We live in a world with fake news being put out there. You don't really know what to trust, and it's a real danger to society.
Austin Aries
No matter what lifestyle you choose, when it comes to eating, we should all as consumers have a choice to make informed decisions. We shouldn't be misinformed or mislead.
I've got plenty of people that would love to be ringside with me.
As I go around the country and I'm seeing all the fans in the WWE Universe, there's a lot of young kids and they're off to the wrong start, because they're being fed the wrong food.
As for my daily, it usually consists of a smoothie in the morning with banana, spinach and blueberry and veggie protein powder, then some kind of tofu or tempeh scramble with veggies. Later, I may have some type of rice and beans, salad with lentils, sweet potato, nut butter sandwich and another smoothie.
Nobody walks through life as a pure babyface per se or a pure heel, we all have shades of grey, and there's some days we're a little better than others, and some days we're a little more ornery. And I think that I just embody that.
Listen, things change, that's part of life. Part of what makes you great is being able to move when you need to move. Being limber, agile and roll with the punches so to speak.
At the end of the day everyone has different goals. Some people, like myself, are trying to keep size on. Some people might come in and have the opposite. So, one size doesn't fit all for nutrition.
When I first started training, I guess the fact that I was undersized, it just didn't register initially. Obviously, I knew I wasn't huge and there were some bigger guys in the territories at the time, but I guess I never looked at it as a hinderance.
I've been trying to make it my own way in an industry full of heels walking around in babyface costumes, and that brought out the worst in me.
Go fail or succeed on your own merits, be your own man.
From the moment I became a free agent, the WWE opportunity was the one I wanted. Obviously, there were strong plays made by some other companies, but in the end, when WWE offered me an opportunity, I could not turn it down.
I've always felt that wherever I go, I have to carry myself like I'm a main event guy and like I'm a star.
What the general public doesn't always understand is that wrestlers often only have hours to put things together, not days or weeks, except in certain cases.
WWE is the biggest entity in professional wrestling and if you want to prove yourself to be one of the greatest or one of the best, then that's the only place you can do it.
I figure no matter what interview I do, the real good 'journalists' are going to find the completely irrelevant quotes that will drum up some controversy and stick it on their page to get some clicks and completely miss the real context of what the interview is about. That's what we do nowadays and call it 'journalism.'
I don't like hypocrisy, I don't like double standards, it's probably why i'm vegan.
For me, from day one, I don't think I realized that I was considered undersized, but I knew I was good. I had certain tools in my toolbox that other guys didn't have, like agility, quickness and explosiveness.
I think it's always good to have realistic short term goals and then lofty longer term goals.
I competed at 'WrestleMania 33,' and I'm telling you, leading up to what should have been the biggest moment of my life, I couldn't find an ounce of joy.
You always have to keep evolving. You're always trying to improve. If you're at a standstill, you're falling behind.
At the end of the day all I've ever asked for is to be allowed to succeed and fail on my own merits. Not based on what somebody else wants me to do or thinks I should do. Or, what they want me to say or what they think I should say.
The more you control where your food comes from instead of relying on restaurants, fast food joints, convenience stores and other processed sources, the better off you're going to be.
There's nothing more I hate than a wrestling snob.
Right before I came back to TNA, I had made the decision to just sort of step away from wrestling. Therefore I really walked into TNA holding nothing back and let the chips fall where they fell.
I like to think every time I was put in a high pressure position, I've always delivered.
The perception is if you are not 206lbs then you can't be considered main event talent, which is foolish.
Eveybody likes to speculate that me and Austin Starr are somehow related. I always say that that guy never had a tattoo.
On the road, I'll always pack a package or two of pre-cooked lentils, nuts, vegan protein bars and powders.
I've accomplished every goal I've set out to. I've traveled the world, I've competed in just about every promotion there is.
I'm very stubborn and I don't like to lose.
It was always important for me not to be pigeonholed as a cruiserweight-style wrestler.
One of the things people always ask me is, isn't it expensive to eat healthy or vegan? It can be, but isn't it expensive to live in a nice house or drive a nice car or wear nice clothes?
I love food and don't want to sacrifice my enjoyment to be healthy. You can enjoy food and can be mindful and healthy while you do it but it just takes a little time and effort.
There was one day where I just stopped eating meat, but then the transition to get rid of the dairy and eggs took 12 years.
I have put a lot of energy and focus into capturing the Cruiserweight Championship, but obviously I didn't get the job done.
I think if you're trying to be mindful of eating well on the road, it can be difficult no matter what. Your choices at midnight or one o'clock in some of the smaller towns when we are getting out of shows aren't going to be the best choices for eating healthy no matter what your dietary choices or restrictions are.
Pay-per-views bring conclusion to storylines and what has been going on from television. It is important to give viewers satisfactory pay off over storylines and that is why pay-per-views are important.
I have friends in other industries but if I am training for a wrestling match, I would turn to the best wrestler to train, not a football player.
Anything that is history making, then of course you want to be a part of it.
Just like music, I consider wrestling to be an art form, and I have a vision of what that art should look like.
You can have a favorite band, but when they sign with a major label... maybe a new producer says, 'You can't do that, take this down a notch.' And you'll keep listening, but you'll always think their first album was their best album.
I've been blessed for 17 years to have a job where I make people forget their problems for a little while.
I don't have a bucket list.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a step back and get a little bit of a different perspective and re-evaluate things.
For me, I'm smart enough and have been around the business long enough to know you don't really retire.
I'm pretty much who I am, and I'm not everybody's flavour, and I'm kind of polarising and some people like me and some people don't.
I think there's a balance of fan interaction. I think sometimes there can be a little too much interaction. I know when I was a kid, the mystique of wrestlers and stuff was something that was kind of big, and if I got to hang out with them all the time i think that mystique can be lost.
I think the reality of the situation is if you're WWE and you're looking for talent, you're going to want the best guys out there, and you're gonna look at Ring Of Honor, because that's where the best talent is.
Really, since I left Impact Wrestling - some people say controversially - I've been really laying low.
