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There are certain things that transcend the importance of wrestling that wrestlers can be the ultimate role model for.
For you, you said it was maybe difficult to speak out about it at the start, but obviously it's made everything a whole lot better. Do you feel like that's maybe a pressure that - not just with conditions like ulcerative colitis, but with anything - speaking out about things seems to just make them better, and a problem halved as a problem shared?
Was there a pressure on you to speak out to begin with or do you have to just be like, "If I reach one person with ulcerative colitis as a kid, even not a wrestling fan, maybe they will learn to be more open about their condition?"
Honestly, the reason why I don't think I wanted to speak about it earlier was because of career opportunities.
Like, obviously I was going for WWE tryouts and things like that and honestly I just didn't want them to know that I had it because I didn't want them to think, "You know, he's good but he's a liability." I didn't know whether or not they would look at it as a positive or a negative because they may also look at it like, "Hey, he's a spokesperson. It would be good to have him and good for people to know that you can live with these conditions and just get on with it."
That was the real reason at the start and then I kind of just thought, "Do you know what? Screw this. Just let people know. It's important that people know that there are people like me out there who just have a disability but it's not visible," and I think it is an important thing for people to understand, in all walks of life, you just don't know, from looking at someone, what they've gone through that day or that week, or that month, or their entire life.
I think more people need to give everybody the benefit of the doubt and just kind of accept people for who they are and what they are. I'm going on and bridging out but what I mean is, I think it is important just to let people know if there's something wrong or if your day's not going great - but also there's a lot to be said for just picking yourself up and getting on with it, too.
So, two sides to each coin, everybody should meditate more, that my advice.
What's next for Justin Sysum, and what's your ambition?
I really, really wish that we could get WOS back on the air. I really would like to be an integral part of a new... I know it's not new in terms of the original World Of Sport but WOS Wrestling as it stands now, I want to be a big part of that new thing starting.
I'm very settled here in the UK, I have no aspirations of going out to America at the moment.
Obviously if opportunities arise, then I would have a think about those but at the moment, there is nothing on the horizon other than WOS, NGW, and trying to break a little bit into acting. I definitely still love wrestling but I've got a few projects were behind the camera, too, that we are working on at the moment.
It's just a really cool industry that I like to be part of for the long run, so that's where I'm at the moment. Sticking with NGW, doing all the Butlins holiday resorts, WOS if we can get it going, and then acting.
NEXT: Justin Sysum reveals his dream opponent and which former WWE Champion he was a stunt double for
