We recently connected with Jastin Taylor and have shared our conversation below.
Jastin , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I believe that if you truly love something, that love will stand the test of time in your life. When I think about my journey to first becoming an active professional wrestler, it wasn’t necessarily “one moment” that solidified my path, it was the realization that wrestling was a love that never parted from me.
When I was a child and first saw wrestling on T.V., I was enamored with guys like Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior. They seemed like superheroes that had come to life. And I fell in love with this show where I could see these muscular comic book looking heroes duke it out. Many of them were my idols growing up.
My admiration for wrestling became something different as I grew older. Much like wrestling’s presentation, I found my love for wrestling changing as well. When I was a child, I believed that everything I saw was actually happening in that ring. However, you get older and the wrestling business began to admit that wrestling was a “show” and that the performers are working together, etc. Discovering this however, didn’t defer my love for wrestling, I just began to appreciate it in a different way. In my teens, I fell in love with the “art” of wrestling. I thought it was amazing how these performers could utilize athleticism, timing, and acting to tell these stories. I began to appreciate performers like Brett Hart and Shawn Micheals, who were exceptionally good at the physical performance of pro wrestling, they were not the “comic book” characters that child Jastin used to love. So even though it wasn’t the same type of love I had as a child, it had evolved into a different love. Maybe you could say it was a love for what wrestling “truly” was, rather than a love for what I “thought” it was as a child.
This love and appreciation remained with wrestling into young adulthood. So once I reached a crossroads in my life to where I had to decide what I wanted to do for my future, I ended up deciding to pursue wrestling. Out of all my other options, like pursuing law or politics, I realized that Pro Wrestling was the one thing in my life that I loved since I laid eyes on it, and even though my life changed, and wrestling itself changed, I still loved it and that love evolved and changed with it too. My love for wrestling stood the test of time like nothing else in my life has. I decided that I didn’t want to live a life where I didn’t at least try to pursue something that I legitimately loved for almost half of it.
I believe that in life you have “livable” regrets and then there are those regrets that you know will haunt you until your deathbed, the ones you absolutely cannot live with. I didn’t want to be sitting there at 70 years old wondering what would’ve happened if I had given wrestling a try? Never trying wrestling would’ve been a regret that I couldn’t live with. Now I’m so happy to know that I will never have to wonder what life would’ve been like if I had pursued something I loved.
Jastin , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Jastin Taylor. In the world of professional wrestling, I am known as “The Living Proof” . I got my start in Amarillo Texas. Though I got my basics there, it took traveling the country and attending learning seminars from several wrestling veterans to truly learn the craft of wrestling. I have been an active Wrestler, actor (a few independent projects), and social media content creator for 15 years. In that span of time, I have become a well-traveled Wrestling performer. I am currently what is referred to as an “Unsigned independent Wrestling talent”.
Even though I don’t have an active contract with a major company at this time, I have performed for some of the biggest Wrestling promotions in the world including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH). I have also performed for some of the largest independent wrestling promotions not only within my home state of Texas, but in several different states outside of Texas. I have wrestled independently in other states like Florida, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana, Philadelphia, New Mexico, Arkansas, Missouri, Las Vegas, and Rhode Island to name a few. I have also wrestled internationally performing in Canada and have my sights set on hitting some other countries as well.
In my career I have had thousands matches and have performed with some of the biggest names in the wrestling industry. A handful of names I’ve performed with are “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Raven, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Chavo Guerrero, Jerry Lawler, Scott Steiner, Matt Hardy, Brian Cage, Billy Gunn, X-pac, Simon Gotch and Carlito to name a few.
As a wrestler you must have some sort of appeal about you. Something that your audience can sink their teeth into, whether it is something relatable or something that captures their imagination in some way. I chose to lean into motivation when it comes to wrestling. The “living Proof” moniker is all about motivating others to “be living proof” in their own lives. I even carry a huge flag that says “Living Proof” on it for every match I compete in. I feel that everyone has those personal goals, objectives, desires that ultimately lead to one’s happiness in life. I believe in the pursuit of happiness, the key word there for me is not happiness, but the “pursuit”. I believe that what truly makes a dream real is the pursuit of that dream. I want to be a living example of that belief. I feel that if I can showcase my journey for all of its successes and even the failures, maybe I can motivate others to do the same. The idea is to pay that forward, because one day someone you know may need to hear “you can do it, and I’m living proof that you can”.
My social media showcases not only wrestling, but health as it pertains to the mental and physical. You will see some of the many things I incorporate into my fitness training from weights, to yoga, and even gymnastics. I also try to provide motivational messages of encouragement, self-belief, self-responsibility, and results to show that my actions match my words. I want to be a living example that hard work, self-belief, and consistency can get you somewhere in life.
I feel that a life where you wake up each day with the mindset to give your best for something or someone is a life worth living. I just want to show people that their happiness is worth the work. It’s worth the grind and the sacrifices you make. But most of all, I feel that life is more meaningful with growth. There’s almost no better feeling than the feeling you get that you are progressing or moving toward something because of your effort.
