brother away from boxing. “I was like ‘What are you doing?’” Maria said. “I was concerned. I didn’t want anything happening to him … I tried convincing him not to.” ”It’s weird seeing him in a boxing ring. We didn’t think he was capable … but I’m at ease knowing he’s happy doing it.” Diaz Mateus said he enjoys when others underestimate him. “Once I go in [the ring], I feel like something comes inside of me,” Diaz Mateus said. “I feel like something takes over my body and if I get hit, I just feel I want to knock your head off. If I feel like you hit me or my leg is hurting me, I feel like that’s just adding more fuel to the fire. Like I’m just ready to knock your head off so my leg don’t hurt no more.” That pride comes from his Colombian heritage, which means everything to him. “I just want to go back in life and make my family and country proud,” he said. “Go back and they look at me and are like ‘you know, that guy’s Colombian, Colombian people got big hearts. They have that blood that doesn’t give up. We don’t let the bad times bring us down.’”
“[Coach Carlos Albuerne] doesn’t care that I have one leg and I like that he doesn’t see me any different, he’s not going to take it any easier with me. If I’m dropping my hands and he’s going to hit me in the face, then I want him to hit me in the face.” - Andres Felipe Diaz Mateus
His sister Maria noted that life hasn’t been easy for her brother, “but he takes full responsibility and he keeps going. I never seen anyone have that same drive … He doesn’t let his accident define him.” The biggest inspiration behind Diaz Mateus’ drive is his grandfather — who had to stop going to school in third grade to help take care of his family, according to Mateus. The boxer said that when his grandfather was growing up in Colombia, if a liberal saw a conservative, or vice versa, a gun would be pulled out immediately. If someone from one party knew where someone of the other party lived, they may burn down their ranch, or house — even if the entire family was inside. “Me losing my leg is nothing compared to what he’s been through,” Diaz Mateus said while rubbing his eyes. “Just thinking about him and all his stories growing up. His struggles, his times in Colombia, they were rough.” Diaz Mateus hopes to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and turn his own negatives into a positive, by not shying away from his injury and instead trying to inspire others with it, like his grandfather did to him. “I like it when I’m walking and people are whining about the little things in life. Like they break a nail,” Diaz Mateus said. “Then they see me in the gym working hard and they’re like ‘Why am I even whining that I just broke my nail on the treadmill? I mean that guys over there busting his ass on one leg.’” Therefore the amputee boxer thrives off the motto, “What’s your excuse?” His girlfriend Carly Grimes, an FAU senior history major, said that motto — which Diaz Mateus wears on his shirt and even uses as his email address — fuels her boyfriend and pushes him to get through the days where his leg may not be feeling the greatest, because when others see him pushing himself, it inspires them to keep pushing as well. “That’s the mentality that I like. If I’m busting my ass, you should be able to do the same. [I] try not to belittle people but try to give them a little boost … if you’re not doing things right, you’re not cheating anybody, you’re just cheating yourself.”
Andres Felipe Diaz Mateus with his coach Carlos Albuerne. They train every Monday through Friday for about two hours.
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