Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Ted DiBiase Jr. on deciding to leave WWE, life after wrestling, being the Million Dollar Man's son

Episode Date: July 1, 2021

Ted DiBiase Jr. is an entrepreneur, actor, former wrestler and the son of WWE legend "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his new marketing and branding company called "16 Creative", growing up as the son of the legendary Million Dollar Man, why he decided to leave WWE in 2013, how being a father has changed him, being semi-retired from wrestling, starring in The Marine 2 and much more! Submit your Blue Wire Hustle application here: http://bwhustle.com/join If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All right, welcome back to another audio adventure here on Insight. I'm Chris Van Vle. Thank you so much for coming back each and every episode and for making this one of the top podcasts in the world. And it's easy. It's easy when you have guests like this. Ted DiBiase Jr. left WWE in 2013 to focus on being a father and some other business ventures that we get into during this conversation.

But for the most part, I mean, we really haven't heard a ton from him. So interviews like this are few and far between. So a huge thank you to him for taking the time to chat with us about his life, his career, and life after wrestling. Take a screenshot. Let us know that you're on this ride with us. Tag Ted on Twitter. He's just simply at Ted DiBiase.

On Instagram, he is at Ted DiBiase Jr. official. And tag me. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And if you've been listening to the show for a while, you know that I was reading out one review on every single episode with a goal to hit 2,000 reviews before my birthday, which was May 19. We hit that goal, and I can't thank you enough for helping us to hit that goal. But as you know, I don't have a Patreon unlike some other creators. And I don't charge you to listen to these episodes, which is a crazy idea to me.

So this is free to listen to. and here's my free way of saying thank you for being part of this show. So reviews are back. That's my long way of saying reviews are back. So if you happen to be listening on Apple Podcasts or iTunes, leave a review on there and I will start reading one out on every single episode well, starting this week. I mean, I just read one on the Chocoladale episode on Tuesday and we're doing it now.

So moving forward for the foreseeable future, I want a free shout out on the show? Take 28 seconds out of your day to write a review on Apple Podcasts. Like this one from, man, this is a long username. Should I even read it? It's not even a word. It's just G-G-I-U-C-G-H-H-F-Y-K-J. Why did I?

Okay, but in Great Britain. Thank you. It's titled Just Amazing. I remember the first interview I watched was a Jerry co-interview, the one in the backseat of the car. And I was like, cool. But something about it just kept gravitating towards these interviews and something just made it fun and interesting. So I watched the videos over time. And if I saw something that piqued my interest, I would watch it. But since the pandemic, I've been watching every single one, even the ones I don't usually like their style,

like UFC or death matches. My particular favorite this year was the Nick Gage interview. It definitely opens up your eyes to that type of wrestling, even when I'm not keen on that type of sport. Just a phenomenal job, Chris. I look forward to new interviews, and I watch them ASAP. Keep up the amazing job. Well, thank you so much.

I wish I knew what your actual name was because that username is, I mean, I'm sure you just made that up to write a review, but thank you. Thank you for the very kind words. And I can't wait to be back over in the UK once traveling starts to really open up here as these restrictions are lifting.

Can't wait to see you guys there. Let's do it. Let's do a live episode in the UK. Oh, I think we're on to something here. Hmm. Oh, man. We have such a good one today. So please welcome.

Ted DiBiase Jr. Ted, so great to see you. Thank you so much for making the time. Likewise, Chris. Thanks for having me, buddy. You were one of my very first wrestling interviews, and we're taking this way back here. Really?

Yeah, when you were promoting the Marine II, I was hosting a TV show in Toronto in a studio. It was called Inside Jam. And you came by and promoted the film. And yeah, you were one of my very first wrestling interviews. This is awful in a circle now. Are you serious? That's crazy, man.

That was fun. That was like my first full media blitz. You know, I got the taste of what that feels like. So it's been a while. I appreciate you having me all, man. Congrats on all your success. You got a great show.

No, thank you. That's very kind. You know, I think back to like, when you look at your career, you were making movies in WWE just a few years into your career. Like, that must have been so mind-blowing that you were the guy that they trusted with a film like that. Yeah, honestly, it was.

And it was the culmination of a lot of hard work, just, you know, really believing in yourself, not to sound cheesy or cliche, but, you know, it's a message I like to promote and spread to others. It just, you know, I remember, in Eldon, Missouri, when I was waking up at like 357 a.m. And going and cutting 18 fareways and leaving there and stock and produce at the

high V grocery store. And then leaving there in training as a wrestler, you know, learning how to fall on my back. And then six nights a week, I was sweeping him up in a gym floor. And on the weekends, I was folding underwear and T-shirts at the Polo Factory Outlet Mall. And, you know, to look up one day and not only be mainly bitty, with some like my heroes to see myself, you know, on the cover of a DVD and being,

being trusted to carry a film was just like, that wasn't part of the script, you know? But it was something I, one of the best experiences of my career there for sure. So much fun. I think a lot of fans, like, believe the gimmick. You know, your dad was the million dollar man. So then they would assume that his son,

who has the same name as him, you, would be some sort of trust fund kid and everything would just be handed to him. Far from that, bro. Yeah, no, it was a gimmick. I wish it was real. That would be nice. But there was, you know, the microscope is, it's a lot bigger.