This presentation style is why many have coined me the “Personification of Motivation”. That is the “service” I provide so to speak. I seek not only to entertain in a pro wrestling ring, but my story is one of strife, perseverance, and the willingness to give your best effort for the one life that you get. I hope my story can motivate someone to find happiness in their story, or at the very least encourage them to not give up on themselves and their happiness that they deserve. Also, I am a bit of a nerd, so you can expect the occasional convo about movies and video games as well!
With all of that being said, I have enjoyed a lot of success. But I believe there is more to accomplish with me. I still think I have so much to offer pro wrestling. I still have the dreams of signing with a major company, being acknowledged in the magazine of Pro Wrestling Illustrated as one of wrestling’s best talents in the world, and growing my social media audience so that I can spread my “Living Proof” messages to others who may benefit from it. I feel I’m in the best shape of my life, I’m still in the prime of my wrestling ability, and I have never been more confident in my story and the pursuit of my happiness each day. I encourage the readers to follow me and engage with me. Even if you aren’t a fan of wrestling, you may find my health and fitness journeys interesting, or maybe if you’d just like a jolt of positivity on your timeline every now and then, I’m your guy!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Though my wrestling journey has been a rewarding one overall, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows. Regardless of what views you have on professional wrestling, it is very difficult to maintain a career in wrestling. Not only are there physical challenges with staying healthy and keeping yourself physically able to perform, there are also financial challenges of travel and investment in your brand as a wrestler. Wrestling can have a mental toll on you as well.
Back in late 2018 and on into most of 2019, I suffered a long period of depression when it came to my life and its relation to pro wrestling. I was going through a series of unfortunate events at that time and got overwhelmed under the pressure of it all. I had a few wrestling tryouts for big opportunities not go my way and all I received was praise at the tryouts, so I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t picked . I had a dear friend and promoter pass away while I was attending a Wrestling seminar in California. There was a real lack of “closure” in my life as it pertained to that sudden death of a friend and me not able to answer questions of why the tryouts didn’t go better for me. Sometimes, when you don’t understand the “whys” of life, you fill in the blanks with doubt and self-loathing.
At that time, I fell into emotional eating as a coping mechanism and gained 30 extra pounds over the span of a few months. The wrestling business can be very unforgiving to how you look aesthetically, and I felt so guilty that I wasn’t in the shape that my fans and promoters were used to seeing me in. This led to lying about my weight when I was booked for wrestling, canceling my bookings altogether, and lying to people and telling them I was okay when I wasn’t. When I look back on all of this now, the one common denominator was all of the “self-negativity” that was coming from my head. I kept telling myself I wasn’t good enough, didn’t deserve better circumstances, and that I should just quit the journey altogether.
Things began to turn around when I realized that I needed to be more open and honest about what I felt. Keeping emotions way to myself and telling myself things like I needed to handle it alone where some of the biggest mistakes that I made during that time. It wasn’t until I was more honest about my feelings, shared my story, and communicated in a healthy way with friends and family, that my outlook on myself started to change.
Once my mental outlook became more “can” than “can’t” I saw a turnaround in my life. I began to pick up the pieces, realized that I can’t change everything that happens to me in life, but I can change how I react to things and I can control how much I let those unfortunate events control my actions. I was not only able to drop weight toward the end of 2019, but I started to see my career take a turn for the better and more doors began to open.
I learned so much from that experience and now I understand more than ever the value of self-belief. That’s when I decided that I wanted to be an advocate for motivating others to believe in themselves. I now know from experience how pivotal that can be for accomplishing any goals or simply just appreciating the aspects of your life that are good. There is real value in focusing on what you do have, rather than fixating on the things you don’t. There is real value in the power of self, and I want to be a source that feeds that power to others with my words and actions
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of my Wrestling journey has been the connections I’ve made with fans and people within the business of professional wrestling. I have friends now that will be my buddies for life. I have shared so many great memories with people, traveled thousands of miles with them, and have experienced the highs and lows when it comes to being wrestlers in the business.
The other part of that is the fans I have met all over the country or in the world through my social media. I am constantly meeting people that tell me that my story is a motivating one, that I motivate them to try harder when the chips are down, or just genuinely happy and entertained by my pro wrestling performances that they see from me. I love hearing those types of testimonies because it reminds me that the work I do and things I say are important to many. Even when I’m down or just not feeling as strong, I think of those interactions and they pick me up off the mat.
One other rewarding aspect of this journey has been that I can say I am actively pursing a dream of mine. Never in a million years would I think I’d be this person who has wrestled some of his idols that he used to watch on TV. Have buildings full of people shouting “Jastin!” or “Living Proof!” as I perform in the ring. Never did I think I would have the respect of my peers across the Texas Wrestling community. There are people who have called me a “West Texas Legend” when it comes to pro wrestling and those types of things just make me say wow! How fortunate I am to be doing this thing that I love!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorjastin/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/jastin.taylor/
- Twitter: @jastinTaylor
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYeKXLifS-59xVFnzb-rTolIxh6-gh6F7&si=n9GxG1bB0JbHMtHZ
- Other: IMDB: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm5853221/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jastintaylor977?_t=8ofo5PiB36Y&_r=1
Pro Wrestling Tees:
https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wrestler-t-shirts/jastintaylor.html
Image Credits
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