Lately we happened to know really great stories of people who made it. People that of disability have made a real added value.
In fact, for Daniele Domenico Comune (@itsnotcomune) that's it! Born and raised in Milan, this 28-year-old he works as a personal trainer, L2 coach and, as he describes himself, pretends to be an elite athlete😉
But what's special, you're thinking?
What if we told you that he's been deaf-mute since birth, but does it compete quietly with the normos? And if we add that it also follows a completely vegetarian diet?
How does?
He will tell us about it in this incredible interview, which will inspire many of us!
Hi Daniele, it's a pleasure to have you here. Let's start from the beginning: tell who you are and what you do in life!
Hi guys, my name is Daniele, I'm 28 and I'm from Milan. I have been doing CF for about 6 years and I have been following specific programming for 3.
In the same period I became a L2 coach and, at the moment, I train in two gyms: Milanimal and Ceresio 7.
As we mentioned before, you have a particular characteristic for a non-adaptive RX athlete: your deafness… can you tell us a little about your story?
In fact it is so ... What many define as a "problem", today I see it as an advantage! I have so much to gain from my deafness.
When I was younger I struggled to find positive aspects, also due to unpleasant situations at school, but today it's a whole different story!
Thanks above all to technology, hearing aids are currently real AirPods!
Clearly the benefit isn't because I can hear music and talk on the phone directly from the hearing aids; the real advantage is what I learned from my condition: being able to read people's eyes, understand their moods through body language and have empathy, lots of empathy!
You are also a coach, how do you approach yourself in class?
It ties in with what I just said! Everything I've learned I can apply in some way in my work as a coach: I understand when kids are in a bad mood or have thoughts that worry them.
This allows me to enter their lives and, somehow, to be able to change them even if only a little.
I don't need to ask the nature of the problem, I let them know that I understand and support them and that, if they want, I'm there!
I feel very lucky to have found a way to assist my deafness with my work, don't you think it's really an added value?
Definitely yes! And how did your journey as an elite athlete begin? What division do you compete in?
It all started in 2019, when I participated in the first two competitions as a regular! In one I came second and in the other first.
It was like a slap in the face (positive of course) because I never expected to reach such a goal!
The moments lived in those two races, the emotions felt and getting on the podium made me savor the dream of reaching the top, of being able to compete with the strongest and enter the Olympus of CrossFit®.
From that day on I realized that CrossFit® was never just a sport for me, it was and is my passion! Since that day I have created ambitions for myself.
I wanted to take my place in the CF world and I still do! This thinking has never changed, I do everything I can to take the best route to the top.
As far as my division is concerned I am officially Elite; wanting to compete in international competitions such as the French or the Wodapalooza, the category is RX, which corresponds exactly to the Italian elite category.
We also think you will be able to take your place! Can you tell us what difficulties have you faced/do you face during this journey of yours?
There have been two truly great difficulties that I have encountered in my career as an athlete.
The first is a pathology that I suffer from, which is called hidradenitis. I started having severe symptoms right when I started CF.
It's a skin disease due to sweating, but not only! Practically the rubbing creates real irritations and grazes, which are very painful and disabling.
The other is mental, the rush to get there, the thought that "I'm 28 and I don't have time to waste" and all those social conditionings that create expectations and, therefore, limits.
Last year I started a journey with a mental coach and I've completely changed, I'm definitely a different person.
Clearly I still have some "downs" due to beliefs and convictions that struggle to detach, but then I always get back on track, this is what you learn from the mental training journey!
Don't get rid of the old me, but tame it.
Is there any race you participated in that marked you the most? And why?
Yes! I would say the last one: the URoboro Summer Competition.
The reason is because after two years of Covid preventing me from participating in races, I injured my back, a hernia that kept me out for a long time.
It was the umpteenth relapse one month after the race! I was desperate… I got followed up and decided to give it a try anyway, even though I wasn't in top form.
I made it to the final, playing it against people much more successful than me, finishing 8th overall. I can consider myself absolutely satisfied with the result!
Definitely an excellent result Dani! We also know that you have a particular diet: you are a vegetarian! How long? How did you make this decision?
I've been a vegetarian for a year and 3 months, roughly!
I made this decision mainly for a question of moral ethics. I documented myself, informed myself and saw what happened with my own eyes… so I said no more meat!
For me animals have a life, just like we do and they have the right to live it freely!
In my small way it is a battle in their defense and I am sure that one day we will be able to respect their lives too.
One of the most pushed aspects in our panorama is precisely the diet and the intake of proteins. Can you explain how you integrate them?
For the speech protein, I am followed by a nutritionist who is an expert in the sector and knows exactly how to provide me with the right daily protein intake.
We also know, or at least I think we know, that we don't necessarily need meat or fish to supplement the proteins we need.
Personally, from when I changed programming (in September, therefore vegetarian for almost a year) until November I gained 4kg of muscle mass alone, data in hand!
If I could publish my bio I would [laughs]. Of course, I also deserve the quality of the workouts carried out by my programmer, Benedetto Salvo of Max Effort System.
That's right, speaking of training quality… How do you prepare yourself for an important competition?
Meditation guys, meditation. Maybe someone will think this is stupid… But believe me when I tell you that it is very useful!
It helps you control emotions, which doesn't mean repressing them, but managing and channeling them in the right direction and above all at the right time, without them dispersing before the event!
But it is not only control of emotions, but concentration and identification of your goal. Trust me, it works!
We can only thank you for all these valuable advice. Just to close, can you tell us what your future projects are?
I have many, many who will come one step at a time!
First comes my journey as an athlete and the goals in relation to this journey. Then there are those from a professional point of view, elevating myself as a trainer and opening my own box!
Then there is the ethical and educational one, that is to spread the culture of vegetarianism more widely. And then as the last final project, I would say that there is to live a life full of satisfactions and goals, without fear and full of dreams!
Why yes, I am a f*****g dreamer 😛