He’s a national wrestling champion, three-time all-American and an Arizona State University legend. He is one of the top wrestlers in the nation and a testament to what can happen when dreams come true. His talent is a shock to some, an inspiration to many and if he could be summed up in one word it would be unstoppable.

Anthony Robles is nothing short of amazing. Born to a 16-year-old single mother, many people thought nothing would come easy for Robles. Not because of his teenage parent, but because he was born without his right leg.

Doctors could never figure out why this happened, but it has never mattered to Robles. It has never been his “disability” or “handicap,” it’s simply the way God made him, he said.

“We are all born differently, we all have our challenges,” Robles said. “It is just a matter of how you respond to the challenge.”

Robles’ older cousin introduced him to wrestling and he took up the sport at 14 but “wasn’t very good.” Fast forward to his last two years of high school with two state championships and a high school national title under his belt, Robles walked on to the ASU wrestling program after receiving an academic scholarship to attend the Division I school.

In his five years at ASU, Robles’ overpowering love for the one-on-one competition of wrestling earned him three Pac-10 champion honors and all-American status. His senior year he capped a 36-0 perfect season with the NCAA national  wrestling title.

This top collegiate honor is the pinnacle of wrestling success. For college wrestlers there is no next “professional athletic” step. It’s not like heading into the NFL or NBA; for every college wrestler, the NCAA finals are where you dream to be.

“To wrestle in the national finals after 10 years, in my final match, was just an amazing honor and a dream come true,” Robles said. “It was scary, in front of 20,000 people in the arena. But I had trained too hard to be in second place. It was nice to finally win.”

After graduating from college in 2011 Robles was awarded the Jimmy V award for perseverance at the 2011 ESPY awards and inducted into the national wrestling Hall of Fame. When Robles decided to leave the mat for good, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life: become a motivational speaker.

However, an opportunity arose to tell his story and help inspire others to achieve their dreams and overcome their challenges Robles knew his story would inspire. Partnering with Sports Illustrated’s Austin Murphy, Robles released “Unstoppable, From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion” earlier this month.

“Unstoppable” chronicles Robles childhood through his wrestling career. The book talks about the hard times in his life, but it’s more than just an inspiring sports memoir: it’s a story about setting a goal and sticking to it, no matter what type of adversity stands in the way.

“It’s one thing to share my story and try to inspire people in 45 minutes of talking, but it’s a whole other level to write my life story out in a book and let them read about the challenges and the times I was defeated and came back from it,” Robles said. “It’s a huge tool for me to do what I feel like I am called to do, which is to help others.”

In partnership with the SRJC wrestling program and Copperfi eld’s Books, Robles came to SRJC Oct. 24 for a few words of encouragement and promotion for his new book. Tauzer Gym was packed full of wrestling fans and SRJC community members waiting to hear Robles speak.

For Robles, coming to SRJC felt like coming home, a chance to bond with his “wrestling family” out here.

“We call it the wrestling community. If you’re a wrestler it doesn’t mater who you are or where you’re from; if you wrestle you’re in with us,” he said. Robles said he was excited to speak before the wrestling team because he knows what members go through as athletes.

“Wrestling was my sanctuary. When things were going bad at home or in my personal life, whenever I stepped on a wrestling mat everything just disappeared,” Robles said. “It is a common bond we have and it’s a special thing I want to share with them.”

He walked onto the mat in the middle of Tauzer Gym to applause and shared his story of struggle and triumph. His message was short and sweet, but resonated with many. SRJC wrestling head coach Jake Fitzpatrick watched Robles compete at the NCAA championships and was honored to have him speak before his team.

“Anthony has a very signifi cant story to tell. He has overcome tremendous obstacles to compete and win at the highest level in the toughest collegiate sport,” Fitzpatrick said.

Many of the SRJC wrestlers met with Robles, posed with him for pictures and had him sign copies of his book.

“I was really excited to meet him [Robles] before our match against Skyline,” said SRJC wrestler Andrew Wolocatiuk. ”I got him to sign my book and I’m looking forward to reading it.”

Robles will continue his book tour then return home to Arizona. But he doesn’t expect much downtime. As a Nike-sponsored athlete and ESPN commentator, Robles will be very busy. But he will continue speaking to people and hopes his words of inspiration help people get what they want in life.

“We all wrestle with our own challenges, whether it be physical or family things. We all have our own obstacles, our own opponents we wrestle with in life,” Robles said. “I want people to know that they can be unstoppable throughout it. You just have to have that mind set to where you tell yourself, ‘I’m going to make the most of it. Bad or good, I’m going to get through it.’”