Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Art of the Swerve (with special guest "Ravenous" Randy Myers)
129 Plays9 days ago
In this episode of 'Friendless,' host James Avramenko interviews "Ravenous" Randy Myers, a multi-talented performer known for his work in professional wrestling, comedy, and various forms of entertainment. Randy shares his journey from being a drama kid in Calgary to becoming an influential figure in the wrestling world. He discusses the challenges and triumphs he faced along the way, including his struggles with mental health and how being open about it has helped him connect more deeply with fans and fellow performers. The conversation also delves into the parallels and differences between the stand-up comedy and wrestling communities, highlighting the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in performance. Randy's insights into community, friendship, and the power of being genuine make this episode a rich and engaging listen.
Photo credit thanks to @arealgoldmouth
Check out Randy's work on Instagram
Sign up for the Friendless Substack HERE!
Support the show, Buy Me A Coffee!!
Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Recommended
Transcript
Interview with Ravenous Randy Myers
00:00:09
Speaker
well hey there sweet peas welcome back friendless i'm your ah host james avromenko back once again with a brand new episode this week i interview pro wrestler comedian and suspected extraterrestrial the one the only ravenous randy myers we discuss the theater kid to pro wrestling pipeline authentic expressions of self and how to support mental health from the open mic all the way to the squared circle Randy is an absolute delight, and you're going to love this one. So it's time to lean back, get comfy, set your volume at a reasonable level, and enjoy my interview with Randy Myers here on Friendless.
00:00:47
Speaker
This week on Friendless, I have ah someone who I have been admiring from afar for for some time, who I've i've had the chance to to do some comedy with and all kinds
Randy's Multifaceted Performance Career
00:01:00
Speaker
of stuff. They're ah they're a wrestler. They're a comedian. They're a performer of all kinds.
00:01:04
Speaker
ah The one, the only Randy Bucking Myers is on the show. How are you doing? I'm good. I appreciate the acting in the middle of that. I'm not used to such profanity in the middle of my day, but I like it.
00:01:17
Speaker
ah ah you got to You really got to emphasize it. For sure. Yeah. rivals tank on it I'll accept it.
00:01:25
Speaker
So, Randy, I mean, right at the hop, I have a poster that you signed for me at New Year's here on my on my bulletin board that i that I look at every day.
00:01:36
Speaker
So it's a really, really special moment to have you on the show. Oh, shucks, man. night Thank you. I really appreciate that. Yeah, yeahre you're a you're a big source of inspiration for me. um And we're going to get into all the different reasons why i throughout the interview. But before we can cover any of that, for listeners who may not be familiar with you, ah who the fuck are you?
00:01:55
Speaker
Good question. Good question. i am I think you did a good rundown at the beginning. I'm a performer, mostly, I would say, by heart, which leans into the forms of professional wrestling. It leans into stand-up comedy. I've been doing some clowning. I've done improv. I've done sketch.
00:02:11
Speaker
Basically, anywhere I can kind of get up on a stage and kind of express myself and my emotions and make a connection with the fans. That's kind of what I'm all about. I love it. I love it.
00:02:22
Speaker
um So pro wrestling is is very near and dear to my heart. I have never stepped foot in inside a ring, and I doubt I ever will. ah But I never i right exactly but i also i just hold wrestlers in such high esteem. I just have such a deep respect for the performance. And um'm I'm really curious to kind of to start us off.
Transition from Theater to Wrestling
00:02:43
Speaker
I'm curious what drew you into wrestling in the first place? Like, how did you get involved? um Well, I was like, so I'm from Calgary originally, which has like a, like a famous history within professional wrestling. Right. So um I was always involved.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah. Right. I was always involved in like theater and stuff like that. and then, Never involved in like sports or anything like that. So when I turned like was starting to get to it, my teenage years, still involved in drama. But having that like angst starting building up in me and yeah not having an outlet for it because I didn't have any sort of physical place to put that.
00:03:17
Speaker
And I think physicality normally like is the easiest in this safest place. that's And sometimes the only place that you can put some of that like inner turmoil and that rage. yeah where can safely put it into a place and I didn't have any of those outlets so I started using drama as that outlet and like started like I fell in love with professional wrestling watching Mick Folik was my like the my like the door you know my gateway drug as it was um seeing the like how that was theater, like really like, like seeing that at my, at like 13 it really landed to me that this was like extreme theater. So I'm really being like interested by that. I started doing it in drama class in 10th grade and then got kicked out of drama class in 10th.
00:04:03
Speaker
It's, I like to say I got kicked out of drama for being a little too dramatic. I had had my first heartbreak around those same times. yeah I was like, like I said, had all this angst, had now this like emo heartbreak energy and needed somewhere to kind of put that. So doing it in drama class wasn't the right place to do it. Wasn't safe falling off the stage. do you know what I mean? Emulating McFoley's fall off the hell in the cell, you know?
00:04:26
Speaker
by God. Yeah. Right. So I got kicked out of drama class, came home. remember telling my mom that I got kicked out of drama class and she's like, well, that's like your thing. That's like, what were you what are going to do now? Like basically now I'm stuck with you all the time.
00:04:39
Speaker
um Like what's going to get you out of my hair. And so I professional wrestling was right there. Like stampede wrestling. It started up and had a reboot and Calgary in 1999. And I'd started going to those local shows and that kind of got me the bug and kind of made me realize that like, it kind of like made it like plausible and doable because here I was watching these people that were like not the larger than life superstars that you saw in WWE w or television or at the Saddledome whatever. This was that like the pavilion. This was like local people. These amazing.
00:05:13
Speaker
uh something maybe i was capable of reaching and achieving you know so they had an advertisement during the television show which would air like they would shows were friday night and then then following so saturday those shows would air so i would look for myself on television and all those things and there was commercials for uh teddy hart's pro wrestling camp which at the time was the only under 18 pro wrestling camp in the world So, which just happened to be in my hometown.
00:05:38
Speaker
And so when I got kicked out of drama class, I thought about that commercial instantly. i was like, well i'm going to go to wrestling school. So I went to Teddy Hart's pro wrestling camp for a kids. And then, yeah, I started there and then moved my way to the dungeon eventually and then wrestled on those stampede wrestling shows that ah
Training with the Hart Family
00:05:56
Speaker
that I was going to. So i eventually made my way to being and on the shows that i that inspired me to actually take a chance at.
00:06:03
Speaker
unreal that's ah That's incredible. um um Having grown up in Calgary 2, the hearts are are such a ah ah bedrock of, you know, Bret Hart's my favorite wrestler of all time. And so it's just like, you know, hearing all these names is just like, oh my God. And the fact that you get to wrestle in, you know, train in the dungeon is just like that, that just, I already respected you. That just skyrocketed.
00:06:26
Speaker
oh um What was it like, sort of the, like, what were those first kind of classes like? You know, you ah often you when you read, you know, wrestler biographies or anything like that, they often talk about sort of like taking their first bumps and taking their first, you know, and it being a bit of a shock to the system. And and what what was it like for you? What was that experience of like having watched it and then now you're doing it?
