”Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.” – Mary Tyler Moore
Pain and suffering are part of everyone’s life. How you deal with them determines the person you become when you come out of it. Pain is nothing new to an athlete, so Neven Kecmanovic was quite used to it as a traceur. He discovered his love for parkour at a young age, but that’s not the first time he had been through pain or suffering. Born and brought up in a country under sanctions, Neven had a tough childhood. His struggles began as far back as he could remember and continued until he fought back against all the obstacles to achieve his dream. Neven’s story has the potential to inspire millions to chase their dreams, no matter what comes their way.
Neven grew up in a crime-infested neighborhood where his mother struggled to make ends meet. As his mother was juggling two jobs, Neven and his brother often had no one to look after them while they were growing up. It was difficult for anyone to stay on track and not fall in with a bad crowd in this situation, but Neven persisted. Even when he went to bed hungry, he never thought of earning money by illegal means like other kids in the neighborhood.
Neven’s life took a sudden turn when he saw his friends doing parkour. The sport was a fun activity during their time off, but for Neven, it became a passion. As he started practicing harder, Neven discovered his real talent and knew this was something he would love to do for the rest of his life. He recorded some killer moves and became a creator on social media, earning loads of appreciation for his skills. This encouraged him to pursue the sport further. He formed a group of traceurs to train fresh talents in parkour, helping them with techniques to do it safely.
Even though Neven loved parkour and was appreciated for his skills, the sport did not get him the recognition he wanted. During this time, one of his friends introduced him to rock climbing, and Neven was fascinated by it. As he began researching the sport, Neven learned there was an annual state-level rock climbing tournament. He identified his dream and began working for it. Neven joined a bouldering gym to hone his skills. It took him two sessions in the gym to figure out that he excelled better than everyone else there. Just when Neven thought he was close to turning his dream into a reality, an accident changed everything.
Three weeks before the tournament, Neven broke his knee while practicing parkour. While recovering, he realized that broken dreams hurt even more than a broken bone. Soon after he recovered, Neven resumed his practice, but his body did not support him. He was still in pain and could not get the moves right. His friends and family advised him to quit and divert his career, but Neven persisted. He continued exercising in excruciating pain and saw his body responding positively after a while. He was getting better than he was before the accident.
Neven’s hard work and determination paid off as he won the tournament for three consecutive years, becoming the national champion. Today, Neven is a role model for many budding talents struggling to overcome the many challenges in their lives. Neven wants his story to inspire generations to follow their dreams even in the face of adversity.