You know, when your dad, not only a former, you know, professional wrestler, but a legend, you know, a Hall of Famer. And so there was big shoes to fill, you know, self-expectation. that you place on yourself. And then, you know, just that feeling, whether people are or not, you know, what you feel like the fans would expect from you and the desire to, you know, really want to carve out your own name and legacy

and to prove yourself, man, that's just a long story. We talk a lot about that. I mean, are the expectations that much greater on you because not only is your father a legend, like you said, but you also share the same name as him. So are the expectations that much higher? Personally, I feel like they are. I mean, it's a personal opinion.

But yeah, you want to do justice, the legacy, you know, when that torch is passed and you're trusted with the opportunity and blessed with the opportunity to, you know, go out there and they give you time that they pay a lot of money for on these networks and to deliver. And in a short time, you know, the difference was my dad had, you know, I don't know how many years in Mid-South and the territories, you know, leading up to his career at WWF at that time. Whereas for me, it was like, you know, I trained for a year in Eldon. And then I was like four months in Japan.

And when I got back, WWE hires me in a year later. I'm debut on TV. You know, this is about two years in the making. And then I'm, you know, here I am a WW superstar. And my dad introduces me, you know, that May 26, 2008, I believe it was in Denver, Colorado. So I felt the pressure big time that night for sure. Growing up, did you always want to follow in your dad's footsteps and become a wrestler? Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't.

You know, there was a period where I just didn't think it was. was going to be a possibility because he was pretty adamant about us not wrestling. And that was due to a lot of road life and just, you know, his newfound desire later when I was like 10-11, when he kind of shifted out of the business, you know, and that focus on having a family, you know, became more in his faith and things that what I do cherish now and believe that do matter more than, you know, in a global icon or superstar. But, you know, when you're watching your dad wrestle Hulk Hogan

and Andre the Giant Madison Square Garden, it's like watching Batman and Superman go at it. You know what I mean? Right. It would be like him. When you're growing up around that, like I'm sure that as a kid, you're surrounded by Hulk Hogan and Macho Man

and Under the Giant and all these other legends. Right. Yeah, it's not a normal childhood, bro. It's interesting. And then you meet, I love telling the story when I met Andre the Giant, you know, the first time he was sitting in a chair and like two metal chairs. And I eased up to him and I'm like sticking my hand out. He reaches out sitting down and palms the top of my head, you know. I could like feel his bridge of his hand here.

And I can still feel his fingertips like on the back of my net. He just picks me up like a basketball, you know, it sets me down on his leg. He's like, hey, little buddy. and I thought it was so cool and all day he's like standing up just picking me up by my head and so weird memories like

you know they're not normal so as we sit here right now and chat you are completely retired from wrestling right I'll say yeah well you know um

as of today I would say yes you know but if if somebody called me and I'd be totally lying to you if I said there wasn't a niche or I could still go. And I just like to keep doors open, you know, don't burn bridges. If you're going to burn one, blow it up. And, you know, my connection to that world, it's been such a, at times, it's been like a,

you know, being married. Sometimes it's just that love and hate relationship. My wife's going to watch this. And be like, you hate me? No, it's just hard. You know, it's hard. And, but it's such a deep-rooted piece of who I am and what I come from being a third-generation wrestler. My grandfather and grandmother were wrestlers.

My father, you know, and so I leave that door open. But, yeah, it'd have to be the right scenario for me to get in the ring again. I think that unfortunately a lot of people assume that when they don't see you on WWE television anymore, they just assume, Ted got released. That's it. You know, he must have got released or fired, which is not the situation at all. They wanted to keep you around and you decided that you didn't want to stay.

Correct. Yeah. I was offered another five-year deal. It was generous. And when it came down to it, you know, I was battling internally, you know, some things personally that is a lot easier for me to talk about now, you know, mental health issues, it's a big topic, you know, going through some depression and anxiety, but also being a new father. I just knew what I didn't have growing up, you know, although I had

this iconic father, you know, who I loved dearly, and was one of my best friends and still a hero of mine, he wasn't there at my birthdays. He wasn't at any of my football or soccer games. And, you know, I believe the greatest asset we have in this world, most valuable asset is our time, you know, because you can't, you're not guaranteed more and you can't get any back that you've used it. So how we use it is very important. And that was one of the greatest gifts I could give my son, you know, who had been born 2012. And so with no plan, I left. And it's, we're doing good, man, we're doing good. But yeah, no. That wasn't, I thought I was going to wrestle and have a really long career. And that was kind of part of the vision in the first place. But I really believe that it's not what we do that defines who we are.

