Windlan Hall II teaches boxing as a holistic force
“Honestly, I had no previous association with the sport of boxing, none whatsoever,” explains Windlan Hall II, the founder, owner, and head trainer of Win at Life Training, LLC.
The mission of Win at Life, in part, is to instill tools such as discipline, self-confidence, persistence, and self-control in its participants, while promoting their physical, mental and emotional health by teaching them “the skills of boxing.”
Football, basketball and track were the sports that Hall excelled in as he came of age in the Twin Cities. His father, Windlan Hall, spent eight years in the National Football League, including two with the Minnesota Vikings.
“One of dad’s claims to fame is that he was part of the last Super Bowl that the Vikings ever played in (Super Bowl XI in 1977),” notes the younger Hall, who like his father lived his football glory starring at cornerback.
After graduating from Burnsville High School, Hall matriculated to the University of St. Thomas, where he earned four varsity letters as a member of the Tommies’ football squad, which boasted a 27-9 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record during his career.
While at St. Thomas, he also earned his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and later took home a Master of Education in teaching and learning from St. Mary’s University. As an educator, Hall stayed connected to sports by serving as a high school football coach.
In the off-season, however, his days often ended around 2 p.m. “I didn’t have anything else to do,” he recalls. So, after a conversation with his brother, Hall decided to get involved with a local boxing gym to help keep him in shape if nothing else. But boxing proved to be so much more than that.
“I learned right away that I was pretty good at this. I loved the training aspect of boxing, and it pushed my boundaries, my physical limits,” says Hall, “but it also provided me with an outlet for my mental health. The gym was a place where I could relax and unwind. It helped to balance me out from my football days.”
Hall ultimately became a certified USA Boxing Coach and was asked to design classes for some other gyms and fitness centers, both here in the metro area and beyond. He also relied on his experience in education to help him better understand and support those he trained.
As he continued to influence more and more people, Hall was encouraged to go out on his own. So, in 2012, with eight clients in tow, he established his own LLC. “This has become something of a niche market,” Hall observes. “There are a lot of people looking to get into boxing.”
For the first few years, he continued to split his time between teaching high school math and training students at Win at Life. But in 2018, he transitioned full-time to the gym.
Win at Life is not a typical boxing gym, at least not in the traditional sense. Hall and his staff do not train individuals to become competitive boxers.
“We tell our students this [ring] is the only place you are allowed to use boxing. Win at Life is teaching them the ‘skills’ of boxing. But they’re not hitting their classmates inside of the ring. Rather, they’re punching a heavy bag, or they are punching the air. Not one another.”
The vision, as Hall details it, is to help his students—who range in age from six to 86—find success, achieve a personal goal, or reach a particular milestone. That might mean helping someone meet a weight loss target, improving their cardiovascular health, getting off alcohol or drugs, overcoming behavioral issues, or fostering a sense of purpose and self-worth.
“Whatever we do in life, we should try to win,” he maintains, “No one wants to lose. We want to help our students accomplish something, to help them win at life, whatever that might mean for them individually.”
For school-age students, Hall and his team focus a great deal on cognitive exercises coupled with physical training designed to illustrate how one’s overall health and wellness can translate to success in the classroom as well as in life. There are plenty of women and girls who train at Win at Life too.
“One of my top students is a mother of two who wanted to learn this skill set,” reveals Hall, “A Miss America contestant came to me, asked me if I could train her. This type of training is a wonderful way to empower women and young girls. To build their confidence, increase their strength, and give them the ability to protect themselves and others. We’ve even taught women 60 years of age and older.”
Hall also works closely with those struggling with Parkinson’s, developing his own philosophy and training manual to help those clients “knock out” the disease.
“We focus on the four B’s,” he says: “breathing, balance, the body and the brain,” adding that one of his students successfully climbed a mountain without falling or faltering a single time. “You taught me to take confident steps. And to be mindful of each step,” she relayed to Hall. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
When pressed as to what success looks like to him personally and to the business, Hall says, “It’s not monetary. It’s all about helping our clients, about what success looks like for them.”
When speaking of his inspiration, he refers to his mother, the late Brenda Hall, who among many other things was a celebrated historian and playwright.
“My mom was the most giving person you could ever meet,” reminisces Hall. “I am one of seven siblings, but we often had another child or two at the dinner table, kids from the neighborhood that needed help. Mom fed, clothed, and housed anyone who needed it. Our door was always open.”
“What I learned from my mom more than anything else,” extols Hall, “is that it costs you nothing to be nice. It costs you nothing to care. And it costs you nothing to love.”
For more information and available classes at Win at Life Training, LLC, visit winatlifetraining.com.
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