“Just Isaac” Mitchell Living and thinking fearlessly

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

He held his first gun at 11 years old. Someone handed him a gun and it was still hot. The person told him to hide it for him. His granddad had a garden, and he placed many things in that garden. In his book, he talks about seeing a body, putting a shotgun on his handlebars, and simply riding home.

Our Classic Man has won six boxing titles including a National Championship. He made The Top 40 Radio across the United States, he is a professional actor, with his last lead role in a show called “Fear Thy Neighbour,” He is an international motivational speaker, author, Vvsionary and most recently became a Senior Pastor at 306 Eddystone in Toronto.

His most recent and proudest achievement is his first book entitled “Think Fearlessly.” Isaac Mitchell (aka, Just Isaac) experienced seeing his dreams shatter right before him. He was offered an opportunity to host an international television show in the United States, which would mean he would have to fly back and forth from Toronto, but as you know, the pandemic put a halt to those plans.

Everything seemed to crumble right before his eyes when the pandemic hit. He felt down for about a week, and then his evolution began. He decided to use that energy, the disappointment he felt, and channel it into writing a book. Naturally, there was some apprehension because he knew that it would mean being vulnerable, and he almost aborted releasing the book because of what people might think of him.

Thankfully, he realized that protecting his image was not more important than encouraging someone else to be the best that they could be. Out of adversity was the conception and birth of the book “Think Fearlessly.”

As I listened to Isaac’s story, I couldn’t help but reflect on the stories that other boxers had shared with me. To operate and function on a championship level, in the sport of boxing is a very lonely life. The intense mental and physical training cannot be ignored. Overcoming the voices of fear in the mind is especially important in relation to achieving a: goal, dream, or vision, and it takes a level of fearlessness to really push through what one might initially feel. As he spoke to me, I couldn’t help but to be drawn into his story.

“I was born and raised in western New York. I am a kid from the projects; I am from the gutter, a place of poverty and crime. By the age of 12 I was in a gang, so I missed a lot of my childhood, but this is why I can relate so well with children. My objective in life is to help and protect children. I was 18 years old when I first started working with children.”

Issac was told from a young age that he was going to be nothing in life, and that is what he saw in the media. “I defied that ideology. I believe that we are builders, we are scientists, we are authors, we have so much to offer, but society has hidden many things from us.

 I knew that I was born to impact the world, but I did not have an understanding of how it was going to happen. When purpose was revealed to me, there was a clearer understanding of destiny, and that was the unveiling of my vision, which is to use every avenue, every platform, as an opportunity to empower individuals to be the best that they can be. To reveal who God is, the great “I AM!”

As a child Isaac admits that he was bullied. “I was a loner, and even though I did have friends, I felt alone. I was in a classroom and there was an assignment given by the teacher. He asked everyone to share what he or she would like to do with their life. There were the common responses of: fireman, doctor, hockey player, dentist, and auto mechanic. As each child revealed their desired goal, they were given praise, until it was my turn. I said that I wanted to be a champion boxer one day. The teacher turned to me and said, ‘It will never happen; you have to be rough and rugged to be a fighter. You are too soft, too gentle, you are too much of an intellectual, you think too much.’ Then he said, ‘IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.’ 

Everyone was laughing and pointing at me. The student sitting next to me fell off his chair, he was laughing so hard. Everyone thought it was hilarious. My heart dropped and I felt so alone, yet determined. I learned that it is more important what I think about myself than what people think of me.”

There was something different about him, and this is what pushed him into fighting. He started with mixed martial arts and was coached by Harald Howard (founder of the UFC). He then had greats like Sugar Ray McGibbon (Mike Little took over from Sugar Ray McGibbon), Hank Boone (National Coach for Canada), and Floyd Mayweather. Sr (Trainer) worked personally with him. He respectfully remembers fighting against Lennox Lewis as an amateur. “Then there was Hector and Ricky in Buffalo, I can’t forget them,” shared with me nostalgically.

“I was watching a lot of my friends dying, or ending up in prison. Even though I didn’t have the understanding of God’s greatness, I believed that my dreams had been divinely inspired. All that I am and all that I have is because of God. My greatest desire is to allow my light to shine in the dark places of the earth, to dig into people’s difficult situations until the greatness within them begins to flow, through divinely inspired strategies. Everyone needs encouragement, including myself.

One of the challenges that I have faced and will mostly continue to face is overcoming the whispering voices of discouragement or fear. It is when our internal dialogue is invaded with negativity, that we must have the awareness of how to combat these projections with the wisdom of God, which supersedes the wisdom of man. In the book there are principles as agents to propel the reader to “THINK FEARLESSLY.”

Let me be clear that at this point in my life, titles mean nothing. I just have a desire to serve God and to serve men. God placed this within my heart to serve. I was broken, my life was in shambles, I was messed up. I was not cultivated through protocol; it was his word. The hands I used to use for knocking out people, were transformed to hands that healing, deliverance and helping people. This is my calling.”

Alongside everything else that Isaac has on the go, he also runs his own training company called Mobile Boxing; it offers private and semiprivate boxing lessons that enhance a person’s offensive and defensive skills. “We will help you reach your fitness goals,” JI tells me. “We have multiple Niagara locations, and also provide in-home training. We come to you, or you come to us.

There is one more exciting piece of news that I want to share with you Simone,” JI says enthusiastically. “Mobile boxing will be donating half of the profits towards the Church Building Fund. Churches often serve as community centres, providing various services and support to the local population. By contributing to the building fund, you help ensure that the church can continue to offer these services and be a hub for community activities. It creates a space for people to come together, find solace, build relationships, and support one another.

This donation will help cover these costs, ensuring that the church remains a safe and welcoming place for worship, education, and community events. We want to provide a comfortable environment for its members and visitors.”