Blake Bilder

Blake Bilder is a man who will never tap out on life and is on a mission to inspire others to do the same.
With the love of Jesus Christ in his heart, Blake refuses to allow his past to define his future. He works daily to serve and motivate his million-plus followers on various social media platforms through humor, tough love, and by setting the bar for excellence.

Born in 1990 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Blake could have easily been left behind in his rough neighborhood as a statistic. His young mom was barely eking out a living, working in a factory to support a toddler, Blake’s older brother, Nick, when she brought Blake from the hospital to their trailer home. Blake’s father was a violent alcoholic who was in and out of prison. His mom subsequently brought home a series of abusive men. Blake started working out at age 9 to protect himself and his mom from the abusive men in their lives. Younger brother Braydon was born when Blake was 10 years old. Starting in his early teenage years, Blake began numbing his pain with alcohol and drugs. He kept telling himself he never wanted to be like his father, yet he was turning out just like him, which resulted in self-loathing, anger, sadness, and a suicide attempt.

There are three lifelines that keep him afloat. One, he discovered boxing, jiu-jitsu, and later MMA. He wanted to learn to wrestle, but he knew his mom could not afford the fees or the time to drive him. The gritty gym became his home, the coaches his surrogate fathers, and fellow gym rats his brothers. Blake was a gifted athlete, but his daily grind fueled his success. He boasted a 36-2 record as an amateur before becoming a pro fighter.  

Two, creativity. He always had great ideas for visual art and could create ads in his mind for his favorite products growing up, like Pepsi, Nike, etc. When not shooting and posting original, authentic, and entertaining videos of himself, Blake always finds time to help and uplift others to do the same. His followers, many of them fellow influencers and other celebrities, say Blake has changed their lives. One left a voicemail saying Blake’s message made her reconnect with God, forever grateful and crying with joy. 

Three, through the ups and downs of his athletic career and personal life, what has kept him alive is the fact that he accepted his Lord and Savior. Fitting for Blake’s effusive sense of humor, he was introduced to God at age 20 while shopping for frisbee golf discs at the Mall of America.  A man walking by asked Blake if he wanted a father who would love him unconditionally and wash away all his prior sins. Even though combat sports were keeping him from drowning completely, Blake had been floundering, getting wasted, being destructive, and getting arrested for minor incidents.  Now, with over two years of continued sobriety under his belt, Blake understands that sobriety must be a renewed daily commitment, and he tackles that with the love of the Father in his heart.  

Three heartbreaking events truly tested Blake. First, three years ago, his younger brother died by suicide at age 20, leaving behind a baby and another on the way. Second, in a moment of weakness before a UFC fight, he ingested an illegal substance in a desperate attempt to cut weight, a decision that led to a loss. Third, getting arrested on a drug-related charge but accepting responsibility at an early disposition and successfully serving probation. Thanks to God, Blake has turned these adversities into advantages. He is committed to changing his family tree and breaking the cycle of abuse. He also realizes that substance abuse is a slow suicide.  

Blake’s Sprint Challenge started as a spontaneous, inspired post that went viral with millions of views on each post and climbing. When his sprint “victims” #5 and 6, father-son duo Andy and Travis Hong, approached Blake after he “smoked” them, asking to use the platform and influence to sprint against suicide, it was a resounding yes! Blake embraces this as an opportunity to honor Braydon and to save others.