Culture Shock w/ D Hobbz
Culture Shock takes mainstream podcasting and makes it feel like conversations with Family with a little comedy and all facts. We're keeping you up to date on all the latest trends, developments in the culture and exclusive coverage from some of the hottest concerts and events. Get Shocked! https://linktr.ee/DHobbz
Culture Shock w/ D Hobbz
Marc Mero
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🔥 🔥 Culture Shock on Iheartradio EXCLUSIVE! 🔥
Get ready for a powerful conversation with Marc Mero — former professional wrestler, amateur boxer, motivational speaker, and former Intercontinental Champion! 🥊💪
From the wrestling ring to overcoming life’s biggest challenges, Marc has a story that goes WAY beyond sports entertainment.
🎙️ MARC MERO on CULTURE SHOCK
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This is one interview you DO NOT want to miss! @highlight
#CultureShock #MarcMero #DHobbz #iHeartRadio #WWE #WCW #Wrestling #Motivation
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Culture Shock. Now, today we have a very special guest whose life taking him from the boxing ring to the biggest stages in professional wrestling. And often into a powerful career as a motivational speaker. He's an accomplished former professional wrestler who made his mark as my personal favorite in WCW as Johnny B. Bad, and later competed in WWE as the wild man and marvelous Mark Merrill. And there he became the intercontinental champion. But the story goes far beyond championship and wrestling arenas. Mark has experienced incredible highs, difficult moments, and major life changes and personal transformation. And now he dedicates much of his time to educating and encouraging young people and families to make positive choices. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Culture Shock, Mr. Mark Merrill. Thank you, sir, for being a guest today.
SPEAKER_01Oh man, thanks for having me. I was looking forward to this.
SPEAKER_00No problem at all, sir. So I know you're busy, so I will jump right to the questions. Now, before professional wrestling, you were an amateur boxer. Yes. What did boxing teach you that later helped you survive and succeed in the world of wrestling?
SPEAKER_01I think, you know, the the main thing about boxing is the discipline that's involved in it. You know, getting up early and long runs and, you know, having amazing cardio, uh, training at the gym, the long hours. Uh, there's a real dedication involved to be in uh, you know, to succeed in boxing, and it it transcends into everything else in life. You know, you want anything it's that's worth working for, it's you got to put in the time, got to put in the grind.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Now, how did you get the first opportunity to enter professional wrestling? And what was going through your mind when you realized that this could actually become a career?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, it's a it's kind of a funny story. It was that um I've always been a pretty good athlete. You know, I was an all-star in football and hockey before boxing. And um after after boxing, there was uh 10 years of my life goes by making bad choices. And I was 30 years old. I had a bunch of friends over in my apartment, and one of my buddies was flipping through the TV channels and he landed on professional wrestling. And as I'm looking at that television, I get this overwhelming feeling. You know, some people call it the aha moment. And I just said, Guys, I can do that. My buddies busted out laughing. They go, Mark, look at the size of those guys. I think it was like the Road Warriors run or someone. And they said, Those guys will pick you up over their head and throw you right out of that ring. I go, No, I'm being serious, I can do that. My other buddy goes, Mark, you're 30 years old. What do you do? Start a pro career now? And man, I said two words that I use every time I do an inspirational presentation. The two words were I believe. We have no idea the power we give ourselves when we can believe in us. So uh I you know, obviously it's about the action you take next to to fulfill a goal or dream. Well, at the gym I was working out out at, there was a few guys that were some of the guys that were enhancement wrestlers that you'd see on television getting beat up, you know. So I just asked me, well, hey guys, how do you get to you know do that? They go, well, you got to go to wrestling school. And uh, so I was living in Venice, Florida at the time. There was a wrestling school in Tampa, Florida. Joe, uh Boris Malinko, who was Joe and Dean Malinko's father, had a wrestling school in Tampa, Florida. So I drive the uh, you know, the hour drive after working on weekends, got off all the drugs, and um, and then I was I drove the um eight hours to get from Venice, Florida to Atlanta to hopefully get picked for one of those guys on television. And lo and behold, they picked me. And uh next thing you know, uh I I had to wrestle Doom. My first, I think it was my one of my first match was against Doom. You know, another another enhancement guy wrestled Doom, Ron Simmons and Butch Reed, and they beat the heck out of us. I mean, I think I thought this was like fake, you know, this hurts. But, anyways, long story short, um, after the match, Dusty Rhodes approached me and he said, Hey kid, anybody ever tell you you look like little Richard? I thought he was talking about a wrestler. So I said, I never heard of little Richard. He goes, You don't know Little Richard of Wamp Bomba Lupba Wamp. I go, Oh, singer Little Richard. And he goes, Yes. And I go, I never heard that before. He goes, I think I got a gimmick for you. And lo and behold, Johnny B. Bad was born.