate a point elsewhere about men who cultivate the adscititious desire to test themselves for no other reason or motive than to do just that. Much to society’s chagrin they do so regardless of purposefulness or further advancement of the Herd. Whatever the reason may be, we often find ourselves changing careers not only in favor of something more gratifying but closer to our ability for achievement. And even when one never really knows or is even certain that the self-actualization of such goals will favor or afford us a better quality of life, they nonetheless seek it. Perhaps this will give us insight into why these men do such things. Maybe it won’t. 
And whether it’s riches and fame we seek, or the determination to escape the stagnancy or disappointment resulting from previous and less successful attempts, the hope that our new found career won’t be as taxing and disillusioning as the former has always been the pretence. Even when we whisper reasons or adscititious motives inviting to our egos or appeasing in nature to our failures and short comings into our own ear, or whether we simply just won’t admit it, more oft than naught these decisions prepense prove to be suffice for us to seek a new path where pots of gold await us. But in a country, as I have already mentioned, where every man is guaranteed the pursuit of, why anyone would choose to make harder his or her life as they grew older rather than pursue something much less than arduous seems a bit irrational if not down right retrogressive to most. What! Trade in seniority for obscurity? Work ceaselessly for the promise of uncertainty!! Why stray from the beaten path for the road never traveled!!! No doubt you have heard this. Better yet, perhaps you have stated this at some point in your life. With this in mind then, ask yourself why a very successful 30 year old business man and entrepreneur would pursue a career that most people retire from at that very age. That’s right! Not only a new career did he decide to embark on, but a career in the most brutally honest sport that exists today. Yes, he chose to begin an apprenticeship in the TradeArt of boxing for no other reason than to do just that. Taking what I stated in the above mentioned, I find it humorous that the same process of thought behind these critics or our own mind find this hard to comprehend. Could it be because he’s not doing it for the money? He’s already made that. He’s not doing it to further the advancement of society as these critics would have it. No! He’s not doing it to desperately find a way out of the hood as so many inner city kids often find the world of professional sports the only means of transporting themselves out of that environment. And he’s not doing it to resolve some Inferiority Complex that some neurotic psychologist says he has because he wasn’t hugged enough as a kid. He’s doing it just to do it. Beyond that, he’s doing it because he lives by his own code and by his own set of rules that he understands carries with it a price most people aren’t willing to pay. And no he’s not crazy either, although I could understand why you would think this. His name is Chris “Hollywood” Hernandez and he’s like me and you. Well, sort of…
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We were to meet up at Freddie Roach’s famed Hollywood gym called Wild Card Boxing Club on Vine, where Chris and I would in turn then go out to dinner to discuss his career now five years in the making and officially sanctioned as a Lightweight. Arriving an hour and a half early due to the predictable uncertainty and insanity of L.A.’s mid-day traffic, I was offered a ring side seat by Eric Brown, Chris’s trainer, to watch him spar. Not wanting to interrupt their training I quietly took a seat ringside and turned my attention instead to the seemingly peaceful ambiance of the place despite all the grunts and groans I could hear emanating from various areas in the gym. Upon entering Wild Card one is seized by the gladiatorial grandeur and history of the sport that homage is quietly paid to by everyone in the gym regardless of your affiliation with the gym or the sport. Like all gyms whose foundations were laid by the pain and glory of a fighter’s memories and the love held for the game by the sport’s most devoted worshippers like Freddie Roach, this modern day shrine smelled of the same ancient echoes and silent screams that reverberated back to the earliest days of this sports inception from wall to wall, fighter to fighter. The rarified though unpretentious atmosphere that enrobes you as soon as you step in to this world of humble perfection and zealous dedication is clearly conducive to the makings and trappings of champions. This much is obvious as one quickly gets the idea there are no illusions of greatness unproven here. Nor is the mask of celebrity worn here one will notice as many do appear in the foreground and background of the place. One finds only true craftsmen here. Be it athletes, celebrities, or men and women with no other intention other than honing and furthering their knowledge of the sport even if not always for the sole sake of their tradecraft. Neither present is the often frivolous and banal language of the outside world. Rather, an unspoken language of earned respect and mutual discipline is understood here. It’s one by which actions and subtle gestures