WHEN I WAS 40, I RAISED MY FISTS AND DID NOT RUN AWAY FROM A FIGHT for the first time since sixth grade.
It happened in a gym straight out of a Rocky movie. I was spending that year working in a rented office on the second floor of a three-story walk-up in Rome, Georgia. I filled my time staring out the office window, tapping gloomily at my keyboard on a failing project. One day, I heard banging.
Fire-escape stairs led to a newly cleared third floor. "A gym," an intense, wiry man said. And sure enough: heavy bags, speed bags, weights. Along one brick wall: a ring, canvas duct-taped directly to the wood floor. Plaster hung in patches; the bags hung directly from exposed roof joists.
The wiry man was Lee Fortune, one-time holder of the World Boxing Council's Continental Americas middleweight title. Did I want to learn to box? Lee, a cop, planned to work the gym around his schedule. It would be $25 a month for limitless time and coaching, several afternoons a week. "Not kickboxing," he said. "Real boxing. Sparring. You'll wear headgear." I said sure.
"A man you've never met before said for $25 he will hit you in the head," a friend summarized. What else did I have going on?
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2024-utgaven av Esquire US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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I AM FALLING APART
At 48, I realized my professional dream of publishing a novel. Around that time, also gota staph infection, became diabetic, and started losing my vision. Will sce the end of my story?
WITH VINTAGE, SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
The world is filled with fake throwbacks and questionable graphics. But real-deal, old-school sailing gear never disappoints.
WATCH CLOSELY
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Giorgio Armani Is Never Done
We sat down with the maestro to chat about, well...everything
SOLAR POWER
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REBIRTH OF AN ICON
The Cartier Trinity, a favorite of legends like Gary Cooper and Alain Delon, gets a bold new look
Molto Rawdog!
You've heard of rawdogging” a flight? How about an entire trip to Italy? I believe in it with the zeal of the convert.
THE CYNIC THE TWO NATIONS
It's been twenty years since then. state senator Obama assured us there was not a liberal America and a conservative America. In that time, a new country has been building with fearful momentum. Can anything be donc to stop it?
VOTE OR DIE
I've voted in four different states. Now I'm a Black man in Arizona participating in the most consequential election of my lifetime whether certain white men want me to or not.
WAIT, BUICKS ARE COOL AGAIN?
Yes, with the Envista and a brand-new design language—based on one of the boldest concept cars in recent memory—GM’'s Buick is finally getting some love.