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Heart First Leadership
Welcome to Heart First Leadership, the podcast that explores a revolutionary approach to leadership. In a world that often prioritizes success above all else, it's easy to find ourselves leading from a space of fear, doubt, and unworthiness. There is a new way!
Join me, your host Ryan Sawyer, and my co-host and wife, Heidi Sawyer, on a transformative journey as we seek to inspire and guide leaders, parents, and athletes to unlock the secrets to a truly fulfilling life—one that resonates from the heart. In Heart First, we challenge the conventional norms and embark on a voyage together, where heart-driven leadership becomes the compass for a life well lived.
Are you ready to redefine where you lead from? Let's dive into meaningful conversations, insights, and practical tips that will empower you to embrace a new paradigm of leadership.
Heart First Leadership
Football Dreams to MMA Triumphs: Anthony "Freight Train" Hamilton's Journey of Grit and Resilience
Have you ever faced a crossroads that completely shifted the trajectory of your life? That's exactly what happened to Anthony "Freight Train" Hamilton, whose football dreams derailed, only to steer him toward the high-octane world of MMA fighting. This episode features Anthony's amazing transformation from the gridiron to the cage, recounting the abrupt halt to his wrestling career and how the raw intensity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu captured his warrior spirit. As he opens up about his ultimate leap into the UFC and the international spotlight's lucrative allure, you'll discover the sheer willpower and unique mindset a fighter must possess to rise through the ranks.
Strap in as we tackle the emotional highs and lows that define a fighter's journey. Hear my own tale of struggle, lacking parental support, and how marrying the love of my life, coupled with the mentorship from top-notch coaches, became my pillars of triumph. Anthony and I dissect the essence of nurturing excellence, emphasizing the pivotal role of a supportive circle and the right mentors to outshine the competition. This candid discussion promises a wealth of insights into overcoming adversity, the importance of preparation, and how the right environment fuels a relentless pursuit of greatness.
Finally, we shine a spotlight on the profound influence a parent has on their child, illustrated by Anthony's bond with his son, Tank. The remarkable discipline and focus Tank exhibits, despite his youth, underscore the power of a supportive and challenging environment. Their nightly training rituals evoke the iconic imagery of Rocky, teaching us that the sacrifices made in the shadows pave the way for the spotlight's triumph. It's a heartwarming testament to the undeniable force of motivation, vision, and the lasting impact we can imprint on the rising generation's hungry minds. Join us for this tale of perseverance and the ripple effect of inspiring others to chase their dreams with relentless passion.
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Well, welcome back to the show Today. I have a friend that goes way back. We haven't talked much in the last. Well, I'm going to say like 25, some plus years, but Anthony Hamilton and the world, you may know him as is it. Freight train, right, anthony? Freight train Hamilton, you put it in the middle. You put it in the middle, is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 2:that's correct.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. And so been watching your story and there's a couple of different things that I'm excited to unfold within your story. But I first want you just to introduce yourself and kind of tell you. Tell you like how you kind of found your path, kind of basically the same thing you just kind of described to me before we hit record. So if you just introduce kind of what lured you to to what you're now doing and the whole journey, that'd be awesome for people to learn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, anthony, freight train Hamilton. I have pretty much grown up in combat sports or just sports in general. I kind of found found this path to MMA several years ago, almost almost by mistake. I was telling Ryan like I just you know, I was a football player. At the time I thought that that was all I was, I was meant to do and going to do, and was chasing that dream for a while, kind of got into some other sports to kind of compliment football, and I ended up finding wrestling, fell in love with that sport, pursued all of the sports all the way through high school, but it was football that I really thought that was meant for me. But God had other plans and so I ended up ended up just the way things worked out. I ended up wrestling in college, had a lot of success With the. We ended up losing funding for our wrestling programs, as a lot of schools did around the country, and then I moved into into football for the last part of my eligibility in college.
Speaker 1:And where'd you go to school? Where'd you go to school, Anthony?