are displayed and understood more than by the verbosity of words. The results of such muted learning are obvious by the presence of such celebrated athletes as 5-weight World Champion Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, and various other athletes of UFC, mixed martial arts, and boxing fame. The only autographs that were to be signed here were done so with an ink and signature of blood, sweat, and sacrifice. Though we were encompassed by the Nexus of Hollywood and all that’s not what it seems, one thing stood out more than anything. It was a communal affection and humility that every one from the coaches, to the athletes, to the visitors shared together. And the fact that no one had anything to say not only spoke to me more than words did but emphasized a type of character who lived at a level of such self confidence and self control hard gained and not easily achieved. Their mental agility and physicality that needed no reassurance or affirmation from anybody was impressive. As I sat there watching everybody do their thing I realized that we, meaning me, you, and these athletes, had a little more in common than I first thought as I began to form the initial impressions that we all make upon entering a place or seeing something new for the first time. They knew as much as I did, in the sense that whether we found ourselves inside or outside this realm, you and you alone were on that road, whichever it may be for each of us, on the way to a destination only each and each of us alone knew. At the very least we hoped, anyway, we understood and knew the whereabouts it therein lays. Any less than confidence and certainty in this arena or the next would leave us at the mercy of whatever and wherever we had destined ourselves to. And there would be more than no recourse back to what or whom you had left behind. .
Leaving the gym we hopped in his car and headed down Melrose to the spot he always refuels at after leaving the gym. “Hope you don’t mind if we stop here. I usually come here after I train.” Chris said somewhat apologetically. “How did you know I love California Chicken Café?” I replied to break the ice. As we walked in began to ask Chris a few questions pertaining to his background in order for me to get a better idea of how to frame the questions I wanted to ask him. One needs only to take one look at him to discern the level of commitment and the depths of discipline which he holds. He tells me that for the past five years he’s been religiously training six days a week, fifty-two weeks a year to get to where he is now. Ironically though, his face isn’t chiseled and worn from years of punishment in the ring, this owing to his success in the ring, but from years of living, street fighting, and soul searching. Behind his eyes resides a person who is so sure of himself that one might mistakenly misread this for hubris or arrogance. So much in fact that I thought perhaps I might do the same if I wasn’t so sure it was just his insouciance manner and not at all, as I said, arrogance he was charged with.
As we walked in the restaurant I noticed his head was on a swivel as he systematically assessed and scanned the entire room taking an inventory of everything and everyone in the place with a hyperawareness I was all too familiar with. Growing up on the streets as well I was familiar with this routine as I have always done the same for the sole sake of self preservation. Laughing to myself I recognized his preference to sit with his back against the wall so I quietly acquiesced thinking who better to be with if anything should go down. Sometimes when there are questions one may have about another man’s character that we hope to discover by whichever means save asking, nothing can be more credible about that person in question as the credibility of unspoken actions or body language. This language which is understood by only those who hold a similar knowledge to you or share the scars of struggle as you do would in fact be all the credibility I needed from him.
“Tell me Chris, what’s your training regimen?” I ask him after he noticeably starts to wind down after his work out.
“Hey Man, I just want to thank you for taking the time out to come and see me. I really appreciate it.” He tells me emphatically. “I dig what you guys are doing. Yeah. Well man, I fight at a 134 pounds. I train six days a week and do two a days. Depending if I have a fight coming up, I’ll do three a days.”
“Not that age is an issue, but how do you feel at the age of 35 with such a strict diet and workout on a daily basis? Is it tough keeping it up?” I asked him curiously being that we’re both the same age.
“Not at all, not at all! In fact I’m more fit now and I feel better than I did when I was 22 and I always kept up with a tough workout back then?” Chris answered me with a hint of suspicion not uncommon at the onset of interviews where one will eventually let their guard down or simply be unrelenting. I continued on with my questions as he peered at me from a pair of oceanic blue eyes reading my every thought so it seemed as if I were prey he was stalking around the ring waiting to attack at the slightest sign of weakness or hesitation.
Trying to build momentum I continued on by asking, “Were you always this disciplined when you were younger or is it something you’ve had to learn because of the training?”
