In this episode of the Full Tilt podcast, Hatch sits down with Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser for a deep dive into old-school Iowa wrestling culture, program building at every level, and how the sport has evolved from the 1980s to the NIL era.

Dresser shares raw stories from the legendary Iowa room under Dan Gable, from three-a-days and brutal live wrestling to work-hard-play-hard social life. He walks through building dynasty-level programs at Grundy and Christiansburg High Schools, turning Virginia Tech into a national contender, and rebuilding Iowa State into a top-tier Division I power.

They cover toughness versus talent, the impact of RTCs, how NIL has changed recruiting, and what it really takes to be elite as an athlete and a coach.

Timestamps:
2:49 Dresser arrives at Iowa and enters the Gable era
4:07 Inside a dynasty: Iowa’s NCAA title expectations
9:09 First Iowa beatdowns at Jay Robinson’s camp
11:15 The double fish hook story with Lenny Zaleski
16:15 What “old school” really was: three-a-days and nine workouts
24:58 Why wrestlers get hurt more now than in the 80s
28:31 The common trait of Dresser’s best guys: loving live wrestling
33:11 Squaring hips vs rolling around: toughness and ACLs
35:00 Old-school weight cutting vs today’s two-hour weigh-ins
43:32 Jay Robinson camps, road trips, and wild stories
49:47 Building Grundy and Christiansburg into high school powerhouses
53:42 How bingo funded a national-level high school program
1:02:39 Taking over Virginia Tech and starting from dead last
1:12:09 The 2016 Virginia Tech trophy team
1:15:36 Moving to Iowa State with an all-Hawkeye staff
1:18:22 NIL, rev share, and “street value” of college wrestlers
1:25:00 Bringing Cuban stars to Iowa State
1:28:06 Gable’s “Dressler” joke and earning the name Dresser
1:33:26 Dresser’s advice to young coaches: know exactly what you want

If you enjoy this episode, hit subscribe, drop a comment with your favorite story, and tell us which wrestling legend you want to hear from next!

www.thefulltiltpodcast.com

On this episode of the Full Tilt Podcast, Hatch sits down with heavyweight legend Steve Mocco for a deep dive into one of the most unique careers in American wrestling. From judo roots and Blair Academy super-teams to wrestling under the lights in Carver-Hawkeye and Gallagher-Iba, Steve shares the stories, rivalries, and training methods that shaped a generational heavyweight.

They cover his transition from Iowa to Oklahoma State, the real reason behind that move, life at the Olympic Training Center, wild trips to Russia and Ukraine, and what it’s like now running a club and coaching his own sons. Along the way, you’ll hear about training with icons like Terry Brands, John Smith, and Henry Cejudo, plus some unforgettable behind-the-scenes stories.

0:00 Ferrari, Japanese signs, and Iowa–Oklahoma State talk
0:55 Full Tilt intro with Steve Mocco
1:19 Being on the heavyweight Mount Rushmore
3:39 Kidney issue, swimming, and discovering judo
5:39 How judo shaped Mocco’s wrestling style and foot sweep
9:22 “Stand up and fight” judo tournament and Buxton banning judo
11:05 Inside Blair Academy’s super teams and Buxton’s training
24:09 Why Mocco chose Iowa and the first Carver-Hawkeye experience
33:46 Why he transferred from Iowa to Oklahoma State
35:00 Season on the Mat cameras and life inside the Iowa room
56:35 Following Terry Brands to the Olympic Training Center
1:05:43 Manitou Incline and brutal altitude workouts
1:13:36 Winning the Yarygin and beating world champs
1:18:38 Getting shorted on prize money in Russia
1:21:23 Riots, tire fires, and sneaking back into the city
1:30:01 Transition to coaching and starting his Florida club
1:43:00 Balancing dad and coach with his own kids
1:46:44 Who he’d teach his famous foot sweep to

If you enjoy this episode, hit subscribe, drop a comment with your favorite story, and tell us which wrestling legend you want to hear from next!

www.thefulltiltpodcast.com

On this episode of The Full Tilt Podcast Hatch sits down with the Olympic gold medalist and legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable for a long-form conversation about wrestling, life, and legacy in his fabled cabin. His personal home wrestling room used for training.

They go deep on:

• Growing up under West Waterloo’s Coach Siddens
• Building dynasties at Iowa State and Iowa
• Losing to Larry Owings and how that loss transformed him
• Beating the Russians, training with Chris Taylor, and chasing Olympic gold
• Near-wrist and armbar torture sessions in the Iowa room
• The mindset it takes to get back to the top and rebuild after you fall off
• NIL, the transfer portal, and the future of college wrestling
• Family, grief, and why his grandkids carry his name forward

If you are a wrestling coach, athlete, or just a fan of elite performance, this is two hours of pure gold in a location few get access to.

Chapters:

0:00 Iron Sheik stories and pro wrestling crossover
0:50 Full Tilt intro and Hatch’s over-the-top excitement
1:41 Gable flips the script and starts interviewing Hatch
2:26 Hatch’s path: from Iowa kid to coaching across the country
4:28 Falling in love with South America and the idea of a wrestling club there
5:36 Pan Am Games in Colombia and beating a tough Cuban
6:37 Cubans, Russians, Iranians, and politics in world wrestling
9:23 The grind at Iowa and why Gable’s guys could not play another sport in-season
11:11 Hatch starts coaching youth while still wrestling for Iowa
13:08 Gable admits losing discipline between titles and rebuilding the Hawkeye dynasty
19:14 What it was like coming into Iowa behind Brands, Ironside, Haddock, Hogan
20:16 The Big Ten story: Kevin Hogan, Kent and Doug Strayer, and saving the title streak
28:27 Phase 2 of Iowa dominance: Brands, Steiners, Ryans, Pfisners, Ostendorp
32:34 What Gable learned from legendary high school coach Bob Siddens
39:40 The Marty Dickey weight-cut story and back-to-back West Waterloo champs
42:17 How Siddens and Nichols shaped Gable’s wrestling and coaching styles
47:11 Freshman Gable gets pushed in the Iowa State room and decides to “upgrade”
52:59 When did Gable get good enough to wrestle everyone in the room (including heavies)?
56:18 The Larry Owings loss, the newspaper headline, and a turning point
1:00:00 Learning to finish takedowns the right way and “make wrestling easier”
1:03:54 The slap from his mom that broke the mental fog after the Owings loss
1:07:03 Wrestling Chris Taylor, broken ribs, and competing hurt
1:10:21 Beating the Russians in Tbilisi and training with “Beat the Russians” on his wall
1:12:14 Why Gable tightened his focus and cut out distractions like pre-match media
1:20:16 Confronting the Iron Sheik at the 1996 Olympics about “beating Gable”
1:22:05 The 22 minute go and how Gable structured his own training at Iowa State
1:24:38 Hatch explains why wrestling Gable was worse than wrestling the Brands
1:26:19 Near-wrist defense and how swimming the arm changed everything
1:28:48 Social director Hatch, women’s teams in the stands, and getting pinned in front of them
1:32:45 Why Gable hates the phrase “I loved being a backup”
1:34:45 Parenting, pressure, and moms calling Gable about their sons’ roles
1:36:45 NIL, the transfer portal, and the risk of losing Division I wrestling programs
1:41:20 Marriage, sacrifice, and what it really takes to sustain a program
1:43:40 Gold as an athlete vs. gold as a coach: which meant more to Gable
1:45:16 How a murder in his family shaped his drive and why family matters most now

If you enjoy this episode, hit subscribe, drop a comment with your favorite story, and tell us which wrestling legend you want to hear from next!

www.thefulltiltpodcast.com