World champion wrestler Lee Kemp on the privilege of another battle

The Invisible Men

In this episode, Ian and Nique are joined by one of America’s greatest wrestlers — Lee Kemp — who reflects on a life of challenges and achievement both inside and outside wrestling. According to Lee, “I was given up for adoption at birth and was institutionalized until the age of five,” when he was adopted. Lee shares that his adopted father, who left the south for Cleveland in search of a better life, taught him the values of hard work and respect from an early age. Amid the racial unrest of the 1960s, Lee’s family moved from Cleveland to a rural Ohio farming community. There, Lee watched his father build a thriving farm while also holding a full-time job. It was at this time in his life that Lee was introduced to the sport of wrestling. Wrestling has informed one of Lee’s core beliefs: the reward of winning one battle is earning the privilege to fight another battle.

Later, Lee discusses his experience in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow — dashing Lee’s hopes of becoming both a multi-time world champion and an Olympic champion. Tune in to the full episode to learn more of Lee’s story and hear his words of advice for “Darryl.”

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