[Applause]
I shouldn’t be here today but I am
because of professional wrestling yeah
now professional wrestling means a lot
more to me than it may to some
professional wrestling means well first
off when people think of professional
wrestling they think of sweaty dudes
rolling around in spandex getting all
sweaty
voilá wedding’s going on in the
background there’s a coffin over here
there’s degenerates running down and
there’s cliques forming and I mean all
of that is too sweet but to me wrestling
means a lot more wrestling to me is
storytelling it’s an art form
it’s drama going back to Phillip
wrestling to me is believing in these
characters the story of good guys
against bad guys and sometimes the bad
guys win but sometimes the good guys win
too and for me wrestling is very similar
to my life wrestling for me was a
constant in a life of chaos I have lived
in over 25 homes I have attended several
different schools I was influenced by my
late alcoholic father whose ashes are in
this bullet casing right here
and I was raised by a single deaf mother
making my first language sign language I
learned how to speak through
in wrestling and Sesame Street makes me
who I am today the lowest point for me
was when I was 14 I was homeless I was
in grade 9 and I can remember the day
specifically when this happened
it was on a Friday right before the
weekend so if you can put yourself back
to grade 9 on a Friday before the
weekend
you’re pretty stoked to go out on the
weekend such as I was I can remember
opening the doors of the school and
going to my friend’s car I was staying
on his couch at the time and I hop in
the car and I look in the back and all
of my stuff was there and I look at him
in the back I’m sorry man it it’s just
it’s just not working out at my house so
where can I drop you off huh man I got
nowhere to go
like I have no idea thought popped in my
head of my mom’s friend who lived in the
area so I stopped by there knocked on
the door no one was home I put all my
stuff in the back I waited around for a
bit to see if they’d come home they
never did so that evening I went to a
park this park was known in the area for
the hangout spot for all the schools so
I knew some of my friends and other
people would be there and maybe I could
find a place to crash so I went to this
park and I found someone who I went to
school with and wasn’t really friends
with but I knew him I asked him hey Mack
you think I could stay at your place
yeah for sure do you that sounds good
sounds good so I hung out with them the
entire night just stuck around I’m like
a parasite right just clinging to him
eventually the night ends
everyone clears out we started walking
back to his house he opens the front
door and he turns around and he stops
and I walk up oh you gonna let me in man
sorry you can’t stay here tonight huh I
mean you said I could stay fine it’s
cool and I left I went back to that same
Park and that night I slept under a tree
I was 14 in grade 9 homeless underneath
of a tree and it was in that moment when
I I could vividly remember sitting there
and I was contemplating my existence I
didn’t know my purpose I had no idea why
I was on this earth but the thought that
kept popping up in my head you want to
be a professional wrestler you want to
be a professional wrestler you want to
be a professional wrestler and that
belief got me through that night fast
forward a few years and I found myself
living in a drug house which is the top
one in the city I got sick and tired of
living in that environment home
invasions and muggings and eventually I
saw I shot a message out on MySpace when
myspace was still a thing
sent a message out to a famous wrestling
superstar part of the Hart family if you
guys know wrestling sent a message out
asking hey I want to be a wrestler I
have no idea where to go you think he
could help me out somehow hoping for a
reply believing in a reply
I took the action I sent the message
about a week or so later my inbox Bing
got one message who open it up sure
enough it was her she sent me a message
back to his one sentence said hey you
want to be a wrestle that’s great here’s
an address it’s in Calgary Alberta good
luck so I took that address I bought a
one-way bus ticket from Saskatoon
Saskatchewan all the way to Calgary
Alberta with just an address I can
remember walking through the city of
Calgary and going up to the gym and
knocking on the door and then letting me
in and being so captivated when I seen
the wrestling ring for the first time
fast forward about a year in the City of
Calgary decided that they were gonna buy
the gym out tear it down and build and
build a new downtown making it all