Speaker 2:I went to Pacific Lutheran University and then Central Washington University at the tail end. So I, yeah, and so I. So I I was chasing that dream for a long time. I worked out for some professional football teams after college, you know, went through that whole trial process but, as you know, ryan, like it's a short lived life, so if you can get in there and spend just a few years, that's a that's more than most. So but anyway, I worked off with some pro teams, didn't really didn't really get much out of that. It was a great experience. But ended up coming back to real life and kind of found Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and some other things to stay in shape.
Speaker 2:And I was watching Ultimate Fighter one day, which is reality TV show for UFC fighters or upcoming UFC fighters, and saw some guys that I competed against in wrestling and college and thought that you know, that was something I could do and wanted to try out, tried it out, fell in love with MMA in general and just went as hard as I could at it.
Speaker 2:Ended up being top 25 in the world and signing with the UFC and traveling all around and competing and making, making money, beating people up. So that was pretty cool and did that for a while. And then, you know, after I left the UFC, I was there for about five years and after I left the UFC and since then I've been on this international circuit, so kind of a, you know, bouncing around from organization to organization around the world, which has been a great experience. You actually, financially, you make more money doing that than you do in the UFC, where they have like some salary cap type restrictions and so forth there. But it's been an awesome experience. I met a lot of great people and it's just been, it's been a wild ride ever since the beginning. So that's kind of the story in a nutshell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's been a joy watching from you, know, on the outside and just seeing somebody who just continues to chase something that means more to them just than the average everyday real life. You called it right Back to real life yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's like make believe, right? You know what I mean. Yeah, so what did it look like? Let's just peel back this for a moment. When you said, it really intrigued me when you said that you went into it as hard as you could Like. So when you decided you fully made a decision. I'm going down this road, like, take us to that moment and help illustrate as much as you possibly can of what that looks like. Oh man, to the individual who's like, I'm ready to go all in in any area of life. It may not be MMA, but you know what does that look like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's funny when you said that it gives me goosebumps, man, because you know there's different levels of commitment and in anything that you truly want to be successful and you want to be the very, very best, you have to make it a way of life. And I think anybody who's had a level success, right, you see, all these entrepreneurs, all these business people, professional athletes, all these greats, right, that became their life. And so when I went all in, like every second of every day was fighting was how I was going to be the very best, how I was going to reach my goals From the second I woke up till I went to sleep at night. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and I would, I'd go run. My wife would be like you're going now, and I'd be like, yeah, like I got to go get it in. Like you know my opponent's sleeping, right, everybody always hears that type of comparison. It's like, ah, you should be training while your opponent's sleeping.
Speaker 2:And then you start to separate yourself and get ahead, and I really firmly believe in that. And so if I'm not sore, if I'm not beat up or tired, or if I'm able to get out there and get another workout in. That's what I'm going to do. So I'd wake up in the middle of the night and go run stairs or I'd go on long distance run and I just made that 110% of my life. Every day, from the food I ate to the rest I was getting to the workouts I was doing. I committed everything I had to that and I did that for a long time. So I guess what I mean by all in was I was all the way in man Anything and everything I could do to get ahead. That was it, and that, truly, I believe, is how you really level up and gain true success.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's to go all in. I love that. So you're laying in bed at night, you can't sleep or toss it and turn it in, and instead of trying to figure out well, my alarm's not going off till five AM or whatever it was one o'clock in the morning you'd say screw it, throw the covers back, put the shoes on and go get something done instead. Is that kind of what it was like. Oh yeah, man, in the middle of the night. It wasn't like you were setting the alarm, for the middle of the night, it was. I have that in my own life at times. I 100% agree with you that you really truly want to be the best at something. That becomes a way of life. I just love you saying that, because there's times when it's the middle of the night and I'm like I'm going to get up now. I'm just going to get up now and go do something and then maybe I'll sleep later, but my mind is not letting me sleep now, so why am I trying?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was exactly that. And it was the same thing. If I was lifting weights, right, like I go to 24 hour fitness at two o'clock in the morning, there's nobody in there but just me. Maybe, you know, especially on like a weekend night, like I'd have a lot of friends, they were going out, they were doing different activities and out and about or whatever. But I found like joy knowing I was in the weight room on a Saturday evening at two o'clock in the morning or whatever you know that type of thing, and so I knew that I was going to get somewhere. I had these dreams, right, but I was chasing that.
