Ben | 26 | Berkshire, England
Independent Wrestler & Marketing Executive
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In professional wrestling you learn to live somewhat a double life. Through the curtain you are your character, and then the rest of the time it’s important to stay true to yourself and not lose yourself in your character. After my training at the Storm Wrestling Academy I began to live a triple life. Shortly after finishing training I accepted the fact that I was gay, in fact it was Carlo Cannon who was the first person I came out to, shortly followed by my family and close friends. "As with any professional sport, there is a So once I accepted this about myself I quickly decided that it would not be a smart move to come out in the wrestling world. I feared that other wrestlers would not want me in the locker room at the same time as them and that certain wrestlers may even refuse to wrestle The VIP. |
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Carlo always felt very differently, he was of the opinion that I shouldn't hide it, and that anyone who had an issue with it would be considered in the wrong. Carlo has a much more positive outlook on things than clearly I did, to this day I believe that in the majority of locker rooms, it would have caused some awkwardness. This is not a negative reflection on any of the wrestlers I've work with over the years. I'm close to many of them and they are all great people, however given its not a situation any of them have had to deal with before, I can imagine it would make them feel uncomfortable.
So over the next few years I kept that side of my life completely secret from anyone involved in wrestling with the exception of a few close wrestling friends, one being Lance. I had heard through Carlo that Lance had heard a rumor that I was gay via a mutual friend. So I quickly made the decision to tell Lance directly that I was. This has never been an issue with Lance, his support and advice on the matter has always been amazing and meant a lot.
So over the next few years I kept that side of my life completely secret from anyone involved in wrestling with the exception of a few close wrestling friends, one being Lance. I had heard through Carlo that Lance had heard a rumor that I was gay via a mutual friend. So I quickly made the decision to tell Lance directly that I was. This has never been an issue with Lance, his support and advice on the matter has always been amazing and meant a lot.
"In addition to the fear of the locker room reaction, I was also cautious that I may have faced
promoters and bookers wanting to book me on shows as the flamboyant gay character."
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In my personal opinion, and not to take anything away from anyone who has played a similar character in the past, there is no way to play this character and do it in a positive way in 2013. Wrestling storylines are built up around animosity between two wrestlers. If the main part of you character is the fact that you're gay, the animosity will naturally be built around that. Therefore as a 'bad guy' in wrestling, you'll be making people hate you based on the fact that you're gay. You'll work on making them and the fans feel uncomfortable and force their hatred. By doing this you'll be reinforcing the negative stereotypes that should not be present in 2013. |
Even if you are a 'good guy' playing the gay character, the animosity from the "bad guy" you're working with will again likely be built around your sexuality, again reinforcing those negative stereotypes.
Again this is only my opinion, but the only way that being a gay professional wrestler can be a positive thing is if it is not a part of your on screen character in any way. I do think that there could be huge positivity if it was general knowledge that the person playing that character was gay, as it would be seen as a positive role model for any young fans. An example of this would be WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson. Pat is an openly gay former professional wrestler and current WWE Producer. He is one of the most respected professional wrestlers, especially within the wrestlers; his sexuality has never had any effect on his career or his legacy.
Again this is only my opinion, but the only way that being a gay professional wrestler can be a positive thing is if it is not a part of your on screen character in any way. I do think that there could be huge positivity if it was general knowledge that the person playing that character was gay, as it would be seen as a positive role model for any young fans. An example of this would be WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson. Pat is an openly gay former professional wrestler and current WWE Producer. He is one of the most respected professional wrestlers, especially within the wrestlers; his sexuality has never had any effect on his career or his legacy.
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A couple of years ago I became good friends with Anton Hysen. Anton is an openly gay soccer player in Sweden, the only openly gay soccer play in the world. On a side note he is also the 2012 Dancing With The Stars Champion in Sweden. He has done fantastic things in that sport and has beaten all the stereotypes and is giving out a very positive message. I would like to believe that one day someone will do something similar in professional wrestling. "I decided that in 2013 I'd be open about this and that any Lance once told me that its easy to get lost in the wrestling world and that its important to stay true to yourself, so I will follow that advice.
You can read Ben's Blog by clicking here - http://glipho.com/bencicchetti Follow Ben on Twitter - @VIPProWrestler |
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