Rod Llaneza doesn’t shy away from a fight. In fact, he enjoys them, at least inside the ring.

Through physical challenges (including a broken hand, toes and foot) and personal ones (growing up gay but covering it up for years), Llaneza persevered and won a national amateur kickboxing championship in 2001, crowning his rise to the top of a physically brutal and hyper-masculine sport. Not bad for a scrappy guy who stands 6 feet tall and weighed about 170 pounds when he competed.

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