A knight enthusiast who suffered a near-fatal car crash that left him with brain and nerve damage and a loss of confidence, now wears full armour daily to rebuild his ‘strength and identity’, inspiring thousands on social media.
Chase Bolling, 39, a care worker, became ‘obsessed’ with knights after watching Robin Hood as a toddler, and through his teenage years achieved his dream of picking up fencing alongside being a ‘tough American football player’.
Chase, who lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the United States, wrote his first fantasy novel in 2018 and began dressing as a knight, recreating fight scenes at home to bring his vision to life.
In 2019, a car accident left him with a traumatic brain injury and severe nerve damage, and he became agoraphobic.
In 2024, he decided to wear his weighted chain mail, sword and shield in public to help improve his confidence, and said ‘it really helped’.
“The crash affected my confidence – you don’t normally leave the house expecting a routine trip to end in catastrophic, life-changing injuries,” Chase, a father-of-two, said.
“Wearing armour makes you much harder to hurt,” he added.
“My whole life I’d been this big defensive lineman (in American football) and thought I was invincible.
“I learned in a very dramatic way that no-one is. But wearing armour has really helped me feel stronger and more confident – it helped me with my strength and identity.
“To me, knighthood is about showing respect and protecting those around you, like a shield, and I think everyone should be more like a knight.”
Chase’s obsession with knights began when he was a toddler, after watching the 1992 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.
“I just fell in love with the entire aesthetic and the history behind it all, and I insisted my mother get me a classic plastic knight set to wear. The fascination never left me – I’ve been in love with the whole medieval knight world for as long as I can remember,” he said.
As he grew older, Chase continued reading books about knights and he also kept ‘dressing up’, enjoying wearing ‘costumes’ including traditional tribal wear connected to his African ancestry.
As a teenager he played American football as a defensive player, known for his speed and footwork, and one day achieved his dream of using a sword.
He added: “They introduced fencing at my high school and the coach began teaching me. I loved it instantly and never stopped.”
In 2018, Chase decided to write a fantasy novel – as a ‘huge fan of historical fiction’, he noticed there were ‘not many’ black fantasy writers.
However, the following year, he was involved in a ‘near-fatal’ car accident, just two weeks after his daughter was born, and his “life changed overnight”.
“Before the accident, I worked as a machinist in a hi-tech company, but I lost quite a few IQ points.
“I have significant nerve damage in my neck, across my shoulders, and down my right arm.
“When I came home from the hospital, I couldn’t even pick up my sword. It’s a traumatic brain injury, and I struggle with memory – I can’t always recognise people I haven’t seen in a long time.”
After 17 weeks of physiotherapy, he said his condition began to improve, and he decided to try wearing his chain mail again.
“The outfit honestly helped my recovery – I was walking around carrying an extra 40lbs, especially with the shoulder plates and chain mail,” Chase explained.
“It helped me rebuild my core strength.
“I was honestly an agoraphobic, I was hardly leaving the house, but the mother of my children really helped me recover too.”
He also began wearing his knight outfit ‘around the neighbourhood’ in spring 2024, which he believes further aided his mental recovery.
Since then, he has continued wearing his armour while picking up his daughter from school and even while accompanying his elderly clients and mother to the shops and medical appointments.
He said: “I take photos with people, answer questions, and try to get people interested in knighthood and what it means in the modern day, because society is struggling.
“We need people willing to stand up for their communities and restore that sense of honour and respect, I try to put on my armour and inspire.”
His children, aged seven and 14, think the re-enactments are “cool”, which he joked is “hard to achieve these days”.
But he has struggled to find a community in Connecticut of people interested in re-enactment and cosplay.
So in 2025, he launched his TikTok page, @chase.the.knight, and he has since racked up more than 43,000 followers.
He explained: “I create content that sometimes highlights black presence in the European Middle Ages, while educating people about historical martial arts and honour.
“I get a lot of trolls – some very upset, triggered racists – but the other half of the comments are really positive. Almost every day, someone says I’ve inspired them.”
In his videos, he often appears with a sword – which is blunt and cost him about £200 on Amazon – as well as a shield.
Looking ahead, he hopes to launch in-person live-action role-playing events.
He said: “It would definitely feel less lonely, and I want to help young people find something positive to do instead of turning to violence.
“I think people should embrace knighthood in this day and age, and go back to feeling a sense of pride.”
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