Zach Thornton's: Wrestling Adversity: Smart Guy Anthony Robles

photo by Wesley Herrera

He remains in the foyer of the gym after his teammates have entered the auditorium. For a brief moment he can’t see anything, all has gone black, the noises has vanished, and the energy of the building seems to be non-existent. There is nothing for Anthony but complete focus on the task at hand and life reflection on how he has arrived at the point to where is now. He opens his eyes, knowing that it is time for him to enter the auditorium in his very un-traditional style--on crutches. Anthony Robles, 22, the Captain of Arizona State University Wrestling team, who was born without a right hip bone and with only his left leg, clutches his crutches tightly and swiftly makes his way to the mat to where he is set to do battle.

Being born with only one leg could have provided Robles an excuse to ask for and receive pity or special treatment from others. But Robles has never wanted to be treated any differently than anyone else. "I really don't see missing my leg as a handicap,” Robles said. “My parents raised me to be strong and they didn't give me any special treatment. Consequently, I have always believed that I can do anything I set my mind to.”

That mindset has propelled Robles to accomplish great feats in his young life. He picked up wrestling as a high school freshman after being the practice dummy for his cousins in the eighth grade. He fell in love with the sport and knew at that point, that was what he wanted to do. “When I first started, before my freshman year in high school, I had no interest in wrestling,” Robles explained. “But once I started that first year, I just fell in love with the sport. I knew that I wanted to continue with it and be the best at it that I can possibly be. It went from me trying to be a city champion, to a state champion, and then when I got to college I wanted to be a national champion.”

Wrestling is a sport that doesn’t come easy to anyone it takes physical and mental strength to be successful. There are obstacles and a barrier for all wrestlers to accomplish success, and there were even more obstacles for Robles whom wanted to succeed in this individual physical competition while only having one leg. “I think that I went through a lot. When I started doing wrestling I wasn’t very good. I was last in my city. There were not a lot of people behind me. They just didn’t believe that I could be able to achieve successes in wrestling which is what I wanted. I felt like I had to prove a lot of people wrong.”

The physical challenges of wrestling were not the only obstacle that Robles had to overcome. His mother gave birth to him at the age of 16 years old and raised him in a very tough neighborhood. “I grew up in a neighborhood that wasn’t the best,” Robles said. “There was a lot of trouble going on. My friends that I grew up with down the street are in jail right now.”To get through those socioeconomic challenges, Robles channeled his attentions and energy on the things that was going to get him to his ultimate goal of becoming the best wrestler that he could be. “In order to do that I had to look past my obstacles and not focus on them,” Robles continued. “I just had to focus on my goal, which was to be a National Champion Wrestler. Really, wrestling is what carried me through. I put so much focus on my wrestling that it was pretty much all I did all summer. I was always in the wrestling room; always training, always trying to get better and better and it eventually paid off. Wrestling has been my life for 9 years now, it has been my focus and I am just very grateful and happy that all the hard work paid off and that I finally made it to the top.”

photo by Jason Wise

Anthony believes that what makes him a 'Smart Guy' and what he shares with other 'Smart Guys' is the ability to thrive in the face of adversity. Whatever life throws at you, take it in stride. He advises everyone that if you have a goal in mind stick with it and stay positive about it. Tell yourself that you can do it and you will be able to accomplish it. No matter what your circumstances are you can always have an opportunity to rise above it.

“Everyone has obstacles in their life, we all have the power in us to be unstoppable and really rise above those obstacles and accomplish what we want to in life,” said Robles. “It is just about focusing on the right things. You need to focus on that goal and not hold on to the obstacles that are stacked against you. No matter who you are or what you do, there is always going to be something or someone that/who will try to hold you back. It is all about focusing beyond that and not letting anything stop you. That is what makes you a Smart Guy.”

Anthony credits his family and coaches that he had along the way as strength or motivational factors in helping him achieve the successes that he has become to witness. “I did have a lot of great people around me,” Robles recalled. “My high school coaches (Bobby Williams and David D’Daminico) at Mesa High School in Arizona, my college coaches (Shawn Charles), my family (mom Judy and dad Ron, brothers Nicolas, Joshua, Andrew and my sister Ronnie) has always been there behind me, supporting me, always putting the belief in my head that I can do anything that I put my mind to. Without those people, there is no way that I could have accomplished what I did.”

Anthony recalled hearing the following statements and all of that provided him with the motivation to help him answer prove everyone wrong. “Anthony you can’t do this, you are not physically capable of doing that, you have to concentrate on such and such, in order to be successful and don’t even try to participate in sports especially a sport physical as wrestling.” In a short answer to all his naysayers, Smart Guy Anthony Robles simply says “Watch me.”

The nation did watch as he became the 2011 Wrestling NCAA National Champion in the 125 pound weight class. He shocked nearly everyone in the nation when his arms were raised in victory in that championship match. “I definitely was not surprised when Anthony won the National Championship because we trained him to do that,” Arizona State University Head Wrestling Coach Shawn Charles said. “Myself and the coaching staff at Arizona State trained him to be the best he could possibly be. I knew that he was capable of being a National Champion when he walked into that door.”

photo by Wesley Herrera

Robles is a leader on his team and spread an infectious work ethic to the younger guys on the team. “He was a great leader. He has been a Captain every year since I have been here.” Charles explained. “Anthony definitely leads by example, he is a soft spoken guy, he is not the kind of guy that is going to yell at you or call you out. Anthony never tries to get out of any workouts, he works his butt off and never makes excuses for what he is doing or the situation that he is in. He is definitely a guy that when you look over at him and see how hard he is working and how determined he is to be successful, he definitely motivates you to do the best you possibly can.”

Robles after accomplishing his goal he set as a freshman in college of winning a national championship has now turned his focus into another direction. He knows that his story is unique and plans to become a professional motivational speaker. “I just put up my own website, choose2beunstoppable.com, I have my blog up where I am updating everyone on how things are going. Hopefully I will expand it from there. Some amazing doors have been opening since the National Championships, I have had a lot of interview requests, and some companies are talking about making a movie and book deal with me. It has also opened up a lot of doors for me to go and speak at different places. I am very grateful for the attention and I am just trying to enjoy it right now.”

A Warrior Smart Guy,

Anthony