American Steele is the humorous memoir of an impossible journey taken from a small-town boy with an inappropriate sense of humor all the way to the Olympics and an end to a 46-year American medal drought. The unlikely journey continues into the world of college coaching, where our hero mentors another boy with humble beginnings to become a two-time Olympic champion and world record holder. In July 2017, I was surprised to wake up in the ICU of our local Iowa hospital. I had suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke. Dan Steele, one of the most successful collegiate track and field coaches in the country had to relearn to walk and talk. Cheating death, once again, the former bobsled Olympic medalist and national champion hurdler had to find meaning in his life. This regular guy has never accepted anything was just good enough for him. He aspired to unreasonable heights, failing as often as succeeding. This is my story, told from my hospital bed.