Wasting no time, he quickly countered, “I’ve never thought about it really. I mean, it’s never been a question or an issue for me. As I kid I grew up with a strong work ethic. I had to work Man. I guess it’s helped because this training and boxing isn’t like a struggle for me. It’s a way of life I live. It’s a full time job really, and I don’t have much time for anything else. But I love it though. You know. It’s something I love and live for, so maybe that’s why I don’t find it like hard or whatever.”
As he spoke one could easily gauge what genuine love and reverence for the world of boxing he held. There was a certain honesty and regard in his voice that reminded me of someone who didn’t take his life for granted but instead lived everyday of it as if it might be his last. Taking advantage of his candor I continued on.
“Tell me a bit about your background. Tell me where you came from and a little about your come up.” I inquisitively asked.
“I’m originally from Houston where I still keep a home and train when I’m there, but I’ve been out here in L.A. for a few years now. I moved out here to train with Eric at Wild Card.”
“How long have you been training for?”
“Five years now.”
“What did you do for a living before you were able to devote yourself to training and fighting full time without any distractions?”
“I was in the Bar and Club industry to begin with.”
“How did you get into that? Were a bartender out of high school or something?”
“I was going out so much while I was in high school, I ended up promoting for a nightclub I was going to every night with a friend of mine who later became my partner. My friends and I were the only customers the place had, mostly because they were the only ones who let us in underage. Before we knew it, the place was going off. Later, an opportunity arose where me and a friend of mine were offered to buy out the two partners who originally owned the place and we were lucky enough to scrape up just enough money to buy the guys out and we got the place. We didn’t really have money to afford electricity but we bought in and invited everyone we knew and didn’t know and before we knew it we were rocking. It was so long ago I can barely remember how we did it. Looking back though I can definitely tell you I was fortunate and lucky that it happened. Everything’s changed now though in the industry. It wasn’t like it was back in the early 90’s. Not to say it was easier then. Things are just different now. As is the world. I saved my money, made a few good business decisions and from there I got into a few other businesses like car washes and a chain of valet businesses.”
“Do you miss the club business, or should I say the partying?”
“Man, to tell you the truth I go out more now than I ever did, I just don’t drink or anything. People trip when I go out to the club and stay out till 4 or 5 in the morning and I’ll be up and at the gym by 9 a.m.”
“What’s their reaction to you when they find out you don’t drink? Can they believe that someone can go out and not drink and party?”
“Nah Man, they can’t. I get a lot of, “How can you do that Man?”
“What doe you tell these guys that can’t believe this is possible?”
“People are going to do what they want to do. That’s just the way it is. Who am I to tell them how to live their lives. Like I said, “They ask me how I can go out to the club and not drink and drug like it’s something everybody’s supposed to do or something. I just tell him that ya know, “Just cause everybody’s doing something Man doesn’t mean you have to do it too. Do what you want, don’t let the peer pressure from your so called friends tell you to do something you don’t want to! If they don’t support your decisions and your lifestyle, well then maybe they’re not your friends! You have a choice Man.” Chris said as he paused for a moment to think.
Finishing his thought he continued with a nod of the head as if in disbelief. “It’s crazy how people still give in to the peer pressure or whatever. For me, I just can’t understand what the fun is in shoveling that shit up your nose or whatever. I mean, to each his own, but I still don’t get it.
As we continued to talk and eat, I noticed a warmth and humility that he now projected to everyone in the place from the waitresses to the busboys who only spoke Spanish to the two older women seated next to us who kept an intent interest in our conversation. He treated each and every one of them with the same amount of courtesy and respect as he did the next person. This spoke volumes to me as we continued our conversation.
“Did you ever partake in the stereotypical bar activities like drinking, drugging, and fucking every night before you started training?”
“Even before I started training I was and have been sober. I don’t do drugs and never have, nor do I smoke. And I’m against it. As far as any thing else…we’ll just leave it at that.” Chris laughs with a boyish smile denoting what I take to be a desire not to kiss and tell. And from what I’ve heard he’s quite the Dirk Diggler of the boxing world.
“Chris, let me ask you a question. At the age you decided to train and become a professional boxer, 29, most professional boxers retire. What made you decide this late in the game that you wanted to become a boxer?”