It's who we become along the way. And it's what we do with what we've been given, you know, the platform. And so being there was like I spent a lot of time focused on myself and how I can climb that ladder of success. and what I realized was that's not who I am. You know, my core values as a man, me personally is faith, family, love, wisdom, service in that order. And, you know, and I was kind of dying internally and really losing sight of who I was because I love helping and serving people. You know, that's what makes me feel alive. I've loved entertaining people, you know, and being that, you know, the WWE hiring.

me and gave me that opportunity to be able to walk into a hospital, like a children's hospital or on a base, you know, and like bring a smile to a family or a kid that's hurting or a veteran who's a hero of mine that's been wounded and, you know, just wants to forget for a few minutes. That was such a blessing. So seeking to do a lot of that, a lot more of that now. So what was the conversation like with WWE when they present you this contract, as you said, generous contract and you basically had to say thanks but no thanks yeah uh there really wasn't a lot of back and forth you know i think uh at that time of my career it was um out and kind of part of me thinks that maybe thought i'd just come back you know and go figure this out but uh that really

wasn't the case um you know i i haven't looked at i can't remember what they said but it wasn't the the usual best of luck in your future endeavors. You know, I got one that because I quit on Twitter or YouTube. I did a video and I announced, you know, because I want to go out. It's still on Twitter if people want to check it out or still on YouTube. Okay. And so, you know, that was, I just wanted it to be me, you know, letting the fans know how grateful I was and WWE, how grateful I was.

But also I was walking out on my own accord, you know, for personal. reasons. So there wasn't any back and forth, you know, so I don't, there's tons of guys sitting in the wings that, you know, can take these spots. And that's what makes that world really difficult to get into and even harder to hang on to once you get that spot. Well, in your life now post-WWE, you've become quite the entrepreneur, quite the businessman. And congratulations to you on 16 Creative, which a new company you've just founded. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing. because it does have some roots in the world we were just talking about. Yeah.

Yeah, it's been really fun. Thank you. You know, I've launched this with a couple buddies of mine, combat veterans. So it's majority combat veteran. And I love working with these guys because they're like me, mission-minded. You know, mission-minded, purpose-driven, always seeking significant living. One of my favorite quotes is, once you've tasted significant, significance, success will never taste the same. It's a John Maxwell quote. And you learn that and then you learn how to define what success is for you. You can live a very happy life, you know. But for me, that's serving and serving alongside guys that served our country, you know. I mean, these guys have both, they're both combat veterans, you know, and experienced PTSD and work with with Jared, Ashley, who's a country music singer,

as well, you know, serving veterans in some of these other events. And so we got to talk and he introduced me to David Keller, who works with a lot of country music stars, building their websites, e-commerce, platforms. And he happens to be a big wrestling fan, you know. He doesn't mark out on me, though, you know, but he is learning how to play the million-dollar man online and it's awesome. We're bringing a little bit of the million-dollar man back to life.

you know, we've revamped his site. You know, we're doing some product development for him. We've signed a junkyard dog is, you know, the estate there. We're going to be reviving some of the YD brand and talking to a couple other guys as well. We've got some contracts. We're signing here soon. I'll let you know as soon as we make those announcements. But it's really to serve guys like my father who, when you leave the WWE,

You know, I mean, you come to this global conglomerate. I mean, this beast of a machine that's worldwide, multi-billion dollar company, a marketing machine, and everything's done for you. You know, minus the work you do in the ring or, you know, there's a lot of work to do, not making light of that. But when you leave, it's good luck in your future endeavors, right? And which I get it, you know, that's not their responsibility. we should plan for life after wrestling because the average life of a wrestler,

I think, is 5.2 years, close to what an NFL player is. Yeah. And a lot of guys don't plan financially. And then how do you capitalize, you know, what we're doing with wrestlers, specifically like my dad, with the wrestling collection, which is a subsidiary of 16 creative. We've also got the military collection and sports collection. We're going to work with some other NFL legends.

NBA legends. We've got some announcements coming out on that too. It's really exciting. But it's really helping these old timers that, and they can maybe retweet. They're learning how to tweet a little bit, but as far as being on Instagram and Facebook and building the website and the e-commerce

and product development, marketing, getting into distribution channels, and then building a community that they can once again, you know, engage with their fan base in and do it, have fun. work with veterans, provide them opportunities for other ways that they can also serve, but also take care of their families. And it's really creating a legacy piece, Chris, that, you know, kind of like an insurance policy.

