Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

BJ Futrell is one of the best wrestlers to come out of Illinois in the 2000's era. He won two state titles for powerhouse Mt. Carmel HS, going 85 matches without surrendering an offensive point. In college, he was a 2X All American for the University of Illinois and was ranked #3 his senior year before suffering a career-ending injury. After college, BJ competed on the international circuit for ne...

Jody Strittmatter was one of Pennsylvania’s most highly coveted wrestlers coming out of Cambria Heights High School in 1996. When Mountain Cat wrestling Coach Pat Pecora out-recruited some of the most powerful NCAA Division I schools in the country and got Mr. Strittmatter to become a Mountain Cat, it turned out that the final piece of the 1999 National Championship wrestling team puzzle was in pl...

Alan Fried is considered by many to be the best high school wrestler of all time, winning 3 Ohio State titles and 4 Junior National titles. During high school he had an encounter with the Brands’ brothers, beating both and teching Tom Brands. Once Fried got to college, he made the NCAA finals 2x for Oklahoma State before winning the NCAA crown his senior year. During college, his rivalry with Tom...

In this episode, I sit on the other side of the table and am interviewed by Mr. Twister, Andre Morgan, who has been instrumental in helping schedule a number of interviews, most notably, Tony Davis, Bobby Douglas, Lee Kemp, Mario Morgan, and BJ Futrell. Andre is the father of Mario Morgan, who has also been on the show. Here are a few topics that we hit on: --The making of Gable the GOAT (the podc...

David Katz has an incredible story. He's a rabbi in Israel and wrestled in high school, though never qualified for the state tournament. By the mid-2000's he was overweight, tipping the scales at 270. David re-discovered wrestling via Flo in 2010 and became a fan of the sport again. By 2018, he decided to lose the weight and lost 110 lbs in 6 months and still maintains his weight to this day! This...

Bruce Baumgartner is one of the most successful wrestlers of all time. Baumgartner competed in high school wrestling but failed to win his state high school title and as a result was not recruited by top college wrestling teams. Instead, he attended Indiana State University where he won 86 of 87 matches during his last two years and won the NCAA championships in 1982. Baumgartner followed his NCAA...

Kerry McCoy is one of the great heavyweights of all time, winning 2 NCAA titles and making 2 Olympic teams. He also earned a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. Even more impressive are the battles he had with the likes of Stephen Neal and Artur Taymazov – both dominant heavyweights in their own right. Hope you enjoy this one folks. Peace!

Gabe Dean is a 2x NCAA champ for the Big Red and never finished lower than 3rd at the NCAA’s. As a freshman, he had a marquee win against Ed Ruth, snapping Ruth’s 84-match win streak. He’d do on to win the nationals as a sophomore and junior. He now serves as an assistant coach for Cornell. This is hands down one of my favorite podcasts. We talk about a handful of pivotal moments in Gabe’s career,...

Bobby is a retired American freestyle wrestler and coach. He competed as a featherweight at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and placed fourth in 1964. He won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1966 and 1970 world championships, respectively,[2] and retired later in 1970. After that Douglas coached several U.S Olympic teams, is one of only four collegiate coaches to win more than 400 dual meets, and he...

Nathan "Nate" Weber is an American bobsledder. He competed in the four-man event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Weber joined the U.S. Army in 2005, and served with the Special Forces in Niger, Cameroon and Afghanistan. Prior to becoming a Green Beret, Nate wrestled in high school and is an avid wrestling fan.

Zack Esposito is the associate head coach at Oklahoma State and is a former national champ for the Cowboys. Zack is one of the few Cowboys to also win four NCAA team titles. Prior to OSU Zack wrestled for the prestigious Blair Academy and was trained by Ernie Monaco at the EDGE. In this episode we talk about rooming with Steve Mocco, watching John Smith drill when Zack was 12 years old and his pat...

Brent Metcalf is entering his second season as a full-time assistant coach on Iowa State’s wrestling staff. It is his third season overall with the Cyclones after serving as the volunteer assistant for the 2017-18 season. Metcalf served as the National Freestyle Developmental Coach prior to his arrival in Ames. As a senior-level athlete, Metcalf was a staple in the United States’ lineup from 2010-...

