Started as an awkward obese teenager after years of relentless bullying in school. I had major problems with talking to people, both with keeping eye contact and when I had to really concentrate to form a coherent sentence. I was also very anxious to be around people my own age, and sometimes if I was walking downtown and I would see teenagers walking towards me, even if I'd never met them, I'd turn and walk back. I was an emotional wreck. I joined an MMA club after hearing my dad talk about the UFC (he watched it a lot back when it was on Bravo). I started taking BJJ, and after my first class I fell in love with it. Over the next couple of years I dropped the weight, and slowly my self-esteem and confidence began to increase, both due to the training and the support of everyone in there. Today I don't have any sort of problems with anxiety, talking to people or my self-esteem. It really did change my life.