The ‘Boxing’ Gremlin
HEAVY WEIGHT LOVE
This is a post about validation - where I explore the delicate balance between acknowledging the struggles we face behind the scenes and letting the grace of our work speak for itself.
Recently, a friend reached out to express appreciation for the authenticity of my videos and freestyles. While initially, I questioned my need for such validation, his words arrived at the perfect time. It's humbling to admit, but sometimes, we all need external motivation to keep pushing forward.
When people put work out there in the world, it is their job to make it look easy. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. I often think about a personal trainer whose job is to lead a class and make it look easy. After all, we wouldn’t trust a trainer who is less fit than us. Likewise, I don’t trust a creative who spends more time telling me they are scared to share than actually having the courage to share. I like creators who make it look easy and make it about the art; not the sob story or the trauma. And yet - sometimes, when they make it look so easy, we forget there is hard work that goes on behind the scenes.
“When it’s getting hard, and your face screws up, that’s the time to smile and make it beautiful.”
T is a French Olympic boxer from Africa and a recently turned actor. He’s 6ft 3, powerful, stylish-as-hell, and possesses a deadly combination of charm and strength.
The advice came when T coached our friend, D, in the ring. Four rounds in, D was tired, and T shot, “Make it beautiful.” Suddenly, D found new energy and danced; his footwork was light, and his smile was threateningly graceful. I knew there and then that this was wisdom dripped in honey.
It’s so simple. ‘Make it beautiful’ is now a mantra I use whenever I’m locked in tension. When I run, when I feel resistance about posting a video, or when I fear walking into a space, I smile and make it beautiful. When I make it beautiful, the first person I put at ease is myself.
When people put work out there in the world, it is their job to make it look easy. But that doesn’t mean it is easy.
I bring this up because this week when my friend left me that voice note and told me that they were really enjoying the videos and progress I’m making with poems, he said he wasn’t going tell me because I probably didn’t need to hear it. But I did. To be honest, I’ve been doubting myself. I’m self-critical and analytic, and the positive feedback made me remember to balance the inner criticism - perhaps I have been making it look beautiful on the outside so much that I had fooled myself. Honestly, I needed to hear that support. We all need to hear it at some point—Gremlin or not.
This is a gentle reminder that as creators, we create, we share, and we make it look beautiful.
My Yemeni grandfather in his featherweight boxing belt whilst on duty for the British army
These days, it’s easy to scroll past art. As social media consumers, we take creators and the act of sharing for granted and sometimes forget the courage it takes to make and share. When someone shares easily, it isn’t always easy on the inside. So, just as we remember to tell people we love them, we need to tell the creators around us that we see and appreciate them.
Gremlins need others in the ring to remember their power and purpose. To express support is an act of generosity.
This is a call to spread love because you never know when it will be needed.
Musings
“I'm not religious, but I believe that what I have is a gift, and I respect it and live up to it.”
- Sugar Ray Leonard
““Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.””
- The GOAT Muhammad Ali - I could fan girl forever about Ali.“Boxing is an imitation of life. You get knocked down and you get back up. You don't quit no matter how dark it gets, or whatever adversity passes your way. You just got to keep biting down and fighting, coming up the other side and not quitting, no matter what.”
- Caleb Plant
“Mexican boxing is very aggressive; you go forward with great heart. The American style is always that you run around, you try to be elusive. The Mexican style is much better. I never tried to be elusive.”
- Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.“I guess maybe there is two sides of me - the nice guy and then the beast within.”
- Keith Thurman
Young Padawan never forget
Fall seven times
Rise eight
Love Karimah
