From Foster Child to Olympic Hopeful, Steven Benedict

As a professional track and field athlete and Olympic Trials Qualifier, Steven Benedict has run in some of the world's most prestigious events. In addition to the Adidas Classic Diamond League and US Nationals, he spent two years running for Nike and was a Penn Relays Champion. Featured in 50 national and international magazines, such as Train, ESPN Magazine, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, and Fitness RX, Steven has expertise and contributions that extend far beyond the track.  But his story is that of a boy overcoming incredible odds to, not only compete on such a high level, but to just be alive.   Over the course of his first 8 years, Steven was moved between homes and motels with little certainty of what the next day would bring. At age 8, he and his brother were adopted by an incredible couple, who possessed traits of joy, humility, sacrifice and unconditional love. The time with these parents would be short lived, however, as both his mom and dad suffered untimely deaths within a few years of each other. The pain of these losses nearly ended Steven’s professional career but, once again, Steven defied the odds and continues to overcome his 10,000 "No"s.      SHOW NOTES:  Going back and forth between foster care and his biological mother’s arms at 4 months old, (4:35). “He saw fit to lay his hands on us and beat us when we were young. I was hospitalized.”, (6:15). Being forced out of childhood and into a father-figure role to take care of his brother, (6:35). “I felt that there was more stability for us going into foster care even though stability for us at that point was just to have a roof over our head, a warm bed to sleep in and a hot meal to eat.”, (7:51). Learning how observant of a person he was in foster home, (10:42). “My brother thought that was our permanent home and he was angry at my adopted parents for taking them away, thinking he was taken away from his family now.”, (11:55). Getting involved into sports, music and art with his adopted mother, (14:10). Joining track and field at summer camp when he was 9 and continued into high school, (15:20). “There’s always going to be somebody better and there’s always going to be somebody that has a little more natural talent, but I think where I make up for that is my work ethic.”, (18:45). Wondering a bunch of questions about his past, (21:21). “I had bottled up, unresolved problems from my past and that kind of overflowed in high school. I had to go see somebody to talk to about getting into fights and being hot-tempered.”, (22:15). Finding out his biological father was incarcerated and hung himself in jail, (24:15). “I took a whole year to take toll of who I was, who I was becoming and really clear up a bunch of stuff on the inside I was working through.”, (28:48). “We get angry over the smallest things, and then we let them build and accumulate into these mountains and we forget why were originally angry.”, (30:20). “I think we all evolve. If not, we’re just being stagnant, and that is one of the main things about humans is that if you’re not evolving, you’re just existing.”, (33:03). Tearing his hamstring while heading to Olympic trials in 2008 at the same time losing his parents, (35:27). “I feel like I’ve tackled all of these things so early that it has become the story. It’s not the story of just all the things I’ve come through. I’m not looking for it to be a crutch. It is more of a catalyst to me.”, (42:45). Engaging in track and field at the age of 35, (47:10). “I feel like for the first time, an actual coach is listening to the athlete and listening to me.”, (48:20). Believing in the importance of sleep, (52:21). “You have to do the legwork. You have to make a name for yourself. You have to be a brand on your own and you have to treat yourself as a business.”, (57:45). Aspiring to build a home for foster kids impacted by sports, (1:00:45). “You have to be able to accept the ‘No’, but you also have to be able to give a ‘No.’”, (1:04:15).   LINKS:  Website: More on Steve  Instagram: @steviey_b  Twitter: @benedict_steven  Interview: Training at Dragball by World of Wonder    RELATED PAST EPISODES OF 10,000 “No”s:  Ep 74: Nike Athlete, Grammy Award Winner Charlie "Rocket" Jabaley  Ep 75: Strength Coach, Transformation Specialist & Super-Connector, Jay Ferruggia  Ep 83: Real Life Shawshank Redemption, Crossfit CEO Rob Grupe    If you like what you hear, please Subscribe, leave an iTunes review and spread the word. You can also listen to all episodes at www.10000nos.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.