00:06:49
Speaker
and Totally. Like, so I had like, like any foolish young wrestling fan, I like had taken some bumps in my backyard. We started up like a wrestling promotion in my backyard and we're fools and had stolen, had stolen parts from ah like construction sites around the neighborhood to like make ourselves this ring.
00:07:08
Speaker
um So I'd taken some bumps before. Were they real bumps? No, but I'd like, definitely been falling down i'd been winded after being spine busted on this and on like my backyard you know what i mean which is like yeah rugged and not a smart thing and not the thing i recommend anyone to do please don't buy this at home um but then i was when i went to camp uh it was actually the conditioning that was really hard on me like the bumps were very hard and to learn the proper technique was definitely It was more like learning body positioning and stuff. Like I said, I just i was so against physical, like PE or gym class or any of that stuff, sports and competition and all that was just not in my blood.
00:07:55
Speaker
So like the idea of like running these ropes more than twice and the idea of like just how exhausted I was and like having... zero kind of like lung capability and stuff like that. I like was so against gym class that i opted out of doing the physical part of it and like did essays.
00:08:14
Speaker
Like I would go to the library in school and learn about tennis. And then I would write an essay about tennis and all the intricate details of it and the history of it rather than actually playing tennis.
00:08:25
Speaker
That's ah how opposed I was to it. So, uh, I think I had like always had, I was an emo kid. So that kind of, ah remember one of my very first practices, i turned around and somebody, they tapped me on the shoulder and some jerk in wrestling slap slapped me across the face. And they're like, oh, you always fall for that one.
00:08:44
Speaker
And I just kind of like, like didn't react to it. And then people were like, oh, you didn't like, like have a like have a reaction didn't either like was just upset about it was angry wasn't anything and then people were like oh so I kind of became the like bump dummy because people were like oh this guy's willing to take a little bit of a hit and I didn't Like I said, I wasn't athletic, so I needed to learn it from a different end.
00:09:09
Speaker
So I was learning it kind of from more the taking rather than the giving end of things. And that also was how I kind of worked my way into the dungeon. Because at that point, it was like ah there was TJ Wilson. It was like Tyson Kidd, Natalia and Davey Boy Smith Jr., Teddy Hart. There was all this like second generation of Hart kids, and they didn't necessarily want to beat each other up.
00:09:30
Speaker
They needed somebody else to beat up, right? So I became that person. And so that's how I got into the dungeon, actually.
Evolution of the Ravenous Randy Character
00:09:37
Speaker
was not even, like, my tuition was paid with my body, blood, and sweat, and and some puke.
00:09:45
Speaker
But, ah yeah, that's basically how I got in, was, like, Bruce Hart, Bruce and Ross Hart were kind enough to, like, see that in me, that I was a guy who was willing to kind of take the punishment, be more than willing to learn, willing to set up the ring, willing to kind of do the things some people weren't willing to do thiss or weren' yeah weren't even yeah willing to do or able to do or whatever. Or if I was the man or person or human ah shaped creature for that job. You know what I mean? So yeah, I kind of, the bumps were my favorite part.
00:10:18
Speaker
Right. yeah I mean, I guess, i guess you know, i You would hope that that as a wrestler, you would be ah good with taking bumps, right? Totally. That probably plays in your favor, I would assume. Yeah, it definitely does. And it still has to this day. like People still, like because they have been doing it for 25, this is my 25th year in the ring. So and sometimes people, and I appreciate it, don't get me wrong, I don't want them to like take liberties or throw me around or anything like that. Sometimes they'll be a little bit softer on me than I think they have to or think that I won't take a bump.
00:10:48
Speaker
yeah ah because of either like the years or because my wrestling style can be a little bit lighter and sillier. ah But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to still get like take a good bump or two. I like it. It feels great. yeah yeah yeah um I'm curious, actually, speaking of you know like so you know the the character that you portray in The Ring, um I adore. And and and i just I do love that kind of like goofiness, but then you can kind of still throw down when you need to. And i'm i'm i'm I'm endlessly fascinated by how characters kind of get developed through the years. And I'm wondering, you know, was it sort of a piecemeal thing for you, sort of, you know, piece by piece over the years? or Or were you really clear about who you wanted to be from the get-go? how did that kind of formulate?
00:11:29
Speaker
i I think it was like a combination of the two. I think i was kind of clear of who I wanted to be from the get-go, but I was not able to portray that. from the get-go. Like, I don't think I necessarily saw it as clearly, but I think it
Authenticity and Mental Health in Wrestling
00:11:42
Speaker
is still kind of and always been in one kind of direction.
00:11:45
Speaker
I think there's been, like, branches that have kind of stemmed out from that, but I think it was, like, I picked my wrestling name, like, Ravenous Randy Myers, when I was still wrestling in the backyard.
00:11:56
Speaker
like So that was like been my name for like more than my wrestling career, longer than wrestling career. Like I was yeah yeah looking at my VHS tape collection and there was a movie called the Ravenous, which was like starring David Arquette. And that's where Ravenous came from. And then yeah um I had Austin Powers there. And then I thought of like,
00:12:15
Speaker
Do I make you Randy? And I'm like, oh, that's kind of nice. And then I had my horror movie collection. And then so I was like, Voorhees is too obvious. Kruger is too obvious.
00:12:25
Speaker
But Myers feels like a real person's last name. So that's where ravenous Randy Myers came from. So it always kind of had. I always kind of knew it had this punky edge to it. It had this kind of um horror movie vibes as well.
00:12:40
Speaker
um That kind of the ah Randy from Austin Powers is a little bit like sexuality and innuendos and stuff like that. so it's kind of um that played in. So I think it's always been there. But um whether I was able to fully, like I said, portray that.
00:12:57
Speaker
From the beginning, no, not at all. It was like, like you said, piecemeal. That way, where it was like getting in front of an audience and like testing myself out. was my first time being like in front of an audience as an athlete.
00:13:10
Speaker
So I'd done it as ah as like a performer, but I'd never done it as like something I knew I wasn't. So I was having to go in there and like people say wrestling's fake. The only thing that's fake about it in my performance was me pretending to be an athlete at that point.
00:13:23
Speaker
um So then I would try and go in there. i was so focused on doing the moves and making sure I did the things right, especially i was in there with some like talented athletes. So I didn't want to mess up their stuff. Right. um And so I didn't do do a lot of personality to start with, even though it was obviously always in me.
00:13:39
Speaker
And then remember letting go one time and like turning to a fan and just making a really ridiculous face. Yeah.
00:13:48
Speaker
out of sheer frustration because they were half heckling me. And so I certainly did that. And then the reaction I got from the fans and they were like, oh, it let me loose. And I was able to actually be better at the athletic performance part of it because I wasn't so...
00:14:03
Speaker
tights. Yeah, exactly. So I was able to actually be loose and move. And then from that, it just kind of, from that, I kind of, then I turned my hair into a mohawk. um So then that became out like the punkier edge. And that was kind of the first place I was willing to kind of show who I truly was in the ring. And then from there, kind of coming out about mental health stuff was kind of the next big step.
