It’s not uncommon for people to become semi-nomadic for the sake of their sports. Professional Muaythai and MMA fighter Walker Vivian was one such athlete. But after thirteen years of traveling nationwide to train and compete, Vivian decided to bring his talents back home.
In 2019, Vivian opened the Carolina Kickboxing Academy in his hometown of Florence, South Carolina. The gym offers group classes for adults, private sessions, and puts on fight night events in the local community. It also has a robust youth program. As a father of three, Vivian told USMF, “I know the patience it takes to coach kids [and] I’ve had years of experience.”
In addition to coaching his oldest child, who has sixteen fights, Vivian is a Type 1 diabetic and counseled youth with the condition. He said, “I know the struggles of health problems and can attest that Muaythai has saved my health.”
With his gym, Vivian aims to “give back to the sport of Muaythai and kickboxing as well as my community.” Part of that includes seeing the gym as a place to improve both physical and mental wellness. It’s a viewpoint drawing from Vivian’s own experiences with Muaythai.
After finishing school, Vivian, a lifelong athlete, wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Then, he joined a Muaythai program at eighteen, and everything changed from there. “[Muaythai] saved me from depression and made me grow as a human,” Vivian said. As an amateur, he had trouble finding Muaythai fights in South Carolina, and branched out into MMA just to hone his craft.
Although some injuries and neurological issues slowed down his professional career, Vivian plans to return to competition later this year. As for the Carolina Kickboxing Academy, Vivian hopes to soon offer a sports and wellness program for mental health patients. But no matter what, Vivian’s goals center around “spread[ing] the art of Muaythai and its culture.”