(upbeat tropical music) ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ Hey, hey - Welcome to "Horizonte", a show that takes a look at current issues through a Hispanic lens.

I'm your host, Catherine Anaya.

The recently-released movie "Unstoppable" tells the inspiring story of Arizona mother and son, Judy and Anthony Robles.

Judy was just 16 when she found out she was pregnant with Anthony, who was born with one leg.

With Judy's love and guidance, and Anthony's unstoppable determination, he won an NCAA wrestling championship with Arizona State University in 2011.

And Judy, who now works for ASU, went on to earn a bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degree.

We'll talk to Dr. Judy Robles about their courage, tenacity, and incredible bond.

But first, here's a clip from "Unstoppable".

- Hey, coach.

- Good morning, Mrs. Robles.

Hey, uh, is Anthony here?

- Uh, no, he's not back yet.

- No?

No, okay.

Um, do you mind giving him this box for me?

- Of course.

- Yeah, I... You know, it got sent to the, uh, to school.

- Yeah, I'll make sure he gets these.

- Okay.

Ma'am.

Um... You know, you might wanna read some of those.

Yeah, I, you know... You know, you spend your whole life, you know, coaching young men and it can be frustrating at times.

- Oh, I can imagine.

(laughs) - Yeah, yeah.

But uh, with Anthony...

It's, uh... You must be an extraordinary mother.

(birds chirping) (engine humming) (Judy huffs) - Well, this is just Anthony.

I mean, that...

This is who he is.

(chuckles) - Well, with all due respect, you know, in my experience, it, it doesn't work that way.

- Who you are already is enough.

You make people believe in something.

When they see you, they don't see someone who's missing a leg.

They see someone who is unstoppable, and that makes them believe in themselves.

- Joining me now is Judy Robles.

It is so good to see you again.

- Good to see you too.

- Okay, you've probably seen that clip, I can't even imagine how many times.

And it still gets to you, doesn't it?

- Yes, it still makes me cry.

- Well, it still makes me cry, (both laugh) and I've seen the movie a couple of times.

- Yeah.

- Congratulations on all the success.

- Thank you.

- You've been on quite this journey since we last talked for a podcast- - Right.

- Several years ago.

- Yeah.

- Describe what the last couple of months since the movie was released has been like for you.

- Wow, it's been a whirlwind.

I mean, it's been extremely emotional, as you can see.

I'm still crying.

But it's also been really rewarding just watching Anthony's story come to life on the screen- - Mm-hmm.

- And then seeing how different people connect with it.

It's well deserved.

It's a story that should have been told.

And honestly, being a small part of it, it just brings me so much joy and so much pride.

But his story definitely deserved to be told.

- Well, I know this movie was several years in the making.

- Yes.

- And I love about it, not just that it is this big, big, bigger-than-life reveal of Anthony's determination, but it is as much your story as his.

- Thank you.

- Which is why I really wanted you to be here today, because you were so young when you had him, as we mentioned, and then you learned that he has one leg.

Tell me a little bit about what emotions were going through your mind back then.

- I can still remember it.

I remember being terrified.

Like, I had no idea how to be a mom.

I had this little baby and suddenly, I mean, I was just a baby myself.

But then immediately, love, because Anthony was so tiny, so precious, and he needed me.

Again, didn't know how to be a mom.

But very protective, I think, from that moment on.

And I'm very stubborn.

So to me it was, I was gonna be the best mom I could, even though I, you know, failed along the way, of course.

But I loved him and that was what I went with.

And it was just definitely resilience, and then just showing him how to stand up, and then to move forward.

- Mm-hmm, the movie showcases your bond so beautifully.

When did you realize that Anthony was special?

When we talk about that unstoppable determination, when did you know he had something different?

- You know, ever since he was little, I would say...

I mean, Anthony would climb everything.

He jumped on a bike and figured it out, and he would just run around with his brothers and his friends.

But I think the moment when I really did see it is when he did wanna start wrestling, because to me, that was a different avenue, and it was something he became very passionate about.

But on a wrestling mat, it's in the center and everybody's focused.

And to me, I just saw the bravery that my son had because I didn't have it.

I wouldn't want someone looking at me if I was just me, you know?

And for years, Anthony had put up with people calling him different, and comments, and things, and putting up with a lot of negativity.

But he didn't care, he wanted to be at the center of that mat.

