VIDEO: Former pro boxer goes the distance with nutrition education for local youth

Nobody knows the intensity of boxing training better than David Morrison. A current Nutrition and Dietetics student at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Morrison started boxing in 2001 and went pro in 2007.

Originally from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana, Morrison followed boxing to Denver. Though he eventually earned a degree through MSU Denver’s Individualized Degree Program, focusing on Exercise Science and Sport Conditioning, he found he still couldn’t answer questions from fellow boxers about how to sustain their energy throughout training.

“I started getting a lot of questions about nutrition,” Morrison said. “I thought, I can either just start working in sports conditioning or I can go back and focus on nutrition and do what I actually want to do.”

Morrison has already found success in his chosen career path. He pitched Fuel Tank Nutrition, an organization that ensures that youth athletes understand the components of a healthy meal, at the Reimagine Wellness Challenge held by the Gina and Frank Day Health Institute at MSU Denver. And he won big, taking home the grand prize of $12,000 to launch the program.

The classes and demonstrations held through Fuel Tank Nutrition teach young people how to tell the difference between nutrient-dense meals and processed foods.

“And hopefully, they can understand when they eat a well-balanced meal that it helps them have satiety versus eating processed foods and then they’re wondering why they’re still hungry 15 minutes later,” Morrison said.

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Fuel Tank Nutrition launched its first round of classes at the Johnson Recreation Center in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood in March. The classes serve kids who participate in sports of all kinds, he said.

Next up, Morrison plans to scale the program in conjunction with Brick City Boxing Academy, providing six-week nutrition and cooking demonstrations that empower youth, parents and communities. And as if he didn’t have enough on his plate, Morrison also plans to start the Nutrition master’s program this fall.

“My idea of wellness in the community was providing this nutrition program for the youth athletes, to offer them knowledge that will help them have the energy they need to get through the boxing training,” he said. “So having the sports-conditioning and the nutrition background, I just want to pair them together to be able to help boxers.”