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's my personal favorite. I love Johnny B. Bad. I remember seeing you for the first time as Johnny B. Bad um at Halloween Havoc at Joe Lewis Arena here in it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and wrestling, I think it was the honky tonk man, wasn't it? That it wrestled there, or was it yeah, and uh Muhammad Ali was there, which I got to meet Muhammad Ali that day, which was like one of out of all the celebrities I met, and I I've met a lot of them over the years, he was definitely my favorite. Uh just uh, you know, just an amazing man. But I I grew up watching him, and and just he was one of my favorites of all time watching uh and then getting to meet him was was the highlight of my meeting a celebrity career. You know, they said don't meet your heroes, but he was one hero man I was blessed to have met, and he fulfilled everything I thought he would be. Uh, he gave me a big hug, told me how much he enjoyed watching me wrestle. Then next thing you know, I'm I'm in the ring wrestling, the honky tonk man, and look over, and there's Muhammad Ali sitting ringside watching me. Uh just an incredible feeling.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I think I was like 11 or 12. I remember that night so vividly of being there and seeing you come out. And my favorite part of your interest when you got on top rope and shot the cannon.
SPEAKER_01You know what's funny about that is that uh when we were when we do TV tapings, I'd load that cannon with you, obviously confetti and streamers and things, but I put real money in there. And um, so when I shot it out, people see people, you know, having a $20 bill or $10 bill on television. And then when I would do all the, you know, we would do so many house shows back then, arena shows, and I would put uh uh counterfeit money in that had a picture of me, Johnny B. Bad, it says, In Johnny We Trust. So I I had so much fun. That was also my favorite character was the was the character Johnny B. Bad.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love Johnny B. Bad. Now, what was it like working with Dusty Rose? And what did he teach you about becoming a success in professional wrestling?
SPEAKER_01You know, that's a great question. And I gotta tell you that some of my fondest memories in the business were because because the Johnny B. Bad character was his brainchild, you know, so he wanted it just the way he wanted it. And uh here's this, you know, tough boxer from New York, and I gotta act like I'm from um Southerner from Macon, Georgia, being a black guy, you know. So it was uh it was a it was a real uh real stretch, but it was Dusty Rhodes uh was able to help me pull it off. Uh, but I'll I'll never forget one of the first times uh uh Johnny Bivad was to come out, Dusty Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes would work with me before the the matches, and he'd show me how to walk and talk and say, now see, I'm a bad man. You know, Dusty was one of the most flamboyant wrestlers ever, you know. So here we we'd have so much fun, like we'd get to the arena early, and he'd walk in, you know, dude, this is how I want you to walk, this is how I want you to talk. And we would get laughing so hard. Like, I'll I'll I'll give you an example. Uh, one of the first things he wanted me to say when I walked into the microphone was, um, I'm so pretty, I should have been born a little girl, like that. So he wanted me to rehearse that. So I'd go up to the microphone and go, I'm so pretty, I should be born a little girl. He goes, No, no, no, no, do it like this. He walked up, he goes, I'm so pretty, I should have been born a little girl. We I gotta tell you, we get laughing so hard he hugged me and we would just be laughing, and then I'd finally get the way he wanted it, you know. And uh just I just an amazing man, you know, and it wasn't I wasn't the only one that he poured into. There were so many wrestlers I can tell you it's because of Dusty Rhodes, you know, I I have a career, but I I think about this, and it's it really is an amazing um aspect of my life is that I never met him. I never would have beencome an inspirational speaker, I never would have had the platform I had to do what I did for 14 years as a wrestler. Now, this is my 20th year presenting at schools all over the world. When I say all over the world, I mean I've been to Russia, Guatemala, the UK. It's just been an incredible journey uh because of one man who saw something in me that just changed my life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I love your dusty impression. That is nailed on perfectly. Now, you eventually moved from the WCW to the WWE back then it was the WWF. Looking back, what was the biggest adjustment that you had to make during that transition?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you know, there there was a there was a lot of them actually, but um the ring is is much bigger, and so you're you're used to when you throw someone off the ropes, you're used to so many steps and then into a move. But the thing that I really had to get used to that were very hard for me was the ropes. Um WCW had um, you know, they had uh steel ropes, you know, the the and and WWE had real rope, which was really loose. And so because of my aerial assault in wrestling, you know, doing different things off the top rope, I had to get used to that that spring in the ropes. That was um it was much it was much more difficult than WCW coming off the the top rope. And so that was a real adjustment I had to do. But um, also, you know, the the uh the travel in in WWE was a lot more too. Uh we were, you know, I think we're I was on contract for 250 events a year, or I can't remember exactly, but I think it was somewhere around there. Okay, no.