00:14:25
Speaker
and And that wasn't for like years later, but like 10 years later coming out with like talking to the audience about how I was suffering from depression at that time and was going to take us like a step away from the ring for a moment. And the connection I made from the with the fans after that like was a different level.
00:14:43
Speaker
It wasn't like this cartoon level, Ratman's Randy, the cock of the walk who always broncs the law, kind of like your... radio DJ or some BS. It had this yeah layer of ah reality to it and this like truth and this vulnerability.
00:14:58
Speaker
And I didn't expect to get the reaction I got from the fans and performers in the back to to show like wrestling's always so masculine especially yeah you know ah had been for years and years and years and it's kind of opening its shell a bit but that I haven't seen anyone do anything like that personally and to have fans come out to me and reach out to me and wrestlers come out to me and then It ended up making like one wrestler who was a filmmaker as well, reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do a film about it. And so we made like the Weirdo Hero web series, which is like a little thing on YouTube that can watch. It was is about professional wrestler who wins the big title and thought that was going to make his dreams come true.
00:15:42
Speaker
Local title. And then... He's still depressed. He's still suffering with the day-to-day nuances and the malady of life and how he's not happy. And that isn't all it takes to make him happy. So yeah I was able to make this like story and then that was able to like kind of blossom. So here I was like, thought I was taking a step away, being honest and telling them where I was at. And then it actually...
00:16:08
Speaker
gave me a new platform to speak about things that I think were more important than I'm going to see you next Sunday in a steel cage, you know? ah So that was another step. And then from there, eventually being able to like come out in the ring as I've come out multiple times in my life and be more open about my sexuality and being pansexual and being non-binary and kind of those things. Then opening up about that was like another kind of place where it showed where I was, if I was able to be vulnerable here, maybe if I'm vulnerable and truthful here, it can make my performances and my art and my connection that much deeper.
00:16:49
Speaker
yeah So I think that's kind of how step by step the character kind of developed and given the stages to do so, the platforms to do so. In Alberta, I didn't think I could come out with the mental health stuff.
00:17:00
Speaker
but it would have been harder i didn't think especially not come out with the queer stuff that was when I was already being heckled they could see through my my body language and you know like bullies can sniff it they can smell it you know what I mean and I'm not saying everyone there was but ah those were what they would find as a weakness a weakness quote unquote not a weakness but um so having the platform to be out here in Vancouver to talk about mental health and then eventually down to Seattle, which is where I was able to kind of come out of my shell and ah with my sexuality and add that to kind of my my little package.
00:17:39
Speaker
Yeah. So I think that's kind having, like I said, those stages and those audiences that were willing to um to of evolve and to be there and see something new and let things change and like let wrestlers be wrestlers and to see people as they are and let them be who they are.
00:17:59
Speaker
And it is that funny, you know, i one of the things I love so much about pro wrestling is that it is a very symbiotic relationship between the the performer and the audience, you know, and, and there's, there's such a catharsis for the audience to get to just scream and yell and and all those kinds of things. Right.
00:18:14
Speaker
um And it is so much more rewarding as an audience member to see a performer, you know, being themselves, you know, just obviously elevated because it's pro wrestling. So you need to be big, sure but it,
00:18:25
Speaker
But but but being being rooted in some level of authenticity really, you know, you said audiences could, you know, bullies could sniff out things. But I think i think audiences in general can sniff out authenticity. go and And you might not always even clock it necessarily um if you're not seeing it. But when you do see it, you go, oh, bingo. Exactly.
00:18:45
Speaker
For sure. um And that's, you know. having been to multiple boom shows and, and, uh, you know, just seeing the, the reaction you get when you come out and seeing, you know, I've brought, um, I brought someone new almost every time I've come. Thank you.
00:18:59
Speaker
And every, right. I guess i'm I'm just like, I'm like such a apostle for, for boom. I love that. And ah and i don't I don't often tell them anything about it. I just say it's pro wrestling. going a blast. Come on. you know and And almost without fail, every time you come out, I mean, obviously, I'm screaming and shouting, but like but you know but they but they respond so strongly to, you know, they love the, you know, your anxiety is lying to you. They love just the the the whole package that you're bringing, right? And and yeah I wanted to touch, to you know, obviously, like, don't
00:19:35
Speaker
not going to make you trauma dump on me about your buty but but your mental health, but it but but I'm curious about how your experience with um with bringing that out into the open has has kind of helped your personal mental health.
00:19:49
Speaker
oh yeah I think just like... it's The more we can be open with in general, you know what I mean? I think whether it be in the ring, whether it be with our family, whether it be any way, you make connections that you don't make any other way.
00:20:04
Speaker
um Opening up yourself to that vulnerable side and It's only been rewarding to me. It's so scary. But then when you do it, it's only been like I've had people come up to me and share with me.
00:20:17
Speaker
This last show I did at Defy on Saturday, I was on my way out to the ring to do a promo. And like I was like the match before we was on and and I was just kind of do my standard before the before I perform pace.
00:20:29
Speaker
You know mean? Nervously thinking whether I have to pee or not and knowing I don't have to. But then somebody came up to me and they shared with me that they had been struggling with some mental health issues. And it was right before I was about to go out.
00:20:41
Speaker
But they just opened up to me and I'm not going to tell them, you know, I'm I'm waiting to go out. I'm took it in and I sat there and it's not somebody that I'm necessarily overly close with, but it's somebody I do consider a friend.
00:20:56
Speaker
Um, but just haven't had this kind of opportunity to be close with them, you know? And now, um, it'd be hard to say that we're not close because we both opened up in that moment.
00:21:07
Speaker
I eventually had to like, heard the three count and had to run to the ring right then. Um, and I was kind of like, how's this going to, Like, what kind of am I going to bring any of this to the ring?
00:21:17
Speaker
I was my nervousness. You know what I mean? Like, am I going to be able to still give what I needed to kind of the nuances and the energy and the emotional beats of the promo I needed to cut? Because it was kind of a heavier one.
00:21:28
Speaker
Could I could I still get there and still be lighthearted as well? um But it was, I don't know, it was part mentalized or something. It was like. the work I was meant to do, like that was meant to happen at that moment. I went out there and I fucking slayed the promo and I they didn't, I was there for him. I wish I could have been him there longer.
00:21:50
Speaker
um That's the only thing. Like, so it's moments like that. Like, Any time is, guess, is what I'm saying is that like ah when I'm on my way to the effing ring, if you need to take a side, take me aside and tell me that you're struggling. I will give you the moment I can give you. I can't promise everything, but like that was strength.
00:22:09
Speaker
I was worried it might take for me, but it gave to me because. It's it one more person, but I'm sorry that these people struggle and I hate it. and i Part of me wishes I was the only one, but if I was the only one, that would fucking hurt too goddamn much.
00:22:23
Speaker
So I'm glad that I have a fucking army and I'm glad that we're all together and you've got my back and I've got your back and I'll fucking give you every last second until I hear that three count and I have to be in that ring.
