Dan Gable on The Origins of His Mental Toughness

Taken from JRE #1627 w/Dan Gable:

[nicholasblawat]

As a senior in highschool I was named athlete of the week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They asked me who my favorite athlete was and being a wrestler, it was Gable (he is still the biggest name in wrestling 50 years after he retired) Coach Gable had zero to gain by this, and to this day I have no idea how he heard about an obscure small article in a Wisconsin paper, but he sent me a hand written thank you note. This class act of a man thanked a high school kid he never met for mentioning him in an article in a newspaper 500 miles from him (he was also in the middle of preparing his last team he would coach for the NCAA tournament). I still have that letter. My wife and I are having our first child in August, and I can not wait to pass it on to him and explain how great a wrestler, how great a coach, and most importantly how humble a human being Dan Gable is.

[hongtrinh]

“Win with humility, lose with dignity. But dang it don’t lose!” I love hearing quotes there’s so much wisdom and life changing lessons that follow them.

[chiefofk]

met him at a wrestling camp and talked to him for over 30 minutes dudes a class act, genuine person nothing but respect for this man

[charlesb]

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy." -Dan Gable

[jimmyispromo]

As someone who grew up in Iowa, almost lived at the YMCA and a wrestler as well. He is very relatable. All through high school wrestling, we always talked about Gable

[theglutton]

Dan Gable wrote me a short Letter after my dad passed, I’ve met him twice, great man.

[ceetee]

His wrestling camps were the best. He always had a group of college wrestlers at his camps. I won a state championship in Michigan using an inside switch a college wrestler teaching at his camp taught me. He is a living legend. There is no way to count the number of lives he has affected. Especially mine.

[ladev]

Joining the wrestling team in 6th grade was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. It taught me so much and set me up for the rest of my life. That old saying is so true, "Once you have wrested, everything else in life is easy"

[zachary]

Growing up as a wrestler in iowa I still remember the first time meeting Dan. This guy is the most genuine and sincere man you’ll ever find. We were in Des Moines for the state wrestling tournament. I was young and running around the hotel with my friends and saw my mom talking with an older man in the hotel lobby. My friends and I all recognized him immediately and went to meet him. We talked for awhile and we all asked for his autograph. When he left my mom turned and asks “Who was that?” She had no idea that she had been talking to the most famous wrestler of all time for the past 30 minutes about youth wrestling and how great the sport is for raising young men. I had multiple other encounters with him growing up as many other wrestlers could tell you he makes a point to be a part of the community and spread his wisdom to the youth. We couldn’t ask for a better advocate for the sport and for the state of Iowa.

[ImEverythingYouCrave]

Dan Gable is definitely someone I'd listen to on spotify

[Stranger_In_The_Alps]

My dad was working in China in 2009 - one day, while on the subway, a Russian walked up to my dad and while pointing at his Hawkeye cap he said “Dan Gable”...I think that was 37 years after Gable had beaten “Russia’s best” - running through the Olympics without a point scored on him - even years after Gable became the greatest coach EVER. For those who know, LEGEND. Around the world.

[mattfolkerts]

This may be the first guest on JRE I have met in person. This is gonna be a good one. Dan is crazy

[SLOburn]

Class act. I graduated in 2006 and Gable was still considered the baddest man to step on a mat. He created an intense culture of competition that runs through the entire sport.

[ROOMSEVENSTUDIO]

I started wrestling at the age of 9 and stopped when I was 17. Shit was so hard but taught me how to have a tough mind.

[blaiseboy]

I only wrestled during my Senior year of High school, but I learned so much about perserverence and mental toughness during that handful of months... Best sport in the world hands down

[Jupitertvv]

I love listening to old legends. Joe is so good with the older guests. Very intuitive and respectful

[isaacs.]

Best part about growing up in Iowa is that Dan came to our high school to talk our senior year, legend

[garymcaleer]

I had to Google Dan's name to know what the conversation was about. Now I know. My father wrestled in high school. He was hairy. And his opponents were scared at his appearance. But he told me: "When they learned I was a pussycat, I lost." I miss my dad. We had so much fun in the end of his life.

[Wil_Dasovich]

This guys a great storyteller, to be honest I never heard of him till this JRE

[dietpepsivanilla]

Proud Iowan here and a definite Hawkeye. Gable is loved by all Iowans, Hawks, Cyclones and (Northern Iowa) Panthers. Iowa's greatest athlete of all time.