Mike Tyson’s road to a second chance
The polarizing highs and lows of one of the most thrilling, controversial and celebrated boxers of all timeA special note to our audience: This episode contains language and subject matter that may not be appropriate for some listeners.
A lot of famous people are known by just ONE THING: a winning shot in a championship game, saying the wrong word or phrase in a public speech or even a cameo in a Hollywood movie. You’re about to hear Tony interview someone who has had multiple defining moments that people remember him by.
Mike Tyson is a household name – you might know him as an American former professional boxer or maybe by his cameo in the movie “The Hangover.” But he’s far more complex than any of these things alone.
Tony has known Mike Tyson for a long time. In fact, Tony first interviewed him over 20 years ago. They had a powerful conversation shortly after Mike’s highly publicized incident with Evander Holyfield, during a dark time in his life. Today, he’s been given a second chance. His journey has been long and winding, but he finally found the courage to face his demons. As he so powerfully puts it: “There’s no limit to what I’m capable of doing. Imagine if I would have given up … I would have never realized this beautiful life.”
A rough childhood
You’ll hear Mike open up about his childhood, which was marked with violence from the start. He grew up in Brownsville, a crime-infested neighborhood in Brooklyn, where bone-crushing street fights made self-defense a necessary evil. He was introduced to cocaine, marijuana and alcohol at nine years old. He got in so much trouble, the cops knew him by name. Finally, he was sent to juvenile detention for two years in upstate New York. It ended up being a turning point: He met former professional fighter Bobby Stewart and began boxing.
Professional success
After being discovered by Bobby, Mike began training with the legendary Cus D’Amato, who also trained Hall of Famers Floyd Patterson and José Torres. Cus became not only Mike’s coach, but a father figure, mentor and role model who had a massive influence on every aspect of his life. Cus died when he was 19 – and he used his grief as fuel, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in the world a year later. From there, Mike quickly emerged as “Iron Mike Tyson” – the self-proclaimed “baddest man on the planet” and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Wrestling the demons
People think that when you succeed, the world is your oyster. But for many people that is not the case – including Mike as well as many other celebrity athletes. Even with all the money in the world, he was miserable. He was plagued by . He trusted no one. His rage and madness in the ring that won him so many matches eventually caught up with him. Outside, in the real world, there were severe consequences. He was convicted of a felony, went to prison, lost his fortune and spent years battling addiction to alcohol and drugs. His journey led him to a life-changing realization: “I had to learn to trust myself, love myself, respect myself.”
