WWE star Titus O’Neil was recently interviewed by Yahoo! Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. O’Neil discussed making something of himself despite low expectations for his life as a young man, growing the courage to share the story of his rough upbringing, and what inspired him to work with schools and students in his community.
Here are the highlights:
Making something of himself despite low expectations for his life as a young man:
I went from a kid who was supposed to be dead or in jail by 16 to being who I am today. That only happened because of a conversation when I was 12 years old. It was through the work that me and the people around me did to ensure I stayed on a certain path.
Growing the courage to share his story:
I didn’t feel comfortable with sharing my story until my junior or senior year in college. For years I wasn’t very open about how I was conceived. This is my story, this is how I am utilizing my story, to send this message. There are kids who are in bad situations, make bad decisions and have bad outcomes, but if you take those same exact kids, put them around good people in a good environment, they’ll have a better chance to succeed.
What inspired him to help out within his community:
What inspired me is just looking at the way things are going in the world and more importantly in our country. I saw so many parallels in the schools that I was serving, with the stories of kids that were in homeless situations, drug-infested situations, who weren’t expected to do much.
I had the opportunity to bless a lot of people to get them out of that situation. I feel like this book is an extension of the work I’ve been doing and the work of others who have helped me get into this situation.
Read More: Titus O’Neil On His New Book Being A Teaching Tool, Using Social Platforms For Positivity
