Courtesy of John Harrison
Former Nittany Lion All American, John Hanrahan, Wins Double Vegas Gold at Veterans Nationals in both Freestyle and Greco Roman
John, we haven’t talked in a while so before we get started talking about the Veterans Wrestling titles which you recently won please update us on your life and career.
I’ve been living in Alpharetta, Ga. My PT Sport & Fitness group provides wellness solutions for corporate executives and employees, as well as private training programs to individuals looking to reach their maximum potential. When we last spoke I had been garnering national recognition as a top trainer in the highly competitive LA fitness market. I had a stable of high-powered Hollywood notables as my LA clients (stars- Patricia Heaton, Tara Reid, super-director Tim Burton). Funny story: I had been training Patty Heaton, star of number one show at that time, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and it turned out her high school sweetheart was my Iowa nemesis, Mike DeAnna. It was a funny coincidence; wrestling is a small world and it’s great to find people connected to it.
I left LA and began running fitness and training business sectors for fitness industry leader Life Time Fitness (LTF). I grandopened and managed their first mega-club in the Atlanta market and was later recruited by the CEO, Chairman and founder of the Atlanta based company MedAssets Inc. to launch and direct a national wellness program for their 2000 employees located in various national regions.
I now have my own Atlanta based company that provides corporate and personal wellness solutions. The work I do is rewarding in the sense that it allows me to make a positive impact on individuals’ lives and continue to work towards a genuine 360 degree approach of what true wellness entails (Physical, Psychological, Spiritual, Community based, etc.). I’ve initiated large national incentivized programs to move hundreds into improved health quadrants, and I also continue to work with individuals as their personal health coach.
I continue to make time to coach wrestlers; I’ve operated a private club, USWrestlingClub.com, which focuses on developing HS State Champs and is an ongoing training haven for grapplers of all ages. It’s nice to see guys that are now wrestling in college and they continue to return home for their summer training.
Tell us about your training for the recent Freestyle and Greco Roman Veterans competition in which you won titles. In what ways does your training now differ from your training while wrestling for Coach Lorenzo at Penn State?
My training for the Veteran’s Nationals event began about four months prior and consisted of a set schedule of live wrestling, sparring and drilling coupled with strength training and anaerobic threshold training mimicking the lactate demands of wrestling with 10 minute high-intensity spin bike intervals. I impose a work-rest ratio of 3:1, 1 minute 30 seconds in a burn state with a 30 second active recovery and repeat. The typical work-rest ratio recommended for anaerobic work would be 1:3 (Example 30 sec work 1:30 recovery), but I know first-hand as a wrestler that’s not going to prepare you to endure the true demands of a match. Coach Lorenzo would require us to do mid-day sprint-jog intervals to gain anaerobic buffering capacity, we’d use the indoor track and try and incorporate the work and recovery ratio of an 8-10 minute match. Knowing that your gas tank is filled allows you to have that fun on the mat that Cael always talks about – if you haven’t paid the price to fill that gas tank there’s not much fun to be had out there.
Muscular and skeletal strength conditioning becomes even more important at an older age, when you’re younger your high volume of daily wrestling gives you a high natural strength capacity. It’s important from a protection aspect to stay structural strong and avoid injuries. An overlooked aspect of preparation is flexibility; I incorporate a pre and post work out full body stretch routine. Stretch time is also the time you focus on imagery or meditative prep, Coach Lorenzo also exposed us to this aspect with a Sports Psychologist. Nutritionally I just try and eat right. I never take vitamins or supplements; I’ve always been an advocate of getting your nutrition from the food you choose to eat.
Talk about the tournaments which you just won.
The Veteran Nationals is a United World Wrestling (formerly FILA) sanctioned tournament that allows wrestlers over age 35 a platform to continue competing and runs as part of the annual US Open which is the first leg of the World or Olympic Team trials each year for our Open division wrestlers. It’s a great gathering of older warriors. There is fierce competition but there is also a sense of endearing comraderie among the participants. Kind of felt like the epitome of that respectful wrestlers’ fraternity that we all know exists among wrestlers of all stripes.
