Most of us haven’t figured ourselves out yet. Most of us have an idea in mind about some dream or another that we would like to fulfill, and most of us kind of wing it every day in hopes that someday we might get a chance to do chase the dream.
Bryan Colwell has taken a few steps beyond just hoping. Colwell is a second-year Camosun Business student who has realized his dreams and is living them.
Colwell started boxing professionally in 2013, and is now the two-time Canadian champion in his weight class, 91 kilograms. He won the 91 kg gold in the 2019 Copa Independencia, an annual Dominican tournament, as well the BC Golden Gloves and Oregon State Golden Gloves in 2016.
“I’ve got 40 national fights in, and it’s been pretty good,” says Colwell. “I’ve been blessed with a lot of support on the island.”
Colwell was originally a soccer player and started boxing as a way to get in shape.
“I was a soccer player, because I was always an athlete. I was a very good soccer player. But I was a terrible teammate. I will admit that. I demand perfection from myself, and I demanded it from my teammates as well. When my teammates didn’t perform with perfection—what I thought was perfection—then I was such a… I was a terrible teammate,” Colwell laughs. “Now, with boxing, you’re your own teammate. Everything is what you put into it—there is no other factors you can blame.”
Colwell realizes that boxing isn’t a forever sport but says that his boxing is just the beginning of his ring-related work.
“Next year I will be 30 years old, and that is pretty old for boxing,” says Colwell. “It’s just the way it is. So, the question is, do I chase another Olympic dream—do I get two medals? Or do I turn pro? Whether amateur or pro, there’s ways to monetize with sponsorships and things. I already coach boxing on the side, and that can always supplement my income a little bit.”
Colwell says that this is where his education at Camosun will come in handy.
“I want to open up my own gym eventually; I want my own brand and my own company. That’s why I’m going to business school,” he says. “The first year of business school isn’t really anything special; it’s really all about groundwork, and I’m still only halfway through my second year. But I’m still able to use a lot of what I’ve learned at Camosun; a lot of it translated immediately.”
Colwell’s family has also been able to enjoy his success and has been able to let him know that he is supported when he’s pursuing his dreams.
“My younger sister and even my grandma will all call around to make sure everyone is watching me,” says Colwell. “The Pan Am games especially, because there was so much media coverage. All you had to do was flip on your TV. That was the most family messages I have ever gotten. I knew everyone across the country was watching, because everyone sent me a message about it.”
Colwell says that he is looking forward to his future, whatever it may hold.
“It’s been a successful run, and that’s why I know I want to box until I’m 40,” says Colwell. “Maybe Olympics, maybe pro career, but what I would really like is to have my own gym, my own brand. I very much want to create and become my own brand… All the stuff I have learned in my Business degree, I am just trying to put it into place.”