GREAT EATS HAWAII: FIGHTSTORY MENTAL HEALTH NONPROFIT

I have been a fan of Angela Lee since meeting her at a local television station function in Honolulu many years ago. She was kind enough to take a photo with me and her mom took time to tell me a little bit about how big a star Angela was in Asia. I did my research and found that Angela was indeed a superstar in the One Championship MMA which is popular in Asia and especially Singapore. I began to follow Angela's career and would at times watch her fights in the late hours or early morning Hawaii time zone. She racked up 6 World Championships in a variety of divisions. Her little sister Victoria started to fight and she too became a Champion at the young age of 17. Tragically Victoria battled mental illness and took her own life at the age of 18. The news of Victoria's death literally tore my heart out. I cried and felt pain like she was family. How could this young, beautiful, bright, smiling MMA Champion get to a point where she felt she could not go on. At age 18? This haunted me and then Angela came out with her own mental struggles and her story on how she too had attempting suicide. This made me look at my own life and times where I had struggled with my own mind and those dark places that bring you down. I made choices that thankfully kept me going in a positive direction. When Angela made the decision to start FightStory in memory of Victoria, I once again admired her as a fighter. The strength and courage that it took to come out and tell her and Victoria's stories touched my heart and inspired me to support this cause. I sent a check to Angela and let her know how much I appreciate her doing this for Victoria and everyone suffering from mental illness. When Angela invited me to attend her first major event for FightStory, I was there despite not having a ticket to get in. The event was sold out, but Angela made sure we got in to support this important cause.

Please support FightStory and remember Victoria. Donate at www.fightstory.org