Community and Diversity in Wrestling
00:22:34
Speaker
And I know they would have done the same for me. And so... In a mental health, you always feel like you're alone, you know? yeah And it kind of wants you to think that, or I don't know what the it is, but it just, it's isolating.
00:22:48
Speaker
yeah So talking about it and opening up about it, as you know, through this, it it makes connections. It does the opposite. So I think it's helped me so much. And I don't, if it wasn't for wrestling to begin with, I don't know where I'd be here.
00:23:06
Speaker
Like, It was a lot. It's done a lot for me. like that was It gave me a place to belong. It gave me a place where there was inner angst that I didn't know where to go. and I thought like it was going to dance because I didn't know where to put it but then I had a place to put it and it was in the ring and it still is in the ring. I take fighting my friends.
00:23:26
Speaker
You know what I mean? It's done with like consent. It's done with love. It's done with safety. It's done yeah in the least reckless way that you can have those kind of unfortunate masculine or just aggressive energy you know what i mean we have it as humans and we deny it and we're forced to shove it down or turn it off and some people can't and that's and we see it goes bad places so ah wrestling from the beginning has been kind of my mental health place so having it be opening about that makes all the sense in the world
00:24:04
Speaker
Yeah. Well, and it's that outlet, right? Yeah. You know, I was telling you just just before we started recording, I was literally in a therapy session just before this. And and one of the things we were talking about was this idea of ah um when you hold respect for yourself, it then breeds the proper connections that you need. Right. And um and when you sort of demand respect of yourself and you hold ah sort of hold yourself up, ah the people who then enter your world either respond to it well or they don't, in which case that's fine.
00:24:32
Speaker
like right um but but it's like this thing you're saying about like you know you you you did what you could but you still had a thing to Do right you know and and so it's like that to me is actually a sign of of much deeper respect then if you were like oh yeah i'm just going to blow this off and i'm just going to be like that that would be way faker yeah know and and in a lot of ways even more dangerous ah You know, to be like, oh, yeah, don't worry about it. I'm just going to give to you a gift to you. Right. Yeah, exactly. so I think that's gorgeous that that you were able to do that. And it worked out.
00:25:02
Speaker
So, yeah, right exactly. Thank God. So. So, you know, one of the sort of center. explorations of the shows, this idea of community. And, and um you know, the pro wrestling community obviously is not like one singular thing.
00:25:16
Speaker
um but But I find it so endlessly fascinating. and And I'm probably going to say some variation of that. way too many times for the next you know hour. Fair enough. but It's just, I just have no inroad and I don't like to pretend like I, you know, despite whatever I know, despite my exposure to it, I'm not an insider, so I'm not going to speak like a wrestler or any of that kind of bullshit, right? You know?
00:25:36
Speaker
um um But at the baseline, i guess, you know, what I'll start with is is is the question, the the overall question of community. And then I'd like your your sort of perspective from the progressing perspective. But, um,
00:25:48
Speaker
At its baseline, what does the word community mean to you? e I think it means people of different backgrounds and different and coming from people coming from different places to To bring all the things that are special about them together.
00:26:11
Speaker
Like, I think I like the idea of like the metaphor of like a pot pot, where like if everyone brings a different dish that represents them and their authenticity and like where they come from, then we'll have like such a beautiful bounty of different kind of meals and stuff like that. Yes.
00:26:27
Speaker
Where if we all like aim to bring the same thing or trying to fit in one box that we're going to have so much potato salad that we won't know what to do with it, you know? I think the, and if we're all coming from the same place, we're going to bring the same dishes. So I think the idea of we're better different.
00:26:45
Speaker
And so kind of keeping our differences and our strengths and sometimes those are our weaknesses and our vulnerabilities as well. And kind of uniting them for the greater cause. And I would say that's what I see as community.
00:26:56
Speaker
I think that's gorgeous. And I really, I really appreciate that. I, my, my take over the, you over the last couple of years, as I've been asking this, I've definitely fallen more into the camp of like different is better. And like, in a lot of ways, I wouldn't say conflict is good, but friction is good.
00:27:11
Speaker
You know, like I don't, I don't want everyone in my community to be on the same page as me. I want there to be some pushback. I want there to be some like, you know, like that kind of thing. I want to learn because that's how I look. You know what I mean? I don't think I'm right. And I don't always want to be right. Most of the time I don't want to be right.
00:27:25
Speaker
you know yeah yeah Exactly. exactly like Please prove me wrong. please exactly Exactly. I have a lot of anxiety. i have a lot of fears, a lot of worries. and Those to be proven wrong, I'd be so happy. you um ah but so So building out of that, with the idea of with the idea of you know of' pro wrestling, how have you found that the sort of the communities that you've entered in through this this performance, um how do they reflect communities at large? Or... or or and building out from that, what are some lessons we could take from the pro wrestling community and apply them more broadly?
00:28:02
Speaker
Well, I think like I said, like i think um stuff is simple as like, I think it's important to show what you like. I think that really matters. I think if you have something that you like and brings you joy and you get on the mountaintop and you scream about it, you know, who's going to come people who also like that thing.
00:28:20
Speaker
So like from within the wrestling community, a good example is like the NWO shirt. You'll see a stranger that you that they don't, two people don't know each other at all. And then all of a sudden they're too sweeting each other or like, you know, whatever, like giving each other the hand gesture for the shirt. And that just builds this community without within It brings people within, i don't even know what I'm trying to say, but you know what it is. They make this connection from strangers. They see each other from, they don't even necessarily speak the same language. there you know They might be politically different. There's a whole bunch of things that could be different, but there's this thing that kind of binds them together, right?
00:28:54
Speaker
And so I think that's something people can take away from wrestling and just being not ashamed to wear that shirt. you know what i mean? And to wear the banner of the thing you like, because you're going to that's why you tell other people that you like this thing. And then that's how you make a community. And that's how you find your friends. Right.
00:29:11
Speaker
So like an example of that is like I'm certainly open about the things that I like. Like I like a weird collection of like retro toys and I like. ah Yeah, like kind of like offbeat quirky art stuff.
00:29:25
Speaker
And at the last show, I'm a big elf fan. And at the show one Saturday, a fan came up to me and gave me an autographed picture of elf because they know that I like that because I'm open about that. And I share it and I wear elf patch on my jacket.
00:29:38
Speaker
They know that I like when they shared that with me. And I had this great moment with this person I wouldn't have met any other way except for the fact I share what I like. And then that happened to be what they like. And yeah.
00:29:49
Speaker
Right. So I think that's magic. That's the thing I take away wrestling.
00:29:59
Speaker
I'm going to shift gears a little bit because ah because, you know, had i had seen you perform before, um but we only met through. ah It was actually my very first time doing stand up comedy at the at the the anxiety show.
00:30:13
Speaker
with our mutual friend, Meg. And um that's how we first kind of crossed paths. And and i'm I'm curious, you know, there's this whole other side of you that does all these other kind of art performances. And I'm curious, what ah what sort of got you to shift gears into standup from from pro wrestling?
