ESPN

Richard Jensen

  (4:02 PM)

I just want to thank all the people who have been real supportive of me, and who have helped me set my goals higher and reach higher standards in my life. I feel blessed to share my story with the world, and I truly hope that it will inspire even one person to make different decisions in my life. Check out more at my website: www.lostdreamsawaken.org.

John (Horseheads, NY)

Using drugs and serving prison time had to wreck your body physically and your mind mentally. How long before you felt you could compete at the college level?

Richard Jensen

  (4:04 PM)

It was a two-year process before I started training. I quit smoking a year before I started training, and it took a year before I could focus and reach other areas in my life, before I put the pieces in order to attempt to train at the college level. My goal at the beginning was to not quit, not give up, and show up for every practice. I began to raise my goals as time passed. And, of course, diet, sleep habits, and balancing life are all very key factors in competing at a college level, and helping me to keep my eye on the prize and move forward. It wasn't overnight.

Ed Griffith, Miami Florida

Richard, what are you doing now that you are no longer wrestling or in school?

Richard Jensen

  (4:06 PM)

I just closed the deal on my auto repair business. Early September will be the grand opening for Affordable Car Doctor in Portland, OR. It's another one of my goals, dreams, and aspirations that I've been pushing towards. I've been blessed with an opportunity to start my own auto repair business.

Ben, Pennsylvania

What things do you do on a daily basis to remain clean and off drugs? (AA meetings, support group, etc.)

Richard Jensen

  (4:08 PM)

I do everything that I did four years ago to get clean in the first place--I stay away from those that are using drugs and alcohol--I have nobody in my life that uses drugs and alcohol. I pray for help from a higher power. I go to 12-step meetings. I stick with the winners, I oontinually keep things in balance--diet, sleep, etc. I try not to let things tip the boar too heavy to one side. I keep reminding myself that I am a better man today than I was yesterday, and if I continue to stay clean and sober, this will happen. I honor my mother and father every day I stay clean, and that's real important to me.

Richard Jensen

  (4:09 PM)

Also, I remind myself of what life in prison was like. I don't forget that experience.

Steve Troy, IL

Richard,Amazing story. Are you staying involved with wrestling? Coaching, competing, reffing? We're praying and pulling for you in Illinois. Thanks

Richard Jensen

  (4:10 PM)

God bless you, Illinois, thank you so much for your encouragement. I will stay involved on one level or another. On the side, I'm going to stay connected with wrestling. One of my goals is to be involved at a coaching/mentoring level at high schools or colleges here in the Portland area.

Richard Jensen

  (4:10 PM)

Loyalty to the sport!

Brandon Curtin (Cary IL)

Do you think you're life would of been different if you didn't wrestle?

Richard Jensen

  (4:11 PM)

Wrestling has played a very instrumental part in helping me organize other areas of my life that I've been putting together. I needed wrestling in my life at this point. I didn't expect to be at the National Tournament, but my goals have changed very rapidly, as I kept my eye focused on the prize and moved towards it. There was much relief through wrestling.

West Palm Beach, Florida

What is the one thing you would say to someone who has been fighting addiction and to this day has not been able to conquer it.

Richard Jensen

  (4:14 PM)

Start by just staying clean for one day. Focus on that and find some support through family and those that are closest to you. The biggest thing of all is probably putting yourself out of the environment. I threw away my phone book that had all those numbers in it. I began to change what I was doing, but most of all I had to stay clean for one day to start off. One day strung into two, two into three. I found help through 12-step programs. Reach deep down and find those passions that you have, because everyone has a passion, and everyone has aspirations in their lives. I found that moving towards it meant that I had to stay clean. It could be a long process. I'm not cured at all, but I continue to move forward in my life, one day at a time.

dwayne-san diego, ca

Great story of recovering and conquering your demons. your body how long did it take for your body to stop craving drugs? It sounds like you were using everyday so that means your body was feeding off of it. I heard about your mind but what about your body how long did it take for you to actually feel the difference of the not having your body crave for it?