SPEAKER_00You went to WWE and you became the Intercontinental Champion. What does that championship mean to you today, nor in its history?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, it means so much. I mean, when you think about that, I was in a tournament and some of the wrestlers that I had to beat, Owen Hart, um Stone Cold Steve Austin, uh, Ron Simmons, I mean, to win that that title was just incredible. But I think more so than ever, that you know that that title was probably seen on me more than anyone when I say that. I mean that I've done thousands of schools, and every school I've ever been at, that title is over my shoulder. And you would not believe how many pictures have been taken with that title because every kid in every school wants to throw it on their shoulder and take a picture with it. So I think I represented it well, but it really did mean a lot that uh, and that's why you know I have no regrets. You know, people say, Well, don't you wish it would have stayed Johnny B bad WCW? And uh, but I have no regrets in life as far as you know, everything happens for a reason, and all the paths I took in my life led to right where I am now, and I couldn't be more blessed, happier, or more fulfilled that to do the things I get to do now.
SPEAKER_00And I see the icy title sitting on your shelf, and I have that exactly white intercontinental title hanging in my closet. There you go.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I got the uh two belts there, the the world television title, the original one, and the uh the the original white uh intercontinental uh title are both uh there. They're the only two, you know. I sold much of my memorabilia recently, and you know, and it's not people say, Well, why just sell it? I just not needing the money or anything. It just becomes stuff. You know, as you get older, you realize that, you know, it doesn't it doesn't mean like at one time it meant a lot, and now it just becomes stuff. So uh, but those are those are a couple of the items that I I probably will never sell and keep uh you know for forever, you know, until someone else uh wants them someday, but not you know, some of my family maybe. But um they're they're fun to have still because I still you know do presentations and come out with the the the uh belt on my shoulder.
SPEAKER_00Now the names you mentioned Owen Hart, Stone Cold, Steve Austin, Ron Simmons. You work during an incredible attitude era of professional wrestling. What are some of the wrestlers you respected the most behind the scenes and why?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, uh uh gosh, I you you're right. I have wrestled everybody, Rick Flair, Undertaker, Sting, uh Stone Cold, Triple H. The list goes on and on of all the Hall of Famers I have wrestled, you know. But I mean, obviously wrestling uh The Undertaker was was a lot of fun. Uh it's it and a quick funny story about that was that when you wrestle The Undertaker, you know, you get all warmed up and you work up a sweat backstage, you know, and then you go out to, you know, you always go out first because The Undertaker's, you know, music and everything comes later. It's it's the big highlight of the the show. So I go out to the the ring, you know, I'm in the ring and I'm trying to stay warm because it was freezing in the in the in the arena. And uh then all of a sudden I remember you hear that first bung bung. And it takes like 10 minutes for him to get to the ring. And I'm freezing cold, you know, from working up that sweat backstage to now being freezing cold in the ring and having to wrestle The Undertaker. Uh got a kick out of that with him. And uh he's just a great guy. And oh my gosh, he he gave me so much in that match uh that we had uh on for television. Uh, but uh guys like that, I mean, uh wrestling, you know, there's three guys I wrestled probably more than anybody. When I say more, I mean you're talking uh over, well over a hundred times, you know. And those three guys are uh Triple H, Diamond Dallas Page, and of course Stone Cold Steve Austin. Because, see, we were also in WCW together, where me and Steve were wrestling for the U.S. title all over than the world television title. So we were constantly, you know, wrestling each other. And then he becomes one of the greatest wrestlers ever. You know, I mean, he was just a pleasure to work with. It was like a night off wrestling with Steve, although you were gonna work your butt off. Yeah, he he goes hard, man. And and and I was always a really good athlete, so I could hang with him. But uh Triple H, another great uh ring generalship. Um, Steve Regal, another great uh person to wrestle. And also one of my favorites is like a night off was Eddie Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero, Rick Flair, and another night off. You know, it's like you just you know you weren't gonna get hurt, you know it was gonna be a great match. But Eddie Guerrero was something he was on another another level.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, and this passing really hurt a lot of us and a lot of fans in the industry. No. There came a point in your life where you began to move completely in a different direction. What made you realize that you need to make a change?