Resilient: Introduction

Above: athlete Isabella Rojas takes a pause between climbing. Brooklyn Boulders, NY. Photo: Michael A. Estrada, @noyekim

Resilient: a photo series

There is an inherent degree of uncertainty when pursuing any athletic endeavor. Whether it’s chasing after first place on the podium; spending years training for the next project; or even recovering from a debilitating injury, athletes never truly know if their training and efforts will be enough.

It’s in this unique way that athletes must overcome both the challenges of their sport, and the overwhelming, repetitive uncertainty that they might not necessarily reach their goals and aspirations.

Of course, uncertainty plagues all humans, not just athletes. It’s part of the human experience. However, athletes form a specific familiarity with it due to how readily apparent and frequent uncertainty plays into the daily life of an athlete.

The butterflies that rise from their dormancy before any and every competition is proof — as are the sweaty palms that get battered down with endless chalk and the ritual pre-(insert sport here)-routines that plague us from the first middle school tournament and beyond.

This understanding that chance is innately paired with sport is critical to the personal growth of most athletes. Through trial and error, success and failure, the endurance and resilience born from the athlete experience becomes a driving force even outside the gym.

Athletes learn to live with this uncertainty throughout their lives. We fail, we win, we stagnate and yet we continue onward because we have to. 

With these themes in mind, Resilient is a photo series interviewing athletes of color on how they face uncertainty upfront and achieve resilience in their athletic lives and beyond. Together we’ll see what makes them tick, where they find inspiration, and, importantly, how they thrive today.

Stay tuned for the first interview with Faith Briggs in a few weeks.

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Interested in being interviewed? Please contact Michael at misha.estrada@gmail.com or send us a message here at Melanin Base Camp.

RESILIENT is a project from Noyekim Studio.