Today we’d like to introduce you to Jastin Taylor

Hi Jastin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

My story as it relates to professional wrestling started with just a dream.
Ever since becoming a fan of wrestling as child, there was always this part of me that envisioned that I could do it

I vividly remember being a kid in my room, jumping and rolling about. Tossing and body slamming pillows, imagining that they were my opponent in a ring. I could practically hear the roar of the crowd chanting my name. It all started with just a little boy with a vivid imagination. That vision, that dream, stuck with me as I grew into adult hood.

Somewhere along the way I was given the opportunity to start training for wrestling in Amarillo Texas. It was a small independent promotion called Top of Texas. That is where I got the basics, but since then, it’s been traveling all over the country and even outside the country, trying to learn and improve myself in this crazy world of professional wrestling. I’ve done pretty well for myself thus far. I’m not yet signed to a major company, but I have worked for some of the biggest companies in the country, including WWE, AEW, and ROH. I’ve also wrestled against a who’s who of Wrestling, many were people I grew up watching. Names Like Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, and Jerry the King Lawler. Sharing the ring with those guys and being acknowledged as a peer has been amazing! I’ve been at it for 15 years, and see no stopping in sight!

There have been so many adventures, a lot of ups and downs, successes and failures, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. My journey thus far has been a fascinating one. And if you follow me on my social medias, you can watch the journey unfold first hand! Please add me to your follow list and discover why people call me The Living Proof!

I’m all about showcasing my journey in hopes of motivating others to follow and pursue their happiness. I truly believe life is more meaningful when you are doing things that you are passionate about. I just want to be a spokesman for that very message. So give me a follow, let’s share some stories, and let’s all be “living proof” that life is indeed what you make it!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

There are a plethora of challenges that one must face when it comes to pro wrestling.

The biggest one in my opinion are the physical demands of pro wrestling. Imagine watching an action movie live and every character is doing their own stunts? No stunt doubles, no CGI, no retakes. What you see physically is what you are getting from each person involved. In this way, pro wrestling is one of the most physically demanding forms of performance there is.

In order to perform at a high level, you have to be at a certain level of fitness to maintain quality in your performances. This means that I am exercising 7 days a week. Each day is doing something to improve strength, mobility, flexibility, or recovery. You have to train more than the average person in order to stay conditioned for the ring. Due to that being the case, I am in the gym more than I am anywhere else. Besides my home where I sleep, the gym takes up most of my time. I still have a 9-5 job as well, so workouts have to be before work, or during lunch break, or after work. This can be tiresome at times, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make to do wrestling well.

Being healthy also includes diet and mental health. Which means I am constantly watching what I eat, meditating, and reflecting on my life in order to stay in a productive mental state. Being consistent with all of these things means less time for my friends, family, hobbies, etc. it can be difficult putting this much time into something and feeling like you are losing time elsewhere. Again these are all sacrifices that I feel I have to make from time to time.

One other factor I should mention is just the grind of being an active pro wrestler on the independent level, which means I am not signed to a major wrestling company. This means that essentially I am my own business.

I am the one agreeing to bookings or reaching out to promoters for bookings. I am constantly advertising myself on social media, updating my fanbase on what is happening, posting motivational messages or thoughts, highlighting frustrations and failures, talking about my next big match, etc. it is a constant grind to produce compelling content that will motivate people to continue to follow my wrestling journey. This is a business where you don’t want to be forgotten about, because that can directly affect your reputation. Consequently, your reputation is what gets you booked consistently, that is where the money is as far as what you can make and how far up the ladder you can move.

This means you have to stay busy online. You have to constantly contact people, follow up, travel and attend tryouts, etc. the more you can do and the more you don’t stop, the more it benefits you. Doing this consistently is a real challenge. You have to constantly believe that what you are doing will bear fruit, even if you can’t quite see it. This can be both mentally and physically taxing at times.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I believe that every wrestler needs a “persona”. Or at the very least needs some sort of way to relate to his/her audience. Personality as well as what you represent, is a big part of being a good performer.

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 matches and clips, 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 make your life meaningful.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?

Happiness for me is not what you have, or something that you own. Happiness for me is what I “do”. It’s a constant state of performing actions that you are passionate about.

I don’t have every material possession that I want, but everyday I wake up with a sense of purpose. I am working each day toward my health and my improvement in wrestling. When you have a goal in sight, and you can see yourself inching closer, you can see your body looking better, you are motivated constantly to keep at it. To me, that is a true state of happiness. You feel like your life has meaning and you are spending it on what you truly value in life.

I know everyone is different and I would never try to speak for everyone. But I am most happy when I am doing what I feel are productive actions, and then seeing those actions bear fruit. There is no feeling like envisioning yourself accomplishing something, and then actually doing it. That is a feeling no one can take away from you, it can’t be bought or sold because you earned it. It’s personal to you, so it means more that you had the vision, did the work, and then achieved the vision.

This is why I constantly preach the moniker of “Believe, grind, achieve”. To me, that is the true path to happiness. You believe in yourself and what you want for your life, you put in the work and learn from both success and failure along the way, that is ultimately how we achieve our goals. I think on some level everyone can understand that to a degree. And most of all, I hope it’s a message that can motivate people to keep going!

Pricing:

• None

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: Pro wrestling tees: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wrestler-t-shirts/jastintaylor.html