My Mission…
To empower, motivate, inspire and teach through professional yet candid and non-traditional therapeutic approaches.
To teach and encourage individuals to embrace the hardships of life, understand the process and focus on the solutions in order to reach success.
WHO IS COTY MARTIN?
This is my story...
Born and raised in Miami, Florida as a troubled and confused kid headed nowhere fast. At the age of 14 I was challenged with the decisions of becoming a man or a statistic. I chose to become a man!
Gifted with natural talents on the football field and the ability to express myself both poetically and musically, I began to set goals that would later direct me to a positive mindset.
Coming from an unstable childhood, I understood the importance of building and maintaining positive relationships. By the time I graduated from high school, I lived in 22 different homes and went to 10 different schools.
I understood early that perseverance would be the key to overcoming my adverse background and that failure was never an option.
I used football as a tool for positive growth and music as therapy to overcome each adverse phase of my life. And after only playing one full season of varsity football in the 10th grade due to two season ending injuries in 11th and 12th grade, I was still able to successfully graduate high school and earned a full scholarship to play football at South Carolina State University.
After struggling with the transition from high school to college, my at risk past became present. I was kicked off the football team multiple times due to negative actions off the field and was at risk of losing my scholarship. I then had another season ending injury that would set me back. I was also in a terrible car accident that caused a serious back injury. Doctors explained to me that I might not be able to play football again which terrified me.
I immediately turned to my favorite source of therapy, which was music. After months of rehabilitating my injuries and reflecting on my life through recording music, I understood that the only way to overcome my adverse situations and succeed was to change my mindset and to do things differently.
After the positive mindset shift, I would later become the starting running back on the football team, award with multiple Most Valuable Player trophies, All-Conference, and selected to the HBCU All-Star football game where I won Most Valuable Player.
I would later earn my Bachelors and Masters Degree from South Carolina State University, become a Licensed Professional Counselor and developed a passion for assisting others with embracing and overcoming adversity and to develop a positive mindset for a successful life.
Not only did my lifelong journey of adversity build character, it made me a man! It helped me become a better leader. It guided me to my purpose. Most of all... It taught me to be a great husband to the woman of my dreams and the best father a child could ever have!