fancy-schmancy so they did they bought
the gym and I found myself working at a
place that I didn’t like I was stuck in
a corner where I was inhaling these
fumes and every time you blew your nose
black chunks would come out I was living
on the edge of Calgary Calgary was a big
city it took me nearly an hour and a
half to get anywhere in town via transit
I was living with the roommate I didn’t
really like and I wasn’t training
anymore
so again I kind of found myself stuck in
a position where I didn’t know what I
was doing and one person changed my life
my trainer
his name’s ravenous Randy he calls me up
on the phone and I was sitting in my in
my room at the at the apartment there
and you know phone rings I pick it up
hey how’s it going
amen and what are you doing I’m just
sitting here doing nothing
oh cool cool what do you think about
moving to BC huh what’s in British
Columbia wrestling huh yeah okay sounds
good
hung up the phone put my two weeks
notice at my job put two weeks notice of
my roommate and everyone is super mad at
me I didn’t really care cuz I was going
to do wrestling and coming to BC was the
best thing that I’ve ever done see I
believed in what I wanted to do and when
the opportunities came up I took action
BC was the greatest move I’ve ever had
because it was here where I got to meet
this wonderful girl I met her dancing
and I went up and started boogying with
her
and my friends came up and Andy we gotta
go we gotta go I’m like okay cool cool
just wait I kept dancing no seriously we
gotta go we got okay cool cool let me
get let me get her number first I pull
out my phone I go up to the dance floor
what go to her in the dance what hey can
I have your number and for some reason
she gave it to me I don’t know how she
gave me your number put it in my phone
pretty cool I’ll text you for sure cool
head out I get into the taxi cab and I
text it right away
hey it’s so much fun dancing with you I
hope to see you again soon
no response Oh what could I do
oh I know I’ll text it again get on my
phone and text it again hey it’s so much
fun hope to see you again
no response oh she’s playing hard to get
huh yeah one more time and that’s it I’m
done after this I take out my phone I
text it one last time and the phone
starts ringing from that number I’m oh
she’s calling me okay I’ll let it ring a
few times so song pick it up hello hey
hello you got the wrong number dude oh
sorry sir she’s on the phone I got the
wrong number so I took that phone number
I changed the last digit to the next one
and I texted that one wrong number so I
took that phone number and changed the
digit to the next one
texted that one wrong number took the
same phone number change there’s a text
without wrong number
change of digits other I kept going for
a couple hours at night I know
eventually I fell asleep woke up phone
my hands still all these messages people
I didn’t know didn’t get the number
still but I kept going I took that phone
number and I changed your last digit
wrong number eventually I got tired of
it and I you know thought to myself you
know I’m gonna text one last number and
that’s it I’m done like I can’t stand
this anymore
text one last number put my phone down I
walk away and when I come back I pick it
up and I got it fast forward to today
we’ve been married for two years
[Applause]
to make it even better I have a handsome
16 month-old son named Owen so you see I
believed in myself and every time an
opportunity came up I took action and it
all culminated culminated on January
14th of this year in my wrestling career
seven years after I started after many
concussions
I’ve hyper-extended my arm I’ve
dislocated a rib the training regimen
was crazy we started with a hundred
squats each time just like that just a
hundred squats that’s it easy peasy but
it all was worth it because I eventually
became the Canadian heavyweight champion
[Applause]
so believing becomes achieving through
action so here’s what I hope you all can
take from my story maybe there’s a
person out there who you’ve lost
connection with but you missed them and
you want to talk to them but you’re kind
of scared
you’re little nervous of what they’re
gonna say do it send him a message
take some action what’s the worst I
could happen they’ll block you mm great
unfollow you ooh maybe there’s a job out
there that you’ve really wanted for your
whole entire life
or maybe something recent came up and
you really want it go send in a resume
what’s the worst suck it up and they say
no go in the next day and like here’s
another one Here I am again I’ll see you
tomorrow take action because you never
know where you’ll land if you choose to
fly thank you
[Applause]
I shouldn’t be here today but I am
