DUDLEY, Mass. (10/7/2026) - For much of his life, Brandon Teixeira '20 was known for what he could do with a basketball in his hands. As a student-athlete at Nichols College, basketball was an important part of Teixeira's identity. The game provided confidence, community and a way to express himself, while his experiences on The Hill helped shape the person he would become beyond the court.
Today, on World Mental Health Day, Teixeira is using his personal journey to help others.
A former Nichols men's basketball player, Teixeira is the founder and CEO of Mental Health Declassified, a Massachusetts nonprofit dedicated to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health through honest conversations, storytelling, education and community. The organization's philosophy is simple: "Overcome the mind to overcome the stigma."
This month, Teixeira is adding another chapter to that mission with the release of his debut memoir,
Misunderstood.
The memoir, which officially released today, explores Teixeira's experiences growing up with dyslexia and feeling misunderstood, his relationship with basketball, and the challenges of discovering who he was beyond being an athlete. For Teixeira, basketball became more than a sport. It became an identity. That identity became even more significant as he navigated the pressures, expectations and insecurities that can accompany being an athlete. But when injuries eventually brought his basketball career to an end, Teixeira was forced to confront a question that had been waiting beneath the surface: Who was he without the game?
"Losing basketball did not create my pain," Teixeira writes. "It uncovered everything I had been using the game to avoid." That period of transition ultimately became a catalyst for something much larger.
Misunderstood chronicles Teixeira's journey from feeling misunderstood, to struggling, searching, confronting pain and eventually learning to ask for help and heal. What he once viewed as weaknesses have since become central to his purpose. That purpose now extends well beyond the pages of his memoir.
Through Mental Health Declassified, Teixeira creates opportunities for people to have conversations about mental health before they reach a breaking point. His work has reached more than 2,500 people through events, programming and storytelling.His work with schools is similarly rooted in connection. Rather than simply asking students to listen to his story, Teixeira uses
Misunderstood and a companion Reflection Guide to encourage students to examine their own experiences and find the words to begin conversations of their own.
The approach is especially meaningful for student-athletes.
Teixeira's story speaks to athletes who may have been taught that vulnerability is weakness, while also reaching anyone who appears confident or successful on the outside while privately carrying something others cannot see.
In many ways, his work represents an extension of the lessons learned through athletics: that identity is bigger than a scoreboard, that adversity can shape you without defining you, and that the most important victories are not always the ones that happen on a court. Now, instead of using basketball to tell his story, Teixeira is using his story to help others tell theirs.
His memoir,
Misunderstood, will be available in paperback, hardcover and eBook beginning October 10. For the former Bison, the next chapter is about making sure others know they do not have to face theirs alone.
From the Author:
- Was there a particular moment when you knew you wanted to tell this story?
"I don't know if there was one specific moment, but I eventually realized that the experiences I was afraid to share could be the very things that help someone else feel less alone. I know what it feels like to struggle in silence while the world assumes you're okay, and I wanted to create the kind of connection I wish I had when I was struggling."
- You mentioned the impact of being a student-athlete. Looking back now, how do you understand that experience differently?
"Basketball was a huge part of my identity. It gave me purpose, belonging, and direction, but it also taught me how easy it is to tie your worth to what you can accomplish. Looking back, I understand that losing parts of that identity forced me to discover who I was beyond being an athlete. You can be a strong athlete, a good student, or the person everyone counts on and still be struggling internally. Your identity is bigger than your accomplishments."
- What made you feel that now was the right time to tell this story?
"Through my work with Mental Health Declassified, I've seen how powerful it can be when someone feels safe enough to share their truth. I wanted MISUNDERSTOOD to reach people beyond the rooms I speak in and remind them that they don't have to have reach rock bottom like I did to begin healing. If sharing my story gives even one person permission to heal out loud, then it's worth telling."
