Mike Tyson‘s childhood was full of hardships, and he was raised by his mother and more importantly the mean streets of Brownsville, New York. From a very early age, he got himself embroiled in street fights and petty theft.
Before he turned 14, he had been arrested 38 times, all before his encounter with his lifelong mentor, Cus D’Amato. But he endured all of it and went on to become the most fearful heavyweight boxer in the 80s and 90s.
Mike Tyson talks about his old friends
After, talking about Tyson’s career, the Cigar & Spirits Magazine interviewers asked him whether he could’ve imagined during his childhood that he’d become the heavyweight champion. Tyson replied, “I know that I’m in a position to help people now.” Then the interviewer expanded on that statement and tried to confirm from ‘Kid Dynamite’ that he wants to give back to people as much as he can.
So, Tyson stated that people don’t like that he is associated with “crime-infested” guys from his neighborhood. After the interviewer prodded him for the reasons he is still associated with such people, he continued, “I said, ‘This guy lives in the same building that I live in. His mother and my mother smoked cigarettes. They exchanged cigarettes together.’” He added that this is the reason he tries to stay connected.
He believes no matter how successful you become, you must never forget where you came from. And then Tyson also talked about how difficult it is to eradicate the culture that shaped your personality.
Tyson talks about the importance of “ghetto”
The environment, an individual is born in, creates a huge impact on one’s personality, and is a testament to the way they’ll behave in their life ahead. And this is what the interviewer based his next statement upon. And Tyson agreed with his speculation on the matter.
Furthermore, the Magazine staff enunciated, “You can come from the ghetto, move past it, or you can have the ghetto in you.” Tyson nodded in agreement and remarked that it’s just a personality that you have been destined to live for your whole life. He also said, “It’s just who you are, but you can change. This is how life transforms us.”