So even when they do pass away, because we're all, we've all got a date with destiny, you know, that day's going to come. Their legacies will live on, you know, and their families. And so we can take that over. And so it's really, it's really special to be able to help some of these guys. and that's kind of the mission behind. So is this the day-to-day for you? I mean, you're working on other businesses as well, too.

Yeah, yeah. I've got an insurance company. We're launching in September I'm excited about. I was doing a lot of speaking and personal, professional leadership development training leading up to COVID. So that hit and I love doing that. But this has become more of a day-to-day.

and it's really been fun because it's got me reconnected with fans. I've been kind of off social media a lot because, you know, there's you don't want to get out there and promote just a ton of stuff. And I spent a lot of time since I left wrestling trying to find, you know, what am I doing next? Like, who is Ted DiBiase? And people ask my wife or anybody that knows me closely. So what's Teddy doing these days?

That's a loaded question. man. There's a lot of business development deals. I've done a lot of biz dev consulting, you know, just really connecting dots for guys. And I've worked with some incredible companies, Delos, company out of New York City doing some great things. And we could be here for an hour talking about all the different kind of deals, you know, the opportunities that really have been afforded me because of my time at WWE. And I've just learned how to how to capitalize. on those, you know. It took a minute and losing a lot, you know. It's been like this, man, roller coaster, but that's life. When you left WWE without a plan, like you said, what did you do

for those first few months? I was trying to figure it out. It's, you know, tell people, find what you're good at, right? Operate in your strength zone. And then surround yourself with, people that are strong in the areas that you're not, right? I spent a lot of time failing when I got out of WWE. I mean, I've raised money. We launched a, I launched a startup called GiveChat, and it just didn't take off. Just got, had, you know, wrong team members. And it was really a lot of, it was an expensive, you know, lesson, but it's one that I think is

necessary. You know, failure is not failure. It's an opportunity to grow. And it's necessary for growth, you know, just like when you go into a gym, you don't, your muscles do not get bigger. You don't, you don't get gains unless you push your muscles to a point of failure, right? Then next time you take what's necessary to grow those muscles, you get the proper sleep. Like, there's a process. And so I spent a lot of time, uh, I went through an identity crisis, honestly. That's when I got really bad. And it's easier for me to talk now about it, but still hard.

You know, it's like I'm not the wrestler anymore. You know, I'm not WWB superstar. When I meet people, that's what they expect. You know, but, well, what else do I have to offer? Am I just a show pony that I'm going to like, you know, be the guy that takes pictures for the rest of my life? No, I can actually learn new things. You know, I can go to school.

I can get my insurance license, which I did. I sold final expense insurance. Then that company actually made me an executive of a, the time was like $34 million company. In two years, we grew it to like $62 million and sold it. And like I was vice president of business development, you know,

of this company. And so started to really just come into my own and realize the things that I'm passionate about. I like helping people, you know. I like building teams. I like being a part of a team. And to an extent with WWE in that wrestling, in that locker room, there is that team mentality, but it's still a lot, it's still a solo act at the end of the day.

And it's what's best for me. That's what wrestling is very much. Yeah. So let me ask you this then, Ted. What is your identity now as we sit here and chat? Well, I'm a father. first I'm a husband I'm a child of God man

I love the Lord with all my heart soul mind and strength I'm a servant leader you know I'm not serving myself anymore and that motto purpose driven mission minded purpose driven

always seeking significant living that's that's my life motto you know and those core values that I listed earlier faith family love, wisdom, service in that order is how I base my decisions now. You know, and so instead of chasing just luxuries of this world and success by the world's definition, you know, for me, it's about what am I storing up eternally?

What am I passing on to my kids? What characteristics am I developing in my life? you know, for love, that's love is patient kind, doesn't envy, doesn't boast, is not proud, it's not easily angered, is not self-seeking, keeps no record of wrong, it hopes, it endures, it perseveres, and it never fails. And so that when I die, I hope people say, hey, he wasn't perfect by no means, but he, that's what he was striving for, you know. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg.

