For almost all of Linn Sandstrom’s life, she has been an athlete.
But the two sports she competed in could not be at more opposite ends of the spectrum.
Sandstrom, 33, was born in Brazil but raised in Sweden by her adopted parents.
She grew up in a small town called Vaxjo, which houses Sweden’s National Glass Museum.
It was in Vaxjo that Sandstrom forged a career playing table tennis, although she had to deal with a number of detractors early on.
“I got told early that I would never make it in table tennis and was set to prove people wrong in that,” Sandstrom told the No Limit Boxing Podcast in April.
“And I did. I had a great career in table tennis, got awards, going to China playing table tennis, living the life as an athlete.
“Coming from a small town, everyone knew me as the girl that played table tennis. That was kind of my identity.”
Sandstrom eventually decided to put the paddle away and pick up some textbooks as he began studying marketing at university.
“But when I was finished with that, I wasn’t satisfied not being an athlete,” Sandstrom said.
The 33-year-old decided the most logical next step was to pack her bags and move to the other side of the world.
Sandstrom elected to call Australia home and set up shop in Sydney.
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It was in Australia’s most populous city Sandstrom found the sport she has become renowned across the world for: boxing.
Sandstrom initially began boxing purely for fitness and trained at Bondi Boxing Gym.
Given she was starting from scratch in the sport, Sandstrom decided to document her journey as a way to chart her progress throughout.
It proved to be a masterstroke.
Thanks to the skills she gained from her marketing degree, Sandstrom cracked the code on how to self-promote as heavyweight brands such as Adidas got on board to sponsor her.
Such was the interest in Sandstrom from brands, they were flying her ‘all across the world to do major shoots’.
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Sandstrom’s self-promotion also led to her receiving an opportunity to make her professional boxing debut in August 2020.
Unfortunately for Sandstrom her debut didn’t quite go to plan as she lost to Jessica Cashman via unanimous decision.
However, the fact Sandstrom fought on the undercard of Tim Tszyu v Jeff Horn ensured she had a massive platform to launch her professional career.
Sandstrom would have mixed fortunes over her next three fights as she registered a win, a split draw and a loss.
But the 33-year-old went on a tear from her fourth fight onwards as she was unbeaten over her next eight bouts, racking up seven wins and one draw.
With every win came more followers on her Instagram, which now sits at just under 97,000.
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Sandstrom’s winning streak eventually led to a world title bout against WBA flyweight champion Clara Lescurat in April.
The 33-year-old also inked a rather unique sponsorship deal ahead of the bout as she joined forces with OnlyFans.
However, Sandstrom signed an ‘athlete deal’, which meant she would only share boxing footage and dietary tips to her account instead of the adult content many people associate the website with.
Unfortunately for Sandstrom, her fight against Lescurat did not go to plan as the Argentinian retained her world title in a wide unanimous decision verdict.
The 33-year-old didn’t wait long to step back into the ring as she returned two months later and drew with unbeaten Thai talent Prakayrat Wongsuta.
Sandstrom returned to winning ways in October, beating Carla Camila Campos Gonzales in her home nation of Sweden.
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Whether Sandstrom can overcome the final hurdle to become a world champion remains to be seen.
However, given she was able to prove her critics wrong in her table tennis career, there’s every chance Sandstrom can go one better if she receives a second opportunity.