Speaker 2:But it was in those moments that I, man, I really built myself. And when I stepped into a cage or into a competition, I knew that I had done everything I could to be prepared for that particular moment in my life, because I was pretty sure that the guy standing across from me wasn't in the weight room at two o'clock in the morning, he wasn't running stairs at 1 am, he wasn't doing any of that. Very few people can live that life or do that and I prided myself on that. I always believed I was the hardest worker in any room or any gym that I stepped foot in, and so yeah, all the way in man, that's the life I was living.
Speaker 1:I got a curious question for you Because of that level of preparation. Did it allow for you to release a certain level of attachment to how the actual fight went? Did it allow for you just to fight almost kind of free and be like, well, at least I know I did everything in my power and then it went what? Yeah, is there some truth?
Speaker 2:Yes, I think there is, like, when you're going into a competition like that, like it's literally, it's different than team sports, like it's just you and at the highest level. You know, I was fighting in front of 20 to 40,000 people live and millions of people watching around the world, and when I'm in that moment, you're experiencing a ton of different emotions, right Like there's doubts, there's joy, there's just, you know, extreme happiness where you want to almost cry because you're there Like man. I'm here, I'm in this moment. I've been dreaming of this moment. There's a lot of different things that you're experiencing, but the preparation gave me a level of confidence, for when I was walking out of that tunnel into the arena, I knew I was ready. There wasn't anything that I could have done differently to be ready for that moment.
Speaker 2:Whatever happened in the cage happens, right Like it just that's. I can only control so much, but I did everything within my control to be ready for that moment. The rest was gonna be up to God, up to my destiny. Whatever it is that I was meant to be or do, that would take care of itself when I was in there. But that walked to the arena or through the arena to the cage, like it gave me a level of confidence where, to your point, like I did feel somewhat free, I didn't have any. You know I wasn't in there saying, ah man, I wish I would have ran more or lifted more or, you know, work this style of fighting or technique better. I didn't have to do that because I already did that. You know what I mean. Like that was being free as much as you could be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and you earned that right to play, to compete free, to compete when we have to compete together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you earned that.
Speaker 1:So I got. My next question for you, anthony, is along your way. Who did you have to turn to? How did you cultivate the people around you to help you stay on that path? Because, I mean, you've been doing this now for quite some time right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It takes certain people. It takes mentorship. It probably takes, obviously, coaches. It takes support structure Like how did you make sure that you created your environment to set yourself up for success?
Speaker 2:Sure. So growing up I didn't really have anyone. It was just me. I didn't have parents, and the story, my story, is probably common to a lot of low-income athletes or low-income families with athletes that are coming up. I didn't have great parents. I didn't have. You know, I lived in a real poor community. I didn't have any. You know, we didn't have a car for a long time, so we have to walk everywhere, so I didn't really have anybody coming up and I just what I found that drove me or gave me that guidance or mentorship was I'd watch like great athletes and the things that they did. I knew that I had to be the best I could be in school and in sports in order to find an opportunity of some kind. So I just did that and that went all the way through college.
Speaker 2:Later in life, after college, I, you know, I got married. I had this amazing lady who gave me love and structure and support, things I had never had before. And, honestly, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish all of what I accomplished if it wasn't for her, because she gave me what was missing and she was there for me when nobody else was, and so that, I truly believe, is what elevated me to all of these successes that I had in fighting, because without her, you know, I was alone. I didn't have anybody. So she was my best friend, she is my rock and my support system, and so she was the one that took me there. The rest of it, I had a ton of talented coaches and training partners and I mean countless people, too many to even list. But you know UFC guys and famous, you know trained with, you know, john Jones, and he's the goat. You know, the best MMA guy that's ever lived.
