Frontline Voices

Mike Steadman is a Veteran Fellow at the Hoover Institution and was a member of the first cohort (2021–22). Steadman is the founder and CEO of IRONBOUND Boxing & Education, a nonprofit organization based in Newark, New Jersey, that provides free amateur boxing training, entrepreneur education, and employment opportunities for Newark youth and young adults. He and his partner, Keith Colon, oversee the IRONBOUND Boxing Academy, their free boxing gym for youth in Newark. Steadman is also a three-time National Collegiate Boxing champion from the Naval Academy and a Marine Corps infantry officer, with deployments to Afghanistan and Japan/Philippines. He trains CEOs and nationally ranked boxers. Outside of boxing, he has provided consulting services to a billion-dollar corporation around veteran entrepreneurship. He also serves as an adviser and brand strategist to Dope Coffee Company, an Atlanta based e-commerce brand. In conjunction with Dope Coffee, he hosts a weekly podcast entitled “Confessions of a Native Son,” where he shares his perspectives on race, culture, and business.