CHESAPEAKE, Va. — "That was no luck, that was all hustle: Frederick Douglass, for him to do that was very creative to me, that he could disguise himself and eventually make it to the other side," Michael Wyche lights up when he talks about Frederick Douglass, the 19th century escaped slave who went on to become an abolitionist and statesman.
After all, no luck, all hustle is Michael Wyche's life story.
"I had to hustle through the pain, it was a hard time in my life. I have to tell you, some of your greatest opportunities can come in your darkest moments," Wyche explained.
For Wyche, dark moments defined his youth; his father is currently serving a 40-year jail sentence, his mother was disabled before passing away from cancer. He was homeless for parts of his childhood, surrounded by drugs and violence that he became a part of.
Wyche eventually stumbled onto his natural talent for football at Oscar Smith Middle School in Chesapeake
"Sometimes, being here was my meal all week long. I didn't want to go back home, sports was all I wanted to do," Wyche said, reflecting on a childhood home that did not include his mother or father for long stretches of time.
Sports led him to Green Bay Packers training camp, but then came one more dark moment: "My nephew who I was close to... I get a phone call that my nephew just got shot and killed in his own room from his friend playing with a gun," he recalled.
It led to another opportunity, that day was Wyche's last football practice, as he retired to become a life coach and eventually placing him back at Oscar Smith Middle School, teaching his former self to hustle like Frederick Douglass.
"Say it with me: 'Hustle through the pain,'" said Wyche.