4-Time NCAA All-American Champion Miles Amine

On the podcast today I have Miles Amine joining me. Miles happens to be my cousin and is a 4-time NCAA division all-American champion and represented San Marino at the Olympics. He is here to talk about his athletic career and determination.

In high school, Miles began wrestling and actually comes from a wrestling family. He placed third in the state and had to make the transition to college wrestling. Coming from the Amine family name was a lot of pressure to live up to, and having a slower start than his surrounding family was a heavy burden. However, Miles believes that your biggest learnings can only come from your biggest defeats.

Dedication and effort make all the difference. There are people with natural talent, but for Miles, hard work and practice can mean more than just what innate talent can produce. Determination is the deciding factor. To this day, Miles experiences self-doubt. Imposter syndrome is something almost everyone deals with, but it is how you deal with it that makes the impact.

When it came to wrestling for San Marino at the Olympics, Miles has dual citizenship due to his grandfather’s heritage. It was a rare opportunity for a college athlete and he did receive some backlash for not representing America. Other athletes would denigrate him saying he wasn’t good enough to compete for America. It only fueled the fire inside him more and he went on to beat the US competitors.

Being an athlete is a 24/7 dedication. For Miles, it’s about going above and beyond every day and creating habits. The only person you can blame for your shortcomings is yourself. Hold yourself accountable for your work.