Stand-Up Comedy and Performance Arts
00:30:31
Speaker
It was always stand-up. Like, stand-up was the thing I always wanted to do when I was very young. Like, it was always, remember watching, like, Caroline's Comedy Club and, like, Evening at the Improv and stuff like this. And, like, David Letterman when I was young. Like, all these things were, like, what I grew up watching.
00:30:46
Speaker
And, like, was the thing, like, long before wrestling. ah when but When I was young, I wasn't into wrestling because it felt like everything was so hyper-masculine at a point in the 80s when it was, like, Transformers and it was G.I. Joe and it was Terminator and wrestling and it was all this like super hyper aggressive male stuff and I didn't necessarily understand or see the drama in professional wrestling at the time so it really took to like me seeing Mick Foley and seeing this character that was like showing this kind of side of weakness or like this vulnerability that I was like oh and this real strong character work and horror movie kind of stuff like all the stuff I love is just right there right so that was like I said that what really got me into it so um like
00:31:29
Speaker
where were you? So watching standups, watching standup but stand up when I was young was like the thing that I was always into. But I knew that like, I have like an offbeat and a quirky sense of humor and that that wasn't always, i would get, I could do like the class clown thing and get the laugh from the class or whatever.
00:31:45
Speaker
But quite often it was from me like, kind like licking a rubble-fied heart or something like that in science class or doing the weird thing kind of like being gross or like kind of more shocked.
00:31:59
Speaker
So I knew I could get that reaction, but the idea of like making people laugh guaranteed was scary to me. I knew if I went in front of a, ah like a group of people and I told them a joke, maybe three of them might laugh.
00:32:13
Speaker
Maybe no one would laugh. But if I went in front of a group of people and somebody came out of nowhere and kicked me in the face and then I hit them with a chair, every single one of those people is going to react. So that was kind of why it led me towards professional wrestling. And also people being from Calgary, I saw this like,
00:32:31
Speaker
Canadian stardom is weird. It's um fucking elusive, man. So to see this kind of step to superstardom with Brett, where it was like, oh, he was a local star.
00:32:42
Speaker
Okay. Then he started traveling in Europe and then Japan and stuff. And then he got signed to WWE w and then he became the champion. Like there was a step-by-step process to becoming like a mega star and actually being, getting, getting,
00:32:55
Speaker
like seen by the world, you know what I mean? And becoming the performer that I always wanted to be or kind of watching the local, um it wasn't seeing that many versions of that within comedy or other places that I wanted to go.
00:33:08
Speaker
So that's what led me to wrestling to begin with. But I always knew like standup was something I wanted to do with there in like heart and wanting. So then I like, Came to Vancouver, was fortunate enough to get booked in a stand-up or a sorry improv versus wrestlers show.
00:33:24
Speaker
They wanted wrestlers to try their hand at improv. So I was like, I'm more than willing to do it. Being the drama kid, I was like, okay, let's do this. Went there, got in with the improv people. They really liked me.
00:33:35
Speaker
We hit it off, started doing improv, did that for like eight years. Then was like, okay, I'm I'm going to try sketch. So I did sketch. And then I'm like, fuck it. I need to do this. So in 2019, I you like data but did my first like open mics.
00:33:53
Speaker
Started drooling with that at my birthday that year. i was like, I'm going to fucking take a swing at this ah because it's what I've always wanted to do. Eat pro, eat shit. and yeah um So yeah, it was the beginning of 2000 or the end of 2019.
00:34:06
Speaker
Then the pandemic happened right after that, right? So then i was like, started doing Zoom shows and I kind of think it was actually maybe the perfect time for me to have started dipping my toes. So like I got in there, bombed,
00:34:18
Speaker
then was like no had didn't have any wrestling had something else to kind of focus on write jokes kind of perform there was these weird zoom shows or there were shows where i was like performing behind ah sheet of plastic so it was freaking weird and like these social distance shows where there's like four people scattered in a gigantic room uh but bombing in those rooms wasn't so bad and stuff and then kind of just kind of the ball kept rolling from there and like made a new community.
00:34:47
Speaker
And I'm like, this community is the same as the other community. You know, that they're all just these people who will want to be, express themselves. They want to share what's inside and let that out. And they want to show themselves at an 11.
00:35:01
Speaker
And they want to, you know what I mean, not necessarily fit in with the mainstream, but you know, there their their own thing and their own community that supports each other and pushes each other. And so I kind of fell in love with not only the art, but then the community as well.
00:35:18
Speaker
So that's kind of like, not only why I tried it out, but why I've stayed around. Yeah, it's, ah you know, it is that thing, you know, having been, i was similar to you, i was ah I was a drama kid in high school, you know, all that kind of stuff.
00:35:31
Speaker
And you're right. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. I um i have a BA, you know, I have a bachelor in theater, you know, but, but um it is that funny thing of when you when you recognize that all performing artists are just, you know, they're the same person just with varying degrees of time spent in the gym.
00:35:47
Speaker
That's hilarious. Yeah. And different, different skill sets in the gym, for sure. Right. Yeah, they go to different machines. right you know the yeah right yeah That's why there's a machine for all of us. Exactly.
00:35:59
Speaker
ah But it is, you know, stand-up comedy is is a beast unto itself. I was not i was not prepared for it. um You know, i having having done live performance in very various fast but ah facets before, I didn't realize how quick that feedback loop happens in comedy you know where it was like you say something and they react right there in a way that like you know no other art is like that yeah totally it's true it's like if you're performing in like a play or something like that there is that delay there is like that you get to say something and then there's that beat while they're digested and then the reaction kind of where instead of it's like no it's right there right there
00:36:37
Speaker
literally and keep going and you're the one who's got to keep it up. hundred percent If you get a good reaction and you can't sit in it for a second and you got to go you look well that's yeah don't have to keep going. bug fuck yeah yeah don yeah yeah i yeah yeah i haven't been back many times since. i do need to i Actually it's something I want to do more this year but I'm curious you know so you were saying there's there's lots of like overlap.
00:36:56
Speaker
I'm curious if if if um if you see like what are some sort of like I don't like focusing on divisions, but like, I'm curious about like, how do you see comedians showing uh, sort of in community differently from, you know, whether it's from pro wrestlers or from other art communities that you're, that you're a part of.
00:37:14
Speaker
I would say that like, One of the cool things about comedy, like stand-up, is there's like that riffing aspect. You don't necessarily see that with other... At least for me, from other art forms, where you can kind of go to another artist and be like, hey, this is my act.
00:37:29
Speaker
I'm struggling with this piece of it. i Could you maybe help me with that? Or could we maybe... like you know riff around this idea. I'm stuck here. Could you get me out of this jam?
