Coming out of high school, however, I wasn't a decorated recruit. As a result, I found myself one month from signing day with only two scholarship offers and they were from the Mid-American Conference.

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I was a college football junkie. My mom attended the University of Iowa and so I can remember I used to run around the backyard in a number 6, Tim Dwight Iowa jersey when I was very little.

I’m not a guy who wants to skydive and open my parachute at the last minute. I want to open my parachute right away and know what’s coming.

I constantly want to be learning, growing and better understanding things. And see where that takes us.

When you train a massive club or little third division outfit, when you go out to play football in any situation, it is always about winning.

Wrestling is different from other sports. It is not just about physical strength. It is more of a mind game as during matches we have to read the mind of opponents and outwit them.

I will say that rowing in the first Olympics was probably one of the most proud moments in my life. What I enjoy about the sport is that it's definitive. Nobody can take away from the fact that you're an Olympian. It's indisputable. You get there on merit and merit alone.

Dance never really goes away; it just reforms and reinvents, and it's become more athletic with new connection to fitness and sport. Dance used to have this exclusivity, but not any more.