Gene Zannetti talks with Virginia Tech wrestler and U20 US Open champion Ryan Burton about winning the US Open after moving back up to his natural weight and falling back in love with the sport, how stacking small daily wins in training gave him the confidence to compete at his best, why writing motivational phrases on his locker a month before the tournament kept him locked in on his purpose, and what it's like training alongside Bo Bassett and James Green at Virginia Tech as they build toward a national team championship.

Timestamps:

1:39 - Won the US Open U20 after moving back to natural weight and enjoying wrestling again

2:21 - Trusting the training and stacking small wins to get over the hump

4:39 - Faith at Saint Joe's: Vir Fidelis and a religion teacher who changed his life

6:08 - Iron Horse Wrestling Club and the people who shaped his career

7:26 - Ditching traditional lifting for lean explosive training with John Wilkins

9:23 - Mindset going into the World Team Trials finals

11:39 - Finding purpose in training: everything I'm doing is preparing me for this

13:10 - Virginia Tech training with Bo Bassett, Japanese world-level wrestlers, and James Green

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Gene Zannetti talks with Maryland state champion Cash Wheat about his three-year journey with Wrestling Mindset from a confidence-struggling sophomore to a dominant state champion, how building a confidence anchor using a simple leg slap helped him attack instead of hesitate, developing a warrior alter ego that transformed him the moment he stepped on the mat, and how the mindset work spilled over into his daily life giving him the confidence to talk to new people and feel like he belongs with high-level guys.

Timestamps:

1:44 - Focusing on confidence

2:34 - Bounced back with Coach Mike's help

4:25 - Confidence anchor: building the leg slap into a competitive trigger

5:50 - Alter ego strategy

7:10 - Mindset built confidence off the mat

9:13 - Committed to D3 at University of Lynchburg, targeting All-American

11:18 - The setback that fueled the state run

14:53 - Won the state finals 12-0 before pinning his opponent in the final period

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Gene Zannetti sits down with legendary wrestling coaches Ernie Monaco, Jeff Buxton, and Steve Rivera to discuss the biggest forces reshaping wrestling today, including why parents treating coaching as a transactional service undermines everything coaches build, how the club hopping epidemic creates gaps in wrestling IQ instead of linear development, why building champions starts with parents working on themselves first, the difference between coaching a boarding school environment versus a club where parents never fully let go, and why loyalty and long-term relationships are the foundation of every great wrestling career.

Timestamps:

1:54 - How Ernie saw the club wrestling explosion coming decades ago

5:09 - The transfer portal is destroying team culture

13:00 - Parents treat coaching as transactional and miss what coaches actually invest

22:00 - The European art metaphor: chipping away everything bad until beauty is revealed

31:56 - Building a champion starts with parents working on themselves first

34:15 - Blair's boarding environment built independence by removing parents from the equation

50:05 - Steve letting Sebastian take a year off in 8th grade and never questioning his commitment again

1:03:26 - Club hopping creates gaps in wrestling IQ by skipping from page one to page 200

1:14:00 - Gratitude as the bookend that puts every match in proper perspective

1:53:32 - The magic of coaching is always in the relationship, not the technique

2:20:00 - How money entering the sport is eroding the integrity of youth wrestling

2:57:00 - Wrestling's evolution: how athletic and physical the sport has become compared to 30 years ago

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

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Gene Zannetti talks with Montana state champion Tegan Jones about winning his first state title as a senior after placing fourth the year before, how four years of mindset training helped him through trial and error to find what worked best for him, why hearing "believe in yourself" from an outside perspective who had accomplished what he wanted to do made all the difference, and how he applied the same wrestling principles of hard methodical work to get accepted into Penn and Brown while aspiring to become a surgeon.

Timestamps:

1:22 - Four years of mindset training through trial and error

3:44 - Placing fourth at states then pivoting for senior year

4:03 - Building self-confidence wrestling older guys as a freshman

5:06 - Why it's different hearing advice from an outside perspective

7:24 - Not worried about wins or losses, just focused on performing

9:20 - Fortune favors the bold: Aristotle quote before state finals

12:38 - Applying wrestling principles to get into Ivy League schools

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Gene Zannetti talks with Pennsylvania state champion Chase Randolph about winning his first state title and then the US Open freestyle championship just weeks later, how mindset training helped him stop losing to kids he should beat and start beating kids he never beat before, why surrendering the result and focusing only on effort and attitude made him feel free on the mat, and how he wrestled 12 matches in two days at the US Open after losing first round in Greco then flipping the switch to win freestyle.