00:37:39
Speaker
I don't necessarily see that in professional wrestling, for example. I don't necessarily see, how I want to do this move, this move, and this move, but then it's just not a place where we tend to go to each other. So it's really cool to see that and to see bits come up because it is talking and because it is joking and when you're with funny people funny stuff comes up so it's like the more you're around comedians the more comedy happens and the more it like the ball blows where if I'm hanging out with wrestlers at um sure ideas will come up but moves not won't necessarily because we're not fighting each other in the Applebee's you know they kick us out for that so like um but you with with the comedy and you can be riffing all the time and be there for that and So really supporting each other's shows and stuff like that. I see a lot of, too, where wrestlers, it's hard to sometimes be at a show that you're not booked on.
00:38:28
Speaker
Because if you're in the audience, people might wonder if you're doing a run-in or if it's part of an angle or like kind of looking over the whole night at you or... asking you why you're not on the show or you might take attention away from the show or something like that. I'm just actually going to the bathroom and they're like, oh, I thought you he touched his chair like he's going to pick it up.
00:38:45
Speaker
Like, no, I'm not going to pick up my chair hit anyone right now. I got to piss. I got to piss. yeah um So you can go and support other comedian shows and stuff like that. Also, like the the flow, the fluidity of comedy is really nice. We're like,
00:38:59
Speaker
wrestling's pretty set in stone where there's less likely going to be a drop in you're not going to like oh my goodness so and so just walked in and we're going to have them fight this guy tonight and you're like oh what yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so that doesn't normally happen in inter wrestling so kind of nice to see that lack of rigidity and my kind of anything can happen which can happen in wrestling too but normally we know the anything that's going to happen in wrestling
00:39:27
Speaker
So i want to spend I want to keep building out on this.
Art, Punk Ethos, and Community Connection
00:39:30
Speaker
um you know One of the sort of central, ah ah sort of i guess, explorations that i've been I've been adding in recently is you know this idea of ah things feel pretty dire lately. you know things are Things are pretty intense in the news, you know and ah what the way things are going. yeah And well you know as as ah as a sort of a way to...
00:39:52
Speaker
counterbalance some of it but also to recognize that you know as i've been talking about a lot on the show you know it's okay and it's healthy to be tuned in and to be aware and it's also okay and healthy to you know take breaks and to focus on other things to build yourself up what's one thing that's given you hope uh going going forward um i think like I was actually, one thing I was struggling with right before, let's say November, yeah ah was my like being an aging like punk.
00:40:26
Speaker
Being that I've always felt like that people like that word is has different triggers for people or whatever. But I like really always like leaned into that ethos of like, it's kind of like the working class ah people, they'll like the unity kind of the like anti-human.
00:40:43
Speaker
corporations, the, the, like doing it, the DIY energy and all that kind of like from the underneath, you know, with the underdog energy. And that's always been kind of where I felt I've come from.
00:40:54
Speaker
And it's one of those things that you're told you can't be like a punk your whole life or whatever. Like it's one of those things that I'm 42 and I've got green hair and that, like, I think I went through the age where I should have maybe got rid of it.
00:41:06
Speaker
ah You know what I mean? Like, I feel like when you're in your mid thirties or like early thirties, you're like, maybe I should shape up or something like that. I felt like I'm like looking at myself, I'm like, Oh, I never did that. And wrestling helped me not have to do that.
00:41:19
Speaker
oh But long story short, I was like feeling like, how long can I do this? Like, am I, is this foolish, but like now I was right all along. Like, why fuck would I change now?
00:41:31
Speaker
You mean I'm going to now to sell out? and Now I'm going to put on a tie? Now going to go buy myself a disgusting electric car from the person who sells them just on the street from my house on Wall Street, which they should not be are on yeah but they should not be doing on Powell in Vancouver.
00:41:46
Speaker
Gross. ah But yeah, like now I feel that that energy is all focused on where I've always felt. And these kind of things like maybe like maybe I was too punky or maybe I didn't.
00:41:58
Speaker
you know, it shouldn't have sold out. and Maybe I should have these things. And I'm like, no, it's always been what I've always felt. And my fears were, ah are somewhat valid. um You know what mean? Your anxiety is lying, but your fears can be valid.
00:42:12
Speaker
ah So it just feels like that. And to hear like the, the, the fight that's coming. I'm sorry. We have to do it. Just like, I'm sorry. Anyone feels it, uh, mental health issues. I'm sorry, but it makes me feel less alone.
00:42:28
Speaker
You know what I mean? And seeing the uprise of that, of punk art and punk, uh, patches and punk stickers and just that anti that fight back from the underdog that like I've always felt that I was part of and that maybe I should put down my my Molotov cocktail you know what i'd mean and no I don't feel that right now I feel like more unity between those people um and I'm seeing in the art art can get boring art can get boring when it's not pushed do you know what I mean when it doesn't have anything it has to say um it gets really soft and that can be awesome and I myself can get that way too but when I have something to say there's just so that is what I've been seeing I've been seeing this fire from from the weirdos and that's what has been ah is but inspiring me and continuing like continuing my fight
00:43:21
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And, ah you know, it it is that funny. It is that funny push pull of, you know, you said, you know, I'm sorry we have to fight and I'm i'm with you 100%. I like I'm not somebody who's like raring to go and can't wait.
00:43:34
Speaker
You know, I'm never somebody who's like if I had been there or whatever, you know, it's like I'm not looking for a fight, but it's also like when things pop up, we can't just passively wait for them to blow over. You know, um yeah I think I've said this on the show before. If not, you know, but I mean, who knows? But yeah.
00:43:49
Speaker
It's the idea of like there's a difference between a coward and a pacifist, you know, like a coward just doesn't fight, whereas a pacifist knows when to not fight. And I think that there are moments where you do have to step up. And and um that idea of complacency in art has been something that has really plagued myself and and ah yeah but art across the board.
00:44:08
Speaker
And it's tragic that it takes things like what's going on to to trigger these things. And at the same time, too, it is all, you know, it's all a part of the same circuit, right?
00:44:20
Speaker
You know, um and we all, we all bear a responsibility for where the world is, right? It's not just somebody else's fault. It's all like we all play a part, right? And so, so recognizing what part we, you know, what part we've contributed, i think is really vital.
Friendship and Authentic Relationships
00:44:34
Speaker
And that's what the art I'm seeing and definitely the art I'm creating, the art I'm trying to participate in is, is, is trying to say at least, right? You know, For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Like you said, we're all in this together and it shouldn't be a blame game. You know, it should be an an acceptance of what part did I do and what part can I do better?
00:44:49
Speaker
You know? Yeah. Yeah. um That really leads into this last core core question is this question of you know ah friendships. and I used to have this question at the very beginning and I've moved it to the end because I think it really encapsulates so many things.
00:45:04
Speaker
you know When you look at the broader and then you boil it down to the sort of the singular. um And i'm and i'm to start with, you know the very broad question is, what does it mean to you to be a friend?
00:45:18
Speaker
I think that having someone that's there for you, um that you can kind of rely on and reach out to someone you can share commonalities with, someone that you can feel like meant to be like, listen, I feel alien about this and I feel alone.
00:45:35
Speaker
And maybe maybe it's not going to be every single one of your friends that have the same thing. And that's why having a vast group of friends is important. But having that person or persons you can go to that you're like, I had this really quirky thought.
