Today I sit down with former mix martial artist, current boxing coach and my good friend Luke Howard for a raw conversation about identity, masculinity, and what happens when the thing you build your life around is taken away.

Luke opens up about why he craved attention as a young boy, how that led him into martial arts, and how fighting became more than just a sport — it became his identity. We unpack why it’s often not trauma that holds men back, but old patterns and learned behaviours that quietly run our lives.

We also talk about how therapy helped Luke become more comfortable in his own skin, the real difference between trust and faith, and what it felt like when his fighter identity was stripped away — forcing him to redefine who he was without the fight.

This episode is for anyone navigating identity loss, personal growth, masculinity, or the uncomfortable process of becoming a more grounded man.