Ryan Loder blends wrestling toughness with mental health advocacy (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Ryan Loder is no stranger to the sports that are the epitome of toughness and never showing signs of weakness: wrestling and fighting.
But when he’s not been in the ring, he’s spent his time educating other athletes and individuals across the country on mental health; not only on what it means for fighters, but what it means for all of us. He serves as a spokesperson for Healthy Life Recovery.
Loder says his journey into mental health “happened organically” within his own journey.
“I was kind of already in it with how I was coaching. I did a lot of mental strength and toughness building in my coaching,” Loder said in an exlclusive RG interview. “When I started fighting, one of the guys who was on my football team when I was in elementary school, started his own mental health group in San Diego.”
It didn’t take long for Loder to get involved himself, becoming a voice in the world of mental health, a subject that has become much more talked about as time has gone on.
“He said he wanted to help give me the tools so I can help spread this further,” Loder explained. “He gave me more of a (microphone) and we paired up. Now I’m going around and spreading as much mental health awareness as I possibly can.”
Facing Mental Health Battles
In addition to serving as something of a media figure, Loder also takes it upon himself in interpersonal environments with people he knows and those he works around to make a difference in the lives of many.
One of those examples is in what he does as a wrestling coach, working with multiple groups, including the San Francisco State Gators and the UNI Panthers.
“In our practices, I preach a lot of mental health awareness, because a lot of fighters go through a lot of high highs and a lot of low lows at the same time,” Loder said.
The lived experiences of wrestlers and fighters are not always the best, and it is not always smooth, either. Loder helps with that.
“Most of them don’t come from a regular background where it’s mom and dad, so getting into the fighting scene, you’re almost in danger being that type of person,” Loder said. “Getting them to push through struggles, push through mental blocks that it goes from, ‘Hey, I can’t do this’ to ‘Hey, this is really hard, but I’m continuing to push through.”
Loder consistently represents himself as an open resource, and approaches those around him that may be exhibiting unique behaviors that could be indicative of something much bigger. The signs are not always major ones, and it’s important for people to keep an open mind and to realize whenever even the most minute of things appears to be off with someone they care about or work around.
“The other day, I noticed this guy kept coloring his hair a bunch and that might be a red flag,” Loder said. “And so I reached out to him, just being there and being like, ‘Hey, man, I see your hair has kind of changed a couple of times. If you need to talk to somebody, let me know.’ Just leaving the door open for stuff like that.”
Throughout his path in advocating for mental health, Loder has been involved in podcasting, extending himself in a variety of ways that has helped countless individuals. The response has been immense and is something that is highly rewarding for him.
And on top of him speaking on the subject and promoting it through the media, he has made himself vulnerable with his own personal story. People can relate to him not only because of his openness and welcoming nature, but because of the fact that he too knows what it is like to face adversity from a mental health perspective.
Despite some of the negative effects, it also makes him more approachable in multiple ways.
Coaching and seeing things from a coaching and competitor’s perspective has been helpful and opened Loder’s eyes.
“I think everyone in the fighting world has felt the effects of something on the mental health spectrum at some point or another,” he said. “I think we could save a lot more people if we focus on avenues to get help. And I think with the stigma surrounding mental health and vulnerability, sometimes openness coming directly from fighters helps others in that realm.”
People around Loder and those who have reached out to him seeking help have taken note of some of the coping mechanisms that Loder has recommended and have found good things come from it.
“They’re saying that they’re going to do something about it or that they’re taking heed of the steps I do, which is like, ice baths, journaling, breathing work and meditation,” Loder said. “They get back to me and tell me how much it has helped and that they feel they are on the right path.”
However, some of these techniques are not enough to overcome certain situations. Everyone is different and every situation is different, as well. There are times when an individual may need more intensive help, and Loder has involved himself in giving those people direction and making sure they get what they need.
“Some of these people’s stories are much more tragic and that’s when I send them over to a professional who can help more,” Loder said. “I still extend my tools and tell them what they can do in the meantime, but refer them to Healthy Life of San Diego or some sort of professional to help them out.”
There are things that help in the interim, though.
“There are some things to do in the interim that can help take the edge off,” said Loder. “Like, maybe today, you can keep going with this type of stuff and then get to the next day when you feel comfortable reaching out to these people.”
Loder’s Own Journey in the Ring
Loder’s extensive experience as a fighter and wrestler has given him a strong view of the inside track of what goes through the mind of people who participate in these sports. After all, he is one of them.