00:45:46
Speaker
Does this correspond with you at all? Or, you know what I mean? A place to feel less alone. So I think that's what it means is people that make us feel less alone. Yeah. and And how do you find yourself ah maintaining connections?
00:46:01
Speaker
You know, ah you you obviously say you have to travel a lot, you know, and and and so how do you find yourself maintaining these connections and sort of making sure they're each sort of fostered properly?
00:46:12
Speaker
I honestly find that really hard. And that's been left on my like like New Year's resolutions for the last two years is to be a better friend. Because I find that for me, I make really good connections quickly.
00:46:25
Speaker
um So like I have, I make friends quick, which means I'm not necessarily great at keeping friends because for some reason, like I have that, like I can do this, I do it and I make friends and I have like, oh, I met this person last week and now we're doing this. And then somebody new when it's not necessarily, and don't have these traumatic break-offs with people.
00:46:44
Speaker
It's just kind of who's in my, like, I think we're having a put good connection right now. yeah And I feel that I'm able to do those kinds of things, but then long-term, Not so much. So still trying to make sure like i'm i'm dropping mine, trying to do what I just said to you earlier about like if I had something that pops up in my head and was like, oh, my buddy Dar from high school would love this.
00:47:05
Speaker
Then I message Dar right away. You know what itd mean? Or take a snapshot and send it to him or whatever. and like And then that only opens the door. And then from there, try and have more than a conversation about the thing we share. Ask about his family everything.
00:47:18
Speaker
go from there. But like said, I'm not the best at that. I have friends that I've kept for a long time, but again, it's something I'd like to work on. What are your tips? Oh, God. You know, it's funny. i I don't have any. It's why I ask other people, you know, right?
00:47:33
Speaker
It's the thing of like, for me, you know, I have a similar experience where it's like I have no object permanence, you know, so it's like, oh, it's like whoever's in front of me and whoever's active. I'm like, oh, you must be my best friend because I'm looking at you. you know you're You're the only thing that exists, right? Totally.
00:47:48
Speaker
um ah So, yeah, I tried to do some the things I tried to. I actually um I have really worked on just getting over the shame and I have set alarms like just like the nerdiest, like most random alarms throughout my day all week. I've set just like sporadic, like text somebody or call somebody or send somebody a message or do something, you know, and um um I've also done this other thing where.
00:48:13
Speaker
I've started whenever a friend mentioned something they like or mentioned something that they, you know, maybe they want or want to do or anything like that. I have like a little dedicated notes page to each of my friends and I just add the little note in the page.
00:48:27
Speaker
um And then if I'm like at the grocery store and I come across that chocolate bar that my friend liked, I'll pick it up and I'll take to them or, you know, that kind of thing. I have a friend who loves who loves Red Bull. So anytime I go over to their place, i always make sure to bring a Red Bull, you know, that. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. like yeah That's really sweet. And I think that, yeah, with the ADHD, like, it's something I also suffer from.
00:48:46
Speaker
um I think that that's really important. The lists and stuff like that, as much as the making plans and making lists and setting alarms is the hardest thing. It's impossible. It's impossible. But when we do it, it makes such a big difference. You know what I mean? And it exactly it's a one-time thing.
00:49:00
Speaker
It's really hard to do, but then it's... it You can stress about it for an hour, then do it, and then it's time. You know what I mean? Big time. So it's worth it's worth those things. so It is. I think that's a not good way to do it. Do you text what it says? Text somebody? Is it anyone particular? do you have...
00:49:17
Speaker
yeah yeah It depends. um i actually have different alarms for different friends. so yeah So it's like um um I got this app that I kind of built. I was using it, but then it asked me to pay.
00:49:28
Speaker
pay So i instead just took the features and I put them in my in my clock. You know what I mean? Yeah. Right. You know, um so it's got like notifications for like close friends and then like family and then like and then like kind of like broader friends and stuff like that.
00:49:41
Speaker
um So it'll be like, you know, some people who I want to make sure I talk to every week. Some people I want to make sure i talk to it kind of roughly every two, three, maybe up every month kind of thing, you know. um And yeah. And then what I'll what i'll do if if nobody immediately springs to mind, what I'll do is I'll go through my Instagram like mutuals and I'll, you know, that'll also give me a chance to be like, has anybody unfollowed me? You know? Yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
ah but But I'll just kind of, like, scroll. And, like, maybe it'll be on the feed if somebody random pops up. Or maybe it'll just be in the follow list if somebody pops up And I'll be like, oh, yeah, I haven't talked to them in ages. so I'll send them a meme or, i'll you know, like... Cool, yeah. That kind of thing, right? Yeah.
00:50:18
Speaker
Interesting. Okay, yeah, yeah. So I do similar things like that for sure, yeah. I try and, like... I don't have notifications, but that's definitely a great way to do it is, like, the alarms and stuff. It feels it feels really autistic. Like, it feels, like, extra, extra mentally ill. But...
00:50:32
Speaker
My phone's just like constantly going off and I'm like, oh no, I got to go be a friend for a few minutes. You know, right? It feels like alien. You know, like I've been thinking about the concept of like, you know, they say that there's a good chance that aliens are walking the earth.
00:50:47
Speaker
You know what I mean? Do they know that? Yeah, that's just it, right? Do they freaking know that? are they just struggling with everything in life? But they're like why is this so hard? And they're like, Zortan, there's a reason this is so hard.
00:51:00
Speaker
You were stranded on this deserted backwater planet. Exactly. Oh, my God, though. I really think you're onto something. I think that the aliens forgot that they were aliens. Yeah, we don't know. What you think we know? What do you think we know?
00:51:15
Speaker
Why do you think we're in power? We're not. We're trying to figure out how to communicate with our friends.
00:51:22
Speaker
Oh my God. love it. I'm cognizant of the time. So I want to try and just get one or two, just really quick last questions before I let you go. um This has been just absolutely lovely before, before anything, you know, I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. And like, it's been, it's been awesome. So really do appreciate it. I appreciate this too. Yeah. It's been, it's always nice to reach out. And I think we've all got that object permanence thing. So it's nice to like have somebody here to chat with and to be,
00:51:49
Speaker
to talk about this stuff, like where're this whole conversation has been about community, about making connections, about having similarities and finding those things and talking about the things that bring us joy rather than them things that push us smart. Right. So thank you. That's just it. That's just it. That's very much the ah objective. Like that's a baseline objective is to be like a bit of a, you know, I'm very, I'm very aware of the news. I'm very aware of what I agree with and what I don't, but I don't necessarily amplify that stuff.
Supporting Local Art and Personal Expression
00:52:16
Speaker
Oh, in this sphere yeah you know um very mindfully because it's like no this is a place for joy and connection there's there's times to talk about division and exactly it's just not here yeah yeah and i find you actually don't need to like i think it's pretty all i think i don't know i think if you're truthful the obvious you know that's what i mean like i don't feel i've ever had to really talk about my politics i talk about others ah me talking about mental health stuff is talking about my politics without that's That's it right there. Yeah. And I think we all have a cause that we are kind of drawn to.