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, I got I got heavily into drugs and alcohol and really made some bad choices in my life. And it and I've been clean since 2003. Uh, but and that's when I got into inspirational speaking. I wanted to help make a difference in other people's lives. You know, I seen how my life can change and I wanted to help other people. And through my faith and through prayers and and the opportunity to speak at schools all over the world. I mean, it it's crazy when I go to Texas, they bus in 25 schools into an arena where I do anywhere from seven to 10,000 kids at a time. It's just incredible how it's just just exploded, you know, across the country. Uh, but this will be my final year. This is I'm calling it my farewell tour. Uh, when I say my final year, not that I I will continue to to to speak, but I just don't want to tour anymore. Um, I've been touring since 1991, meaning that through wrestling 14 years and 20 years of inspirational speaking. And when you tour that much, it's like you live out of a hotel pretty much most of your life. And I I really want to be home. I'm I'm married and I I love my my family and and uh really want to spend more time home. So uh I won't retire, I'll just refire.
SPEAKER_00Now, speaking of family, you've spoken openly about the importance of parents being involved in their children's lives. Why do you believe that connection is so important, especially in these times?
SPEAKER_01Well, I really believe we lost the family dynamic. You know, our our smartphone has outsmarted us, and uh it's really sad because we see so many um young parents that just give their kid a tablet to kind of occupy them, you know. And we're we're we're not having like I I remember just recently went out to to dinner, and there was a um a family of five next to us, and they weren't even talking to each other. They had earbuds or or on their phone, or and I just thought to myself, man, we have really lost that family dynamic where where I tell parents, man, get back that family time, put put all you know multimedia presentation, whatever, the uh phones, the tablets, put them away just for you know the the 15, 20 half hour hour, whatever time you take to eat, just spend time talking. You know, we we we talk to people we don't even know, but we very seldom even talk to our own families.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no. When you look back at Mark Merrill, the wrestler, compared to Mark Merrill, the man today, what is the biggest difference between the two men?
SPEAKER_01You know, I've always had a heart for people. Even when I was a wrestler, I loved I loved meeting fans, I love you know the opportunity to make a difference. But in wrestling, you get to entertain people. But what I do now is I get to change people's lives. And I think that's the the legacy I wanted to live. It's not, you know, how good or bad of a wrestler I was, or how much money I had or how big my house was. So it's the legacy I want is the difference I was able to make in someone else's life. And that's what I really hope will be my legacy.
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir. And finally, if someone watching or listening to this interview right now and is struggling, and I feel like they have no direction, would you want them to hear from you today?
SPEAKER_01You know, we we all go through storms in life. Every single one of us, you're you're not alone and you matter so much, you know. And after every storm, the sun will eventually shine. And I'm asking you, please don't ever, ever give up. Talk to someone. Don't hold it inside. When we hold things inside, it's like a volcano. And sooner or later that volcano explodes, and it often explodes in negative behavior, whether it becomes uh having horrible bouts of depression or anxiety or hurting other people. Please talk to someone. And that was what changed my life was finally opening up and talking about what I felt or what I was going through. So just don't ever give up. You you matter and you're loved more than you realize.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much. Mr. Merrow, I really appreciate his interview, sir. Can you please let everybody know where they can contact you to have any questions or your social media pages?
SPEAKER_01Oh, please go to my social media. Is Mark is with the C M-A-R-C-M-E-R-O, and I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You can find me just about anywhere. But if you're interested in me presenting at a school, corporation, or church, uh go to my website, which is thinkpause, which is po-z.org. Thinkpaws.org, and uh would love to meet you in person.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much, Mr. Merrill. Anytime you're in Detroit, chili dogs on me.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much, man. You do a great job.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, sir. I really appreciate you. And this has been another exciting episode of Culture Shock. We'll see you next week.
