Mike Tyson

This article is about GritCult's view of Mike Tyson. For a general overview, see Mike Tyson on Wikipedia.

Mike Tyson
“Mike Tyson on reading books in prison.” (16 November 2024)
In the archive
Portal	Warlords & Empires
Posts	26
Retweets	88
Likes	1,190
First post	3 June 2018
Latest post	12 May 2025
Posts by year
20183
20192
20205
20215
20224
20232
20243
20252
Related
Plato Alexander the Great Churchill Genghis Khan Hitler

Mike Tyson features as GritCult's model of the warrior philosopher, a fighter whose thinking about enemies and pressure he rates above most academics. The 26 posts are spread thinly from 2018 to 2025, with no single burst.

Views

The central claim is borrowed and then made his own. He shared the line that Mike Tyson is a better philosopher than most professional philosophers, crediting another account ^[1], and later developed it in his own words: the modern Plato is not an academic but Tyson, the example of a warrior poet ^[2]. The interest is in the psychology of conflict. In 2018 he paired a Tyson clip with an argument about the usefulness of enemies, which represent “a problem that requires a solution, a solution which requires the best of you” ^[3].

He is curious about how Tyson was made. In 2020 he asked whether hypnosis works, noting that Cus D'Amato used it to turn Tyson into a killing machine ^[4], and he points to Tyson as one of the chaotic types who walk the razor's edge, since “to be great you have to go to insane heights” ^[5]. He shares Tyson on reading books in prison ^[6], but warns against copying him wholesale: advice is domain specific, and “A tall boxer won't be able to box like Tyson” ^[7]. His verdict in 2025 was simple: “prime mike tyson was something else man” ^[8].

Recurring themes

• the fighter as philosopher
• enemies as a demand for your best
• how champions are made
• greatness on the razor's edge
• advice that does not transfer between bodies

Notable post

The most retweeted GritCult post on the subject, with 35 retweets:

Selected posts

All 26 posts in the archive about Mike Tyson, ranked by retweets. Select a column heading to sort.

Date	Retweets	Likes	Post	Media	Source
16 November 2024	35	326	Mike Tyson on reading books in prison.		View
19 July 2021	13	111	"MIKE TYSON IS A BETTER PHILOSOPHER THAN MOST PROFESSIONAL PHILOSOPHERS"		View
12 May 2025	10	160	prime mike tyson was something else man		View
25 December 2022	6	212	I don’t like Neil degassed Tyson		View
22 July 2018	6	24	here is mike Tyson talking about mental preparation of a similar vein		View
22 July 2018	5	13	philosophy and psychological utility of enemies historical quotes by warriors and a clip featuring Mike Tyson "enemies represent an obstacle in the abstract of the mind, a problem that requires a solution, a solution which requires the best of you"		View
28 January 2020	4	9	cus d'amato used to hypnotise mike tyson to be a killing machine does hypnosis work ? RT for larger sample im currently experimenting with it		View
27 April 2025	2	121	@IronMikey85 Sr. Knew how hard and filled pain the path would be. Mike Tyson said the same thing about his own kids too. Congrats to jr		View
21 February 2019	2	20	Mike Tyson and the philosophy of enemies. Linked thread. "Mike Tyson is a better philosopher than most professional philosophers" - @MimeticValue		View
14 December 2022	1	56	Lmfaooo Mike Tyson would really go around threatening dudes to fuck them in the ass		View
26 February 2023	1	49	My guy celebrating like he beat Mike Tyson 😂😂		View
17 April 2021	1	21	mike tyson		View
16 November 2024	1	6	A Lesson On Intimidation From Mike Tyson		View
5 August 2021	1	2	Khabib Nurmagomedov, Former UFC Champion | Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson pre... via @YouTube		View
23 February 2024	0	16	But boy looks like Mike Tyson here. Might put everything on him winning		View
7 June 2021	0	12	Be a warrior poet. One example is Mike Tyson or Plato. Who wrestled as much as he did philosophy The modern day Plato isn’t an academic. It’s Mike Tyson.		View
3 September 2023	0	12	@dontrece_hd Tyson. Cos then I’d just sleep n take it easy. 10 elbows will cut u up		View
19 April 2021	0	7	@SkantLee mike tyson		View
27 March 2020	0	6	i think why he is so good at why he does is because he walks the razors edge. as so many people do who are chaotic like mike tyson for example to be great you have to go to insane heights		View
29 August 2022	0	3	@M_Millerman Mike Tyson		View
6 December 2020	0	2	@tinfoilmask @WriterMcG Mike Tyson is on Trt loool has been for years.		View
6 April 2019	0	1	@BenjaminGJW My advice : Advice tends to be domain specific A tall boxer won't be able to box like Tyson. Different requirements.		View
13 November 2020	0	1	@KiburProperties @TyronMcDaniel And MANY celebrities did promotion for supreme. I own mike Tyson and Kate Tees by supreme. Does that mean they should all be paid in shares lol		View
3 June 2018	0	0	@KNeferhetep @DeGuerre_Nom i dont think he was referring to tyson about getting stuff wrong, but more academic economists and intellectuals who influence policy.		View
2 March 2020	0	0	@allwhiteaf1s teddy atlas on tyson is a good watch to see his psyche		View
24 July 2022	0	0	@DejaRu22 @XanMan____ Mike Tyson.		View

History

GritCult first posted about Mike Tyson on 3 June 2018, and most recently on 12 May 2025. Across the archive the subject comes up 26 times, most often in 2020 (5 posts).

See also

Warlords & Empires portal

References

1. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (21 February 2019). Mike Tyson is a better philosopher than most professional philosophers. X.
2. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (7 June 2021). Be a warrior poet...The modern day Plato isn't an academic. It's Mike Tyson. X.
3. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (22 July 2018). enemies represent an obstacle in the abstract of the mind, a problem that requires a solution, a solution which requires the best of you. X.
4. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (28 January 2020). cus d'amato used to hypnotise mike tyson to be a killing machine...does hypnosis work ? X.
5. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (27 March 2020). like mike tyson for example to be great you have to go to insane heights. X.
6. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (16 November 2024). Mike Tyson on reading books in prison. X.
7. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (6 April 2019). Advice tends to be domain specific...A tall boxer won't be able to box like Tyson. Different requirements. X.
8. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (12 May 2025). prime mike tyson was something else man. X.

External links

• Posts about Mike Tyson by GRITCULT on X
• Mike Tyson on Wikipedia