Mark Schwab is a former assistant coach, most notably at Minnesota and UNI, and currently runs a performance coaching practice. He's a master at the mental game and I think you'll see why by giving this bad boy a listen. Enjoy it and thanks for listening!

Lee Kemp, known as one of the greatest wrestlers in United States history, was a three-time Gold Medalist in the World Championships, a four-time Gold Medalist in the World Cup of Wrestling, a two-time Gold Medalist in the Pan American Games, a seven-time national champion, and was named the United States Wrestling Federation “Man of the Year” in 1978. He was inducted to the National Wrestling Hal...

Nick Purler is the founder and head of the Purler Wrestling Acadmey. As an athlete, he was an All American for Oklahoma State and went on to found one of the O.G. wrestling academies. Nick puts out awesome content on his social channels (Purler Wrestling), and you can find information about his camps at PurlerWrestling.com.

Chas Betts was a 2012 Olympian for the U.S. Greco team. After his amateur wrestling days came to an end, Chas transitioned to his lifelong passion – pro wrestling – and is now a rising star for the WWE under the name Chad Gable. You can watch him on Smackdown or RAW on a weekly basis. Outstanding conversation here my friends. Enjoy it!

Born in St. Louis, MO in 1971, Sammie “The Bull” Henson has become one of the most decorated and respected wrestlers in America. Sammie started his wrestling career at a young age and went on to graduate from Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO. Sammie was a member of the 1988 Junior World Championship team which competed in Austria and went on to wrestle at the collegiate level at both...

Troy Steiner is the head coach at Fresno State, and spent 10 years at Oregon State from 2006-16, including the last four in the role of associate head coach. Steiner, a native of Bismarck, N.D. and graduate of Bismarck Century High School, went on to star as a wrestler at Iowa alongside with his brother, Terry, who was a three-time All-American with the Hawkeyes (1991-93) and 1993 NCAA Division I...

Tony Davis is an Illinois wrestling legend. He was the first 5x IKWF state champion, and then wrestled for the prestigious Mt. Carmel Caravans, alongside teammates Joe Williams and TJ Williams. Tony won an Illinois high school state title but then was expelled and found himself living a different life. He was shot and hospitalized when Iowa Central Community College offered him a chance to wrestle...

Mike Thorn is a 2x All American for the Minnesota Gophers and 3x State Champion. He and his two brothers combined to win 11 Minnesota high school state titles. In this episode we talk about the transition from high school to college, the turning point in his freshman season, and the lessons learned from J Robinson. Outstanding conversation here folks. Thanks for tuning in! This episode is brought...

Jim Miller was NCAA Division II champion at 134 pounds for the University of Northern Iowa in 1974 and ’75 and placed second and fourth in Division I those same years. After coaching at the high school level, Miller returned to UNI as the top assistant coach from 1983-91 when he became head coach at Wartburg. He had a career record of 413-37-2, winning 10 NCAA Division III team championships, 21 c...

Born with one leg, Anthony Robles defied the odds to become a three-time all-American wrestler and the 2011 NCAA National Wrestling Champion. Proving that hard work and a strong belief in yourself can lead anyone to success, Robles now shares his philosophy to remind us all that we have the power to conquer adversity – no matter how overwhelming the odds. When Anthony Robles was born without a rig...

Justin Folley is a 3x All American heading into his senior season at Upper Iowa University. This is a sprint episode and is quick and to the point. Justin shares how wrestling helped me through a few difficult times in high school. This episode is brought to you by WrestlingChangedMyLife.com

Anatoly Beloglazov is a 3x World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist for the former Soviet Union. His brother Sergei was also a World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist. In this chat we talk about the pain of missing the 1976 olympics, the daily routine that made him and Sergei successful, and the US vs. Russian training systems. This interview was recorded in the spring of 2018 and is the last of...

Christian Pyles is the voice of Flo Wrestling Radio and a certified wrestling nut! He's currently the director of content at Flo Sports and travels the US and World covering wrestling. This episode is brought to you by WrestlingChangedMyLife.com.