I Follow: Anthony Robles

Anthony Robles (r) and NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki on the red carpet at the 2011 ESPY Awards

Editor’s Note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they Tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.

Twitter Handle: @ARobles125 (number represents his weight class)
Followers: 9,607
Following: 301
(As of 3/15/2012)

Anthony Robles, who was crowned a 2011 National Champion while competing for Arizona State, will make his debut as an ESPN analyst during ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 16, at 11 a.m. ET. Front Row caught up with Robles this week to talk about Twitter and his new job.

FR: When did you join Twitter and why?
AR: I actually joined Twitter shortly after I won my national wrestling title. My Facebook had blown up with friend requests and I reached the maximum limit. I figured Twitter would be a great thing to have so I could continue building friends and followers. I wasn’t much of a Twitter fan initially, but now I’m hooked!

FR: Who is your favorite person to follow?
AR: My favorite person to follow on Twitter is (MMA athlete) Anderson Silva (@SpiderAnderson).

FR: What’s your favorite tweet you’ve received or favorite Twitter moment?
AR: My favorite tweet I received is a tie. After my ESPY speech I received a shout-out from my Arizona senator John McCain and also from The Rock. It was crazy! That was also my favorite Twitter moment because there were a lot of people who tweeted me that night saying how much they enjoyed my speech so it was an honor for me to know they were supporting me. I believe I was a trending topic that night as well.

FR: This will be your first time as an analyst on national TV, what advice have you received?
AR: I’ve gotten some great advice from many of my new friends at ESPN. Everyone has been extremely helpful. They have told me things like, “Just pretend the camera is another person and we’re having a group conversation,” and “If you feel like you don’t have anything to say, then don’t say anything.” They have really helped me to feel more comfortable in my first analyst gig.

FR: Anyone on TV that you are hoping to emulate?
AR: Well, I’ve been watching a lot of the past NCAA tournaments so that I could take notes on good analyst characteristics. I’ve approached this opportunity the same way that I did in wrestling. In wrestling, I would watch other wrestlers compete whose styles I really like and I would take certain things from their style to mold into my own.

FR: What makes you more nervous: wrestling matches, motivational speaking or TV appearances?
AR: Although I still get nervous before I do speaking events, and I am absolutely getting butterflies over my first analyst appearance, nothing compares to how scared I was wrestling for my national title. I almost threw up!

FR: At the age of 23, you’ve won a championship, an ESPY and have a job working at ESPN. You really do seem unstoppable. Anything else we should expect you to check off your bucket list?
AR: I have been extremely blessed in my life so I am just trying to make the most out of every opportunity and try to improve myself. I still have a lot of things in the works!

Robles will be part of the live coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships all weekend on ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN3, and fans can follow him on Twitter throughout the tournament for behind-the-scenes updates and insights.

 

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