Mike Tyson is in the midst of a challenge and his opponent is undefeated.
The challenger is engaged parenting.
“I suck at it,” Tyson says, a freshly-rolled weed stick in his left hand. “My wife and kids think I’m good [at it] because now my life is with my children, I’m present. I’ve never been that way before in my life.”
Milan and Morocco Tyson, his sixth and seventh children, are getting an evolved version of their 57-year-old father. He’s found the attribute that will define his legacy for the rest of his time on Earth—and it isn’t the leaping left hook that put a string of professional boxers on their asses in the late ’80s. Although that power punch helped earn him more than $400 million, transparency is his current superpower. He’s a master of bulls**t-free conversation that turns into commerce.
Tyson V2 rose from the ashes of Iron Mike. He wrote an autobiography (2013’s Undisputed Truth) replete with a traveling show and HBO special directed by fellow Brooklynite Spike Lee. This Tyson was vulnerable, serving tea the public yearned for. By delivering the details on just about everything—late mentor Cus D’Amato and shady promoter Don King, to name a few—Tyson controlled his narrative. As a result, this upgraded incarnation of Tyson was showered with empathy. His comedic side was lauded. He was no longer the scary boxer who wanted to digest children; instead he became the middle-aged man you’d let babysit your kids.
Tyson V3 is the most entrepreneurial of the three and arguably the most effective. He’s mastered how to mix his interests and celebrity cache while applying a business lens on top. He recently launched Tyson Pro, a line of boxing gloves made from the finest top-grain cowhide leather (TysonPro.com) and his cannabis business, Tyson 2.0. While the latter could result in a lucrative exit for the champ and his partner, Chad Bronstein, Tyson is most excited talking about the healing benefits of the drug and how it can help knock out depression.
Today’s talk isn’t about business or finance, however. It’s a conversation on being middle aged—the joys and the pains that come along with it. Over the course of an hour, Tyson and I cover the grown convo gamut. We discuss raising children, racism, and everything in between. He pulled no punches.