00:52:47
Speaker
And I think if we kind of do that, then we don't need to do this other stuff. Big time. Oh, I agree wholeheartedly. Um, um, As a bit of a wrap up, you know, we've talked, we've already talked about some actionable things, but, you know, I always love to leave listeners on a bit of like a something they could try out, you know, this week.
00:53:06
Speaker
And so I'm curious from your perspective, what is something that listeners could try doing to be more effective friend, either to themselves or to their community at large? Be a more effective friend? Yeah.
00:53:16
Speaker
Okay. ah I think that's going to have to start with like, I think being, again, being open about what you like, doing that, because then it's a way that you can be for bringing in new people without, with doing something for yourself at the same time. It's just everything.
00:53:35
Speaker
You know mean? So I was just going to some, going to a show. We need to support Canadian. and Let's go to something that you like. There's got to be Vancouver's, as much as people like to complain about it, not having things.
00:53:46
Speaker
It's not so much. Being from Calgary, I think you probably noticed that too, that like, Oh yeah. I guarantee looked at on like events right now, I could find two drag shows, a music show, a burlesque show, four standup comedy shows, a improv show, all these things. So take a chance on something that you've always wanted to go see, go support your friend's show, go to their art show, go buy their sticker, go do that thing.
00:54:10
Speaker
Because yeah, that's what we, especially at this time right now, we got to be supporting each other. We got to be supporting Canadian. and We got to be doing all that stuff. So it just seems like the easiest way to do it is go have fun at your friend's show.
00:54:23
Speaker
Fucking easy. It's going to be awesome. ah That's something my therapist always says. He's like, it actually takes less effort to be authentic than to not be. I don't think I can be not authentic.
00:54:33
Speaker
Right. Exactly. Exactly. You know, it's so much. It takes no effort at all to just be yourself. Exactly. Like, yeah. And you, something you spoke on earlier that I actually kind of like pinned in my head was the like turning ourselves up in the ring. And I think that gets settled a I think that's the place I get to be myself.
00:54:52
Speaker
I don't think I'm turned up. I think I'm turned down. Elsewhere. You know what I mean? That's not a one mask. I'm not a luchador. I don't wear a mask in the ring. You know what I mean? That's really me. And I'm there and I'm shirtless and I'm sweaty and I'm and i'm make making mistakes and I'm breathing heavy and I'm as raw as I've ever been. I'm not wearing this fake stuff on top of me. You know what I mean? So I might have a different name. I might.
00:55:16
Speaker
That's my chosen name. That's everything I've chosen to be. You know, not anything society's told me to be. So it's turning myself up, it's letting myself be the 11 I was born to be.
00:55:28
Speaker
Yes. and would yeah I'm not a 10, baby. I'm an 11. I think that's beautiful. And, you know, I really appreciate that reframe because I think that that's spot on. And I think that that, again, circles back to that thing of authenticity and that thing of like, you know, some people aren't just bigger than society allows them to be in a day to day life, you know, and obnoxious.
00:55:48
Speaker
but yeah I get that. If I'm walking around, you've seen me perform in the ring. If I'm doing that, walking through the gym, that guy's a f***er. It just it's hard doesn't fit in. It doesn't work.
00:55:59
Speaker
It's difficult to be around. It's an only alien. yeah yeah yeah But we also, you know, I will say like, you know, Canada is obviously a society of, we have tall poppy syndrome, you know, like you were talking about Canadian fame and stuff, right? Like we have, we very much chopped down the tall poppies, yeah you know? And so there is a piece of me that's like, that's not a you problem. That's a society's fault thing, you know? Fair enough. I appreciate that.
00:56:23
Speaker
ah
00:56:26
Speaker
uh, ravenous Randy fucking Myers. Um, this has just been such a treat. Um, where can listeners find you? Where would you like to, to, to point people to, to learn more about you?
00:56:37
Speaker
Well, think you mentioned boom wrestling, which is local to Vancouver. And I think that's the place that I would definitely support, but again, support any professional wrestling that you can find, uh, go to your, go to your local show professional wrestling. Great. Come check out boom pro wrestling. Come find me in Seattle at the five pro wrestling. You can find me in,
00:56:55
Speaker
uh portland at doa pro wrestling i'm gonna be in vegas for a wrestlemania weekend so come check me out um yeah all sorts of different things oh i'll come to comedy vinyl which is the show that i me and my partner ishmael jai my comedy partner let's pick my comedy partner ishmael jai uh host monthly here at slice of life in art gallery we do a stand-up karaoke show so we have comedians do 30 seconds to a minute of karaoke before they do their comedy set so they get real vulnerable real sweaty doing something they're not good at and then they ah shine at something they're great at so it works really nicely wow that sounds amazing yeah i mean i'm gonna come to that you get look good'll i'll make sure that all that is in the show notes but uh i'm gonna come check out that show you definitely should because you might need to be on that show one day
00:57:43
Speaker
Bingo. Yeah, i got I got to get some reps in first, you know, but I have no sign off yet. I've been doing this show for almost eight years and I still haven't come up with a sign off. I was thinking of doing Thank You for Being a Friend, but I think that one's already taken. Possibly.
00:58:00
Speaker
but But yeah, just thanks thanks one last time. And I guess, you know, yeah, this is my sign off. I love it. Okay. Bye, frienders of all genders. a
00:58:13
Speaker
love
00:58:16
Speaker
a
00:58:22
Speaker
And that's it. Thank you one more time to Randy for coming on the show. What a pleasure it was to chat with them. If you want to see Randy perform, go check out Boom Wrestling in Vancouver. They do a show every last Saturday of the month.
00:58:38
Speaker
Come check it out. I'll be there. We will scream for Randy together. You can also get more information about other places that Randy is performing, as well as their comedy, all sorts of other creative outlets that they're doing. um You can find that in the show notes.
00:58:54
Speaker
And while you're poking around there, why not sign up for podcast? friendless sub stack you're gonna get a free update of all the goings on in my world along with my writing recommendations for books movies music all sorts of fun stuff behind the scenes sneak peeks everything and anything is on the table to pop up there so be sure to sign up so you don't miss an update while we're on the topic of pro wrestlers as i talked about in a previous episode my next book of poetry first dates with pro wrestlers is going to be going up for pre-sale in a couple weeks time so if you don't want to miss updates on when that is coming out when you can get your copy Be sure to follow me on Instagram and on TikTok at friendlesspod so you don't miss an update.
00:59:43
Speaker
It's a ton of fun. I'm so proud of this book. I cannot wait to share it. That is coming so soon. But that is going to do it for me this week. So let's wrap things up here. Thank you so much for listening.
00:59:55
Speaker
And I can't wait to share all the friendless goodies coming down the pipeline. But hey, let's not worry about that right now because that is then and this is now. So for now, I'll just say I love you.
01:00:06
Speaker
And i wish you well. Fun and safety, sweeties.