Justin Bravo: Doing things his own way

Justin Bravo does not want anyone to feel sorry for him. "People have told my story before and they've made it into a sob story," said the College sophomore wrestler who is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation. "Everybody's got their own weight to pull. You just deal with it." And deal Bravo has. The Quakers' 125-pounder comes from a background that contrasts sharply with his sport's Middle-American reputation. This is a poor kid, raised in New York City, who has lived his life with steadfast independence. He came to Penn as part of a stellar recruiting class -- the 11th-best in the country -- and has never looked back. Bravo began this season strong by capturing the title at the Ivy League Kickoff Classic. Following a disappointing first-round loss at the Midlands Open at the end of December, he battled back to finish fifth, besting several top competitors in the process. He has also had key wins in tight dual-meets against No. 8 Central Michigan and Ivy-rival Harvard. "Justin is definitely introspective -- a quality that any other athlete that strives for excellence must have," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "I think he's also a tough kid." Bravo was born to Jamaican immigrant parents in Boston, a town he describes as "Boringville" for a young kid. His family shortly left Beantown and made its way to Brooklyn, where it has remained since. "My mother came over when she was 21 and my Dad when he was 24. We've never been well-off," Bravo said. His life radically changed when he became involved with Prep for Prep, a program which provides assistance for minority students hoping to go to prep school. "The program was publicized in my school, IS 383, so it basically just fell into my lap," Bravo said. Much to Bravo's chagrin, Prep for Prep occupied many hours of his time on Wednesdays and Saturdays but it was ultimately responsible for his exposure to wrestling. "He wound up going to Allen-Stevenson, a school with one of the very few middle-school wrestling programs in the city," said Steve Anderson, Bravo's high school coach. "Wrestling in the city is awful, so Justin got some exposure, but nothing compared to what you see in New Jersey or Pennsylvania." It was while he was still at Allen-Stevenson that a pugnacious 13-year-old Bravo first met Anderson. "We were wrestling at Trinity in Manhattan and there was this little eighth-grade kid there watching one of his friends," Anderson said. "He must have not weighed more than 85 pounds. Some of our older guys just started jawing at him and it went back and forth like that for a while. Eventually it got to the point where it almost got physical. "He said he was going all the way to Coney Island so I had one of our seniors drive him home. You could tell right there that he had a certain arrogance. It's that arrogance that has a lot to do with his success." Bravo might have been arrogant but he didn't yet have the wrestling ability to back it up. That would come soon enough. Bravo's motives for wrestling were not quite innocent at the start. "People could see that I liked to fight so they told me I should wrestle," he said. "[They'd say], 'You can fight and not get suspended.'" Justin began to back up his bravado at Poly Prep, a private high school set on a 25-acre campus in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. "There was something special about that kid," Anderson said. "His one-way trip to school was something like an hour and a half. He had his own personal drive and a truly singular focus." Bravo's first year of high school grappling was moderately successful. "As a freshman, I was second in Prep States, which was basically a joke," Bravo said. "I was getting by on bad style." At this point, Konstantin Avdeev stepped into the picture and revolutionized young Bravo's wrestling. Avdeev, a former member of the Soviet national team, taught Bravo to wrestle like a Russian. "Konstantin did everything for my wrestling. I had good hips and a bit of talent but he just developed my style," Bravo said. "He taught me to wrestle differently from the way Americans wrestled. He taught soft hands and was all technique." Armed with first-class training and a first-class ego, Bravo took the wrestling world by storm. In just one year, he went from being one of the best in a city not known for its wrestling to placing third at Prep Nationals. Before long, Bravo was a two-time Prep National Champion, a three-time Prep All-American and a high school All-American. Bravo was not solely responsible for his success on the mat, however, as he found a de facto family at Poly that enabled him to pursue his dreams. "Except for Prep for Prep, he came here without any advantages," Anderson said. "In an odd way we basically adopted him." This network of support had little to do with the other students at Poly. "It wasn't that the kids were old money or anything. They were mostly just middle-class kids, the sons of lawyers and doctors," Bravo said. "It was just that I thought most of them were lazy -- I just did my own thing." Bravo did find support with the Buono family, who all but adopted him during high school. Corey Buono, who is Bravo's age, quickly became one of his best friends. Corey's father was the head of maintenance at Poly. "I worked for Mr. Buono four summers in a row and I'll always be grateful to them," Bravo said. "Buono was like a dad for him," Anderson said. As Bravo became more and more committed to his sport, the demands on his time became more stringent. "He would go to wrestle in a club in New Jersey and he wouldn't get back until well after midnight," Anderson recalled. After a long night of wrestling, Bravo would have a choice. He could either take the long subway ride home or stay at Buono's house on campus. "I thank everybody who got me through Poly," Bravo said. "I thank my mom for understanding that I was going to go out and do my own thing. I'd come home at 1 a.m. and she would never doubt me." Freedom backfires in the hands of some, but it was necessary for Bravo. "This kid has been making his own decisions since he was very young," Anderson said. Bravo is not only a fine Penn athlete. He is a fine athlete who writes poetry in his spare time. "It's pretty much just a hobby," Bravo said. "I started rapping a little bit when I was younger. Then I took a poetry class in high school, and I just started doing it." His poetry is more than just an avenue for creative expression. In poems such as "Christmas, 1985" and "Bein' Poor," he explores the anger, frustration and discovery he met growing up. Bravo has always marched to the beat of his own drummer and his time at Penn has been no exception. "I'm friends with some of the people on the team but I pretty much go my own way," Bravo said. Reina will not let Bravo wander too far, though. "I think he has to keep on improving on aspects of the sport where he's not excellent," the Penn coach said. "His background is different from many of the other guys on the team but he's not different from any of them."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.