How Obesity Affected Mike Tyson’s Life Before Cus D’Amato Stepped In

Originally posted on BodyBuildingBros | By Ruwa Javed | Last updated May 11, 2026 2:32 AM ET

Mike Tyson earned the moniker “Iron Mike.” However, the Hall of Fame boxer had to fight obesity before coach Constantine “Cus” D’Amato took him under his care.

“He [D’Amato] helped with my attitude, gave me a lifestyle, a discipline to be on diet, so I won’t have to be obese anymore,” shared Tyson on the April 29th episode of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s podcast. “Well, he gave me a lifestyle to stay in shape, the consciousness, whatever, vanity, is to stay in shape.

Tyson shared his experience of growing up in an environment where eating processed food was common. This led him to gain a considerable amount of weight as well.

“I used to eat food all day,” shared the first heavyweight boxer to hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles simultaneously. “I come from a neighborhood where processed food is a delicacy. Ultra-processed food is a delicacy.”

He admitted that before meeting D’Amato, he lacked structure and discipline.

The boxing legend also delivered a powerful message on food and health in a commercial that aired during Super Bowl LX.

“The most important fight of my life isn’t in the ring,” Tyson said during the commercial. “I’m not fighting for a belt. I’m fighting for our health. Processed foods are killing us. We have been lied to, and we need to eat real food again.”

Tyson thanked the MAHA Center, the White House, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for including him in what he described as a movement focused on building a healthier future.

In the podcast, Tyson revealed that his struggles with weight during childhood led to feelings of anger and emotional sensitivity. But that all changed when he met D’Amato, a boxing promoter and trainer.

The coach took him under his wing and moved him from Brooklyn to Catskill, New York. And the circumstances of their meeting were notable.

When Mike Tyson Met Cus D’Amato

By the time Tyson was around 12 or 13 years old, he had been arrested many times and was eventually sent to the Tryon School for Boys, a juvenile reform school in upstate New York.

There, he met a counselor and former boxer named Bobby Stewart. Impressed by his fighting skills, Stewart introduced Tyson to D’Amato.

“Before Bobby called Cus, he showed me a few moves that were meant to impress the old trainer,” in his book IRON AMBITION: My Life with Cus D’Amato, Tyson wrote. “I practiced that and got really good at it. Then Stewart called Cus and asked him if he’d take a look at me.”

Stewart took Tyson to D’Amato’s gym in Catskill, where Tyson auditioned for D’Amato. He impressed the coach and was admitted to his gym, Catskill Boxing Club.

D’Amato eventually adopted Tyson after his mother passed away and trained him in boxing. He taught Tyson his famous ‘peek-a-boo’ style, where a boxer keeps his hands in front of his face for more protection.

D’Amato died in 1985, almost a year before witnessing Tyson become the youngest world heavyweight champion.