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What do you think is the biggest lesson that you learned from WWE, that you now apply to your life and what you do with business now? Man, biggest lesson. There were so many. Never stop growth, you know, never stop learning. I think the time with like legacy, you know, like I can look back now and I see how focused I was and how hard and just like it wasn't that I stopped going the extra mile. It was just like, I got comfortable. You know, like what it, what it took to get to the WWE was this like insane focus and mental. You just grind. You know what I mean? And then you get there and then, you know, for like two years, I show up and there, I'm like in three segments, right? And here's your, here's this, here's that main part of the show

all night long we're opening the show we're somewhere in the middle we're doing run-ins we're closing the show out you know and uh when we were with legacy man that was just like we're main event all the uh the overseas tours and just having the time of my life yeah but the second that we had that match at russomania 26 26 yeah in scycelle Arizona. I remember Michael Hayes coming up to me that day before the match is like, so Tedd, what do you want to do next? I was like, what do you mean? What do I want to do next? What's your job? Like, what am I doing next? You know, they've been handing me these, these promos and the, you know, these storylines, but there was no plan for after that day. And that was just really, and so, to answer your question, like,

know, living my life on mission, the reason why I say that now is like, you can always live, you out of mission, you know, especially when it's greater than yourself. When I, if I can't serve somebody that's, you know, needy or homeless today, I can serve my wife. I can serve my son. You know what I mean? But if I'm, if I'm just constantly serving myself like I was then, it's easy to get distracted from what one really matters. but also from the fact that, you know, when you're not growing personally or professionally, when you're not really continuing to push yourself and you get to that place where I've arrived,

you're not just coasting right there. You're actually taking steps backwards and you're distracted. You're blinded from it. You know, and that's when they say, what are you going to do next? Well, I should have had a book of ideas. I'm not blaming it at home them. You know, I should have had all these ideas and different character. you know, that I was going to pitch, but I got dependent on the system.

Yeah. And I mean, the idea that if you're not moving forward, if you're staying in the same spot, you are, in fact, going backwards. That is so true. Who in WWE or anyone that you worked with, do you still keep in touch with? It's been for a while, you know,

stayed in touch a lot with Seamus. We hadn't spoken in a while, but I love that guy. We lived together, you know, before we both started on TV. But it's funny, man. He just kind of lose touch. I have lost touch with a lot of guys.

I would love to reconnect with a lot of guys. You know, those guys that really came on the scene with, you know, was super close with obviously Cody and Daniel, Brian missed that dude. He's godsend to me in Japan. And Cofi Kingston was like, he's just one of the best human beings on the planet, you know. But you just kind of lose touch.

And a lot of that's probably on me because some of the stuff that I struggled through during my identity crisis when I left, you know, I got going through all this depression and anxiety and stuff that I'd never experienced, you know, I isolate. That's how I was coping, you know, along with alcohol abuse. and by the grace of God, you know, and when we lost the child, October 21st, 2015, and I almost lost my wife, that was a big wake-up call for me, you know? And so that kind of really snapped me out of things. And I quit feeling sorry for myself

and trying to recreate success. I created in WWE doing all this other stuff. I was like, let me get back to the basics. And so I started serving in my dad's memory. industry and it just kind of evolved from there and then went and sold insurance and became an executive and started companies and now skies the limit. I mean, it makes sense that you maybe don't keep in touch with people from that because it feels like a past life.

I don't know. Like you haven't, we haven't wrestled in WWE and coming up on 10 years now. Yeah, it's crazy. That must feel like a lifetime ago. It feels like a different life. You know, it's funny when I see VIII. videos or somebody sends me, you know, a screenshot of Marine 2. I guess it still plays on TV every, you know.

You still get the residual checks, right, for like $0. I didn't have anybody signed, you know, I didn't have an agent then. That was a one-time gig. I wish I got those residuals. Oh, man. Yeah, that was a bad, bad deal. But I was happy to be there, right? Sure.

And, you know, again, I mentioned this at the start of the interview, but the fact that you were basically a year into your WWE career and then you're headlining one of their films, I don't think that's ever happened before. Yeah, no, I was humbled and grateful for the opportunity. And at that point, I think, you know, it was like, well, another lesson, well, this is just never going to stop. You know, I'm on my way to the top. And like the Bible says, pride goes before fall, you know.

and I don't think it was an intentional pride like, oh, look at me. You know, I've always prided myself and being a humble, you know, personal guy, especially with fans. But it was that internal subconscious, like, I worked my ass off to get here, you know, and now I'm reaping the rewards and I deserve this. And not that I let my foot off the pedal. I just thought it was going to keep coming.