He wanted to wrestle, knowing that people would be looking at him, and judging, and saying things, but he didn't care.

And the bravery that that little boy showed, it was just so inspirational to me.

- Yep, that is difficult for a mom to see that.

- Yeah.

- And to also, you know, wanna encourage your child to continue doing- - Right.

- What they love.

- Right.

- One of the things about this movie that I think was striking for a lot of people who know Anthony's story, but maybe didn't know all of your story, is that you had so many challenges yourself.

You were in an abusive marriage, you had financial situations that you didn't know if you were gonna be able to get out of.

- Yeah.

- Was that difficult for you to watch on screen?

- It was painful in even thinking through it.

It's still hard, but it was our reality.

And Anthony and I both knew that we had to share that part of our story so it was authentic and that people could relate to it.

Because there's a lot of people that may not have exactly gone through that, but the challenges were real and they were there.

And it affected how, you know, we went our day to day.

So it was a necessary piece and it made it more authentic to who we are.

Very difficult, again, very hard to open myself up to people who may not have known, but I think that that actually helped us both heal at the same time.

Because kind of going past it and then looking at it again and seeing it portray... Anthony and I were able to talk through some things and kind of go, "We came from all of that and here we are, and we're grateful.

And that didn't keep us down."

So I'm grateful, I'm thankful.

And yes, it's still...

The memory still hurts sometimes- - Mm-hmm.

- But again, I'm far removed from who that person was, so I'm healing.

- Yes, and it's such an inspiration to so many people.

You are a mother of five children.

- Yes.

- And you have... And this comes through in the movie too, that you've always instilled this sense of the importance of higher education.

- Right.

- Did you always know that you wanted to go to college?

Was education, higher education, always important to you?

- You know, when I was younger, my dad had always wanted to go to college, but he didn't have the opportunity.

So, I know my mom and my dad had both, you know, good grades, "You have to get good grades."

And it was always a thing that I had grown up with.

And then when I got pregnant, my grades fell off.

And then I dropped out of school to get my GED.

But I wanted to fight back.

And I had always had a dream to go to college.

I knew that was the avenue that I needed to take for a better life for myself and my kids.

I didn't know what it meant.

I didn't know where it was going to lead, but I knew that that was my opportunity.

I knew education gave me that grounding that I could lean on to move myself forward.

So I did.

And then making sure that all of my kids were college graduates was something that was important to me.

But then my excelling and getting a doctorate was more for me, knowing that I could do it.

- Mm-hmm.

All five of them have graduated from college.

Yay!

- Yeah.

- And as you mentioned, so have you.

You've spent a number of years, particularly at ASU, mentoring first-gen students, Latino students, you know, mentor them in various different ways, even now.

What do you most enjoy about that connection to students that you have?

- I think it's showing them that I have an understanding, that I know what it's like to feel like you don't think you can, or that there are some things in your way that life might happen and that might get there, that might block you on your way.

But to me, for them to overcome those obstacles and those challenges that they might have, I can relate to it, and I can say, "I've been there and I know what it feels like."

And then when they burst through and you start seeing the progress... Like you see someone that was very messy at the beginning, but then you see them grow and the excitement, and then as they move on, and then the confidence that it builds in them, I think that's the part that I love the most because it's just life changing in how their education changed their life.

So- - Mm-hmm.

- If I can be that for just a few students, and I have, and I love hearing their stories, but that is exciting to me.

And it's like, what I went through was worth a lot because I can give back to them and share those same stories.

- On a completely different level than- - Yeah.

- A lot of people would probably be able to say.

- Right.

- So you and Anthony have gone on to start the Robles Unstoppable Foundation and this is to provide guidance and financial support to student athletes who are pursuing higher education.

- Right.

- Can you tell me a little bit about the Foundation and what kind of an impact it's had so far?

- Right, well, when Anthony was in high school, there were people along the way who came alongside because, you know, tournaments cost money, things cost money.

They came alongside and helped him in even, like, applying for college and different things like that.

So we wanted to provide a source for underserved students to have an opportunity to get education, whether it be a two-year degree or a four-year degree, but something that they can move forward to and, like, believe in themselves and have that foundation.

So in starting the Foundation, we just wanted to, you know, be a small part of someone's journey.

If we can help, you know, a lot, great.

