Luiz Faye - lead coach and aromatherapist

I have always been an active person, enjoying sport since childhood. My first love has always been swimming however, growing up, I was often hindered by recurring pain and injuries to my knees. This didn’t affect my day to day life, until I was in my late 20’s, whilst serving as a police officer. 

By the age of 29, the problems had worsened and were now affecting my pelvis and back. After 2 years of investigation and procedures I was diagnosed as having a mild form of hip dysplasia, which could be corrected and repaired with surgery. In spring 2016, the operation went ahead. 

In the months that followed, I learned that surgery hadn’t been successful. Further tests diagnosed a degenerative condition affecting the disks in my spine, pelvis and nerves in my legs. In March 2017, I was medically retired from a ten year career in the police service. 

Day to day life had changed. To be honest, I had struggled to cope with the transition into my new life; but after a year of feeling sorry for myself, I decided that I had to take back some control! I moved closer to my family in Yorkshire, re-qualified as a Swimming Instructor & Aromatherapist. Later that year, I went on to launch my business. In honour of chronic pain warriors, I named it Kronik Warrior Aromatherapy. 

Eager to remain as active as possible, I joined a local gym. Since the surgery, I felt weak and unfit. I’d lost a lot of confidence in my own abilities and desperately needed to get it back! I was lucky enough to find a fantastic personal trainer who helped to get me back on that path. 

During one of my training sessions with him I mentioned that I had always thought about giving boxing a try, but had never got round to doing it. He smiled and simply suggested “Why don’t you do it in your wheelchair?!”... It didn’t take much thinking about, for me to say yes to the challenge!  I immediately fell in love with the sport.  I guess you could say I was ‘hooked'! 

Adaptive Boxing wasn’t a recognised sport so finding a club or coach to help me progress wasn’t going to be easy.  Not to be defeated, the search began and in Spring 2019 I found a club who invited me for a visit.

Within 10 minutes of being there, I’d got my two wheelchairs out of the car and everyone wanted to have a go at this cool new version of the sport!  The whole team welcomed me with open arms! I knew instantly that I would be happy there.  

I absolutely loved spending time at the club, absorbing as much information as I could.  It felt like a part of my life that had always been missing.  Within a few weeks, I became a voluntary mentor at the club and we welcomed our first adaptive boxers.

In October 2019 I was invited by the World Boxing Council to attend their annual convention in Mexico to launch their recreational safer adaptive boxing programme in the presence of the heads of professional boxing for 166 countries and over 90 world champions!  I became their first ever female adaptive boxer and coach.

In February 2020 I qualified as an England Boxing Coach, becoming one of only 2 wheelchair users to date to do this.  Since then I have worked alongside Great Britain Disability Boxing with the national governing bodies in the UK to develop a pathway for adaptive boxing to become a recognised competitive sport.

In March 2020 life as we all knew it changed dramatically as the world went into lock-down due to Covid 19. Although we didn’t know it at the time, the pandemic would mean that the gym I had been coaching at would close its doors for good. With no access to exercise or human contact in some cases, immediately I was concerned for the emotional well-being of our boxers so decided to put on some free online adaptive boxing classes. Initially there were just the five of us but as we began posting about our sessions on social media, the interest began to grow. 

The free sessions were offered for the first 10 weeks of the initial lock-down and were quickly extended due to their high demand. – As the lock down restrictions started to ease, the need absolutely remained for accessible fitness and these classes were too beneficial to the community not to continue.  It was due to their popularity and feedback from the members that in August 2020, we launched a full online and in-person Adaptive Boxing programme.

I believe passionately that adaptive boxing is an incredible craft which can be enjoyed by all. This sport can significantly improve quality of life through functional, transferable skills that can be used on a day to day basis. The exercises can provide a range of physical benefits from increased fitness levels, strength and conditioning, to hand-eye coordination, memory and core stability/mobility. Adaptive Boxing can also be a powerful tool in improving mental health, confidence and self-esteem. The versatility of the sport also means that it can be enjoyed at a variety of levels and adapted to suit individual abilities

The classes were becoming about so much more than boxing.  We were creating a community.  With the help and support of our members we have been able to provide a safe space for people with disabilities to exercise and speak openly about the challenges they faced, share coping mechanisms and build friendships. We began providing free aromatherapy and nutrition advice, mental health blogs, support and signposting.  

I am proud to say that with some encouragement and a lot of support from my warrior tribe, in April 2021 we became a non profit organisation.

I could never have imagined that from these classes, we would grow into the wonderful, inclusive family of Kronik Warriors we are today.