Who are you, and what’s your story?

My name is Ryan Jones, and here’s my story…I am currently a professional boxer, living a dream I never would of thought to be possible. Having been involved in competitive sports my whole life, I craved competition and laid my heart and soul on the line every time I stepped foot onto a field, track, mountain, etc. And although I had great success I never reached the pinnacle in any of my crafts or focuses’. Something that burdened my mind and depressed me as I entered my young adult years. As I began university, I quickly left the gym behind, and began to lose focus on all things related to health, fitness, and positive living habits. I was on a dark path, one that would have and could have destroyed me and my future, for many reasons. However…I always believed I was destined for something great, and I never stopped believing in myself. One day, while looking in the mirror, and seeing a shell of who I once was, it just hit me. I have so much more left in me, and this is not who I was meant to be. It was right then and there, my journey began. I had always been a passionate boxing fan, and always wanted to take up the sport as a hobby. I decided to join a local boxing gym in my university town, and quickly fell in love. My love for boxing would push me to clean up poor eating habits, drinking habits, and focus all my free time on training and getting back Into decent shape. I graduated university and upon moving back home I quickly joined a reputable amateur boxing program and shortly after began fighting. Fast forward a couple years, I had achieved all my goals, as a late starter I had never imagined I would be able to fight, let alone become a prospect that people were paying attention to. After my success in the Canadian amateur program I had built many relationships. One of which resulted in an opportunity to train and fight professionally under a revered Hall of Fame coach. I quickly accepted, packed my bags, and moved to Florida. Through extremely hard work, discipline, and dedication, I had accomplished my life long dream of becoming a professional athlete, for which I will forever be proud.

Why were you drawn to Misfit? What drew you in?

Man oh man! Where do I begin. I found Misfit and Amber during an extremely low point in my fighting journey and life. I had a gruesome psoas and adductor injury that paralyzed me and had stopped me from training and being functional in life period. Once I was able to move, I was cleared for extremely light physical activity and told to look into essentrics and Pilates. Neither of which I was familiar with, nor slightly interested. But the mere thought of being able to move, albeit lightly, had me itching to get started. I found misfit by absolute chance. I had seen a cool looking sign on an old church and was intrigued. I did a google and Instagram search and seeing their unconventional approach, thought it was the perfect fit for me. And I was right. Amber welcomed me with open arms, in an environment where I didn’t always fit in. I was a young guy, and the classes were mostly women, but still, amber had me feeling right at home and I always looked forward to showing up early and having passionate talks about whatever upsetting social issues or events had been in the news. She always cared and I was always grateful for her loving heart and motherly nature, which made me feel comfortable enough to open up and really dive deep into thought and moving conversation. My injuries healed, my chronic back pain, which i had suffered with since a child, gone. I had a new found obsession with Pilates and spending memorable moments with amber.

How did Misfit affect you?

A release physically and emotionally that I am forever grateful for.

How can we best support you?

The best way for you to support me is by continuing to share your gift, your love, and your passion for movement to the world. You must push forward, your heart and spirit will shine through all the noise, and the world deserves to experience YOU.