My name is Miles Mansell or some may know me as Singdam Sor Xayaveth, which means Black Lion in Thai. For anyone who knew me as a kid, receiving a name as fierce as Black Lion may come as a surprise. I was always quiet and usually off to myself. Growing up I was the youngest male cousin, so that often meant I was picked on the way a baby brother usually was, as well as never having a say in a dispute. Don’t get me wrong,my life wasn’t hard in any way. My family took care of me and I’m truly grateful for that.
I remember one cold Philadelphia December day I was hanging out with my favorite cousin MJ and he put on a martial arts movie called “Ong Bak – Thai Warrior”. At the time I didn’t know what Muay Thai was and I don’t really think he did either, but man it was the greatest movie and fight scenes that I’d ever seen. From that point on I knew I had to some how find my way to Muay Thai. It wasn’t a direct path in any way. I did so many different activities as a kid, I’m kind of surprised I’m a Nak Muay now.
I was your typical kid growing up. Tried everything under the sun; basketball, football, tennis, volleyball and numerous instruments. I even had a brief experience with Tae Kwon Do with me receiving my yellow belt in a few short months. Doing all these things, nothing really struck home for me or even kept me nearly as motivated or determined to be the best like MuayThai does. I’ll tell you another story. When I went to 4th grade, it was first time going to a public Philadelphia school, Overbrook Educational Center was the name. I was going to a private school in the suburbs in the years prior. I remember this day because me and this kid had figured out that we were baptized on the same day at our church. We were playing around at recess and I had smacked him on the top of the head. No faster than me slapping him, I was pinned against a cold stone wall with my shirt firmly between his hands. That instinct of flight or fight came rushing into my head and flight was the only thing that made any sense at the time. I’m a survivor and I was never one to get into fights that I knew I couldn’t win.
High school comes around and I had only one love and that was basketball. I swore I was going to play college ball somewhere whether it was D1,D2, or D3, it didn’t matter. I wanted to live the dream of playing for a university. Fast forward to my senior year of high school and I could see that not becoming a reality due to numerous reasons. But I brought up basketball because my Senior Night basketball game is the moment I realized that team sports, a sport where you compete with other people on your team, was not for me. It was my last basketball game ever and I had family and friends there who wanted to see me play. I wasn’t the best, but defiantly worked the hardest and played the hardest when it was time to preform. I sat out most of the second half, maybe getting 3 minutes out of 18 and was disappointed that my cousin wouldn’t see me back in the game. After that day I decided that I would never play a team sport again.
With basketball being over, I needed something to do while I waited to go off to college and decided to talk to one of my cousins who worked for Daddis Mixed Martial Arts in center city Philadelphia and started training Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. From the first time I walked in the gym with my best friend, Craig Howe, I was hooked. The atmosphere, the smell, just the energy in the air, I knew that I had found my home. In order to get to the gym everyday after school, I had to get the 3:40 train to make sure I made it for the 6:00 class. Over an hour commute everyday and not getting home until 10pm, just to train. But it was worth it to me because I couldn’t blame anyone else anymore for any short comings that may have happened. Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu are pure individual sports. Yes you have teammates that you train with, but when its time to fight, it’s you alone!
After my short stay at college, I came home and needed something to do besides stock shelves. That’s when I met my first coach, Jason Heflin. A crazy ass marine from Texas, but he was a great coach and we just meshed from the first time we talked. I think it was because he was outspoken and I was the quiet one. None the less I went to battle for this man and would do it again without hesitation. My first fight I will never forget it because I got my ass beat. Not because my opponent was that much better, but because I beat myself. My thoughts were all over the place and I lost control of my breathing. After the fight I remember sitting in the changing room with everyone and just thinking to myself, “you got your ass beat in front of everyone, but I want more!” I could barely breathe or talk, but I knew without a shadow of doubt that this is what I was put here to do. FIGHT!!
After that fight I moved to Arizona, looking for change. You may think I was abandoning my coach and team, but it was something I needed to do for myself and Heflin understood that. So once I got settled and had a job, it was time to find a gym to continue my training. I found Phoenix BJJ, where Vinn Xayaveth, my current coach was working. I didn’t meet him right away. I met numerous fighters who have gone to war for Vinn and MMA coach Mario Lujan. At first I felt like I was going through an interview process. That first day of training at Phoenix, they were sparring and guess who I had to spar with, the biggest and meanest looking Mexican I’ve ever met. Toro is what he introduced himself as, but his name was Samson(nice guy by the way). But I remember having the fighter’s eyes on me because I had expressed to them I wanted to fight. It was the longest 3 minutes of my life, trying to survive with that big fucker, but none the less I earned respect that day because I refused to look weak, not like I did those many years ago back in Philly.
I met Vinn the next day during his Muay Thai class and I can remember thinking “this short Asian guy is about to teach me how to beat someone’s ass….?” No more than 10 minutes later I was gasping for air after the routine 100 kicks. I decided that I wanted an hour personal lesson from him and guess what…. couldn’t even last 30 minutes before I was dead. Muay Thai is not for the faint of heart! That’s when I knew that this was the coach I’d been looking for, not just for Muay Thai, but the coach that would unlock my full potential. During the time of meeting Vinn I was getting ready to join the Air Force. I didn’t let that interfere with my training. Fast forward to a week out of my fight, Vinn was fired by Phoenix BJJ, who clearly didn’t give a fuck that I had a fight in 5 days and I needed a place to train. As I said a few paragraphs ago, I am a survivor, so Vinn and I trained and cut the final weight I needed to cut at Luke Air Force Base.
My first fight under Vinn went just the way we wanted. A stoppage, what we at Xayaveth Muay Thai aim for every time we go to battle. No point scoring just hard hitting Muay Thai, that if you’re not ready, will break you. I was on cloud nine! I had won my fight and made my coach and family proud. Then the reality set in that I was leaving for Basic Training in the next few weeks. I made it through Basic Training and started my tech school training, but something wasn’t right. I had no drive to do this anymore,not like how Muay Thai gives me the drive to be better. So I decided to Discharge.
I told Vinn I was coming home and to get a fight lined up for me. That’s exactly what he did. He actually set up 8 fights for me in a 9 month spand. I came away a 2x champion with a 5-3 record, having a few close calls that could have gone either way. So why am I writing you this autobio on Singdam? To give you insights on what Muay Thai has done for me over 4 years. It’s given me purpose, a reason to get up every morning and strive for greatness. I may not be the most talented or even the best at my level, but what I do know is that no one works harder than I do or has put their body through hell and back for this sport, without a second’s hesitation. It has given me a spine and new fire that I didn’t have growing up. Singdam wasn’t given to me, it was earned because like the lion when its time for a savage to do savage things, like fight and protect ones family; there is no one like me. I wear that name like a badge of honor, just like the Xayaveth Tattoo I have across my chest.
