Anthony Robles has a simple message: Don’t let your challenge become your excuse.
In a word, he preaches resilience. And though ideas like these have been communicated in numerous variations by countless motivational speakers over the years, Robles knows his message can be evoked simply by stepping onto a lit stage or shiny gymnasium floor.
After all, the 2011 NCAA Division I national champion wrestler was born with one leg.
“I felt like, in life, people were going to look at me whether I liked it or not,” Robles told a packed gym of local students and faculty at W.F. West High School Thursday morning.
The event, sponsored by the Drew North Foundation, brought together students not just from W.F. West, but also Adna, Castle Rock, Mossyrock, Napavine, Onalaska and Pe Ell.
Robles spoke at Centralia High School later that day.
The Nike athlete sported a wide smile throughout the roughly hour-long speech inside the Bearcat gym. He told a personal story of setting goals, overcoming obstacles, facing setbacks and achieving his dreams of becoming a collegiate wrestler at Arizona State University. First as a walk-on, then a scholarship athlete — and finally a D-I national champion.
Robles described his early years, realizing he was different from other kids. At first, he didn’t understand it. He recalled being nervous to go to school, worried how he might be treated. He’d return home and cry, begging his mom not to make him go back.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” his mother, Judy Robles, assured him, before laying the foundation that would become his personal mantra.
“Don’t ever let your challenge become your excuse.”
With his mother’s encouragement, Robles developed a love for sports, including basketball and football, the latter of which he played from sixth grade to ninth grade as a defensive end.
But it was wrestling, Robles said, that gave him the platform to show the world what he was capable of. What he had, not what he lacked.
Still, the obstacles Robles faced growing up were often based on others' perceptions, not his own natural and acquired talents. Robles excelled in high school. He won state championships. He won a national championship. He went undefeated his junior and senior seasons.
Yet he was ignored by major college programs, including his dream school, the University of Iowa.
Ultimately, Robles turned to Arizona State University, just 20 minutes from home. The team already had two guys in his weight class, but their coach offered him a spot as a walk-on.
After two years as a starter, the school offered him a scholarship.
Sometimes, the obstacles were personal, and gave way through perseverance. Like the time Robles became ill his sophomore year in college and was unable to compete for 21 days. He lost 14 pounds in just weeks. His GPA plummeted.
Then his step-dad, the father figure in his life, told Robles’ mother he was leaving.
Robles said it felt like the lights had been turned out on his life. He described sitting on the couch one day, staring at the TV, only to realize the TV wasn’t on.
He wanted to quit. His mother urged him to keep going.
It wasn’t easy. Robles was cleared to wrestle again, but he couldn’t even beat his teammates in practice. His coach confronted him after a particularly grueling session. Robles braced himself for the altercation, expecting harsh criticism. Instead, his coach embraced him.
Just as important, he asked Robles what was going on. He listened. He empathized. And he reminded Robles of the one thing we can always control: our response.
Robles responded by finishing fourth in the nation his sophomore season. His senior season, he won a national championship.
Robles pairs a positive mindset with an acknowledgement and appreciation for the people around him, like the high school teammate who mentored and helped him become a stronger, more effective wrestler. He refers to his support system as the “voices in the crowd.”
When asked by a student who the most inspirational person in his life was, Robles responded first by mentioning a few of the people he’d met over the years, like actors, past presidents and world-class athletes such as Lebron James.
The answer, though, was easy: his mother.
Jennie Douglass, co-founder of the Drew North Foundation, asked Robles what techniques he employed when he was struggling to pull himself back up.
“I would actually sit down and make a physical list of all the things that were going right in my life and all the blessings that I had,” Robles said, “especially people who have motivated me.”
That list included coaches, family and teammates. The practice, Robles said, helped him “find the light.”
Douglass told The Chronicle that Robles’ appearance is part of the foundation’s efforts to host an inspirational speaker every year.
She got the idea to reach out to Robles after watching the movie “Unstoppable,” which tells Robles’ story and stars Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez.
“Once I watched the movie, I was so inspired,” Douglass said. “It was so powerful to me, his message of overcoming obstacles and stigmatisms. And so at that moment, I was like, okay, we are going to get him here because I think he could touch so many lives.”
The Drew North Foundation was created in honor of Drew "Boogie" Douglass, who struggled with anxiety and depression. He took his life at the age of 14.
The foundation provides resources and ways to cope during times of difficulty.
Two years ago, the foundation brought in Kevin Hines to speak at W.F. West. Hines is a suicide prevention speaker who survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. His message aligned with the foundation’s mission to bring awareness to mental health and depression.
This year, Douglass and her husband, Steve, wanted to broaden their inspirational message to as many schools as possible. Robles provided the perfect voice.
“This is the first time we've done 10 schools,” Douglass said. “We're really excited.”
Thursday’s event was hosted with additional support from the W.F. West Good Place Club, the school’s associated student body and student leadership, and the W.F. West wrestling program.
To learn more about the Drew North Foundation, visit https://drewnorth.org.