Richard Jensen

  (4:17 PM)

Let's just say I went through the heaviest withdrawals the first three to four months. Then I went through another one after a year of being clean. The obsession in my head to use started lifting after about a year. It's a process. But here we are after almost five years, and I don't think about using very often. It does occasionally happen, and things remind me of what it was like. The physical effects, for me, and the cravings in the head and the body happened for months. For the most part, after a year, that stuff was lifted. There was some filtering of the bad stuff, and the good stuff started coming in. I've been free of that bondage for a while now. There are so many more things in my life I want to accomplish. I know that drugs aggecte not only me but the others around me.

Walker (McDonough, GA)

I am an assistant wrestling coach and plan to show your segment from OTL to all of the kids on my teams. I just wanted to say congratulations for having the courage to fight you battle. Do you have plans for publishing a book in the future?

Richard Jensen

  (4:18 PM)

Yes I do, and I am not sure which direction to go in yet, but I am definitely open to the possibilities of somebody writing my story. I'm not much of a writer myself, but I know my story very well, and with the right person, I would love to share it and put it in print.

Richard Jensen

  (4:19 PM)

Thanks for the encouragement, and and good luck with this year's wrestling season. You are a mentor and a guide to those kids.

clinton ohio

What has been the biggest change from when you wrestled 15 years ago to today.

Richard Jensen

  (4:21 PM)

Recovery time! Besides the fact that I abused my body for 15 years in many different avenues and ways, the recovery time after practice and tournaments was days or weeks. I wrestled through a lot of aches and pains on a daily basis, and struggled to put the pains out of my head. I truly didn't want to give up. I know that, if I could stay mentally strong, physically my body would follow, even when it hurt so bad that I couldn't move. From my life experience, I just kept pushing forward. Sometimes, when you want something so bad, no matter what you do, you keep moving towards that, no matter how you feel.

Jim (OK)

Richard, have you heard of Josh Hamilton's story? Do you see any paralells between his struggle and yours?

Richard Jensen

  (4:23 PM)

I see many, many parallels. He has truly inspired me and the rest of the world with his story. He is a warrior and a true inspiration, and I pray for his success every day.

Dave (Jackson, MI)

Congratulations on getting clean and continuing the fight to stay clean. What propelled you from two wins your first season back to going to the national tournament in your second season?

Richard Jensen

  (4:25 PM)

The first season was about knocking the dust off and getting my old, worn-out body to work right. It was about finishing the race. When the season was over, I decided to keep training through the summer when everybody else let up. I wrestled close matches with many a national champion my first year, and I though if I pushed harder, I would get over the top. I ate, slept, and drank training. I mentally prepared for the season, and nothing deterred me from pushing myself to the limits. I sacrificed much, but the payoff was huge. I feel truly blessed this year.

Joe, Enterprise, AL

It's not only inspirational from a staying clean standpoint but you made a college wrestling team as a grown adult. You were going up against some athletes who were in there prime condition. How did that make you feel and what would go through your head before every match?

Richard Jensen

  (4:27 PM)

I brought a lot of experience throughout the years to the mat. They may have been in their prime, but I am very mentally tough with that experience. I, being mentally tough, came out on top many a time, because it is truly a mental and conditioning sport. The best technician does not always win. I was never going to let anybody break me. I believe that helped me win many a match this year. I just was very confident that I had prepared all my life for this moment on the mat.

Richard Jensen

  (4:28 PM)

i knew when I went out on the mat, I would leave everything I had out there. I knew that it was everything--I would never look back and say that I didn't wrestle as tough as I possibly could. I spent 15 years in darkness. Nobody will break me in seven minutes. I always told myself--push for seven minutes with everything I got. Most guys break at 5 and a half.

Richard Jensen

  (4:31 PM)

Thanks for the encouragement and all the good words and support. I truly feel blessed to be able to not only share my story and touch lives, but to be a part of this whole process and journey. I will continue to work hard and push forward. I have a website with any and all who would like to contact me or follow up on any other questions: www.lostdreamsawaken.org. I do guest speaking and would love to talk with anyone about their struggles or my story--or even somebody who could write a good book!