Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua took a page from injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ wellness approach, investing £2,000 in four days of solitary contemplation in a completely darkened room that fans have labeled as “dumb.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn acknowledged that Joshua had wrestled with mental challenges and believed his decision to embark on a four-day darkness retreat was primarily aimed at self-improvement. During an interview with Men’s Health, Joshua disclosed that he had paid the money to spend four days in a pitch-black room for character development.
“There is a door. They open the door, slide in your food on a tray, and you eat. You do not see them,” he explained. “It’s pitch black. No phone. No TV. No radio. No audiobooks. Nothing.”
Hearn stated that Joshua was constantly in a “fishbowl,” subjected to interviews and fans requesting selfies whenever he left his home. He believed Joshua had undergone an “implosion” following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in August of the previous year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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On Monday, Joshua posted on social media: “Myself and [my friend] are about to embrace the darkness and solitude for four days [in separate rooms], isolated with nothing to do except relax and clear the mind while being immersed in infinite darkness.”
Rodgers experienced a comparable journey in a pitch-black room during his later years as the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. The four-time NFL MVP participated in this endeavor within a cabin designed for prolonged isolation in total darkness. During this time, he contemplated what it would be like to play for a different team in one instance, and in another, he pondered the prospect of life after retirement.
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Rodgers mentioned having the option to leave at any time if he chose. He also noted that the entire experience could induce hallucinations reminiscent of the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
“It’s just sitting in isolation, meditation, dealing with your thoughts,” Rodgers said before joining the Jets. “It stimulates DMT, so there can be some hallucinations in there, but it’s just kind of sitting in silence, which most of us never do. We rarely even turn our phones off or put the blinds down to sleep in darkness. I am really looking forward to it.”
In both cases, the darkness retreat was used to assist elite professional athletes in contemplating their personal decisions concerning their future career paths. Rodgers was at the peak of making a significant decision about choosing a new team, as the Packers had been the only team he had ever played for since his entry into the NFL from the University of California in 2005.
On the other hand, Joshua is searching for his next opponent and sees two particular fights as crucial additions to his career record. After his knockout win over Robert Helenius in August, Joshua began exploring options to secure a noteworthy adversary for his upcoming match.
At first, a match with former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder appeared in the works. However, the discussions have grown silent, leaving Joshua contemplating his next steps.
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