Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

Head coach Chris Bono was hired as the 16th head coach in UW history on March 24, 2018. Bono spent the last six seasons prior to being hired at Wisconsin as the head coach at South Dakota State, establishing the Jackrabbits as a national contender and a powerhouse in the Big 12, coaching three conference champions in the program's three years in the league. The Jackrabbits had their best season in...

Ed Banach was a 4x NCAA finalist, 3x NCAA champ and Olympic Gold Medalist in 1984. During his college career, Ed wrestled for the Iowa Hawkeyes under legendary coach Dan Gable, during which Iowa won the NCAA championships every year. In two of those years - 1981 and 1983 - Iowa had 9 Big 10 Champions. In this chat, Ed talks about being raised by his adopted parents, along with his twin brother Lou...

Pat Miletich - the Croatian Sensation - is a former UFC world champion and UFC HOF inductee. As a coach, he started and led the Miletich Fighting System, where former champions Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, Tim Sylvia and Jenz Pulver trained. For past episodes, please visit WrestlingChangedMyLife.org. **Please subscribe, rate, or review the show.

Andy Hrovat was a member of the 23008 Olympic Wrestling Team and after that spent a year living in Ossetia, a province in Russia, which along with Dagestan, is where the large majority of the world's best wrestlers live and train. Andy developed a unique philosophy on training and problem-solving while living in Ossetia and it's fascinating. Before the Olympics, Andy was a 3x All American for Mich...

Travis Paulson, a three-time All-American at the NCAA Division I level, is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Virginia wrestling program. Paulson joined the Cavaliers after spending eight seasons at his alma mater Iowa State. He served as an assistant coach for the Cyclones from 2009 through 2017 before being named the interim head coach at Iowa State in February after the resigna...

Failure, struggle and setbacks are not only an inevitable part of life but a necessary step on the path to success. Jim Harshaw has learned many life lessons on the wrestling mat. Having been a Division I All American and won three ACC Championships for the University of Virginia, trained at the Olympic Training Center and competed overseas for Team USA, he has experienced significant triumph and...

Chris Perry is an assistant coach at Oklahoma State University During his time in the coaching ranks at Oklahoma State, Perry helped guide Daton Fix to a bronze-medal finish at 2018 Junior Worlds, oversaw a pair of national championships from 141-pounder Dean Heil in 2016 and 2017 and Alex Dieringer’s third NCAA Championship in 2016 at 165 pounds. In 2017, Perry helped guide Heil to his title, whi...

Sean Bormet was named the 10th head coach in the history of the Michigan wrestling program on March 27, 2018. Bormet, who spent seven years as the Wolverines' top assistant, including four as associate head coach, is the fourth U-M alumnus at the helm. Since returning to his alma mater, Bormet has helped mentor 14 different Wolverine All-Americans, with Michigan earning 16 All-America citations --...

Kevin Williams is one of the most disciplined people I know, and it comes from his background. He played football at Westpoint, served our country, in combat, as a squad leader in Iraq, got an MBA from Michigan and is now a successful business leader. We chat about doing the hard things, especially when you don't want to, his mindset about life, and the role wrestling had in his upbringing. **Plea...

Sergei is possibly the greatest wrestler the world has ever known. He was a two-time Olympic Champion in 1980 and 1988, a six-time World Champion and a World Silver medalist. Between 1980 and 1988 he did not lose an international competition. He has a twin brother Anatoli Belaglazov, who was an Olympic Champion in 1980 and a three-time World Champion. He wrestled for coach Granit Taropin for the f...

Corey Jantzen is an actor and formerly wrestled for Harvard. Corey was a New York High School legend, winning multiple state championships and placing at the prestigious Midlands as High School Senior. Great podcast here. Have a listen.

Tyler Clark is our guest on today's episode. Tyler wrestled for both Cael Sanderson and Tom Brands in college, and before that won multiple state titles and a Cadet Freestyle National Championship in high school. He's currently a sales rep for Stryker. During the episode, we got into some of my favorite topics - handling obstacles, discipline, tracking goals and his headspace before big matches. R...

After 15 years of addiction, hopelessness and seven years in jail Richard Jensen got clean and sober and went on a quest to become a wrestling national champion. Rich had goals of standing at the top of the podium, something that he had dreamed of his whole life. Staying sober was not enough, he wanted to beat all odds and become the best version of himself that he could. He wanted to change his l...

Tanner is the brother of host Ryan Warner. We have a lot of fun in this one, and get into some of the craziness that comes with a wrestling family. Enjoy!

Carson Beebe is a former pro-MMA fighter, D1 college wrestler and multiple time state place winner. He now coaches a youth club and is a successful financial advisor. For past episodes, please visit WrestlingChangedMyLife.org.

Aaron Anspach is a former NCAA runner-up for Penn State, and went on to coach under Cael Sanderson as a volunteer assistant.

Brendan Buckley is the director of Beat the Streets NY. Originally from Long Island, Brendan Buckley was an NCAA All-American for Fresno State. He is a former Division I head wrestling coach at Cal Poly and Columbia University. Under Brendan's five year guidance at Cal Poly, eight wrestlers made the NCAA Division 1 National Championships, and two were Pac-12 champions, with four runners-up. In 201...

Richard Mendelson is a Ph. D. and professor at Keiser University. His studies include EQ levels amongst elite athletes and the resulting impact in the workplace. Mendelson also recently ran as a nonpartisan candidate for the District 6 member of the Broward County School Board in Florida, losing a controversial race to the incumbent. For past episodes, please visit WrestlingChangedMyLife. Org.

Tony Ramos is a former NCAA champion for the University of Iowa, and multiple World Team Member.

Mr. Carl M. Eschenbach has been a General Partner of Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC since April 2016 and focuses on infrastructure technologies, cloud and SaaS. Mr. Eschenbach also provides operating expertise to Sequoia’s portfolio companies. He served as a Strategic Advisor at Vmware, Inc. since April 1, 2016. He served as the President at Vmware, Inc. since December 2012 until March 31, 2016 a...

Bill Lam led the University of North Carolina wrestling team for 30 years, capturing 14 ACC Titles along the way. Coach Lam now speaks to corporations with his Impact & Legacy Summit series, talking about leadership, team-building, and the power of cultivating "attitude technique". In this episode, we talk about building the UNC wrestling program from having 4 fans attending home meets to hosting...

Bam Pustelnik is a former US Open champion and State Champion. He currently serves as the Athletic Director for UT High School.

Nate Gallick is a former NCAA champion and US Open champion. Currently, Nate has a successful career in mortgage lending with Wells Fargo. For past episodes, please visit WrestlingChangedMyLife.org

Dan Knight is a former 4x, undefeated state champion wrestler, and state champion coach for Bettendorf High School.

Shawn Charles is the former head wrestling coach at Arizona State. As an athlete, Shawn was the first 4x All American for Arizona State, a US Open Champion, and Olympic trials contender.