coming without planning, you know, and being intentional. So, yeah. So was the Marine, too, just part of your WWE contract? Like, you didn't get anything extra for it? Well, no, I did. That was a separate deal. Yeah. I think my entire check went to paying for my taxes that year because I went from, like,

making 500 bucks a week to a lot more than that. And so, yeah, my movie check covered my taxes, which it was. It was significant. I'll say that. So it was nice. You know, wish I would have saved more money too. You know,

you mentioned Cody and from one entrepreneur to another, you must be pretty impressed with what he's done with AEW. Super impressed, man. And I've said it for a long time. I mean, the dude's super intelligent. He's one of the hardest workers you'll meet,

you know, and I'm so excited and happy for us. success. That's another relationship. I think that probably on my side, it was, I wish was better today, but I'm happy for him and Brandy and all those guys at AEW. I love what they're doing for the wrestlers, you know, for the wrestling world, the industry. Just being, seems like they're being treated right. And, you know, yeah, I think they're doing a great job. And I hope to hang on, man. I hope they pass the old man, you know, before he gets the bucket. Well, look, I think if they can survive during COVID, they should be able to survive

anything that's thrown at them. I agree. I totally agree. And they got great talent, man. You know, they got some guys that are stunts. And it's wrestling. Like, it's good. I wouldn't expect less from those guys. Yeah. I'm curious. Is your dad now a better grandfather than he was the father to you? my dad watches kids every single day okay and they're my brothers but yeah um i won't i can't do that to him you know i won't say he's he's better i think he's just loves the fact like now he's got more time to to be it was on the road you know that was the lifestyle of a wrestler it was you know they were

rock stars at that that point it was like you know the 80s that i mean they were legit rock stars and so Yeah, it was, he's probably more of more responsible these days, you know, he was with the blonde hair and all the bling he used to wear. A lot of that stuff is hilarious to think back on. But he is a great grandfather, man. He's a big old teddy bear for sure. Is his character laugh anywhere close to his real life laugh? a little bit it's it's that loud you know it doesn't matter where he's at like if we're in a restaurant you know you go to the bathroom or something my dad laughs like you know it but that that that

that signature laugh is so it's just iconic you know it it is there's nobody else that has that I was like I think we need to figure out how to trademark this and you know we're working on that What was the conversation like when you brought back the million dollar belt? Was it something that did you talk to your dad about that first? Or did it start with WWE first? Yeah, started with with WWE. I think that was, you know, one of the things that really, I wouldn't say, started a downfall. It felt like a downfall.

You know, you go from up here to work in dark matches. like it just kills probably a test, you know, and, but I just never owned that, you know, because there was that part that was, you know, well, this was my dad. And that was stupid on my behalf, you know, like, this is entertainment, like, own it and make the most of it and be as authentic as you can. And I think I had some subconscious, like, barriers that really kept me from, you know, getting into that, that character, you know, or developing that character. You know, that was like, when you don't know who you are, you know, or you feel separated from a character that you're trying to act out, it does not come off well. you know that's why the greatest characters in wrestling are those that really are just there themselves

amped up you know uh the randy orton's and the stone colds and the rock you know Hulk ogan my dad for a while he was the million dollar man you know he lived it like i saw it uh because i remember seeing the shift in him when um he quit being that guy like it's it was so noticeable even at home. Not that he walked around saying, I'm trying to shine my shoes, you know. Everybody's got a price.

We're having fun with that stuff now, though. We're going to have some good promo videos coming out soon. I can't wait to see it. Ted, if your kids wanted to get into wrestling, how would you feel about that? Oh, man. Uh-oh. I would, uh, I'm going to

support, you know, whatever they want to do. I believe in that and in giving them the proper instructions to the best of my ability, positioning them for the greatest success they can have, whatever that is. I would want to know if it's like really what they're passionate about, is it really, or is, you know, are they chasing fame or money? Those things are fleeting, and that's not a good reason, you know. And so, but, I wouldn't I'm not going to tell him like my dad told me like over my dead body you're not going to be a wrestler and he said that to you my daughter that too your dad said that to you and your brothers yeah yeah that was that was kind of the we just didn't think it was going to be impossible for so long

and then you know when I graduated college my senior year in college or my sixth year or fifth year my dad got hired back by the WWE. So he spent a short stint there, like behind the scenes and saw things changed a lot since he had last been there. And that's where I saw my opening. I was like, all right. I don't know what I want to do with my life, but I've always wanted to wrestle and I'm going for it. So, yeah, my daughter wants to be a diva. Oh, man.

She's only three right now, and I'm already struggling with. with, you know, thinking about her driving or some kid showing up in my house. I told my wife, I was like, look, I may be like 350 pounds by that point, but I'm putting my speedos back on and my boots, and I'm answering the door in my wrestling year, you know, for the first pump that shows up at my house, like, wanting to take her out on a date. He's screwed, man.

Show my highlight reel, just me beating up Sina the whole time. With all that said, how much do you think becoming a father has changed you as a person? Oh, drastically, man. It's the best thing. It's the greatest gift and the greatest honor. You know, I'm so thankful to the Lord for that. And I have the best kids ever, you know, blessed that they're healthy and they're good kids. My son, thank the Lord, got my wife's brain.

and it's so smart, you know, and I've had time with them, you know, but it's, it becomes like, it's not about you anymore, you know, like you look at the world through a different lens, and it's a, it's a beautiful perspective, you know, when you can, when you put them before yourself or their, their dreams and passions before your very own, you know, it makes you a better person. You can't help with me. So mine do at least. You know, I've had the best experience. But I also have like a much, much better half.

