After enduring formative years with gunfights outside elementary school, home loss due to an apartment fire, and expulsion hearings, his stepfather, Mose Oliver, introduced him to wrestling to keep him out of trouble.

[4] Federal records confirm that Oliver is an alleged 1990's gang enforcer who served time from 2004 to 2011 for participation in Operation Day Trader.

[11] Subsequently, Coleman gained a cult-following for the recording of him performing a move at the 2011 Junior World Championships that he calls "The Flying Squirrel", which involves somersaulting over his opponent just before his takedown.

[3] His successful attempt of the move at the 2011 Junior World Championships made the number 1 on SportsCenters Top 10 Plays and was ranked third on the ESPN 2011 Best of the Best Highlights.

[4] The move made him so famous that he received lucrative offers to begin a professional wrestling career, but he declined in favor of continuing his Olympic dream.

[5] After Coleman qualified for the Olympics, he realized that his mother, who works in customer service for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, could not afford to attend due to financial hardship.

Mike Powell, Coleman's coach at Oak Park, rented Coleman's family a one-bedroom flat in London out of personal funds and the Oak Park High School wrestling program subsequently raised $14,000 to ensure that his mother, aunt and siblings could attend.

[19] In an attempt to solidify his nickname while training in Colorado Springs, Coleman purchased a pet flying squirrel that he keeps in a cage and feeds apples.