I learned at an early age that everyone in the family needed to contribute to help mom, who worked three jobs to be able to support us.
At the age of 8, I therefore started selling newspapers, and I can’t even begin to describe the happiness I felt every time I had contributed to something on the dinner table.
That feeling came to reflect everything I would do going forward in my life.
My mother taught me to believe in hard work and that nothing is impossible if only you set your mind to it.
At 16, I set out to become the best in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Three years and thousands of hours at the gym later, I won the Swedish Champion title.
To finance my professional career, I took a job at a warehouse, alternating tough training periods with intense work at home. My stubbornness paid off, and I managed to reach a top-10 ranking in Europe.
At the time, I was thinking a lot about what I wanted to do with my life. During competitions in the Netherlands, I would drink an Aloe Vera beverage after my workouts, and I realised that we had nothing like it in Sweden.
