Part 5 — Redemption at the CGAC
I started back at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in April 2022 and started grinding away at my new training program, Strong Style. It is a program that is 12 weeks in length and is designed to build strength, specifically for individuals training to get into pro wrestling. The 7 months at home helped to keep my strength up so I was able to hit the ground running. One of the creators of the program and virtual coach, Jon Bloodworth was more than willing to answer any of my questions along the way. The program turned out to be one of the best personal investments I had ever made and I am still using it to this day. The beauty of it is that I finish off the 12 weeks and then just keep increasing my weight. I am currently on my 4th round of the program, I increased my protein intake, I have put on around 15 lbs and I am split squatting 220 lbs and I weigh over 160. My lower body has always been stronger than my upper so I am still working on hitting the 200 lb mark on my chest presses. It was such an empowering feeling to be getting into the shape that I wanted to be in back in high school, and doing it in my mid-30s! It felt like I was reclaiming what I missed out on, because I was either not confident enough or bullied to the point I didn’t try. This time, I was in control. This was redemption.
I was eager to try getting back into a ring and I knew I lived in the wrong city to try and take any pro wrestling training. This is something I had always wanted to do, as far back as I could remember. Given how far I had come and how hard I worked the past two years, I felt like I was ready to take a trip. That is when I came upon a little country town in Southern Ontario, known as Listowel. There in Listowel is a training school known as the Hard Knocks Wrestling Academy. I reached out to them, told them a bit about myself and expressed interest in paying them a visit. This was a personal thing that I knew only I could understand and that is all that mattered to me. It was decided I would make the trip to Listowel later that year.
That summer, I somehow managed to get back into reading and not with my usual history books this time. First, I ordered a copy of Shawn Michaels’ Wrestling for My Life. The title seemed fitting enough. I dove into his story of how he managed his wrestling career while maintaining his family life and finding God at the same time. I recall one very simple sentence that stood out to me in particular, “ But then something within me would remind me that working out was the best for me. ” The next book I tried my hand at was Bret Hart’s Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. Since no real textbook existed on pro wrestling nor was there any programs in my city, I figured the Hitman was a good place to start. The book spanned the entirety of his fabled career and I especially took note of how professionally he conducted himself and how he interacted with his colleagues, with respect. I found there was a lot in his story that I could connect with, in my own life and upbringing.
It was a clear day on September 8 and I was working from home when the news came across my phone, that I was hoping would not come that day. The Queen was dead. I know it may seem out of place for a 36-year-old to have an interest in the Queen or The Royal Family. It roots back to my upbringing as a young boy and the wonderful memories I have of my grandmother and great aunt. They both grew up during the Second World War, when the King and Queen were seen as national symbols of resistance against the Nazi regime. Canada and Britain had a strong relationship all throughout the war. My grandmother and great aunt’s love and appreciation for The Royal Family was passed down to me. I attended a live broadcast of the Queen’s State Funeral at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John. I knew it is what my grandmother and great aunt would’ve wanted me to do. I sat and watched as history unfolded before my eyes and feeling like the wind had been taken out of my sails. It seemed as though everything I knew and cherished throughout my life, was all fading away. This pandemic really was going to change, everything.