What is next for you as far as Veterans wrestling competition goes?
I’m going to Athens, the birth place of wrestling for the Veterans World Championships. I have now actually qualified to compete in The United World Wrestling’s World Veterans Freestyle & Greco Championships which will be held this coming October in Athens, Greece. Having won Veteran Nationals in both Greco and Freestyle I am excited to train for this and give it my best shot. In previous years I had noticed the Worlds had been in Serbia. It peaked my interest when I saw the upcoming host city this year is the historic home of our beloved oldest sport.
When did you start competing at the Veterans level and how did you get involved?
I never competed in an age group Veterans division before this recent event. I had been away from the sport really since 1984, (in ’88 I did compete once, winning the NYAC Freestyle Open). I went through the ’96 Olympic Trials at age 36, beating a young NCAA Champ, Ray Miller in that event and feeling good about the experience. In 2002, at age 42 I was an Assistant Coach helping Mark Cody bring life to the American University program in my hometown of DC, and I entered the MAWA Folkstyle Championship which culminated in me beating 21 year old Duane Bastress (2x DII National Champ) in the finals. Then in 2006 I entered the SE Region US World Grappling Team Trials and actually won the Open division beating a guy from the Army Team in the finals by submission.
After that I said to myself the next time I compete I’m going to try the Veterans nationals that had been gaining a lot of recognition. I had my mind set on entering my first Veterans competition at 55.
You are setting an excellent example for athletes of all ages. How long do you plan to keep competing?
Thanks. That’s important to me. As a pro trainer I’ve always tried to instill passionate goals for my clients. I’ve put so many high profile individuals through work outs, including many off season pro athletes, corporate moguls and stars, including Julia Roberts, Liam Neeson, Howard Stern, Joan Lunden, Diane Sawyer and the late John Kennedy, Jr. and Natasha Richardson. Wrestlers have a distinct reputation for out working athletes of all sports and I think I’ve been successful because my clients realize I know the demands that need to be imposed to reach a serious goal. Having a goal to train for and accomplish something in return makes the work part of an enjoyable journey and intensifies the effort, as a long time Conditioning Coach always tried to impart that message to the clients I’ve trained.
As far as how much longer I’ll continue to wrestle who knows? Each day is a gift and I’m thankful for that.
What inspires you to keep competing in such a tough sport?
Wrestling has been such a big part of my life. My mom steered me towards wrestling when in second grade I bought home a boys club flyer and told her I wanted to do boxing. Having competed at a high level for Penn State remains a timeless honor for me. I finished as the first 100-Win Club member and as a two-time place-winner (each year I had an ’84 Olympic Champ Schultz brother atop of my NCAA podium). I kind of checked out of the sport prematurely in ’84, In ’83 I had lost a very close high scoring match against the Soviet Union’s World medalist, I had also beaten the Japanese national team member who took an ’84 bronze medal at the weight above me, had medaled at the international Canada Cup and had finished number three behind Dave Schultz and Lee Kemp at the ’83 World Cup Team trials, beating Iowa’s King Mueller for the number three spot.
I was in the thick of contention but left it all behind – while competing in a televised match I had been “discovered” by an agent who had been acclaimed for finding guys that catapulted to the top of the high-paying fashion industry. I began immediately working around the world as a top fashion-model with the prominent Ford Agency as my home base agency in New York City. I had contracts with the top agencies in the world markets: Paris, Milan, Tokyo and Zurich. The pay for catalog work was $125 an hour (about what I had toiled for working construction for a week back then) it was a great way to see the world, be around beautiful woman and make money (I met my wife of 25 years, Kirsten, on a job for Italian Vouge). In some ways, working in this new arena had become a consolation prize in my mind for not making the ‘84 Olympic Team, I hadn’t beaten fellow countryman Dave Schultz in three tries and I knew nobody in the world would beat Dave in ‘84. I got the news of Dave’s Olympic gold medal triumph while we were listening to music on the radio in a television production van on an exotic island in the South Pacific. I was starring as the front man of yet another product endorsement, this time for a Japanese sports beverage TV commercial. I was happy for Dave but remember feeling so far removed from the sport. The medal Dave had just won wasn’t going to launch him to commercial success so the fact that I was doing worldwide TV commercials, appearing on magazine covers and as the face of international campaigns, helped ease the disappointment of being so far removed from the sport that I grew up with. That was me trying to juxtaposition my thoughts and not be envious of Dave’s Olympic glory, I was a wrestler and things that fulfilled a wrestler’s sense of accomplishment couldn’t be quenched in the new world I found myself in. Wrestling was the most ancient of all sports and the rewards were simple and stark, yet somehow deeply satisfying beyond material reward or glamorous recognition.
