Hey there marks! Have you missed me? It’s been what, three weeks since you’ve heard from me and gettin’ heat? “Good things come to those who wait”, so maybe I should keep you waiting… I’m sure you could all use a little refresher in patience, but I’m here to write not to teach you all about life but talk about real life.
Speaking of life, that’s what I’d like to talk to you about this round of Gettin’ Heat; the arduous task of balancing “real life” and wrestling. Balancing life and wrestling is a near-impossible task. If you’re going to get into wrestling and have the desire to “go big”, you should ready yourself to give up aspects of your “real life”.
Wrestling takes a high level of dedication. That’s going to mean hours spent in the gym, hours spent in-ring training, hours spent practicing promos, and hours traveling up and down the roads to make shows. Oh, and if you aren’t at a level where you can pay your bills with wrestling, get ready to work a regular nine to five like the rest of us too!
Real Life
If wrestling is truly something you love, those aren’t huge sacrifices — at first. What you don’t generally think of at first is the things you’re going to need to give up in order to find all the time. It’s going to mean, those weekends you used to go out partying with your friends, well those are gonna be spent working shows and putting miles on your body. When you aren’t working a show, those weekends are going to be spent putting miles on your car.
During the week, you can pretty much forget having much of a social life at all. Getting off your “regular job” at five doesn’t leave a huge window of opportunity to accomplish much. You’ll probably be tired from work, then you’ve gotta find the energy (perhaps in a wonderful three scoop pre-gym drink, or your preferred stimulant of choice) to hit the weights and get in some cardio. Tack the drive home and a shower on to that and it’s probably getting pretty late. Hopefully, you found the time to meal prep earlier in the week, so you don’t have to spend what little effort you have left on making dinner. After you eat, well would you look at the time, it’s pretty much bedtime now so that you aren’t a useless husk of a human for your job in the morning.
Filming Promos
Did I mention you’re going to want to fit time in there somewhere to film actual promos so that you can keep up on your social media posts? Can’t forget those because, although EVERYONE hates social media, it is a necessary evil in the world of pro wrestling. Can not get noticed by anyone if you don’t have content online. You can’t promote upcoming shows and can’t support fellow wrestlers’ online presence. Add to that you can’t entice new fans if you don’t keep up on your social media.
So let’s see? Social life is dwindling because you’re always on shows. You’ve got almost no time all week because you’re in the gym, doing promos, and keeping your social media current… I almost forgot, do you have gear made? Better find some time in there to design yourself some and then find an affordable way of getting it made. I’d suggest finding someone local, but hey, who doesn’t love HighSpots?! Did I mention that gear usually isn’t cheap? So, you better be sure that your “real job” pays decently enough to support what you need.
Once you’ve got the ball rolling with everything I’ve mentioned, make sure that you’ve got merch made up and ready for the masses. Your fans won’t want to be disappointed by going home wearing another wrestlers merch when they wanted yours.
Feeling overwhelmed at all? Welcome to my world.
I hope this hasn’t scared anyone off from wanting to become a professional wrestler. All the sacrifice and time spent preparing is all worth it in the end. When you step through the curtain, are ready to apply your craft. The fans get behind you… there is honestly no better feeling in the world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,
That is the question I am going to leave you all with before I sign off…
Is making it in professional wrestling worth all the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice?! That is a question you will have to answer for yourself when your gettin’ heat.
Until then, to quote one of the greats, “later marks!”.
