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Over the last few weeks, we've spoken with the likes of Lio Rush, Mark Andrews, Chris Van Vliet and Fred Rosser, AKA Darren Young, on Dropkick DiSKussions, and Episode 5 did not disappoint when Grado came all the way from the 'tap end ae Stevenson' to chat to me in Rufus T Firefly in Glasgow.
The former Insane Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship wasn't always a professional wrestler, though...
I was actually working in the Fire Brigade for ten years.
Not many folk know this! I worked in the control room for the Fire Brigade taking 999 calls, so I was juggling wrestling, acting, and the Fire Brigade. I was sometimes doing TNA shows, TNA loops. I was doing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, flying home on Friday night, landing into Glasgow Airport at 4am, sleeping for two hours in Glasgow Airport and then going to a day shift in the Fire Brigade.
Then going to do a booking that night, somewhere in Scotland, wrestling at night. There was a time where I was just constant. I mean, I still am busy, busy, busy, but that's what was happening and I just had so many different things on, and I had to cut the Fire Brigade off - which obviously I didn't want to do because I took great pride in being in the Fire Service, it was brilliant.
On one of my first night shifts in the Fire Brigade, I took a call from a couple that were trapped inside a tenement building, not far from here. They were trapped in a fire, and the lady and the guy... The lady was pregnant, there was a guy, they were trapped in a bathroom, there was no windows, there was smoke, this was on the ninth or tenth floor, and I was on the phone call for 40 minutes helping them, trying to get them through, instructing them until the fire fighters came, so I'm on the phone.
I always remember, the guy's name was Gary and I'm going, "Gary, Gary, how's the smoke?" "It's coming through the doors." "Well, Gary, get your jeans off, mate, stop the smoke from coming in," and I'm like, "Just think positive, your girlfriend's pregnant, think positive, you're going to get through this," and it lasted 40 minutes - and I ended up getting a commendation off the Fire Brigade - which is like an achievement, award type thing. That ended up being on STV News. That was in 2009. It's about ten stone ago.
Being in the Fire Brigade was such a privilege for me, I loved it, but it just came to such a point where, you know, I was always asking for days off for wrestling, and the novelty of people working for me was wearing thin, do you know what I mean?
I'd go, "Can you work for me Saturday night? I've got this show" And the first couple of times, they're going, "Oh, I'm helping Grado's career," then it got to the point where it was like, "Right, Grado, you're taking the p*** here," There's too many Saturday nights you're needing off.
So I had to make the move, bite the bullet and leave the Fire Brigade, which was sad but, so far, fingers crossed, it's working well. I'm still being kept busy, and I'm still enjoying it.
You can check out our entire interview with Grado here or via our YouTube Channel.
You can also enter our competition to win a bumbag signed by Grado here!
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