Speaker 2:I, you know, I went and moved to Albuquerque and would live there part-time and trained with a team down there and there was, you know, arguably one of the best coaches in MMA down there and trained with him for nine years. Yeah, so I just had a ton of great people around me and I always I guess, to your question, when you're asking who I surround myself with I was trying to surround myself with the best, when I would seek out a particular you know, I guess team or if I wanted to train something that I needed to get better at or improve, like I wasn't gonna just find somebody down the street, like I wanted to go to the best. So I would travel. I'd be in Las Vegas, I'd be in, you know, albuquerque, new Mexico. I would be in Chicago wrestling I would. I'd be anywhere and everywhere I could be to get that best training. And so that's just what I did. And then at home, my wife Candice. She was the rock of our family and took care of the rest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's beautiful. I love this. It's one of the things that I've tried to do in the last 10 years of my life as I've transitioned from being a college football coach to doing what I'm doing now is being a seeker of understanding, really how the mind works and how it can reach performance levels and maintain them, and a level of potential and even spiritual freedom. I have seeked out always to say, like, who's the best in that specific area that I'm researching Right, so that's what.
Speaker 1:I'm saying too, it goes through, go find who has done it before you and learn from them. Right Now I want to turn this conversation a little bit too, because even just watching, like I said, even in this conversation, like man, super inspired and then. But the thing that I'm the most inspired about and the reason why I'm like I gotta get this guy on my show, because, number one, you, just you obviously have a huge heart right. You obviously have somebody who has, like I said, has stayed resilient all the way through your circumstances you come from stick to everything, like committed to a path and like that's where I'm going, and then made it to the highest level, right, and then continue to stay in the game at a high level, Like that's not easy to do, right, but the thing that.
Speaker 1:I believe is the most inspiring is now watching your relationship with your son and his name's Tank right, is that right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, his name's Mercer, but we call him Tank. Okay, and he is a different individual. This is a special young man, so I'm blessed to just be his dad, but Tank is definitely the perfect moniker for who he is, because he is a high level weapon, that is for sure. So it's been awesome.
Speaker 1:And you see, you kind of see yourself coming out in him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's different circumstances, right, like he has his parents, he has a amazing support system and you know he has some resources and but I see him like his level of commitment and work ethic, just his strength. I mean, he's 10 years old, but he if you had a conversation with him or you just watched him, you would realize that he is way beyond 10 as far as maternity and his mind is concerned. So, yeah, I do see a lot of similarities, but he is going to be a better version than I ever was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, the thing that I want to illustrate is, I believe, as a culture, we far underestimate the influence we have on our environment as leaders, as parents, as coaches, right, and that he is a product of the environment that you have created right. You've created a specific environment, not just because of what you have done, right, but this young man clearly not only has a confidence, but he has a certain level of faith and belief and commitment right To step into that. And the picture, the video that you shared the other day, is what I'm like. All right, I got to call Anthony Because you guys were out. I don't know. It was something like you had just gotten back from somewhere.
Speaker 1:I want you to tell this story, but you're out in the dark at night in the wintertime and he's running like it's like. It's a scene right out of Rocky right. I mean it's straight out of Rocky, where he's out running and you're I'm assuming you're in the car driving right the headlights are shining, kind of shining, so he can kind of see what's going and he's protected and you're like this guy man, this is my life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he, you know when I would, when I'd be training for fights, my family would load up in the SUV and they would follow me, you know, day or night or whatever, and they would do that exact same thing, like they would be driving behind me with the high beams on and not just be running. So this is the life that Tank knows like. This is all he's ever known is to see this level of commitment and work ethic. And so, as he's been on his journey, he wants to do the same thing, if not more, than what I did. And so he came back from practice, or we got to work out in, and he was like he's like I kind of want to run. And I was like, okay, let's go, and this isn't the first time that he's done this Before him and I would run. Well, if I'm being honest, I can't keep up with him anymore.
Speaker 2:So, he would. We'd be running and he'd be like, yeah, he would. First of all he would just take off. And I'd be like man.
