Justin Wren’s IMEX America keynote session, “Purpose. Performance. Impact.” is sponsored by New Orleans & Company.

Getting punched in the face hurts. That’s a universal truth, Justin Wren says. But when you find your true purpose in why you are fighting and who you are fighting for, that same punch hurts a lot less.

“As I say in my presentation, ‘I’m living in the bonus rounds of my life,’” Wren says. “I should be dead. Success to me means getting back up and figuring out how to help one other person at a time. What if we all did that, helped just one other person?”

Wren answered that question himself when he founded the nonprofit Fight for the Forgotten (FFTF) in 2013. FFTF’s goal was to help the Pygmy Indigenous Peoples in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

“I went there, met them, fell in love with them and just felt like I wouldn’t ever be able to go back to my fighting career…It was a better fight,” Wren told “Innovation & Tech Today.” “Instead of fighting against a person, I got to fight for people and I loved that because they accepted me into their tribe and village.”

Since then, FFTF has provided more than 52,000 people with access to clean drinking water, acquired more than 3,000 acres of land for the Pygmies, replanted thousands of trees and helped free 1,800 people from slavery.

Fighting for life

Wren (or “the Big Pygmy,” as the Pygmies nicknamed him) is a professional mixed martial artist (MMA) fighter. He won numerous state and national championships in wrestling before trying his hand at MMA. He was featured on the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship league in 2009. He hurt his back the following year and took some time away from the sport.

"It all comes down to figuring out your true ‘why,’ your real motivation to confront any challenge."

That time, though, was hard for Wren. He became addicted to pain-killer medications, battled depression and attempted to take his own life. It was only after attending a men’s retreat that he discovered faith and a higher purpose. That led him on a trip to Congo, where he met the Pygmies—and one specific person: Mama Mariamo.

“She might be the tiniest little woman you have ever seen, but her impact on my life has been gargantuan,” Wren says when asked about who has made a positive difference in his life. “She is the star of my presentation, and I can’t wait to share her story with you. It’s my hope that hearing it will change your life in much the way it changed mine.”

The power of service

Wren is an MPI keynote speaker at the upcoming IMEX America in Las Vegas, Oct. 8-10. His presentation on Oct. 8 will focus on the power of service and the difference people can make in the lives of others, far beyond what can be imagined.

“I PROMISE a deeply entertaining hour, and a story unlike anything you’ve heard before (I think!),” Wren says. “I HOPE that everyone will walk away knowing that whatever our personal flaws may be, we all have the power to rise up and create a positive impact in other people’s lives.”

During his presentation, attendees will learn the secrets of what Wren calls the “overcomer’s mindset.” They’ll also learn how to transform pain into fuel, doubts into belief and setbacks into comebacks. He’ll help attendees find their purpose and achieve meaningful impact in their professional and personal lives.

“To me, it all comes down to figuring out your true ‘why,’ your real motivation to confront any challenge,” Wren says. “When I stopped just fighting for myself, to make a buck, and I started fighting for others, to improve their lives, my passion grew tenfold—and the load, the weight I was carrying on my back got much, much lighter.”

Wren returned to the ring in 2015 and quickly won his first three matches with Bellator MMA. But professional fighting is no longer his main concern. Helping those less fortunate and working with marginalized communities has changed his view of the world.

“When you live with people who have virtually nothing, but who can still find joy, you learn perspective in a deeper, richer way than you can imagine,” he says. “It’s as if it turns on the ‘gratitude awareness’ part of our brains that perhaps sometimes gets a bit dim as we all fall victim to taking things for granted.”