because of professional wrestling yeah
now professional wrestling means a lot
more to me than it may to some
professional wrestling means well first
off when people think of professional
wrestling they think of sweaty dudes
rolling around in spandex getting all
sweaty
voilá wedding’s going on in the
background there’s a coffin over here
there’s degenerates running down and
there’s cliques forming and I mean all
of that is too sweet but to me wrestling
means a lot more wrestling to me is
storytelling it’s an art form
it’s drama going back to Phillip
wrestling to me is believing in these
characters the story of good guys
against bad guys and sometimes the bad
guys win but sometimes the good guys win
too and for me wrestling is very similar
to my life wrestling for me was a
constant in a life of chaos I have lived
in over 25 homes I have attended several
different schools I was influenced by my
late alcoholic father whose ashes are in
this bullet casing right here
and I was raised by a single deaf mother
making my first language sign language I
learned how to speak through
in wrestling and Sesame Street makes me
who I am today the lowest point for me
was when I was 14 I was homeless I was
in grade 9 and I can remember the day
specifically when this happened
it was on a Friday right before the
weekend so if you can put yourself back
to grade 9 on a Friday before the
weekend
you’re pretty stoked to go out on the
weekend such as I was I can remember
opening the doors of the school and
going to my friend’s car I was staying
on his couch at the time and I hop in
the car and I look in the back and all
of my stuff was there and I look at him
in the back I’m sorry man it it’s just
it’s just not working out at my house so
where can I drop you off huh man I got
nowhere to go
like I have no idea thought popped in my
head of my mom’s friend who lived in the
area so I stopped by there knocked on
the door no one was home I put all my
stuff in the back I waited around for a
bit to see if they’d come home they
never did so that evening I went to a
park this park was known in the area for
the hangout spot for all the schools so
I knew some of my friends and other
people would be there and maybe I could
find a place to crash so I went to this
park and I found someone who I went to
school with and wasn’t really friends
with but I knew him I asked him hey Mack
you think I could stay at your place
yeah for sure do you that sounds good
sounds good so I hung out with them the
entire night just stuck around I’m like
a parasite right just clinging to him
eventually the night ends
everyone clears out we started walking
back to his house he opens the front
door and he turns around and he stops
and I walk up oh you gonna let me in man
sorry you can’t stay here tonight huh I
mean you said I could stay fine it’s
cool and I left I went back to that same
Park and that night I slept under a tree
I was 14 in grade 9 homeless underneath
of a tree and it was in that moment when
I I could vividly remember sitting there
and I was contemplating my existence I
didn’t know my purpose I had no idea why
I was on this earth but the thought that
kept popping up in my head you want to
be a professional wrestler you want to
be a professional wrestler you want to
be a professional wrestler and that
belief got me through that night fast
forward a few years and I found myself
living in a drug house which is the top
one in the city I got sick and tired of
living in that environment home
invasions and muggings and eventually I
saw I shot a message out on MySpace when
myspace was still a thing
sent a message out to a famous wrestling
superstar part of the Hart family if you
guys know wrestling sent a message out
asking hey I want to be a wrestler I
have no idea where to go you think he
could help me out somehow hoping for a
reply believing in a reply
I took the action I sent the message
about a week or so later my inbox Bing
got one message who open it up sure
enough it was her she sent me a message
back to his one sentence said hey you
want to be a wrestle that’s great here’s
an address it’s in Calgary Alberta good
luck so I took that address I bought a
one-way bus ticket from Saskatoon
Saskatchewan all the way to Calgary
Alberta with just an address I can
remember walking through the city of
Calgary and going up to the gym and
knocking on the door and then letting me
in and being so captivated when I seen
the wrestling ring for the first time
fast forward about a year in the City of
Calgary decided that they were gonna buy
the gym out tear it down and build and
build a new downtown making it all
fancy-schmancy so they did they bought