My wife is my high school sweetheart. So she keeps me level headed too, grounded. You know, at the end of the video that you made when you left WWE, you ended it by saying, I'm going to go fishing now. So how much fishing have you been doing over the last eight years? Bro, I had done so much fishing. I love that you're wearing an underarmor fishing shirt. right now too. That's all I got, man. You should see my closet, dude. I could, I've got so many shirts that just fish, you know, they say fish. I love fishing. Like, my dream job would be, I want a 92-foot, you know, Viking sport fish. And I just want to go, like, disappear on the ocean and chase Blue Marlin and Black Marlin. So, I love the fish, man. I've got a trip going down to South Louisiana this weekend, going up for some

had fish and some specs. Nice. A little bit of lake. I catch crappie all the time. And we eat a lot of fish. I've been doing a lot of fishing. I'm true to my word. You also have bass in your backyard, don't you? Oh, yeah, big ones.

So I own a bass fishing company called Wu tungsten. I'll have to send you some gear, actually. Dude, let's go fishing one day, man. I will come to your place and we'll catch some fish in your backyard. I'm serious, bro. I got a bass boat. We can go. What kind of bass boat do you have?

A G3. Very nice. I just, I had a Ranger Z520 for years that I just sold. Nice. I live, I now live in California, but I lived in Miami for a while.

Yeah. Like if I'm going to live near Lake Okeechobee, which is one of the best bass fishing lakes in the entire world, I've got to utilize this. Yeah, you got to, man. I've got a lake,

not the one I live on, but it's five minutes from my house. And I can promise you, we'll catch at least. 15 or 20 and nothing will be less than five pounds and you'll hook into some double digits. What is your biggest large mouth? Nine pounds. But I've hooked a couple that I didn't land, you know, man, the ones that got away, they were

always. We've gone very off track here, but man, I could talk about fishing all day. You also work with kids a lot. Where did that passion come from for you? It's really, you know, a lot of that is when I, when I left, before I left to go wrestle, you know, I did went a lot of mission trips and it was really about serving people. You know, it's not something that it's a facade. That's just what I love to do.

That's the part where, you know, it's not what we do. it's who we've become along the way and what we do with what we've been given. You know, so I don't think that, you know, I've been given a platform like I have to just be happy and, you know, be selfish with it. Plus, the most alive I feel and the greatest joy I get is when I can take a kid or 300 of them, which we've done. and put together a week-long camp, and they've, you know, these are the, ooh, horror stories, man. I can think about some of these kids that, you know,

underprivileged is just a, it's not even the right word, but have been physically, sexually, verbally abused, you know, neglected, homeless, like, and to take them out of that environment, put them in a safe environment where they're being poured into, just loved them and where they they all of a sudden realize they're they've got value you know and they've got choices that they can make like that is there's nothing that was the word that

was written on my butt uh years ago priceless that's priceless you know because there's no expectation there's nothing in return except uh being able to see them smile and then know that somebody's got their back like in them staying with some of these guys and mentoring them that's what uh discipling that that's happiness that that's fulfilling to me you know yeah so it's kind of the same same way we're taking this company and doing that for an older generation you know or guys just don't realize what they have and and you know just holding their hand a little bit you know yeah in in a good way so what are some of the top books that you recommend for people? Because I feel like you're,

like you have so many books behind you here. And I feel like you've been quoting John Maxwell, who I think is incredible and legend. But what are some of the books that you give to people most often? I like, there's a book that I think right now it would be great for everybody to read Daring Greatly by Dr. Bray Brown. It talks about vulnerability being the foundation of, connectivity. And, you know, as an entertainer, that's really important, you know, being willing to be

vulnerable. And it also brings out, you know, an authenticity side. Like, we can break barriers when we're vulnerable. We can be more trustworthy, you know. Um, gosh, books, what, uh, you know, Jocko Williams. I love what was the one I just read. It's white. I'm looking at it. It's probably behind you.

I'll look it up here. Yeah. Because I know the book you're talking about. Leaders eat last. You know, there's extreme ownership. Extreme ownership, dude. There it is.

Okay. Just go read that. Okay. go read that. Stop making excuses. Own your life. You know, own your time.

