Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

Alex Tirapelle is the Associate Head Coach at American University. Prior to American, Alex coached at Stanford and was instrumental in the Keep Stanford Wrestling Movement. As a wrestler, Alex was a two-time All American for the Fighting Illini and a three-time California state champ. Enjoy! (Photo: Tony Rotundo).

Joe Galli is the CEO at TTI. Joe wrestled for UNC and won an ACC title before embarking on a career in business. After spending 19 years at Black and Decker, Joe was named president at Amazon in 1999 by Jeff Bezos, was the CEO of Newell Rubbermaid and now runs the company behind Milwaukee Tool, among other power tool brands. Enjoy!

Bryan Snyder is the Associate Head Coach at Nebraska. He was a 4x All American and 2x NCAA runner-up for the Cornhuskers back in his competitive days. He’s coached Jordan Burroughs to multiple world and Olympics titles, as well as James Green. Enjoy! (Photo: Tony Rotundo).

Jared Frayer is the Associate Head Coach at Virginia Tech. In 2012, Jared represented Team USA at the London Olympics at 66 kg. Jared made the team by beating Brent Metcalf in the Olympic Trial Finals. In college, he was a 2x All American and NCAA runner-up at Oklahoma. Enjoy! (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Anthony Cassar is a former NCAA champion for Penn State. In 2019, he beat Gable Steveson in the NCAA semi-finals, his second win over the Olympic champ that season. He is set to make his MMA debut this November. Pic: Tony Rotundo.

Richard Perry is a former National Team member at 86kg, a 3x NCAA qualifier and a Connecticut state champion. In August of 2018, Richard was involved in a training accident that forever shaped he and his family’s lives. Richard is joined in this interview by his wife Gina Perry, who writes for Intermat and works for Beat the Streets National. (Photo / Tony Rotundo)

David Taylor is the 2022 World Champion and 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist. In this episode David recaps his performance at the 2022 World Championships. (Pic: Tony Rotundo)

Bryan Medlin is the head coach of the Illinois RTC and is one of the most respected freestyle / greco coaches in the country. In this episode, Bryan and I break down the 2022 World Championships. Enjoy!

Kevin Dresser is the head coach at Iowa State. Before taking the role in Ames, he was the head coach at Virginia Tech. He’s been named coach of the year multiple times and is known as a program builder. Before his time coaching collegiately, Coach Dresser won 13 Virginia high school state titles, and was the 1986 NCAA champion for Dan Gable. Enjoy this one! (Picture / Flo)

Troy Nickerson is the head coach at the University of Northern Colorado. He’s been at UNC since the 2014 / 2015 season. Back in his competitive days, Troy was one of the most decorated high school wrestlers in New York history. He was the first 5x New York state champ. He was a 5x Fargo champ, and won both the OW for Greco and Freestyle at the 2004 Junior Nationals. At Cornell, Troy was a 4x All A...

Ryan Coles is a professor at UConn and Martial Sutton is a wrestler for UConn’s club team. Last week a video of Professor Coles wrestling Marital in class went viral, garnering over 1.7m views. In this episode we have Professor Coles and Martial on to tell the tale. Enjoy!

Jan Rosenberg is a former Division three All American for Coe College. Back in high school, Jan was a 2x New Jersey state place winner. Today, Jan is an assistant coach at Coe and a Nurse at the University of Iowa.

Bo Nickal is a 3x NCAA champion for Penn State and a Hodge Trophy winner. He’s the hottest prospect in MMA and will be fighting on Dana White’s Contender Series on September 27. Bo was coached by Cael Sanderson and was a 4x NCAA finalist. Enjoy! (Picture: Tony Rotundo)

Charles Martelli was a 2x, undefeated Illinois State Champ in 1997 and 1998. Charles was a 3x Big 10 placer and NCAA qualifier for Michigan. He went on to write ‘How to Become a State Wrestling Champion.’ Charles is also an accomplished ultra-marathon runner, having completed two 100-mile races. Enjoy this one folks!

Andy Matter was a 2x NCAA champion for Penn State back in the 1970s, well before the Cael Sanderson dynasty took hold. He then went on to have a successful career in IT sales working for IBM. Andy’s sons, Clinton and Brett Matter, wrestled for Roger Reina at Penn in the 1990s. Brett was an NCAA champion in 2000. Clinton and Brett were instrumental in the founding of Beat the Streets Philly. Enjoy...

Jeff McGinness was a 2x NCAA champion for the Iowa Hawks, where he wrestled for the legendary Dan Gable. In high school, Jeff was a 4x, undefeated state champ. Today, Jeff is the head women’s coach at Simpson College. Enjoy this one!

Ryan Prater was the 2014 NCAA Division III champion, after winning an Illinois state title in 2007. Today, Ryan coaches with former Illini All American Jordan Blanton at the Relentless Training Center. Enjoy!

Mark Hahn is one of the most accomplished high school coaches in Illinois history. During his tenure, he led Glenbard North to a 716-153 record, a 127-0 conference record and a state title in 2011. Hahn has coached Tony Ramos, Mike Palazzo and Austin Gomez, among countless other studs. Enjoy this one folks!

Jack Griffin is an NCAA champion and two-time All American for Northwestern. Today, Jack is still at Northwestern and works in fundraising for the athletic department. Enjoy!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Myles Amine is an Olympic Bronze Medalist and a 5x All American for the University of Michigan. His coaches include Sean Bormet, Kevin Jackson and Sergei Beloglazov. Enjoy! (Photo: Tony Rotundo). * PRESENTED BY SPARTAN COMBAT This episode is presented by Spartan Combat. Submit your 2022-2023 custom team orders now at SpartanCombat.com. * FANS If you enjoy the podcast, would you...

Jeremy Bailer and Ben Hatta were teammates while wrestling at the University of Pennsylvania under coach Roger Reina. They were executive producers on Team Foxcatcher, and producers for the new Kurt Angle documentary, Angle. You can watch Angle this Sunday on A&E.

Luke Fickell is the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati. Last season, Coach Fickell was the consensus coach of the year and his UC squad fell to Nick Saban’s Alabama in the CFP semi-finals, marking the first time a non-power 5 school made the CFP. Back in Coach Fickell’s wrestling days, he was a 3x state champ for DeSales High School. Enjoy!

Tadaaki Hatta is a former NCAA champion for Oklahoma State. Born in Japan, Tadaaki was part of the wave of Japanese wrestlers who competed for the Cowboys in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring, Tadaaki coached 8 Olympic teams, and for many years, was an assistant at St. Ed’s in Ohio. Enjoy!

Hooman “Mo” Tavakolian is a former Hofstra wrestler who now serves as the chief compliance officer at a Hedge Fund on Wall Street. Mo, who was born in Iran, was instrumental in bridging the gap between the Iranian and the US national teams at the 2017 world cup. For his efforts, he was named to the New York chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Mo also runs a nonprofit called Hoomanities...

Zane Richards is an Illinois legend. He’s a 2x All American, 2x state champion and a 2x Fargo Champ. Most recently, Zane made the USA National Team. Enjoy this one! (Picture: Tony Rotundo)