Meet Brenden Macy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenden Macy.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Brenden. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Wow – this answer could go on for pages! There have been a lot of obstacles and challenges, but also a lot of joy in my journey.

I’ll start with this: When I was in the first grade, I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. A few years later, I was diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder. Most of the issues that came along with these diagnoses were typical throughout elementary, middle, and high school, but undergrad is where things really started to go off the rails.

For year, I had been taking medication to deal with these mental health issues, with some success. However, in undergrad, I turned to other substances to cope with the increasing symptoms, challenges, and new manifestations of these illnesses. Eventually, I found myself in the back of an ambulance on the way to the emergency room in a total lockout anxiety attack.

The following morning, I decided something had to change. In a desperate attempt to find a new coping mechanism, I took off on a run that turned into what was, at the time, a three-mile sprint. That was the ticket. I had seen the annual coverage of the Ironman World Championships in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, and made up my mind that one day, I would complete an Ironman. To make a very long story extremely short, I took to triathlon as a coping mechanism, and have had success combating my various mental illnesses with physical exercise. It’s not an exaggeration to say that triathlon saved my life.

After discovering triathlon and pulling myself out of the hole I had created, I made the decision to change careers. After three years and three attempts, I had put in my application one last time for law school, figuring that if it didn’t happen this year, it wasn’t meant to be. Fortunately, I was accepted and began studying.

In my 1L year, I also happened to be in training for my first Ironman. The first year of law school is designed to weed out people who can’t handle it. Add on the training load required to prepare oneself mentally and physically for 140.6 miles in fewer than 17 hours, and I had put myself into a sink-or-swim situation. I made the decision to swim.

In 2016, I completed Ironman Boulder. It was also my first time in Colorado, and I fell in love. I knew that one day, I would live here. Cut to Spring, 2018, and I had just accepted a position in Denver and was hard at work with finals and packing up my wife and I’s a one-bedroom apartment for a trip across the country. Graduation came and went, and study for the bar exam kicked into high gear. Working part-time and studying full time didn’t leave much time in the margins, but we were excited to get on the road to Denver in June of 2018.

In the middle of Kansas, disaster struck. After a blowout tire the day before on the moving truck I was driving, we thought the worst was behind us. However, that tire had struck the tailpipe of the truck, constricting the flow of hot exhaust, and causing it to blow directly on the wooden deck of the truck bed. After nearly 250 miles of this, the floor got hot enough that the truck had started to smolder. After pulling off the highway to examine the truck to see why it was smoking, the truck erupted into flames, destroying everything we owned.

Despite this blow, we’ve found a degree of success and a lot of support in Denver. After resuming bar exam preparations, I managed to pass the bar and become an attorney. I resumed triathlon training and completed my second full Ironman in Texas in Spring, 2019 (despite a bike crash leading to shoulder surgery later in 2019). Now, my wife and I and our two cats are loving live in Denver!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely not! As I mentioned, I had struggles with mental illness, substance abuse, some episodes of self-harm, a total loss fire, untold amounts of stress and anxiety… Lots to unpack. But, I’ve been able to use a personal mantra to find strength through all of this: I am Drive, I am Grit, I am Determination. Three words that I’ve chosen to define me. When things get really difficult, the only way out is forward. I repeat my mantra to myself and move forward.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m an attorney but only admitted in Colorado for a single client (my current employer). However, I do enjoy public speaking and especially motivational speaking. Everything I’ve been through has given me a unique perspective, and I think that others who adopt a similar mindset will be equipped to deal with any challenge that they face!

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My wife has been and continues to be my biggest cheerleader. She’s a professional photographer and marketer with her own business (Bohemian Creative – BohemianCreative.co) and has helped me refine my focus to see what value I can offer. Much of what I’ve been through has been with her by my side, and we’ve weathered the storms together. She’s my rock!

Contact Info:

• Phone: 7656212344
• Email: tattedtriathlete@gmail.com
• Instagram: @brmacy

Image Credit:
Bohemian Creative, Natalie Macy

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