Former football player Ta'u Pupu'a opens up about hitting rock bottom after an injury ended his career, and how he rebuilt his life from there.

• A career-ending injury pushed him into months of depression, unsure what to do without football.
• Gossip and whispers from within the Tongan community made it worse, as he felt he'd let down his family and Polynesian people more broadly.
• After three months of feeling stuck, he decided he couldn't keep drowning in sorrow and needed to find a new path.
• He landed on wrestling as the next chapter, turning his athletic background toward a new sport.

Outlook: His story points toward wrestling as the new direction he pursued after football, with more of that journey still to tell.