Yesterday, longtime ESPN Anchor Stuart Scott passed away at the age of 49.

We knew him as the slick-talking sportscaster, the “boo-yah!” man who was as cool as the other side of the pillow. After he was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, he became something more – a fitness advocate and a model of perseverance.

Scott didn’t lose his battle with cancer, he knew that the victory was in the fight. In a recent New York Times article, he explained how he used CrossFit training to help restore his energy between cancer treatments. He literally fought against his disease, practicing Muay Thai and Brazilian jiujitsu as part of an MMA training regimen.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer,” Scott said at last year’s ESPY Awards. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”

Scott’s workout dedication was just one of the ways he showed us how to take control of our lives, and of course, he did it with style:

1. He didn’t let chemo keep him away from the gym.

 

2. He knew how to make his colleagues tap out.

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JrLEoys3wds

3. He rocked these badass t-shirts with his family.

 

July 16, 2014

 

4. He kept his biceps on point.

 

5. He tested a UFC champion in the ring.

 

 

6. He had a mean left hook.

 

 

When Scott accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYS, he accomplished yet another physical feat. He took the stage to deliver an incredible speech just days after undergoing multiple surgeries.

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=K9cSX5XPY70

“I just got out of the hospital; I had four surgeries in the span of seven days,” he told the audience. “I had tubes running through every part of my body. As of Sunday, I didn’t even know if I could make it here. I couldn’t fight. But the doctors and nurses could; the people that I loved and my friends and family, they could. This whole fight, this journey thing, is not a solo venture. This is something that requires support.”

Jimmy Valvano told us to never give up — Stuart Scott showed us another way we can take control of our lives.  

Sometimes the weight that falls on us seems like it’s too much. The pressures build and we can feel ourselves wilting under the strain. When that happens, we can always remember the message Scott gave us — never stop fighting, never give up control.

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