DING, DING, DING...
No turning back now, hands encased in leather, mouthguard in and the world and everyone else in it faded into the background. Sights, sounds, thoughts, stories… gone. Blows, danger, failure, truth... standing toe to toe, bearing a soul not yet seen.
8pm October 27, 2012
ROUND 1
Was this the first time she had truly ‘let go’, 29 years in?
Over in both a heartbeat and yet an eternity rolled into one. Terror, adrenaline, fear, courage, isolation, trust, visibility and uncertainty. Yet ironically, a certainty she had never-before experienced.
‘Letting go’ wasn’t what she’d dreamt it to be. Emerging with both hands now free to grab hold of a whole new reality. Perhaps she wasn’t truly born in 1983, but rather in a ring in 2012. The referee clutched that now free left hand and raised it above her head. A stance that changed her forever. The underdog can come out on top... they don’t even have to know the rules.
One crazy ‘say-yes’ moment accidentally and deliberately changed the course of this girl’s life. Through the gloom and darkness, a crack of light showed a path, a doorway she could and would eventually walk right through. Boxing was the playground that allowed Tiffanee Cook to develop the courage, grit, resilience, curiosity, vulnerability and power that had lay dormant within her and bend and twist it to her favour. The fight wasn’t over on October 27, 2012… It had just begun, and she was now a force to be reckoned with.
Roll With The Punches was born 7 ½ years later. Stepping into the metaphoric ring once again against the odds. This time the opponent was even more formidable…Covid19.
ROUND 2
Tiffanee found herself the part owner of 2 Melbourne gyms, yet to hit their stride and as many did, suffering knock-downs from the lockdowns. The stakes were high, the odds stacked against her… but Tiffanee Cook now had something Covid 19 didn’t, and although nothing in her external reality could prove it, she sensed that something incredible was about to evolve… All she had to do was let go.
ROUND 3
In the 36 months since, the wins are countless. Roll With The Punches grew legs of it’s own and became a beacon of light for thousands. 700+ episodes in under 3 years… 4 years of podcasting rolled into each 1, the story, the human and the tribe behind this brand is a pandemic silver lining and success story worth hearing.
ROUND 4
Are you ready to rumble?