“To be honest with you Man, it started from MMA. Growing up I had to fight a lot because of where I lived in the Hood. I was blond haired and blue eyed and for what ever reason Dudes found, and there was always a reason Man, it was always on. I started back training doing some mixed martial arts before it was as big as it is now for the simple fact that I could fight, but I wanted to learn to fight better. It was more survival really.”
“Did you transition from there?”
“Not really. What happened was, I had a friend Calvin Green who boxed and he and I would fuck around all the time. It was a bit of horse play really, you know, he would mess around with me and shadow box with me trying to press my buttons like friends do. We were friends, don’t get me wrong. And on the occasions he would slap-box or tap me on the chin I would grab a hold of him and choke him out. He’d get so aggravated since he was somewhat of a boxer that I’d choked him our or submitted him that he told me to come train with him in boxing and he would come with me and train doing some mixed martial arts. “So I said okay Calvin, you got it.” He got me to come in and it was all over from then on. I never left. I was hooked.”
“How did boxing attract the desire for you to train and want to become a pro-boxer as opposed to UFC?”
“It’s just a different world altogether. Man, on the real, I respect these guys who train and dedicate their lives to MMA and UFC and what not, I mean, they’re athletes you know, great athletes but it’s just a different game to me altogether. For example, you get a guy whose had 15 fights and then you get a guy whose had 3 fights. You can put those two guys in the ring together and the guys with 3 fights throws a Haymaker and catches the better fighter, by record, and knocks him out. It never should have happened but it did. In boxing, to me, it seems different. It doesn’t happen very often because of the level these guys are fighting at, and because to me it’s like a chess game. It’s just more strategic to me and harder all around, for me I’m saying, than like mixed martial arts. You have to be on top of your game mentally, physically, spiritually. Not to take anything away from any athlete or fighter in any realm of fighting. You have to do the same in any sport, no more, no less. I’m just telling you what attracted me to boxing as a whole, as a discipline. At first I just did it for fun you know, just to stay in shape Man!”
“You’ve been in 200+ street fights growing up. What’s the difference between winning on the street and winning in the ring as a pro-boxer? Is it the same?”
“Nah, nah, nah Bro! It’s not the same, it’s two different worlds. Look at it this way. Whenever you step in the ring to fight, it’s with another professional who’s trained to fight. Who’s trained to out think you, out strategize you, out punch you, to beat you with stamina and conditioning, and with competiveness. Just for somebody to step in that ring with you says a lot about that person. It takes a lot Man. To me it’s a major accomplishment with respect to my opponent as I know he probably gives me the same. On the street you get guys who are drunk, pissed off, guys who think they’re tough, insecure, or guys who just watched Bruce Lee or some Kung Fu movie with his girlfriend the night before or took a few Karate classes when he was a kid. But inside the ring they train to fight and they’re there for business. No ones going to break it up like your hoping someone will on the streets before I get to you.”
“Don’t forget our diet while we were on the couch with the little lady while we were watching Steven Segal. Popcorn, sodas, candy…”
“Yeah that diet’s going to win you some fights alright. A great example of what I’m talking about is Kimbo Slice. Great MMA fighter, but he got in the ring with some body that was trained like I just mentioned and he got caught Man. You know the guy was a no name guy but he was trained. And he was trained well at that!”
“Has fighting got more popular over the past few years, or is it UFC that’s contributed to all these new fighters in the ring and on the streets, or what do you think? Are we regressing as a culture as I’ve heard some Armchair T.V. Psychologists put it?”
“Come on Man let’s be honest as a culture. This has been going on for years. Whether it’s gangs claiming their sets or frat boys fighting in their tree houses, no one’s been exposed to it because no one was there filming it or sending it in to America’s Funniest Fights thinking it’s cool or whatever, but now we have You Tube and the internet and television blasting it all over the air. I think UFC and MMA has gotten a bad rap for it over the years unfairly but ratings speak louder I guess. I don’t think UFC is to blame. Because it’s also a new sport there’s a lot more people training to make it into the MMA arena and UFC whether by doing Karate, Judo, whatever, but they’ve been doing it for years. Like I said, Mom just wasn’t exposed to it.”
“What kind of temperament did you have before you began on your road to becoming a professional in comparison to when you were just fighting on the streets? How has it changed you as a person?”
