The son of undocumented Mexican immigrants, Cejudo recalled living in "the projects, trailers, and even crack houses in four different states," adding, "it sucked, but that's just how life goes sometimes."

He remembers as a youngster living in Arizona, often being in fist fights concocted by "old men," who would give the winner an ice cream cone.

Cejudo said his family's situation was never worse than when it lived in a trailer located on a junkyard in south Phoenix.

"We couldn't go out of the trailer at night because the people running the junkyard would let their guard dogs out. That was the worst it got." Monday night, Cejudo was at Greeley West High School, delivering a motivational speech to a group of wrestlers and parents as the closing stage of the Makin' The Right Moves Wrestling Clinic.

"There's no secret to my success though," he explained. "It's hard work. I've never had it easy. Everybody has a story - make it your own journey.

"You can never know what life brings, so you have to make the most of every minute, every hour," added Cejudo, who later gave some personal advice to Greeley West sophomore and state runner-up Joseph Martinez, stating, "never settle for anything other than first, the gold. Start believing right now that there's nobody better than you."

"It was great to meet him, and learn from him," said 9-year-old Xavier Vasquez, who attends Heiman Elementary School. "I want to be a champion like him."

Vasquez has been wrestling since he was 5, and participated in the two-day camp before being all ears to what Cejudo had to say.

Cejudo's dysfunctional upbringing has been well documented via public appearances ranging from grade-school kids to appearances on The Today Show, Oprah and Jay Leno.

In between, he trains daily whether he's in New York City - as he was Sunday night - or at home in Phoenix, where he spends the majority of his time when not conducting clinics.

When officials at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs accepted him as a resident trainee while he attended Coronado High School, it was the first time Cejudo had his own bed to sleep in.

Cejudo was a four-time state high school champion, winning two titles in Arizona and two in Colorado.

It was four years to the day when Cejudo claimed his gold medal in Beijing, China - defeating Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga in the 55-kilogram/121-pound final - from when he decided to venture out on his own, accepting a request from Olympiian Patricia Miranda to train her for the 2004 Olympics in Greece.

"My goal was always to be an Olympic champion, and I always look to the big picture of things," said Cejudo, who recalled telling himself 'not to take a back seat to nobody,' when he won his spot on the Olympic team at the Olympic Trials this past summer in Las Vegas, coming from behind to defeat Olympic hopeful Steven Abas.

"I want to wrestle the best, no matter what the situation is," Cejudo said. "I'd go up a weight if it meant wrestling somebody who's supposed to be the best."

Cejudo's immediate plans are to train and compete for the 2009 World Championships in Denmark, then continue his quest for another gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.

After having his picture taken with Cejudo and receiving an autographed T-shirt, Vasquez flatly stated that he now has a goal.

"I want to be an Olympic champion, like he is," Vasquez said. "This is exciting."