After a few years of my whirlwind lifestyle I incurred a deadly accident, I literally had a Near Death Experience. I’m not going to go in to all the details here, I’ve written over 40,000 words on the experience and have a book in the works that goes into depth regarding the light of truth I was shown, and the second chance at life I’ve been given. I have a mission and an obligation to share what I’ve learned with others, both through the way I reflect that light to others and by working to convey my story and bring a sense of faith and comfort to those who face an unknown fear when it comes to life after death issues. My story will be told and hopefully be shared in a way that will be helpful to others and bring hope and a natural guidance to them as they persevere on their own personal journey. Wrestling has been a grounding discipline that I embrace. Getting back to my wrestling roots has been rewarding for me; it constantly exposes elemental truths to myself and all who practice it.
Have there been more wrestlers competing at the Veterans level in recent years?
There were about 160 competitors this year in the Veterans division at the US Open. It was a great group of seasoned warriors, and an excellent experience to be back at the US Open. What a great way to see old friends, and also enjoy the Senior World Team competition as well as the fierce Junior competition throughout the arena. It was also nice that they stage the Veteran bouts on the prestigious main platform of in the heart of the venue.
Do you know of any other former All-American wrestlers who are even close to your age and still wrestling competitively?
My old friend Dan Chaid, 1985 NCAA champ 4x All American at Oklahoma, competed and won. He’s been competing at this for a number of years now. His two sons were also competing there in the Juniors, so it seemed like a great father-sons family experience for them. I had my wife and sons with me. It was a family trip for us as well. My US Wrestling Club team mate and training partner, Eric Cluck, was a 2x DII All American and also competed and won the title at his weight division. There was also a large contingent of Russians that came over and participate as well as other countries. It gives the event some good international depth.
Is there any support available to people who compete at the Veteran’s level?
USA Wrestling coordinates the entries for the Veterans who will be competing at The Veterans World Championships in Athens, Greece, but each participant is required to cover their own expenses. Our team leader for the Veterans World Team advised us to set up a GoFundMe account to defray some of the costs. I’m definitely training hard and headed to Athens to compete this October. We’re coming up with “TEAM HAMMER” tee shirts (that was my nickname when I competed for the NYAC) to give to GoFundMe contributors.
What advice do you have for other athletes who might be interested in competing at the Veterans level?
Just get back into the room, even if it’s only to pass down what you’ve learned to the young wrestlers in your community. Prepare the best way you can, get back to your roots, wrestling is such a distinct martial art form and one that so many should continue to practice. If you decide to compete, my advice is to make sure you have your wife and family’s blessing and then to go for it. If you decide to go full bore, you should also get a supplemental insurance policy just in case you get hurt and have to miss work, seriously, the last thing you want to do is to risk your income. I don’t play golf or do other things that take away from family time, it’s nice in a way that wrestling has become a life sport for me. Lee Kemp was living down here in Atlanta and we’d workout and wrestle very intensely, and after one of our workouts Lee laughed and said that someone like Oprah would get a kick out of two old guys still able to go at it like we did. Lee was an Olympic Team coach that year and I heard that the current 74 kg Olympian did not want to work out with Lee after Lee got the best of him in the room their first workout together.
Thanks John!