“Let me put it to you this way. I haven’t been in a fight since I started seriously training. Maybe because my confidence grew or because I’m not as pissed off as I used to be, I don’t know.”
After thinking about it pensively for a moment he continued, “You know what…I respect the game more that’s all. It’s like…you know…you never know who your going to run into out there on them streets. Luckily I never really got caught with much more than black eyes or a busted lip and I’ve seen some of the best guys in the gym who you couldn’t pick them out of a crowd. I haven’t been in a fight for over three years and to tell you the truth I don’t miss it.”
“In regards Respect, what can you tell me is the difference between respecting someone out of fear and earning and giving someone mutual respect? Is there a difference?”
“I think in the past it was more street respect in the sense that it went hand in hand with the business I was in. People come in to your place, your home really, and you don’t want people disrespecting it so I felt I had to earn that respect even if it was the hard way. But I haven’t been in a street fight in over three years and in fact I think I’ve earned more respect because of what I do or not having to prove anything to anybody as I’ve already proved it to myself.”
“How does that mean or feel to you? Chris the person?”
“It’s a great feeling too Man, to have someone congratulate you after going in to a ring and coming out the victor. And also too I would be lying if I told you that it doesn’t matter if people don’t notice what your doing or congratulate you on your achievements and success. We all want that no matter what profession we’re in. People respect what I do now more than anything I’ve ever done. I mean if you have enough balls to climb in to that ring with guys who are trained to kill you and throw 300 punches at your head…they’re trained to fight and there’s no where to go when your in the thick of it. Does that answer your question” he laughs as I give him a confused look jokingly.
“Not really? I don’t know how to answer that other than by saying I’ve never given in to somebody who wants respect because they think I fear them. Those are bullies and I just won’t and never have tolerated it!”
“Let me ask you Chris, what is the one constant demand that you ask yourself everyday as a man and as a professional. Looking at your history and at your shape one gets an idea that you’re a hard worker, a humble man, and is a man in charge of his destiny.” “How do you measure success?”
“Respect! Respect for myself and for others. That has a lot to do with it.” Chris paused here briefly as he was seemingly distracted by something.
“Before when I was involved in a lot of fights, I had a bad attitude. It just didn’t matter what happened. If I was here today or tomorrow or the next didn’t matter. It wasn’t what I was focused on.”
“Do you think that’s changed because of growth maybe or because you’ve gotten older? Let me rephrase that for you if you would. As you know Chris the whole reason we wanted to interview you was because of your humbleness that we thought people should be aware of, being that in the world today we just don’t see it as often as some of us would like. But more than that, we like to reserve these interviews for Self-Made men who come from nothing. I think what’s unique about your decisions and your situation is you have been able to have continued success in businesses with a success rate of 3% to 5% over the years and like I said on a continual level of success. And all this I might add without the capital or budget that so many people have to start out with when starting up new businesses or ventures. What was the recipe for your success? At the risk of sounding corny, inspire some one out there besides myself. Break em off some knowledge. If you can help one kid out there then I think this interview has been a successful one.”
“First off let me thank you. That’s very cool of you guys here to consider me first of all and I wish you all the success that I know you’ll have as well. I really do appreciate you taking the time out for me and even considering me.”
“See! There you go!!!
“Man it’s funny you ask that because I was just thinking about that the other day. I think for sure, yeah, luck had a part to do with the recipe. A lot of hard work of course. A lot of it had to do because I was surrounded by or at least I tried to surround myself by my family and friends who are and have always been supportive. Another thing, I have such a wide spectrum of friends who are black, white, Mexican, Asian, rich, poor, tall, skinny whatever who have helped me and supported me not so much with money but with things you cant put a price on. They gave me advice. They gave me encouragement and support like I said. They gave me their friendship, or people who have passed the word whenever I opened a new club, or a chance to earn someone’s trust with a handshake. Something you don’t see very much of anymore. Also I always tried to treat everybody with the same respect I give anybody, though I’ve been accused of being arrogant, or cocky, or aloof which I’m not. I’m pretty much just really shy, and that has sometimes hurt me in some ways because maybe someone misread me or misinterpreted me and it’s also helped me at times with some sort of mystique or something.”
