What happened to Anthony Robles? The true story behind Prime Video's Unstoppable
Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jermone star in Prime Video's new sports drama, which tells the incredible true story of one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles.
Jennifer Lopez stars in Unstoppable, an emotional sports drama about the life of Anthony Robles and his quest to achieve his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
Robles was born without a leg and thus faced many obstacles in trying to achieve his goal, with the Prime Video movie charting the journey he took to become NCAA Division I wrestling champion. The film stars Jharrel Jerome as Robles, who is supported by Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle.
Here is everything that you need to know about the real Robles and where he is now.
Anthony Robles' journey to become wrestling champion
Robles began wrestling in Mesa, Arizona, at the age of 14, choosing to start the sport thanks to the unwavering belief of his mother Judy. At first things did not go well for him, as the "smallest kid on the team" with little wrestling skills he struggled to make a mark, but that didn't stop him from believing he could achieve great things.
The athlete continued to train hard and went from taking last place in the Mesa City wrestling tournament to finishing his junior and senior years in high school with a 96-0 record. He was also a two-time Arizona State Champion and had become the High School National Champion.
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Robles then set his sites of college wrestling, but found that there were few colleges who believed a one-legged wrestler could compete at an even higher level. Rather than be disheartened by this, Robles chose to prove them wrong by joining the Arizona State University wrestling team on his own.
The sportsman fought tooth and nail to achieve his dreams and went on to become a 3-time All-American and the 2011 NCAA National Champion.
Robles has always shared how it was his mother's support that helped him through the years, saying in an interview on SportsJam with Doug Doyle: "My mum has been everything to me. My mum is my hero. She believed in me when no one else did. She taught me to believe in myself at a young age when I would step out in world where everyone saw me for what I couldn't do.
"Even just going to the grocery stores I felt uncomfortable people would look at me and see me for being less than, but my mom never look at me that way. She would never allow me to think that way which is why I am who I am today."
Where is Anthony Robles now?
Robles has ended his professional wrestling career but now works as a motivational speaker, he is also a commentator for NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships — a role he has had since 2012. Elsewhere, in 2018 Robles set the Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups in one minute.
He published his memoir Unstoppable: From Underdog To Undefeated: How I Became A Champion in 2012, and in 2014 the movie rights were picked up. It took time for production to get off the ground, with Jerome replacing Jason Mitchell in the lead role.
What does Anthony Robles think of Unstoppable?
Unstoppable is based on Robles' memoir of the same name, and as a result the sportsman has had some involvement in the series from its early stages. Even so, Robles has spoken about how he had to get used to the idea of relinquishing control of his story to writers Eric Champnella, Alex Harris and John Hindman.
Speaking with People, Robles said: "The scariest part for me is that loss of control and having faith. But with this amazing group of individuals, we knew we could trust them and we knew that the integrity of the story, the message of it, and my family would be safe with this group."
However he also shared how he enjoyed the movie, adding: "It was told so beautifully. It respected what we went through, but also at the same time it captured where our strength came from."
Unstoppable is out now on Prime Video.