He recognized the stigma surrounding mental health, especially in those arenas, quite early on.
“I grew up a wrestler, so it’s a very much a sport where people think you have to be tough. But, if you don’t talk about [mental health], the issue gets worse,” Loder said.
That goes for more than wrestling and fighting as well.
“Having my friends in the military, there are a lot of macho men in there, and some of them still commit suicide,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter what you portray on the outside, sometimes there is a lot more going on in what someone is feeling.”
Loder knows a thing or two about things looking okay to most people from the outside while facing internal struggle. He is no stranger to that world. One of the most difficult transitions he faced in life was when he stepped away from wrestling.
“I think I felt it when I stopped wrestling, that was really hard. That was something I had done since I was a little kid and I was trying to make the Olympics,” he said. “I was close.”
Loder had a pivotal moment while training in the gym that gave him a new sense of perspective and was life-changing in multiple ways.
“I remember going to the gym, after saying to myself, ‘Okay, it’s Monday and I’ve got to get a lift in on Monday.’ And I was lifting and I was doing a clean and there was a lot of weight on the bar. I was trying to lift it up and I couldn’t get it up and so I threw it down, and I was like ‘What am I even doing? Why am I even doing this? There’s no reason to lift this weight.’”
Loder then made a phone call to his brother, who had been doing triathlons. That is something Loder himself would later become involved in as he realized that he needed to make a change.
As a figure who is also a UFC fighter, Loder has been faced with a number of trials and tribulations. Some of those have been internalized, and he has been in situations where he was quite literally forced to internalize his feelings. That included whenever he appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter” television series.
The effects were detrimental, at least for a time period, but they also taught him a lot and he came out a stronger person because of it.
“I went through The Ultimate Fighter in the house, and they take away your phone, they take away outside connection, pretty much you don’t talk to anybody. There’s no TV, there’s no Wi-Fi, there’s nothing,” Loder said.
He felt alone, and it’s obviously a less-than-friendly and super conducive environment in a situation like that one.
“So, you’re just kind of in the house with these guys that are trying to fight you. And, you’re there for a month,” Loder said. “Having to internalize [emotions], when I usually have so much help on the outside that is so helpful and that I lean on a lot, I had only myself. I had to focus on journaling, meditation, breathing exercises and getting through that process without having anyone to lean on, it was the hardest thing.”
The competition is stiff, to say the least.
“You’re fighting some of the best guys in the world and trying to get what you've been working for your entire life and you’ve got no one to talk to about it,” he said.
On top of that, there is absolutely no privacy. In fact, what goes on is for the entire world to see.
“You’re mic’d up the whole time, and the producers are trying to get you to say things and do things and you’re going through it.”
Outside all the experiences Loder has lived through, there have been some physical trials that are extremely connected to the mental things. Those two may sound like completely separate categories, but can be (and often are) very intertwined.
Injury takes a mental toll on athletes as much as anything else does when it comes to the general headspace, even if it is first and foremost a physical issue.
“Another thing people reach out to me a lot about is injury. They’ll tell me things like they’re trying to work through sports, but that they keep getting hurt and feel like they’re going back to zero every time,” Loder said.
Some of this just comes with the territory, in Loder’s eyes.
“For me, that’s part of sports,” Loder said. You have to keep going.”
Perseverance is key, and so is the recognition that being sidelined does not mean making zero progress.
“By the time your injury is healed fully, you’re ready to go at 100 percent. And you didn’t take a step back, you just learned something different. I think a lot of people don’t understand that process, but it is very difficult because you can’t do what you want to do for a long period of time.”
Moving forward, Loder will do a lot of multitasking as he continues helping others from an athletic and mental health perspective, while also preparing a return to the UFC. His next fight is scheduled against Cody Brundage on March 1 at UFC Vegas.
Crissy Froyd is a sports reporter of over 10 years who specializes in quarterback analysis at the high school, college and NFL level. She was mentored by Mike Leach and learned the Air Raid offense and quarterback evaluation largely under the legendary head coach. Froyd has appeared in and worked with multiple publications, including USA TODAY SMG, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and Saturday Down South. She also covers canine journalism for Showsight Magazine and resides in Wisconsin with her three dogs -- two German Shepherds named Faxon and Bo Nix, and one Siberian Husky named Stetson "Balto" Bennett.
