Growing up in Chicago, Darrell Gholar attended Chicago Dunbar Vocational High School, where he wrestled and played football. He was an IHSA Wrestling State finalist in 1980 and AAU Wrestling National Runner-up and was named captain of both the football and wrestling team. 

After graduating from Dunbar, Darrell attended the University of Minnesota and started his collegiate wrestling career. There he was named to the Freshman All-American Team and served for two years as Minnesota Wrestling Team Captain. Darrell graduated from Minnesota in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in world literature. 

His desire to wrestle moved forward as he became a three-time United States Greco-Roman National Champion, an alternate for the 1988 Olympic Team and Captain of the 1986 United State World Team. He also served as assistant coach at the University of Minnesota in 1985-86 and as assistant coach at Drake University in 1986-87. 

Darrell then became a successful professional fighter, starting his professional fighting career in 1998. In 2000, he captured the World Vale Tudo Championship. A middleweight champion, he vacated the title in 2001 when he retired from professional fighting. 

Darrell also became a finalist for a Jerome Fellowship in playwriting. He was a Walt Disney Pictures screenwriting fellowship recipient, where after completion he was offered a position writing for Walt Disney Pictures Touchstone Division. While writing for Disney, Darrell wrote and directed “The Dancer” at the Ivar Theater in Hollywood. He then co-produced “Looking for Bruce,” a full-length feature film. In 2003, Darrell was named one of the world’s top 200 living poets and was invited to read in Washington D.C. at the National Society of Poets 2003 National Convention.

In 2013, Darrell suffered a massive stroke due to high blood pressure complications. He was unconscious for several days and when he awoke, he was completely paralyzed on the right side of his body. Doctors were shocked he had survived and told him they were surprised he could even talk. Darrell faced the huge task of rehabilitation; in his words, “I was so scared. I started working out right away. It was the only thing I knew to do.” Insurance limits would restrict his rehabilitation, but Darrell approached his rehabilitation with the same gusto he did throughout his wrestling and fighting career. He would work out two or three times a day, research for information about rehabilitation of his condition and did all he could do each day to improve himself.