the gym and I found myself working at a
place that I didn’t like I was stuck in
a corner where I was inhaling these
fumes and every time you blew your nose
black chunks would come out I was living
on the edge of Calgary Calgary was a big
city it took me nearly an hour and a
half to get anywhere in town via transit
I was living with the roommate I didn’t
really like and I wasn’t training
anymore
so again I kind of found myself stuck in
a position where I didn’t know what I
was doing and one person changed my life
my trainer
his name’s ravenous Randy he calls me up
on the phone and I was sitting in my in
my room at the at the apartment there
and you know phone rings I pick it up
hey how’s it going
amen and what are you doing I’m just
sitting here doing nothing
oh cool cool what do you think about
moving to BC huh what’s in British
Columbia wrestling huh yeah okay sounds
good
hung up the phone put my two weeks
notice at my job put two weeks notice of
my roommate and everyone is super mad at
me I didn’t really care cuz I was going
to do wrestling and coming to BC was the
best thing that I’ve ever done see I
believed in what I wanted to do and when
the opportunities came up I took action
BC was the greatest move I’ve ever had
because it was here where I got to meet
this wonderful girl I met her dancing
and I went up and started boogying with
her
and my friends came up and Andy we gotta
go we gotta go I’m like okay cool cool
just wait I kept dancing no seriously we
gotta go we got okay cool cool let me
get let me get her number first I pull
out my phone I go up to the dance floor
what go to her in the dance what hey can
I have your number and for some reason
she gave it to me I don’t know how she
gave me your number put it in my phone
pretty cool I’ll text you for sure cool
head out I get into the taxi cab and I
text it right away
hey it’s so much fun dancing with you I
hope to see you again soon
no response Oh what could I do
oh I know I’ll text it again get on my
phone and text it again hey it’s so much
fun hope to see you again
no response oh she’s playing hard to get
huh yeah one more time and that’s it I’m
done after this I take out my phone I
text it one last time and the phone
starts ringing from that number I’m oh
she’s calling me okay I’ll let it ring a
few times so song pick it up hello hey
hello you got the wrong number dude oh
sorry sir she’s on the phone I got the
wrong number so I took that phone number
I changed the last digit to the next one
and I texted that one wrong number so I
took that phone number and changed the
digit to the next one
texted that one wrong number took the
same phone number change there’s a text
without wrong number
change of digits other I kept going for
a couple hours at night I know
eventually I fell asleep woke up phone
my hands still all these messages people
I didn’t know didn’t get the number
still but I kept going I took that phone
number and I changed your last digit
wrong number eventually I got tired of
it and I you know thought to myself you
know I’m gonna text one last number and
that’s it I’m done like I can’t stand
this anymore
text one last number put my phone down I
walk away and when I come back I pick it
up and I got it fast forward to today
we’ve been married for two years
[Applause]
to make it even better I have a handsome
16 month-old son named Owen so you see I
believed in myself and every time an
opportunity came up I took action and it
all culminated culminated on January
14th of this year in my wrestling career
seven years after I started after many
concussions
I’ve hyper-extended my arm I’ve
dislocated a rib the training regimen
was crazy we started with a hundred
squats each time just like that just a
hundred squats that’s it easy peasy but
it all was worth it because I eventually
became the Canadian heavyweight champion
[Applause]
so believing becomes achieving through
action so here’s what I hope you all can
take from my story maybe there’s a
person out there who you’ve lost
connection with but you missed them and
you want to talk to them but you’re kind
of scared
you’re little nervous of what they’re
gonna say do it send him a message
take some action what’s the worst I
could happen they’ll block you mm great
unfollow you ooh maybe there’s a job out
there that you’ve really wanted for your
whole entire life
or maybe something recent came up and
you really want it go send in a resume
what’s the worst suck it up and they say
no go in the next day and like here’s
another one Here I am again I’ll see you
tomorrow take action because you never
know where you’ll land if you choose to
fly thank you
[Applause]
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