But if it impacts just a few along the way, then we're happy to do that too.

- Mm-hmm.

And you're also starting to speak - Yes.

- We know Anthony is a great speaker.

- Yes.

- I've heard him before.

He is just fabulous.

But now you're starting to do that too.

- I am.

- Which is so wonderful.

- Thank you.

(laughs) - Yeah, what's the best part of that?

- I think it's sharing my story and seeing how many people resonate with it.

Because I keep saying there's nothing unique about my story, but I'm sharing it because I'm just a person, just like you.

But then having people come back to me and, you know, respond to it, and share the stories and say that I've been there too, and I know what it's like and they're inspired by me.

I think that that is also helping me become who I am and look at my journey and go, "Okay, now I know why I pushed through.

Now I know why I forced myself to keep going," because I was there when it was so hard and so difficult.

And I understand that pain and it took me decades to get out of it.

But if I can inspire one person, one parent, one student along their journey, then I am so happy.

And that is very healing for me too.

- What is the best piece of advice that you give to students, mothers, what have you, on pushing through adversity and challenges?

- I would say regardless of the challenges, whether it be self-inflicted, whether it be life challenges, whether it be someone else in your life that is just there and you can't move forward, don't give up that hope.

Keep persevering, be resilient, you know?

It just takes that one tiny step that changes things for you.

And I know that, had I not taken that one tiny step one day at a time, one moment at a time.

Even though there were setbacks... Two steps forward, it was like six steps backwards.

- Mm-hmm.

- But I didn't wanna give up.

And I think it's don't give up on those little goals and keep pushing yourself forward because there is hope and there's joy on the other side of that pain.

- Well, you are living proof.

And Anthony, as I said, I've heard him speak before, and he- - Yeah.

- Is not shy about giving credit to you, he calls his hero.

- Yeah.

- How do you not cry- - (laughs) Who says I don't cry?

- Like me, (Dr. Judy laughs) when you hear that?

- Yeah, I do.

And it is very, very humbling because Anthony is amazing and he's extremely genuine.

But I would have to turn it back and say that Anthony is actually my hero, because if I hadn't been his mom, then I wouldn't have that unstoppable spirit within me because he inspired me to push myself, and to keep going, and to not give up on my goals.

Because when he did it with such grace, such respect, and just continuous moving forward with positivity, I was like, "How dare I not," you know, "Do the same thing?"

So Anthony is definitely my hero.

- Yeah, you're both tremendous.

- Thank you.

- Well, we only have two minutes left, but I have to ask you- - Yes.

- So when you get that call and you're told that Jennifer Lopez... Jennifer Lopez is gonna play you in a movie, like- - (laughs) Right!

- Please tell me how you reacted.

- No, I didn't believe Anthony.

I thought, like, "You can't be telling the truth."

I didn't think he was telling me the truth.

I thought he was lying to me, but she was so kind and so sweet from the beginning.

And I was like, I was kind of...

I had a Zoom meeting with her at first and like, I don't know how to react 'cause it's Jennifer Lopez, but she brought me down to such ease and she was just so relatable and so friendly.

And I think it was the opportunity that she gave me to share so many stories I hadn't shared with somebody else.

And that way she was able to implement them into the character that she was playing because she wore, like, my coat, and my beanie and my shirts, and...

But I think also my personality was there.

She caught my feistiness, but she also perfectly captured the relationship I have with my son because she knew that was important, but I think, because of who she was... - Mm-hmm.

- And so dynamic, that she was able to pull that out as something very important.

So like, I'm grateful to her because when I saw her, I'm like, "You did me better than I could do me."

- Aw.

- Yeah.

But I have so much respect for the genuineness that she did my character, you know, and just allowing my son and I to be highlighted together and to make sure that our bond was, like, at the forefront of that movie.

- Yes, well, very impressive.

- Thank you.

- She did a great job, but your story- - Yeah.

- I'm just so overwhelmed by it.

- Thank you.

- Because I learned something new every time I talk to you, but especially after seeing that movie.

So thank you so much for joining me and sharing that.

- Yes, thank you for having me.

- Yeah, it's good to see you.

- Good to see you too.

- That's our show for "Horizonte" in Arizona PBS.

I'm Catherine Anaya, thank you so much for joining us.

(upbeat tropical music) ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ Hey, hey, ay ♪ Hey, hey