My name is Liam Sproston, founder of Dig Deep.

A number of you know my story, but I’ll share it for those who might not. Born in 2003, I have played rugby since the age of 5 years old. I went on to go to the renowned Paarl Boys’ High where my passion and love for the game only grew. In the year after I completed matric, I was given the opportunity all young boys dream of receiving. I was selected to represent join the Western Province u20 squad and before I knew it, I was on the flight to earn my first cap at a stadium I only ever dreamed of playing at. That stadium was Ellis Park against the Emirates Lions. I went on to finish the whole campaign with the group and
had the massive honour of playing against the junior All Blacks side in friendly. These experiences and growth in my abilities instilled a confidence in myself that I was sure this lifelong dream of having a playing
career was destined to become a reality. This vision would however come to an abrupt halt at the end of 2022 as I would start what would be the toughest 2-year journey I never thought would even be possible.

In a freak training ground incident, I managed to tear my left ACL off the bone and began a 9-month rehabilitation process after surgery the following week. At what I think was the best condition I had ever been in after 9 months of recovery thanks to my fantastic team of rehabilitation experts including 2
members I have to mention being Wayne Hector and Dr Sid Allie who showed the
utmost belief in me, in my very last return to play session before my second u20 campaign would kick off, I fractured my fibula in the opposite leg during a contact drill and was carried off the field once again. I was in utter disbelief and could not seem to wrap my head around this. I found myself
praying constantly for some sort of strength and help to come my way as I had been pushed far beyond my limits. I was in a Virgin Active in my hometown of Paarl at that stage slowly dragging myself around on crutches through a gym session that never seemed to end when a guy who I can now call both my mentor, friend and family – Vicus Kruger came up to me and said “you look like you’ve
been through war, we need to go for a coffee and have a chat” bearing in mind I had said nothing whatsoever about my current circumstances and found myself speechless, but agreed to go for the coffee which turned out to quite possibly be the best choice I had made. The best thing about Vicus was him not being a fan of sugar-coating things and just being 100% straight forward with often
times, tough love – more than anything else. I opened up and spoke my mind and he provided me with multiple strategies to get through the situation I was then facing and it did me the world of good. I felt reignited and sense of strength start taking hold of me once again. 10 weeks later however, after being in a moonboot too and after continuous scans, the bone had not fused and I required surgery to fix the break with a metal plate and screws. About 3 months
thereafter, I could not seem to shake off a constant pain persisting to show up in the tibia of the same leg. Signs of bruising started to show and what can only be understood to be complications and my body not adapting, I got the news I was dreading after a specific type of CT scan first thing one morning when my surgeon messaged me to let me know I had managed to develop a stress fracture in my tibia of the same leg and was side-lined for an additional 12 weeks in a moonboot once again. I was absolutely shattered in every way possible and after
working through this immensely frustrating period when I thought that would be the last of it, things seemed to be on the up, I was back on the field for running and fitness sessions ready to take it head on for the u21 campaign which lay ahead, when as the sessions got more intense, so did a new form of excruciating pain in my leg. After many consultations with more specialists, it was decided I required yet another surgery to remove the plate in my Fibula. During the
surgery, they then found a trapped nerve likely due to continuous trauma and scar tissue around the plate from the previous surgery which they ruled to be the root cause of the problem. This then ended my chances of representing the u21 team for the last time all together. I was in hands down, the darkest place I have ever been in, one that I would not wish on my worst enemy. I spent many nights breaking down in tears for hours before falling asleep. My love for the
game had turned into an unhealthy one. After all the support my family had shown me and everything I had put them through, I felt it was literally not an option to call time on the career no matter what I faced. I was in so much of an unhealthy space that I had made the choice in my mind that I rather would not
have continued with my life than let them down and cast all their efforts
aside.

I spoke with a number of people to try help me and often I did not wantmy family to know what was going on in my mind as I knew it would hurt them.But eventually after multiple conversations and endless praying, some sort ofrational thinking started to sink in. The one conversation that really hit homewas with probably the first agent who was actually real with me and genuinely putting my interests first when he asked me the question: Do I want to be able to play with my kids one day and have an enjoyable life with my family or how I interpreted the other half of the question, am I going to continue being
stubborn with a ridiculous amount of tunnel vision taking no one other than myself into consideration. The answer was just too easy. I realised having a family to prioritise and care about in the future outweighed that completely and wanted to choose to stop the game before I grew to hate it.

After endless scans and persisting with approximately 112 consecutive weeks of rehabilitation work (each day approximately 6 hours), I simply did not have it in me to step on to the field and risk beginning a strenuous process like the one I had just gone through all over again. I made the gut-wrenching decision to end a lifelong dream before my love and passion for the game died out
completely. Did I have doubts about my decision shortly afterwards – no question about it and the question as to why all of these setbacks were being put in front of me consumed my everyday life, but little did I know how quickly that question and my doubts would be answered with what could have been the most-costly and life-changing injury yet…

A matter of weeks later, I found myself in hospital once again after virtually collapsing out of my bed with excruciating pain in my back and loss of all strength and feeling in my left leg. Scans showed how fortunate I
actually was to have not yet stepped on the rugby field with what was likely long-term damage to my L4-L5 disc which prolapsed and tore in my lower back which I had no prior knowledge of. I was the only person in the room in hospital when the surgeon came to break the news about how I had escaped murder and yes, I would need another surgery first thing the very next morning. After my family had left that evening I felt defeated, useless and honestly had nothing left to give. I felt the tears come running down my face as I tried to process what had
just happened, how I was going to get through it and how much worse the
consequences could’ve been. With no strength or fight left in me I prayed that
night and asked God if there is any possibility during or after the surgery that I become paralysed or a permanent burden on my family, rather don’t let me come out of it, but if I do, please give me strength to get through it alongside those closest to me. The very next morning, I woke up and had the sense of peace about me. I was filled with this full sense of belief that I would come
out of this, have the strength to get through the recovery and the purpose was
going to be much greater. I could not be more grateful to have caught it when I did and had the previous delays of returning to the game. Had I been on the receiving end of a hard tackle or a heavy impact in the front row of any given scrum, there may have been a chance I wouldn’t have walked off the field at all.

To say I was grateful would be the understatement of the century. Not being contracted to the union either – I therefore did not earn a cent and relied solely on hope for the chance to play again.

The one thing this whole journey taught me was to DIG DEEP!

It was time to begin a new chapter and because my heart still lies within
the game and wanting to give back to the game and those who gave me so much joy and resilience, I felt I needed to share my story and launch this brand to create a
community for anyone who may be facing difficulties of any kind in their lives and to know how rewarding digging deep through these times can really be. It is because exercise and training brought me an unbelievable amount of joy that we are going to be launching many ranges of training apparel and on the rugby side
– for all coaches, players, kids or fanatics - we will be bringing you top quality studs you need to gain the edge in whichever position you play for any conditions you may encounter as well as other specialist equipment you can be guaranteed will elevate your game. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my story and hope it gives you the smallest ounce of motivation to keep fighting going for every dream you have for yourself. You are not just buying into a brand, you are buying into a
mindset like no other.