Energetic, with a temper, but throughout everything that has happened to him, he can still look at you with the warmest smile and say that he’s here for you. This is Freddy Rendon. Born July 24, 1994, with a tough childhood, he had no parents and he was constantly on a move.
His struggle began when his father abandoned them. Then at the age of six, his mother abandoned him. The memories are vague about that day. All he really remembers is her telling both of them how much she loved them, and that they were his world.
From here on he was moving all over the map. He was constantly moving from home to home, living with relatives throughout these different states.
Out of all of the places he moved to, his favorite one was Huston, Texas. He was approximately 20 minutes away from the city and more in the countryside. In Huston, he began to box, but he really didn’t go any further because he had to move to Chicago, Illinois.
“This is where I started boxing and started going pro, this was the best time if my life,” said Rendon. “When I was on the ring, it felt great, this was when I was at most peace because this was something I loved doing.”
Now, even if he wanted to go back, he can’t because he broke his hand.
“If I could, I would go back without a second thought,” said Rendon.
Rendon absolutely didn’t like it in Chicago because it was just way too cold, and he was a Floridian by heart. The good thing was that he was only there for a month. That was until he found out his brother, Marcos, was in Tennessee. Once Rendon arrived in Tennessee, he found out that his brother had returned to Florida.
After he found his brother back in Florida, Rendon decided to go to Georgia. While he was here, he had a good time. He remembers getting on top of mountains and just sliding down, with mats, or the lids of trashcans.
“While I was there I had a good time, I remember that we had a little contest,” said Rendon. “That competition was to make the biggest snow-ball, and the biggest one was like six feet high. This was the biggest snow ball I had ever seen.”
When Rendon was 15 years of age, he was “jumped.” They broke his knees and elbows and hit him in the head with a bat. This caused him to lose his memory; it took him about a month to regain it, but to this day he still hasn’t regained it completely. He also doesn’t remember his childhood, and he has a collection of pictures that he has absolutely no memory of.
“I asked my brother where all these pictures come from,” said Rendon. “He told me that I had brought them and always used to brag about them and say ‘Oh I remember that day.’ Now, I don’t even know who the people in the pictures are.”
In middle school he began to be more talkative. He used to be very shy, but he became outgoing and was the “popular kid.” Rendon had a vast amount of adventures, in these years. He felt comfortable and met some of his closest friends, which he has to this day.
While he was in middle school, he was really close to one of his teachers, Ms. Licata; she was like his mom. Rendon used to always go to her for advice on anything. She saw the potential he had and was trying to get it out by helping him stay out of trouble. She was even going to adopt him, but she couldn’t because her time alive was uncertain.
“He is very diligent and is very good in helping others,” said Ms. Duncan. “Freddy is very congenial and gets along with everyone.”
His goal once he gets out of high school is to produce his own music and make a record label. Rendon has written his own music.
“My first impression of him was that he was mean, but I found out he was a real cool person and nice,” said Willie Riley. “In a couple of years, I see him accomplishing whatever he wants and be very successful.”
Despite everything that has happened in his life, he can still walk everyday with a smile on his face.
