I believe the biggest stigma right now, with mental health, is that a lot of men are not talking about it.
I will always be thankful to WWE for letting me be the voice of SmackDown Live and bring it to the USA Network.
I actually think I suck. I think I'm one of the worst announcers, one of the worst performers there is. It blows my mind that I keep getting hired. But when I'm doing it, yeah, I'll admit: No one can do it like I can.
I'm a huge sports fan, and I'm a huge entertainment fan.
I've never been ashamed of being the ham or the provocateur, as it were, in my style of commentary or my style of showmanship.
I grew up on camera. I started at 16.
I think the healthier Bellator can be, the better it is for the entire sport, especially the athletes who - let's face it - need to be paid more. They need the opportunity to negotiate and have an option. Bellator definitely presents that.
There is so much to be celebrated about mental illness. I do believe that there is something to be said about the truly artistic, the truly brilliant, those of us who have been 'touched by fire' that should be celebrated, not stigmatized.
I was willing to walk away from my dream job, let's leave it at that. In order for me to do that, I had to be true to my convictions and what makes you a human being.
I love to consume information of all kinds, and I think that also hopefully helps with my broadcasting, that I always try to bring up a fact that maybe will connect to a person who's not a big fan, or maybe a pop culture reference.
All combat sports are connected.
I've received enough blessings for a lifetime in terms of my employment.
I'm obsessed with broadcasting.
My 20s were gone, my 30s were recovery, my 40s is where I am self-sufficient.
I'm not a fan of my own work. People ask why I do it, but it's because I actually love what I'm doing in the moment. I live for it. It's a release.
Not talking about mental illness is killing people. We need that to stop.
We all know the difference between sports entertainment and the combat sports that I call, but at the end of the day, they are all spawned from the same source, and there's a lot of mutual respect between the two bodies.
Pride was a date night - the cool thing to do at the time - so people were dressed to the nines, and they got quite an experience, visually and otherwise. It was Cirque du Soleil meets the Super Bowl meets WrestleMania meets your favorite rock n' roll concert.
One thing that I've learned is that you don't have to be a prima donna or think you are better than other people in order to succeed.
Anyone who is dealing with any issue or any illness whatsoever, without a support network, chances are the person will not survive.
