Pain Don't Hurt: Fighting Inside and Outside the Ring
Language: English
Pages: 224
ISBN: 0062222341
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Pain Don’t Hurt is the no-holds-barred memoir from the only professional fighter in history to return to the ring after open-heart surgery, kickboxer Mark “Fightshark” Miller—an inspiring story of family, determination, and redemption.
In 2007, Mark Miller was a rising star in professional kickboxing, until a routine physical uncovered a serious condition that required open-heart surgery. The crisis helped to temporarily reunite his fractured family and made Miller more determined than ever to return to the kickboxing ring. But within a year, his parents and brother were all dead, and Miller’s fragile optimism imploded, sending him into a tailspin of drugs and alcohol.
Pain Don’t Hurt is a story of incredible tenacity, dedication, and hard work—how one fierce competitor overcame repeated obstacles to realize his dreams. Miller recounts stories ranging from his childhood spent in the Steelers locker room to the surprising life lessons he learned from other fighters to his triumphant return to fighting in a Moscow kickboxing ring. He talks sincerely about family and fatherhood—of the hard lessons about masculinity and violence learned from his father. He also offers an inspiring, exciting, and frank account of the fights—both in and out of the ring—that have shaped him.
A deeply personal account of guts, blood, and glory, Pain Don’t Hurt pays tribute to the never-say-die spirit embodied in a man who refuses to back down, no matter the odds.
text to Justin, something sad and stupid. Something like Oh, hey, so my brother is dead. How awesome is that. He responded in true Justin fashion: I love you Mark, and I am so sorry. I didn’t respond. I lay there all night, not sleeping. I had no remaining immediate family left. And I still hadn’t cried. So that was my 2007. chapter fourteen I just want one person I can rescue and I want one person who needs me. Who can’t live without me. I want to be a hero, but not just one time.
committed to honesty. I felt that I wanted to walk this path. . . . But I wasn’t ready. On Thanksgiving Shelby made a massive turkey, chestnut gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and a pie. She packaged up leftovers and handed them out to neighbors she called over. When Mikee came to receive his, he offered us both a hug so big it could have cracked us, followed like always with a sincere “I love you guys!” Christmas came and I decided to go visit my kids. Shelby set up a miniature
days I told Mikee and Adam I wanted to go to a meeting. They took me, shaking, frightened, and full of self-loathing, into my first meeting. They held my hands through the prayers and through the introduction. And for the first time in my life I heard myself say out loud that I was an addict and that I needed help, something my brother never could do. Suddenly I felt so much remorse for how hard his life must have been. I met a group of people who were gritty, tough, strong. People who had
loved collecting them, used to say, “A man isn’t properly dressed without a nice timepiece,” despite the fact that he never wore any of them. I used to love sneaking into his room when he was gone to hold some of the pocket watches from his dad in my hands, feel the cool, smooth metal and read the inscriptions, some of which were so old they had mostly rubbed off. I tried now to remember what some of them said. . . . I tried to focus on remembering. . . . Something I could just repeat in my head
“Oh no, Mel, oh, you gotta tell him, Mel.” Mel patted my knee and said, “Son, we listen to Motown. You know Motown?” I smiled. I knew it from the boxing gym. “I know Motown. They play it in my boxing gym.” An expression I had never seen before passed over Mel’s face. Mel was impressed. “Are you boxing on the side, Mark? That’s a tough sport. Heck, that sport is too tough for me! You’re a brave man, Mark!” I went so hot all over with pride I felt like my skin might blister. After a few