Make the most of it. You know, it's like what we do with that time is so precious. And, you know, when you're willing to own your mistakes, yeah. Like,

it's okay. And, and like I want to teach that to my son. I don't want to make excuses for him. I don't want to make excuses for myself. Yeah. You can grow so much quicker. It's just,

it's just a fact. path to success. But that is such a great book. Oh my gosh. Especially if you have teammates. You know, if you're part of a sales force or in a company or an employee or a leader, especially, like, that's a good one. Yeah. I like that idea that like we are a culmination of all the decisions that we have made. 100%. And it's not about, you know, it's not about what happens to us is about how we react to the things that happened to us. Right. You're, you're an average of what you surround yourself with. You know, the books you read or don't read, the music or TV you watch or listen to,

five closest people in your life that are speaking into your life, you know. And so your reality cannot expand beyond that until you expand it. And, you know, sometimes people are like, well, do you want to be a millionaire? Yeah, I want to be a millionaire. Well, go work for a millionaire. Well, I don't know any millionaires. At that point, you've lost me, you know, because. Yeah, go find one. Go work for free. Go carry his bags. Do whatever it takes.

Bugging until he gives you a job. Work for free, however long it takes. And surround yourself with people that are successful. If you want to be successful, like you are an average of what you surround yourself with. Nothing changes. Like, I can't become a wrestler until I went to a wrestling school. Sure. My dad's a wrestler, but we didn't have a wrestling ring in my backyard. You know, wouldn't have the dungeon like the hearts did. But the second I surrounded myself with wrestlers, what happens? You know?

Yeah, that's the good stuff. No, I love this. This has been like so incredibly inspiring. Like, thank you. Good. A vastly different interview than the one we did 12 years ago. Well, I'm old now. I've got gray hair, you know.

Oh, get out of here. I think we're the same age. 38? I just turned 38. Okay. Yeah, we're 30. So we're not 40 yet, bro. Yeah, come on.

Don't pretend like we're old. Jeez. It's good stuff. I end every interview, Ted, talking about gratitude, which I know is a really important thing in your life. And curious if you could list off the three things in your life that you're grateful for right now. Oh, man.

It's much bigger than three. But my faith, number one, that keeps hope in such a dark time. And when things are, you know, uncertain, I have something that I can hold on to that is certain. And, you know, so for me, it's my faith, my family. I'm so blessed to have such incredible family. You know, I would throw some friends in there, you know,

as well that are just not fair weather friends. they're good through the good and the bad you know um we weren't meant to do life alone and so you know finding people that you can do life with that you know you can lean on and be honest and vulnerable with and be accountable to like those are things that are i'm so grateful for and you know right now just our health uh i am so grateful for you know um my, like I said earlier, my children's health, my family's healthy. And so there's so many people that are hurting that have lost loved ones. My heart goes out to all those people, you know. And so I don't take that for granted, not one day. And that's something I'm learning to when I pray,

you know, it's just, that's how we start our prayers, you know, tell my son, you know, you enter, you enter courts with Thanksgiving, you know. So, a conversation or entering your day with Thanksgiving in your heart instead of bitterness or jealousy or, you know, unforgiveness. It just gives you power over the day. And so I love that you do that, man. So those are my three. Well, I start and end every day saying out loud three things I'm grateful for because I think that if you're in this state of gratitude, how could you possibly be upset? Amen. I agree, man. I agree. Totally. Gratitude is your attitude.

I love it. How can people find out more about 16 creative? Yeah, you can go to 16creative.com, and it's the number spelled out, 16. We've got the wrestling collection. We're on social media. If you go to 16creative.com, everything's on there. I'm not the technical guys, you know. My partner's David Keller and Jared Ashley are super talented,

and they're awesome. But yeah, get in touch with us, see some of the stuff we're doing. I have to send you some million-dollar coffee. Go check out million-dollar men.com, see all the products he got out. We got some new stuff coming too. I love it.

Well, Trey, I'll send you some Wu-Tungsten. Okay. A million-dollar coffee. Deal, bro. Deal. There it is. Ted, so good to catch up with you. Thank you so much.

Likewise, bro. Thanks for having. Appreciate it. Well, there we go. TD. Ted DiBiase, Jr. Those are good initials. TDJ. I wonder if anyone calls him. I should have asked him that. Huge thank you to him for doing this because he does not do a lot of them. And thank you for being on this ride with us. There's just a huge message in there about self-identity and self-discovery.

So I hope that if you're struggling with that, that the words that Ted said here really resonate with you. Take a screenshot. Let us know what stood out for you the most. Tag Ted on Twitter. He's at Ted DiBiasey. On Instagram, he's at Ted DiBiase Jr. official. You can tag me at Chris Van Vleet. And if you've made it this far and you're still not following the show, please take a second right now to click subscribe or follow on whatever platform it is that you're listening on. And I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Tony Robbins who says, life isn't about what you get. Life is about who you become. Be great. Be grateful, my friends. We'll see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today.

No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Ticket banjov, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.