Wrestling dumb: A life in balance
In grade school, the Garibaldi brothers struck a deal — Sebastian, the elder, would put the Lego sets together, Gabe, the younger, would play with them once they were built.
“I never liked playing with toys,” the elder said. “I just liked feeling the pieces snap together.”
Now Sebastian, heavyweight wrestler, mechanical engineer, is closing in on his final months as an NCAA Division I student athlete. His brother Gabe is just getting started, now a first-year student wrestling on the Princeton team. Come May, Sebastian will have wrestled his last match, turned in his last problem set. The balance of his life will shift.
But Garibaldi isn’t bothered. He’s got a job lined up developing a robot that does housework. He spends the few days he has to himself at home on Long Island with his family. He plays a cherry red flamenco guitar.
He said engineering problems activate his analytical mind, while wrestling activates something almost purely physical. “Brutish,” he said.
At 285 pounds, he generates plenty of force. But in wrestling, no matter how strong you are, you also have to be quick. Quicker than the man trying to snap your face to the mat.
“The second you stop to think, you’ve taken a second,” Garibaldi said. At his best, he wrestles a little bit dumb. No thinking. Mind quiet. Ready to strike.
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Wrestling dumb: A life in balance
Sebastian Garibaldi has a job lined up developing a robot that does housework. Engineering problems activate his analytical mind, while wrestling activates something almost purely physical. “Brutish,” he said.