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out for each other. I have a great support group in my family. Everybody is doing their own thing in different areas, but we all support each other. I learned growing up that it's not about the money you have, it's about the quality of life you live and that's how I've been able to stay grounded and focused up until this point. It took an exceptional amount of strength for my mother to raise all of her kids and it was never too much for her. Sometimes parents get overwhelmed and walk out on their kids, but she made the decision to stay strong and I try to make that same decision when I'm training or fighting. FiveKnuckles.com: Was it rough growing up in St. Louis?
Tyron Woodley: I grew up in a neighborhood in the north part of St. Louis. It wasn't a terribly bad neighborhood, but it wasn't the suburbs either. St. Louis is no different than any other big city. It has its nice areas as well as its rough spots. The ghetto is the same everywhere. You got drugs, gangs, and temptation in every city. I don't know why some people claim their neighborhoods are tougher than others. To me ghetto is ghetto. I think we all have opportunities and choices to better our situation even though it may have taken some time for me to understand that. I once got suspended from school for 90 days, that was a turning point for me. I understood that I wanted to go to college and being successful in athletics was my vehicle to go in that direction.
FiveKnuckles.com: With the amount of athletic ability you possess and with all of the other sports out there, how did you end up wrestling?
Tyron Woodley: I really wanted to play football in college, but my high school coach told the football recruiters who were coming by not to worry about me because I was going to wrestle at the next level. And that was without even asking me. I loved football and I definitely could have played in college, but once wrestling started to take precedence, I focused all of my attention on being the best I could be. I worked at a furniture place called Design Outlet and I was using the money I made there to go to wrestling camps, clinics, and tournaments. I was an All-American in high school so I had to raise money to go to nationals twice. Other people were using their money for clothes, and shoes, and to go to the movies. I had a 1972 Cutlass which was the longest car on earth. I put so many miles on that baby. It most definitely served its purpose; and I did it by myself because most of my high school teammates didn't want to invest the kind of time that I was willing to. I would go to two or three different wrestling clubs a week because I knew I wanted to be a state champion and I accomplished that my senior year by going 48-0.
FiveKnuckles.com: Did you leave college feeling there was still more for you to accomplish as an athlete?
Tyron Woodley: I was the first conference champion our school has ever had, but that wasn't enough. I definitely had a void to fill, but that didn't come from not being prepared. We...
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