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Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

#177 Joe "Gonzo" Gonzales - Olympian and NCAA Champion

Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

Wrestling Changed My Life

Sports

4.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2020

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Joe Gonzales was a 1984 Olympian, former NCAA champion and just the seventh American to win the prestigious Tbilisi Tournament. Joe wrestled for Cal State Bakersfield under the great Joe Seay. Though Cal-State Bakersfield was a Division Two school, they had two NCAA Division One champions in 1980: Joe and John Azvedo. Joe also had a win over Anatoly Beloglazov, an Olympic champion for the Soviet Union. After competing, Joe coached at Arizona State with Bobby Douglas. The Sun Devils won the 1988 NCAA’s, becoming the first non-Midwestern school to win an NCAA team title. Today Joe resides near Los Angeles. Please enjoy! * FANS: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews! * SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by the Wrestling Changed My Life text message newsletter. Text the word “Wrestle” to the number 224-54 to join. * FOLLOW the PODCAST Twitter: @Ryan_N_Warner Instagram: Wrestling Changed My Life Facebook: Wrestling Changed My Life Website: wrestlingchangedmylife.com Shop merchandise at our Online Store: Store.WrestlingChangedMyLife.com *** ABOUT: Hosted by Ryan Warner, the Wrestling Changed My Life Podcast features in-depth interviews with wrestlers and coaches to learn how the sport shaped and molded their lives. By stitching together stories of sacrifice, triumph, defeat and perseverance, the Podcast takes the listener deep inside the world’s oldest sport. New episodes are released every Monday and Wednesday.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to the show folks. This is wrestling change my life here. We go. I train my butt off

0:05.1

I did like iron man

0:06.3

I just stay in the middle and just had guys coming in on me and take them and take them

0:10.6

I don't care

0:11.6

I was like I could barely pick myself up. I wanted to be in top physical shape

0:16.8

I was telling myself okay, these guys gonna beat me. They're gonna go through a living hell to beat me

0:22.0

We can endure anything and adapt and pivot and change.

0:30.8

Wrestling gave us that ability. I would say nothing in life has impacted me or the things

0:36.6

wrestling has taught me in terms of self-reflection, resilience, toughness. Some guys have it, some guys don't.

0:43.7

Adversity, 100% how to pick myself up and be a man after I failed.

0:49.1

And everything that has shaped my life and where I'm at today would not be there without the values and basically the lessons I've learned to the sport of wrestling.

0:59.3

For me wrestling is saying a life because it allowed me to focus and channel my energy.

1:05.5

We're fortunate if you wrestled because if you wrestled natural talent helps but it's 5% of the ingredient.

1:16.1

It pales in comparison to heart and technique and effort.

1:21.1

It humbled me, taught me humility. Nothing can humble you more than wrestling.

1:26.1

I think it's the learning to adapt, right? You learn how to adapt, you learn how to solve problems.

1:33.1

If I look back my time, that's good wrestling. If you give me one thing more than anything else, it's mental toughness.

1:39.1

Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, the wrestling changed my life podcast is back.

1:44.1

I'm your host Ryan Warner. Thank you for tuning in today.

1:47.1

My guest ladies and gentlemen is Joe Gonzales, the great Joe Gonzales, the pride of California, national champion, Olympian, Tbilisi champion.

1:58.1

He was only the seventh American to win the Tbilisi tournament, which still takes place but back in the day it was in the heart of the Soviet Union.

2:06.1

The toughest tournament in the world to win Joe won it.

...

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