Van Underwood Stokes

Van Underwood Stokes was born in Lafayette, Indiana on August 7, 1986 to Andrew and Matilda Stokes. His father was a boxer and fought Mike Tyson in an amateur bout in 1983 as part of the Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Competition; after retiring from boxing he promoted boxing for many years, and now resides in Lafayette where he works for the railroad and continues to train boxers. His mother is an Administrative Assistant in African American Studies at Purdue University. He has three brothers, Andrew, Prenny and Marcus, and one sister, Angie Jasper. Van did his first flip at the age of five, when he was showing off for his dad. He grew up in the Friendly Village trailer park in a family with two older brothers who were considerably bigger than him and who were involved in sports, so his household was very competitive. Growing up he played video games with his brothers, cousins, and friends which is something he still does today. He attended Dayton Elementary, Wainwright Middle Scho