Ben Kyffin transformed his fortunes after hitting his ‘lowest point’
A man was at his lowest point and kept having ‘crazy dreams’ until his mum convinced him to make a change. Ben Kyffin, 21, from Speke, is an up-and-coming Muay Thai fighter.
Ben has delivered three knockouts in his three most recent fights, training out of Titanium Combat Academy in Netherley. Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing, focuses on striking opponents with fists, elbows and shins.
Ben has always wanted to be a fighter but wanted to have a back-up if things didn’t go to plan. However, he ended up in two apprenticeships he didn’t enjoy. His second apprenticeship sent him down a spiral of poor mental health in 2022.
READ MORE: ‘Loving’ teen killed in scrambler crash had survived tragic diagnosis as babyREAD MORE: Mum with ‘silent killer’ changed her life after buying one thing on Facebook
Speaking to the ECHO, Ben said: “Since I left school, I fully went for the fighting. It was going well, then lockdown hit and there were no shows. I always said, I don’t want to be a fighter who ends up kipping in a gym with no dough, I want to look after myself.
“I got an apprenticeship in sales. I thought I’d be making major dough but it ended up being a cold calling job. Then I got an apprenticeship at a car dealership which was terrible.”
Ben says he was given little training to complete complex tasks and ended up increasingly stressed over a couple of months. He said: “In the end, it was like an infection that took over me. I couldn’t sleep. I remember sparring once and I was just crying.”
Ben then stopped going the gym all together and started shutting himself off from the outside world. He said: “I wouldn’t leave my room. I’d be going to sleep with these crazy dreams.
“I said at the time, I’m genuinely worried about what I’m going to do. I was dreaming about my family getting tortured. It was a horrible, horrible time.
“Part of the reason I felt this way was that I knew I had to get out of that place but I couldn’t. There were 1,000 people who applied for the apprenticeship and I felt like I couldn’t give it up.
Things only changed when his mum Karen forced Ben to go to the doctors. From there, he received professional support and he felt able to open up about how he was feeling to his girlfriend and friends.
Ben said: “I was isolating myself from the gym, my girlfriend and my family. If it weren’t for those people around me, it would have been different.
“My mum made me go to see the doctor. I then got signed off from work. When it came to my mates, I told them I was going a bit scatty and they were shocked.”
Ben took time off from both work and fighting while he recovered. He returned to Muay Thai in September of this year and has won all three fights since his comeback.
As well as his dreams of becoming a professional, Ben also wants to set up his own business doing mobile car servicing. He is hoping to start it in the next few months, with lessons learnt from his previous time in the car industry.
Ben feels that he has learnt a lot from the difficult period in his life. He wants to use his experience to improve himself and help others, particularly those who are homeless in Liverpool.
He said: “I’m glad that it happened. Going through something like that teaches you resilience and that you can’t give up.
“I know what I want to be. I want to be a successful, well-spoken businessman. That’s what I want to do with my life. I also want to fix homelessness and issues around that.
“I was at the lowest of lows. If you had read some of the notes on my phone, you’d be worried. But you can care about yourself. It’s about doing yourself justice. You should definitely reach out to those closest to you if you’re struggling.
“If people are worried about their own kids going down the wrong path, help find their passion. What I like about fighting is that you can have a millionaire sparring a homeless man and they are both equal. It’s about fundamental skills. You can’t buy it.”
