Mike Tyson (Live at the Wiltern) | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #658

TL;DR

Theo Von interviews Mike Tyson live, exploring his childhood poverty, mentor Cus D'Amato, prison, sobriety, and celebrity encounters.

Key Points

• 1.Tyson's love of fashion stems from a childhood humiliation. At 11, he was mocked at a neighborhood dance for having pigeon tar and bird droppings on him, which drove him to only ever buy nice clothes afterward.
• 2.Cus D'Amato was Tyson's legally adopted father from age 12 to 19. Cus never let Mike out of his sight, monitored his friends, attacked anyone who spoke negatively about him, and instilled a total disciplinarian structure including chores and academic improvement.
• 3.Tyson credits Cus D'Amato's belief as the foundation of his career. At 12, Cus told him he was the greatest fighter in the world; Tyson initially thought it was a trick but came to fully believe it, saying he had to learn that at 12 to become champion at 20.
• 4.Tyson has been sober for nine years. He described his drug and alcohol use as anything that 'got me out of me,' but draws a distinction — he lacked the discipline to be a drug dealer because he kept consuming his own supply.
• 5.Tyson reflected that his difficult childhood was necessary for his greatness. He stated he would never have been heavyweight champion if he'd had a normal upbringing, adding that his mother would have babied him and prevented him from fighting.
• 6.Tyson's mother was an alcoholic and a prostitute, and the family slept on the floor. He recalls one cherished Christmas memory where she and her friends produced a large feast, likely through illegal means, which stood out as a rare moment of joy.
• 7.Tyson described spending time in solitary confinement during his prison sentence in Indianapolis. He said the lights stayed on 24 hours a day, causing headaches, but credited the solitude as genuinely healthy and peaceful.
• 8.Whitney Houston visited Tyson in prison. She brought her family to visit him in Indianapolis; he described her as one of his good friends during that period.
• 9.Tyson recounted a famous story about Michael Jackson 'playing dumb' upon meeting him. After being the most talked-about boxer in the world, Jackson looked at Tyson and said 'Where do I know you from?' — which Tyson initially resented but later laughed about after befriending him.
• 10.Tyson confirmed Brad Pitt was involved with his then-estranged wife. He arrived at her house, found nobody home, then saw her driving up in a BMW he had bought her with a then-unknown Brad Pitt in the passenger seat, who didn't yet have a car of his own.
• 11.Tyson described his first fight as the emotional origin of his boxing career. A bully named Gary Flowers ripped the head off one of his pigeons; Tyson beat him severely and fell in love with fighting, after which people began paying money to set up fights for him.
• 12.Tyson philosophized about death as an unexperienced adventure and expressed gratitude for surviving to 60. He said he believes God broke him before crowning him, and that if he'd known he'd live this long, he would have behaved very differently in his youth.