Speaker 2:I was like, tank, this ain't that type of run man, this is what we're supposed to be pacing ourselves. You know, it's three miles or whatever. We're just trying to get this running. Well then, as time would go, he'd be like, yeah, dad, I'm gonna go ahead and just go a little faster, and so he would take off and then I'd be trying to catch him. Well, it's gotten to the point now where I can't keep up with this guy. So now I follow him in the car, like they used to follow me when I was running.
Speaker 2:And even back then, when he was five, six years old, he would tell my wife like, hey, I'm gonna jump out, run with dad for a little while. He would jump out of the car and he'd run for you know, a mile or half a mile or whatever, and then he'd jump back in the car and he'd drive for a little bit and he'd jump back out, and that would go on for a while until we finished the run. But now it's all about him, man. So, yeah, he came back. He was like, yeah, I'm trying to get this run in. We had practiced for, like I don't know, hour and a half, two hours, or whatever he said he wanted to get some more in, so jumped in the car, followed him for three miles and he got the work in.
Speaker 2:So what we do is we put the high beams on, we roll down all the windows, turn the music up so he can hear it, and we get after it right. Every once in a while dad will Turn the music down and yell stuff at him, remind him why he's there. Like, do you think so-and-so? Whatever Opponents he's has out there, do you think so-and-so? Is training like this? You know why are you out here? Tank like how bad, how bad do you want it? Where do you, where do you truly want to be? Just reminding and getting picked? Picture being in a finals match and you know You're going into overtime or whatever. It's like. These are the moments tank, these are the moments that we train him for, and just to remind him and fire that out there so he he doesn't forget why he's there. And what do you? What he truly wants out of this workout or this sport, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I love it with his most pop up. This is why we trained right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:We've already done all the work right and then those moments pop up where it's like yeah, this is why we do what we do. We were a firm believer in our home of doing hard things. You know, last veterans day, my son and I started at midnight into the thousand burpees together, you know. Because it was better today right, yeah, yeah it was the first time where he had beat in a workout and I was like damn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:He made it to a thousand before I did. He was like you want me to help you with yours? I'm like no, so what is it? What is it for you? That is, what is your, what has been your, why all these years, and what continues to be your? Why, like? What is it that motivates you?
Speaker 2:man, it's, it's a, I Don't know it's, it's. I like to think of it as you, you, you probably see these guys out here like a, like a David Goggins and all these other guys and it, and I guess it's, it's similar like I Don't want to miss any opportunities. I don't want to be sitting at, you know, 50, 60 years old saying, oh well, what if or maybe I could have? I don't, I don't want that type of Result. When I'm, when I get to that point in life, I want to be able to say that I did everything I could to be the best I could be and take advantage of every opportunity and and Go for all the dreams and goals that I have, and that's been the why From the very beginning. But then now it's even bigger than that. Now, you know, I got have kids, I have a wife, family, right, like.
Speaker 2:So to continue is, you know, it's changed a little bit. I want to be healthy, I want to be. You know, I still want to be be able to keep up with tank or try to anyways. I have a daughter named Eva, who's a cheerleader, competition cheerleader and gymnast, and you know I need to need to be somewhat active to be able to be still cool in her mind. I want to be in shape so my wife, my wife and I can grow old together, you know. But just in general, like I need to stay ready, just in case, whatever life brings, I'm prepared for that moment. And so those have been the driving factors to continue down this path, and those are the ones that get me up every day and motivate me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't have to get ready if you stay ready. Huh, that's right. Yeah, yeah, I love you. So. So when you project forward in your life a little bit bit like what do you see, what's what's, what's, what's next for you, like next five, ten years, like what is it? When you project forward, what is your mind go?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think. I think the fighting is coming to a close. I I've talked about retirement several times.
Speaker 1:I actually I thought you were done. I thought you were done. A couple of times I've been watching your journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He's back again.
