Who they are
Legendary boxing trainer (1908–1985) who shaped three heavyweight champions — Floyd Patterson, José Torres, and most famously Mike Tyson, whom he adopted as a teenager. D'Amato's teaching was as much psychological as physical: he believed fear was the raw material of excellence, and that a fighter's mind mattered more than their hands. Cited by Ben Horowitz and other founder-operators as the archetype of the coach who builds conviction in the people they lead.
Core Ideas
- Fear is the friend of exceptional people — the skill is using it, not avoiding it
- Peek-a-boo defense — his signature technical system for Tyson
- Hero and coward — "the hero and the coward both feel the same thing, the hero uses his fear"
Related
- Ben Horowitz — quotes him in The Hard Thing About Hard Things
- Mike Tyson — his most famous student