On November, 7th, 2024 I had the pleasure of interviewing Paralympian, disabilities advocate, and motivational speaker, Robert Anthony, who came to St. Mark’s during Gray Colloquium to share his story of turning “I Can’t” moments into “I Can” victories.
Robert, born with Fibular Hemimelia, had his leg amputated as an infant and faced a challenging youth marked by personal hardships, including abuse and a house fire. Despite these struggles, he transformed his experiences into a story of resilience, becoming a motivational speaker who has inspired over 100,000 students across the U.S. and appeared at organizations like NIKE and the US Department of Housing. Through his nonprofit Limb Possible, he provides prosthetic legs to underprivileged amputees worldwide, guided by his motto, "Lead With Love." An accomplished athlete as well, Robert represents the USA in multiple adaptive sports, embodying the power of perseverance and a positive mindset.
Here are the highlights from our conversation after his exceptional performance at Gray Colloquium:
Abby Stone (A): “Thank you for your talk today, Robert! I am a junior and have listened to many Gray Colloquium talks and yours was by far my favorite one.”
Robert Anthony: (R): “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Abby. Thank you so much.”
A: “One thing I was wondering is that one day when you do not feel your best, how do you maintain your positive ‘Can Do’ attitude?”
R: “I think what I know is that there will be a lot of days where you don’t feel your best. And being able to push through when you don’t feel your best, sometimes those end up being the best days because of the resilience, because of saying ‘You know what, I didn’t feel great today and I pushed through and now I feel great and now I feel proud of myself’. We need to build our own self-confidence and believe in ourselves. So when I don’t feel my best, I try to really have a good conversation with myself. Everything starts with a conversation in our head, telling myself ‘I can’ that ‘I will’ that ‘I’m great’ and that ‘I can do this’ no matter what’s happening around me, and that’s kinda how I work through those days.”
A: “I totally agree with you; talk is so important when it comes to perseverance. St. Mark’s emphasizes role models and leadership because those people can guide you on days when you do not feel your best. You mention some of your role models like your mom. What qualities do the role models in your life embody that you think are really special?”
R: “Yeah, my role models are my mom, my uncle, my grandfather, even my wife, and it's having the fortitude to be able to be strong. Especially women, because I was raised by women, and seeing how much tougher it was for, again my mother, or just some of the women in my life to have to deal with the hardships that they had, even my own wife as a nurse and so seeing that. I had my grandfather as well, and just people doing it through action, as opposed to just telling. You know as parents, I have my own kids, and I tell them what to do but they are also going to watch what I do. And even for the people that I help, youth as well as adults, just being active and doing it through action, as opposed to just my words.”
A: “Going off what you said about your wife, how important is it to you to have a strong network when navigating adversity and how can others find that community? I think as high schoolers, we tend to struggle asking for help on our own, so what advice would you give to us?”
R: “Adversity is tough and finding your niche is tough but I was, kinda like I said in my speech, just being a good person. Being a good person and having good intentions will lead you to the right path. We are constantly searching for where we should go, and what's next, but if we are doing the right thing and we have good intentions, it will land us where we never thought. And for anyone who's looking and going through things and looking for where they belong, if you’re just being a good person you will end up meeting those people, end up finding that club. I didn’t meet the adaptive community until I was about 23. I was doing things, like able-body sports and doing things someone with all their limbs was doing until I was introduced to the adaptive community and then my eyes opened, but I was just on the path of doing the right thing and it led me there.”
A: “Well this week at St. Mark’s is Groton Week, where we have spirit days all week and culminate with a special Groton night and on Saturday play Groton in all our fall athletics. As someone who has played a lot of sports, such as the ones we are playing against Groton soon, what has been your inspiration to try and excel at all the different sports you have played at such a high level?”
R: “Sure, so one I just like to be active. I like to compete and try new things, so the competitor in me was just like ‘Hey this seems hard, I’m gonna do it’. But just the sports, just continuing to figure out where I belong. Really like, ‘What can I dedicate myself to?’. We can always do a million things, there are so many options out there, but when I am tired and I have those days off, what sports do I still want to keep training at? When I found soccer, or if it was basketball or triathlon, even on the off days, I still wanted to push myself and so that’s how I found the sports that I love, which felt like I had a home and a community that I belong to.”
A: “What’s your favorite sport?”
R: “Basketball has always been my number one sport because as a young kid, it took my mind off all the troubles. So I had so many things going on as a kid that when I was playing basketball, I wasn’t thinking about anything around me but playing. Volleyball is my current favorite sport because I am on the USA Development Team, but I also love triathlon. I know that’s a very broad answer, but I love them all, and let’s just say right now it’s volleyball, but basketball has always been my number one because it got me out of a lot of ruts and it is the reason I started [motivational] speaking.”
A: “I have tried out many sports in my life, most recently switching from soccer to cross country after I ran a half marathon last winter. …Speaking of running, I saw you just recently completed the New York City Marathon, congratulations! What was the most surprising part of this training block for you?”
R: “Thank you! The most surprising part of this past New York City Marathon was I guess the mental strength that I had to push through. Mile 22 it was getting so hard. My leg was having a ton of issues, my prosthetic leg, and in my sound leg I was having some knee issues and I didn’t really stop at all to fix it, I just powered through. Usually, I have to fix my [prosthetic leg’s] sleeve because it's so sweaty and it's falling down on my prosthetic, but I really pushed through I just pulled it up as I was running through mentally. Even though there are hills in the marathon which is terrible, it was just the mental strength I was able to display, not only that because I had so many other things going on in my life. You know, you run a marathon, and a lot of people are training for it, building up for it, but I had so many things outside of the marathon that I was very proud of myself for not only completing it… and in the time that I did, but with also some of the things that were distracting me, and pushing through the distractions.”
A: “Wow, that is incredible! Personally, when I run I like to run to music. Are there any songs or artists you have that get you through those especially tough miles?”
R: “So I had it prepped up in my mind that first [in the marathon] it was nothing, listen to nothing start off the first two to three miles listening to the crowd, being around the runners, getting some of their energy…. Then I put on some motivational videos, some David Goggins, some Jordan Peterson, some Tony Robbins, … which cut me through for another 30 minutes… and then I playlist of just a bunch of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z,... to keep me motivated.”
A: “Also you mentioned today that you were in the music industry. Were there any role models in that period of your life that helped you succeed there?”
R: Yeah, I had to really rely on myself as a music artist, but it was really my friends and family around me that were supporting me and who were coming to my shows. My uncle, I would probably say. My uncle Jeffery was my biggest advocate. His investing money, time, and effort into me was probably my biggest inspiration to let me know I was on the right path and to keep me going. … And my cousin… he would let me record at his studio and his name is DJ Stealth.”
A: “Now, we are almost out of time, so I have just one more question. You have turned so many ‘I Can’t’ moments into “I Can’ moments. What is one more thing you want to say ‘I Can’ to?
R: “Writing my book. I need to finish writing my book. That is a huge goal for me because I don’t want to just like have someone write my book for me. I want to write my book, and it’s a tough task and it takes time, and I’m pretty busy so the book is the next goal for me… and I would like it to be out by the end of next year!”
A: “Well, good luck with your book, and again thank you so much for spending the time to sit down and chat with me, Robert!”
R: “Thank you, Abby. Just remember, “Lead with Love” and you all got this!”
Overall, Robert Anthony was an exceptional Gray Colloquium speaker whose inspiring story sparked a newfound motivation in St. Mark’s students, including myself. Stay tuned with the St. Mark’s community hub for the first Gray Colloquium speaker of 2025.