Speaker 2:I see his name on the card game yeah, semi-retired, but then various reasons pulled me out. So, like there was a guy that I was supposed to fight several years ago the fight was lined up a few different times, didn't work out I feel pretty strongly that that was the one that is the loose end. I need to tie up, and so there's that. And then the opportunities overseas are just. They're amazing To be able to go over to these countries and see those people, meet those people, learn about their culture and still be able to compete, which I love to do. Man, if I could compete forever, I truly would.
Speaker 2:Being able to train alongside my son, not only just wrestling, but we train boxing, kickboxing and all that together as well. Just that whole journey, man. It's not quite ready to let it all go, but we're getting close. So I think in the next year or more we'll actually close the door for good. I can see myself continuing to coach Tank Like I coach a couple of his club teams now, so being a part of that for a little bit longer At some point. I know I got to let him go and go with other people, but dad's still in there right now.
Speaker 1:Not until you find someone who knows more than you do. Anyway, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, We've partnered with a few folks that are just amazing coaches for him, great youth coaches, and then I just kind of been alongside those guys. But at some point dad's got to just be a dad, not a coach. So at some point we'll get there and then I'll do that. But yeah, I really just see myself helping Tank for the next couple of years until that point and then finish this fighting, and then I see myself maybe doing some CrossFit or I don't know, maybe some grappling tournaments or something like that, just to stay in shape and get that competitive fix every once in a while.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, any sort of business ventures that your mind goes towards or anything like that, not really no.
Speaker 2:Your father. Yeah, yeah, the business ventures I've talked about opening a gym. I've talked about starting other businesses and so forth. I don't know. I am kind of that's a lot of time and commitment and I wouldn't be opposed to that. It's just right now. For me, it's all about the family. I don't know if I would have enough time to be able to focus all on that Tank and I travel almost every single week to different places in the country. My daughter's traveling now, so I want to be there for that. Still need to be a good husband and partner and I don't know if I'd have enough time to do very much business, like if I started a business or something like that, but maybe somewhere down the line, don't know.
Speaker 1:Well yeah. Can't wait to continue to watch Both kids, obviously, but Tank is in my awareness and seeing what he does and yeah, so it'd be fun to see what comes from that. From that young man's will man holy cow so.
Speaker 1:I wish him the absolute best and thank you for your time here. Before we leave this, I always want to know what's one piece of advice that you'd give to somebody or your younger self even but you'd give to somebody who has that will and that desire to try to pursue, to be the best in something that they're doing, to be their best anyway. What is something that you would give as a piece of advice? What's another that you could?
Speaker 2:share. It's really simple and people probably hear it every day and it just becomes something as background noise. But if you really think about it, it's the key. It's never give up, like whatever's in your heart, whatever it is that you feel, I guess, a desire to do, or feel like that, that's your calling. Go all in and never give up. The road will never be smooth. It will never be perfect. There's always going to be ups and downs, there'll always be different obstacles that you have to overcome, but as long as you continue to be honest with yourself, work hard and never give up, you will get somewhere great. It may not be exactly what you want it to be or expect it to be, but you will end up in a good place.
Speaker 2:And I firmly believe that, not only with my own life experiences and the success I've had, but even Tank. It's like I mean, this was a young man who he would cry and not want to go to practices, and now I'd have to wait for him and I'd say, tank, you want to go to this practice, or is that OK? But now this guy comes to me like clockwork every night hey Dad, we've got to get going, we're going to be late. But to go from that to Tank's four-time national champion now, it's like nobody would have even thought of that, or even me being just the welfare kid down the street. Nobody would have thought that I would have been able to do what I did. But we never gave up, and so that would be what I would tell somebody else is just keep that in your heart, keep that in your mind. As long as you keep pushing and it's an honest effort and you're doing all you can and you're working hard, you will get somewhere, and I believe that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, where you're supposed to end up your will and your spirit. Man is inspiring, so thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for modeling that.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing it here with me, and thank you for modeling that to the point right, because this example is what we need more of, and then modeling that for your kids is just incredibly inspiring to me. So thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, brother, appreciate you.
