Hey, I am JT Funk! I am 26 years of age and a professional wrestler from Trenton, New Jersey, USA.
Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a professional wrestler. I was born in the inner-city of Trenton, NJ. Growing up in the inner city, like most kids, I witnessed a lot of gang violence and drug abuse. I relocated to Delaware and eventually enrolled in college, but dropped out two semesters later.
When I dropped out of college, I realised that I wanted to do so many things, but becoming a wrestler was what I wanted the most. Some of my colleagues at the time used to wrestle all over the country and started making a living from it, that’s when I realised I wanted to turn my hobby into my career on an independent scene. I started my pro-training back about 8 years ago in August 2013.
I remember my first day of pro-training like it was yesterday, I was ecstatic but nervous as I was embarking on something I had always wanted since I was a little boy. In May 2015, I made my first professional wrestling debut. Since then, I have received a WWE tryout and been able to use my job to be a positive role model to kids who are growing up in similar communities to where my story started.
The Rock has always been my biggest inspiration hands down. He’s the reason I got into Pro Wrestling and continues to motivate me outside of wrestling in everything I do.
A typical day for me starts with planks! I start my morning off with 5-8 minute planks to maintain and engage my upper core strength, followed by a 15-minute cardio drill. I will then get some breakfast, which usually consists of 6 eggs, potatoes and 3 pancakes.
I make sure to get in 3 intense training sessions a week, working on every body part. I rotate my workouts throughout the week to give my body the proper time to heal. In terms of wrestling, cardio has to be your best friend because 85% of success in wrestling comes down to good cardio.
Most of my time is spent preparing or working towards the next fight. There is a huge pressure for me to be at the top of my fitness game at all times. A lot of preparation goes into staying fit while also maintaining my family life. With wrestling, I often find myself travelling a lot and being on the road can be difficult at times, but I love a challenge. I have had the pleasure of visiting over 15 states because of my job!
By far the biggest misconception of being a wrestler is that ‘what we do is fake and inside the ring, nothing hurts’. These are huge myths, it is scripted but not fake, and most of it does hurt, but it’s a part of the job at hand.
The best part of being a wrestler is the ability to travel to all different places and meet incredible people. The worst part is probably the wear and tear on the body.
In regards to the future, I would love to continue travelling the world whilst wrestling. I’d love to wrestle in Germany, Japan and Australia. I would also love to collaborate more with local community activists to better improve inner-city communities.
I’d like to conclude this by saying:
Anything in life that involves change is hard. It won’t be easy but it’ll definitely be worth it if you acknowledge it and don’t allow it to stop you.