“You’re a person who lives by a code and by your own rules. I know that everybody thinks they live the same as you do, and by that I mean by their own set of rules where accountability and responsibility for everything you do and are is on you. You blame no one else or society for any of your mistakes. But I tend to see the opposite with people who think that living by your own rules means being anti-social or rebellious. And here’s perhaps why…I’m not sure if people are willing pay that price or even understand just how much accountability, responsibility, and sacrifice is involved. I’m not trying to be esoteric or abstract or anything, I’m just making an observation. How much of a price have you paid to live this way. By this way, I mean free. I mean by your own code and rules?”
“For sure! I know where you’re coming from. I think there is a misconception that people have about that code. I think a lot of times they think it means living outside the law, like you said, or not playing by the law and I don’t think that this has to always be the case. I didn’t have to do what some of my friends did and they respected me for it. What people do is what people do. That doesn’t mean you have to do it too. You may know everything or you may not know about it. But as long as you stick to the script and do what you do it will all work out in the end. I’ve made a lot of friends who think and live like I do and I’ve also lost some great friends because of it. And that was the price for them, but they knew it. Look, it’s all relative Man. I mean this is a way of life! Living by what you believe in and what you stand for, and it isn’t always society’s norm but it’s still hard nonetheless no matter what you do or however you make your living. For some of us it’s the only way we’ve ever lived. I’ve always done what I wanted but I’ve also known there’s a price to pay for it. And most people don’t want to have to pay that price. Now I sound abstract Man.”
“What’s different about today’s culture compared to when you came up as youngster?”
“I think there’s less of a color barrier in society today like it was compared to when I grew up. I grew up in the Hood you know what I mean. There was a lot of ignorance and prejudice like in any hood. I think because I had a look to me that others in the Hood didn’t have, there were definitely a lot more doors that opened up for me. Not to say that I had it any easier than others I’m just telling you to show you the prejudice behind people in those days. I grew up with Black, Mexican, Asians, and maybe a handful of white people but I seemed to fit in with everybody and got along with say black dudes because of my last name, or white dudes because I had blond hair an blue eyes. I got along with Asians because of my interest and respect for Martial Arts which they thought was cool. I just got along with people period because I didn’t see color or backgrounds the way other people do. And I still don’t. It’s definitely different today than in my day that’s for sure. Society is a lot more accepting than it used to be.”
As I was listening to Chris I became distracted by his one gigantic tattoo. He is sleeved, has a body suit up to his collar bone and has a giant back piece as well.
“Looking at all your tattoos, I see Faith and God plays a big part in your life. How has this played a role in your life?”
“I’ve always been a believer. When I was younger, I went to church and everything but you know somewhere along the way I just lost touch. I thought I was there you know…I realized that just because you say a prayer at night before you go to bed doesn’t mean you have a relationship with God. It’s just all tied in together for me Man. My faith, my family life, my boxing…for me I believe that it’s all possible through Him. That’s where I’m at Man.”
As I noticed the time, I realized that what seemed like ten minutes had actually taken place over three hours. I tied it up with one last question.
“Let me ask you one last question Chris before I let you go. What’s next for you as a fighter?”
“Anything you need Homie. I’m just concentrating on getting these W’s right now. Well see where I go from there. I have a fight coming up and we’ll see. If I can get enough wins under my belt I’m hoping like all fighters, to get a shot at the title.”
“I’m going to go ahead and stop asking questions here so I can let you get back to your work. We of course wish you all the best and continued success in the future. I’ll be ring side for your next fight.”
“Thank you Man, and I’m looking forward to being on the Network and setting up a profile.”
Chris dropped me back off at my car where I went away thinking about everything we had talked about. He was someone who you could trust, talk to, or depend on if you found yourself in a bind. And he would do it without expecting anything in return as so many people often do when they keep reminding you of that favor they did for you 16 years ago, therefore insisting that you still owed him. He was nothing like that. He brought back the memories of the streets I also ran trying to make my bones as a youngster. A place that’s easy to get lost in and even harder to find your way back from. Like him, I had seen them come and go as well. But sometimes if you look real close you just might see someone like him who is grounded and comfortable in their own skin. I hope to see his ambitions realized someday.