Three years ago, a video went viral of a kid getting harassed by bullies on social media.
It was Rayden Overbay from Oklahoma City. Besides his trials with the bullies, he was also challenged with multiple disorders including ADHD, ADD, ODD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. In addition to that, Rayden also struggled with weight issues.
His parents have spoken out about the bullying of their son. According to them, he was harassed as early as 8 due to his physical condition.
“As you saw in the video, he’s always been bigger than everybody. I would witness kids when he was like 8 or 9 just walk up and punch him square in the stomach,” Rayden’s mother Scotlyn Overbay said.
In one video, three middle school students were seen assaulting him without provocation. While other videos surfaced around the same time captured Rayden being attacked in a bathroom by other students.
Their school, Yukon Public School, has made an official statement since then, claiming that they have disciplined those students although they won’t disclose their names and the disciplinary actions that were taken.
Now in 2022, three years have passed since then and Rayden is 15 now.
Rayden had found a way out of his past thanks to an anti-bullying organization founded by Mixed martial artist Justin Wren.
He also regularly trained jiu-jitsu at Lovato’s Jiu-Jitsu School in Oklahoma City. He was proud to announce that he earned his first stripe this week.
Many have congratulated him for his achievement, including ‘The Diamond’ himself, Dustin Poirier.
“We’re proud of you, we’re rooting for you, always in your corner, man,” the former UFC interim lightweight champion said.
The message eventually reached Rayden, who happens to be a big fan of Poirier.
“Probably one of the coolest” Rayden said about his message from Poirier. “I’ve got a lot of support.”