Timestamps:

1:13 - Skeptical of mindset training at first

2:20 - Felt a lot more free at Kids Focused on Nationals

2:36 - Surrender the result and focus on what you control

4:12 - Wrestling for myself, not caring what people think

5:08 - Trusting his mindset coach's knowledge and experience

9:03 - Losing first round in Greco then winning six straight in freestyle

11:45 - Finding the good in every day and fixing weaknesses

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Gene Zannetti talks with Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion Jordan Burroughs about the partnership between Wrestling Mindset and All I See Is Gold Academy, why mindset becomes more important as you get older in the sport, how youth wrestling is 100% mental because young athletes lack physical strength and technical skill, and why he trusts Wrestling Mindset's approach.

Timestamps:

1:15 - Wrestling mindset percentage depends on where you are in life

1:46 - Youth wrestling is 100% mental at this age

3:33 - Why Wrestling Mindset: you're wrestlers who've been in the game

6:18 - Memorizing foundational mindset principles

7:51 - Goal one: learning to fail forward without losing enthusiasm

8:33 - Goal two: creating people who are insanely driven and disciplined

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

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Gene Zannetti talks with New York state champion Ryker Cox about winning his first state title as a junior at 160 pounds, how working on his mindset helped him jump levels in wrestling by staying focused one step at a time, why his reset button became raising his eyebrows to mentally reset between sequences, how key losses during the season lit a fire under him and made him a completely different wrestler, and wrestling through pneumonia and the flu to win a tournament just weeks before states.

Timestamps:

2:14 - Following his dad's footsteps

4:46 - Placing fourth at states lit a fire for the offseason

6:00 - Mindset helped him jump levels in wrestling

8:23 - His reset button is raising his eyebrows

10:00 - The loss that changed his whole season

10:43 - Wrestling through pneumonia and the flu

11:40 - Breaking through his mental block at Eastern States

13:28 - Hiring an assistant coach for practice partners

14:12 - Coming in as the one seed and establishing dominance

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Gene Zannetti talks with Minnesota state champion Anthony Heim about his dramatic comeback win in the state finals when he was down by two with his opponent in on his leg, how learning to relax and breathe through matches transformed his season after a disappointing start, why he developed a reset button by touching his toes and taking deep breaths between every break in the action, and how coaching youth wrestlers helped him fall in love with the sport again and avoid burnout.

Timestamps:

2:14 - Learning to fall in love with wrestling again

4:06 - Remembering to breathe

5:07 - Forcing himself to use his reset until it became natural

6:37 - His reset button was just touching his toes

7:18 - Being relaxed instead of blaring music with headphones

8:28 - The four-day state tournament and taking one match at a time

9:43 - Down by two with opponent in on his leg

14:02 - Going from third to fifth place the year before

18:05 - Coaching young wrestlers to avoid burnout

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

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Gene Zannetti talks with New Jersey State champion Greyson Pettit about his journey from freshman to state champion at 132 pounds, how cutting too much weight his sophomore and junior years made him hate the sport and derailed his postseason, why moving up to a weight where he felt strong changed everything, the recurring dream he had three times before winning states as a 21 seed, and how he developed his own reset button using three deep breaths to stay calm between every break in the action.

Timestamps:

1:15 - Cutting weight brought him to a dark place

4:46 - Grade 2 ACL tear ended his junior year

7:18 - The difference between discipline and cutting weight

10:43 - Seeded 21st at the state tournament

13:53 - The recurring dream

16:08 - Staying focused on the next match only

17:47 - Developing his own reset button without knowing it

22:06 - Staying locked in

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Gene Zannetti talks with NCAA champion Nico Megaludis and his father Dan about their father-son wrestling journey, how Dan coached Nico without destroying their relationship, the importance of scheduling feedback instead of coaching in the hurricane of emotion after matches, why Dan never yelled at Nico in the hallways, how faith helped Nico finally win his national title as a senior, and the parallel between creating wealth and playing offense while protecting it is playing defense.

Timestamps:

5:27 - Dan's wrestling background and starting Nico young

10:43 - Visualizing the Olympic finals in basement tournaments

17:47 - Forcing Nico to learn leg attacks at age eight

20:30 - Separating wrestling and family time

24:12 - Scheduling feedback days

30:17 - Making NCAA finals as a true freshman

31:52 - First match realizing someone was actually better

47:19 - Finding peace through faith in his senior year

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

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Gene Zannetti talks with social media wrestler Georgio Poullas about his viral "Take Me Down Win $1,000" challenge series, how the Pitbull mentality his dad taught him drives his aggressive wrestling style, why he's never been taken down in hundreds of challenge attempts, and how posting content every single day of the year is the key to building a following and promoting wrestling to the mainstream.

Timestamps:

3:19 - How the Take Me Down $1,000 Challenge started

11:40 - Pitbull mentality and mental preparation

13:13 - Keeping it technical and respectful in challenges

18:24 - Promoting wrestling and inspiring new wrestlers

20:25 - Pre-match routine vs challenge mindset

22:15 - Dad's influence and bodybuilding background

25:25 - Training routine and sport-specific workouts

31:47 - Advice for growing a social media following

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.

If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podcasts.

For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email [email protected]

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