We recently connected with Glenn Williams and have shared our conversation below.

Glenn, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I think of taking a risk I can’t help but think of getting into Professional Wrestling. First of let’s start with the biggest glaring hurdle I am now 36. When I started training I was 33. See most people who peruse wrestling are fresh out of highschool or in their early 20s. Now let’s add in the fact that I was also 270lbs and incredibly out of shape.

I did my research and I found my school to train at. I found the Ace Wrestling Academy. With WWE Hall of Famer Cowboy Bob Orton Jr there I was sure to learn this sport the right way.

I very quickly learned just how out of shape I was. I will be very honest just from taking the first bumps (when you fall flat on your back on purpose ) I was questioning my sanity.

See a professional wrestling ring has a metal frame, several 2×6’s , a thin thin layer of padding, and the canvas. That’s it . Each fall has the impact of a small car crash. I can’t tell you how many times I almost quit .

The thing about wrestling is that you find these people who are just as passionate about the business as you. They love the way the sport makes you feel. And you want to make people feel like that.

I would also say on some level we’re all just trying to find ourselves too.
It’s this place where you can become whoever you want as a character. That part is freeing in so many ways creatively. But if you want to do this at the highest most elite level you have to become the absolute best version of yourself. You have to force yourself to grow in so many ways. You are constantly doubting yourself. But eventually you start to hold yourself accountable and grow into this better version of yourself.

The best part is these people you’re learning with end up being your friends. You’re all pushing eachother to grow and be better. You’re all learning together. You’re all finding these abilities within yourself that you never knew existed. It happens because of this incredible support system of friends that builds this contagious self belief.

I started training 2 1/2 years ago. Now I am living out a childhood dream. I am wrestling for multiple wrestling promotions like SICW (Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling) and MWC (Midwest Wrestling Coalition) in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

I’m now taking bookings out of state and traveling more to get in front of as many new fans as much as possible.
I was ready to quit so many times. But I ultimately took a risk and bet on myself . I kept climbing every obstacle in my way. I am living a dream and watching myself achieve more and more every single day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into professional wrestling from a mutual friend I met when I was playing music in a band The New Translation .

I am also a Singer/Musician, Emcee, and Motivational Speaker.

The craziest thing I have to continue to remind myself is that because of my past I am insanely grateful and lucky for all of these opportunities.

When I was in my band in 07-11 I at the end of that run became a Heroin addict. There’s a ton of reasons why but I got there. And it got bad. So bad that it lasted 7 years. I even got shot in the shoulder because of the poor choices I was making.

So you see the journey for me to these dreams of mine was tumultuous. I completely lost my identity. I had absolutely ZERO idea who I was. I knew I had some talents but from years of negative self talk and failure I falsely believed that I wasn’t capable of anything .

After a few years of being clean I started dabbling back in music and was playing a bunch of acoustic gigs. That’s about the same time I found professional wrestling.

I finally know who I am and am 100.% confident and cool with that. It took a lot of self work and introspection. A ton of honesty with myself. I was able to find areas to improve on and still do .

It has been a beautiful journey so far but I feel like I’m just getting started!!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I really want to wrestle for a major tv promotion like WWE as one of the top professional wrestlers in the world .
I really want to become one of the top motivational speakers in the world.

Those motivate me everyday to become the best version of myself. Right now I am just trying to find my fans and my tribe of people.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I am building a personal brand. I love that my brand gets to create memorable moments for people . I get to tell stories. With wrestling , music, and motivational speaking I am sharing emotionally connecting stories. What I do can help influence and change peoples perspectives. I just want to help people and give them something to believe in so they can believe in themselves.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @bignastyglenn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Wx2VzXXnH/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Twitter: @bignastyglenn

Image Credits

Ramblin Hamlin Photography
The Camera Guy