SERVICE WITH IMPACT Dr. Ryan Cotton ‘06 Leads Fight Against Parkinson’s with Rock Steady Boxing
The sound of gloves smacking heavy bags echoes through the Rock Steady Boxing gym on the northeast side of Indianapolis, the rhythmic cadence of speedbags drowning out instructions shouted by coaches. Around the gym, men and women of all ages and in various stages of Parkinson’s disease throw jabs and hooks, each punch an act of defiance to the tremors that grip their bodies. At the center of this controlled chaos stands Rock Steady Boxing’s President and CEO, Dr. Ryan Cotton ’06 (DHSc), whose passion for fighting the physical and emotional toll of Parkinson’s has transformed this gym—and its 800 locations worldwide—into a place of empowerment, resilience, and hope. It’s a story nearly two decades in the
making, and it all began with a simple invitation. “A friend of mine who was on the Board of Directors for Rock Steady Boxing came to me and said they needed someone with a doctorate degree and a therapy background who could help guide what they were doing in the Rock Steady classes,” said Cotton. “So because I was both a therapist and a doctor of health science, I was invited to serve as one of the medical voices on the Board.” As a board member, Cotton would spend the next few years shaping the Rock Steady method to meet the unique needs of a growing community. Combining the foundations of traditional boxing training with the day’s best physical therapy
practices, Cotton saw the fruits of his labors every day in the solid stances, youthful agility, and confident faces of those in the gym. He never imagined that one day he would see his father’s face behind his up- held boxing gloves, fighting his own battle against Parkinson’s. What had begun as a small tremor in his father’s hands eventually progressed to a full-on fight for control of his own body. A fight that he met unflinchingly in the Rock Steady gym every day until his last. Seeing his father’s bout with his disease only strengthened Cotton’s commitment to positioning Rock Steady Boxing as a leader in the exercise for Parkinson’s world. Following his father’s passing, Cotton stepped into a more active role at Rock
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UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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