ARMPOCKET AMBASSADOR: ARTIS T

Sep 21, '17

About

My name is Artis Thompson III. I am the father of three beautiful kids, a semipro football player, a personal trainer, an American Ninja Warrior, and an amputee. Every day I am faced with many challenges and obstacles that sometimes make me question whether I am capable of succeeding. My daily motivation and inspiration come from my kids. When I think of them I’m instantly reminded and encouraged that there is nothing that I cannot do. With that motivation, I am committed to spending the rest of my life going above and beyond. My goal is to accomplish anything and everything that will push my limits physically, and mentally.

Since my amputation in 2012, I have had many opportunities. I have been selected to play in two all-star football games, I returned to boxing and mixed martial arts, established myself as a personal trainer, I ran in the 2015 Boston Marathon, and I even competed in Houston regional qualifiers for the 2015 season of American Ninja Warrior. I hope that be me overcoming my personal challenges, not only shows the world what I can do but also motivates others to take a step forward and make a change in their life. I want to inspire people to not only make physical changes in their life, but also make overall changes to better themselves, and their lives. Over the last 3 years I have learned that no matter who we are, or what we are faced with, we are still free to succeed. We have to work hard to achieve success, but it is always possible to succeed.

When I am working out, I enjoy using my Armpocket because it gives me the ‘freedom to succeed’. Before I used my Armpocket, during my workouts I would need to either adjust my phone case or remove it from my pocket because it would restrict me from pushing myself to my full potential. I also always had the fear of dropping my phone during my workouts. Now I am using the Ultra i-35, and I have noticed that I am able to increase my training level, without thinking about my phone or having to adjust it for comfort.

I believe that no matter what our goals are in life, or what we are going through, ultimately we are in control of whether we succeed or fail. It is important to set goals and go after them. My next goal is to continue training and focus on regaining my pre amputation speed. I also want to compete in the 100m and 200m dash in the Paralympics. Another goal I am focused on is to continue to grow my career as a personal trainer and to also start doing motivational speaking to reach and motivate even more people than I already have.