Page 136 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2019

story and photos
courtesy of Robby D’Angelo
Overcoming Obstacles to Reach
the struggle is real
Hi, my name is Robby D’Angelo and I’m a recovering depressed fat kid. Yes, the person you see now is far removed from how I spent most of my life. Looking back, I struggled with depression and anxiety since
I can remember, and my coping
drug of choice was food. I would literally eat until I made myself
sick to mask the negative emotions
I didn’t understand. I ballooned
up to 305 pounds my senior year playing football for the University
of Southern Mississippi. While I was having success on the field becoming an All-American and a finalist for the best center in the country, I still felt empty inside.
At this point my real journey began. After numerous injuries followed by surgeries, I knew my NFL dream was over. Now I wanted to solve what I thought was the biggest problem that was holding me back: my weight. Through hard work and discipline I lost right at
105 pounds in a year. The crazy part about losing all that weight is that it didn’t solve any of the problems I was actually dealing with. Over the course of the next seven years, I tried every vice I could to escape the negativity that kept invading my thoughts like
a crazy ex I just couldn’t get rid of. I eventually ended up deeply depressed and on the verge of suicide.
Your Full Potential
the victim and took personal accountability for my life that I discovered the key to creating real lasting change. I have always been a fan of personal growth because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love the good feelings after watching a motivational video. However, true personal growth is doing the actual work of improving your thought processes. In writing my book, The Struggle Is Real I had to dive deep into a journey of self-awareness to understand the “why” behind where I was in my life.
It was the toughest, yet most rewarding challenge I have ever
been through, and the change in
my mindset literally saved my life. Now I travel speaking and coaching as a Human Optimization Expert in my business The Biohacked Life. I have developed a deep passion for helping others reach their human potential through both cutting edge science and a holistic mind, body and soul approach. My ultimate goal is
to expand my non-profit, RISE UP, where I work with students to create awareness and hope in overcoming the mental health issues they are facing.
The struggle is real, but you are
stronger.
Turn your spark into a ame and ignite the world on re. Robby D’Angelo
It wasn’t until I quit playing
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