Today we’d like to introduce you to Mister Alexander.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My father gifted me with the name Mister Alexander. I’m a retired NFL athlete, and I currently co-own Missing Element Sports Performance and Fitness with my close friend and brother Darius Willis. Growing up in the Houston, Acres Homes neighborhood, we never knew this industry would eventually become our passion. I was the youngest of five, and just like any other little brother, I aspired to be like my older siblings. My sister and brothers were brilliant, athletic, competitive, and dominant in anything they chose to be a part of. I believe the expectation and high standards of our household molded us into what we became. We all became great student-athletes. Initially, in high school, I was never the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but because of the example set by my family, friends and community, I had a path to follow. I worked hard and became one of the best high school student-athletes in the Houston area. I was awarded with over forty scholarship offers(some duel sports offers) to almost any school you can think of. My grades were never an issue, but the injuries were. I was only able to play one year of high school football, and somehow that injury bug followed me to Florida State University. While at FSU I was only able to play two years, fortunately, my injuries didn’t derail the path I had set for myself so long ago. The path I set for myself was to make it to the NFL and become recognized as one of the greatest to ever play the game. I achieved one of those goals but fell short of the other as far as recognition is concerned.
While following the path I set for myself, there were many challenging trials that no human pursuing any goal could possibly prepare themselves for. My senior year in high school, I partially tore my ACL the third game of the season. As colleges grew familiar with my injury, I saw opportunities I worked so hard for begin to vanish right before my eyes. Luckily my junior year’s accolades were enough for Florida State University to take notice, and even though they did, I received my scholarship from them on signing day which was a highly stressful yet joyous moment all the same. While at FSU, as an incoming freshman I learned that I had Wolff-Parkinson-White, which is an irregularity in the heart. The treatment required three heart surgeries to fix which of course sidelined me. My second year at FSU, my old high school partially torn ACL decided to it had enough, so I was sidelined again. My third year at FSU scar-tissue had accumulated around my ACL which prevented full range of motion and caused a lot of pain. Thankfully I only needed two years to show the NFL I was capable of playing at that level.
I was chosen by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. During my first game after being moved to the active roster, I tore the labrum in my left shoulder but was able finish the year.
While reading the brief details of the path of my football career, one can conclude that I spent as much or even more time in the training room doing physical therapy as I did on the actual field of play. Being the curious person I am, the time I spent in the training room rehabbing was also spent asking questions, learning about human anatomy, and doing my own research. Therefore since high school I had been unconsciously preparing myself for my career after football.
When I partnered with my close childhood friend and brother Darius Willis who is also a former division one football player, I knew we had the same passions. We love sports, health education, fitness, and we want to properly educate the youth about the proper paths to take in order to achieve anything they want in life, whether it be sports-related or not. We’ve had long and deep conversations about all the things we wish we had in our upbringing, so instead of complaining about the things we can’t change, we decided to create Missing Element Sports Performance and Fitness. The name in itself has a stronger underlying meaning than what’s obvious to the naked eye. At Missing Element Sports Performance and Fitness we know that “Everyone’s true power lies within themselves,” this is why we use the abbreviation “ME.” Without realization of the source of one’s true power, they will live a vague exist, and never achieve the unthinkable. Therefore our inspiration is infinite, has always been improving the world one soul at a time while being the example we want to see.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road to achieving what we have definitely wasn’t a smooth one. When you’re a young athlete everyone always says, “You have to have a plan B,” but coming from the inner-city neighborhood of Acres Homes there aren’t many examples of possible career paths that attract the youth. Although we both come from households that made sure we understood our grades came before sports, we still couldn’t escape fact that we didn’t have access to mentors who could actually give us first-hand knowledge on careers that attracted us outside of sports. With this said, the struggle of transitioning into another career path after sports we saw ourselves committing the next phase of our lives to was more than difficult. At times we had to depend on family to keep us from succumbing to the depression of not knowing our value or purpose now living in a world we weren’t familiar with. Going through depression, learning an industry, taking financial losses wasn’t easy at all, but the education we gained along the way is priceless, and we’re more than thankful for those potholes.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Missing Element Sports Performance and Fitness is a company owned by former athletes who have played at the highest levels in our careers. We pass the knowledge from our personal career experiences and the infinite knowledge we continue to acquire. We take pride in acquiring new knowledge everyday, so no matter the problem, we’ll find the solution. We specialize in general fitness (weight loss/health and nutrition), strength and conditioning (all sports), speed development, position specific football training, track and field, and basketball training. We’re known in our community for volunteering our time and wisdom to the youth, we’re also public speakers. There has been countless times when we’re in public and kids remember us from the message we gave when they were younger. We’d have to say that we’re most proud of how we’ve chosen to use our influence. As far as sports performance and fitness is concerned, we set ourselves apart from others in our industry because in everything we do, we lead with accurate information to make sure our athletes are ahead of their competition, and our fitness clients stay on top of their health.
What were you like growing up?
My personality today is similar to my youth. I’ve always been reserved, observant, and somewhat to myself, but as I grew older and experienced new things, I came out of that shell.
Contact Info:
- Address: Missing Element Sports Performance & Fitness
17552 Stuebner Airline Rd.
Spring, TX 77379 - Phone: 832-517-9969
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ME_Sports.Fitness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/MissingElementSportsPerformance/about/
- Twitter: @_ME_Sports
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