TSC Interviews: Former WWE star/Motivational speaker Marc Mero

Who is Marc Mero?

Well, that depends who you ask.

If you ask a guy like Lance Storm or Dean Malenko, they may have some choice words for the guy. If you ask the hundreds of kids he's helped through the years, I think they would have a more positive feeling on the former WCW Television and WWE Intercontinental Champion.

You see, Marc Mero is not like a lot of former professional wrestlers. More often than not, much like ex-football players, it is hard for someone to go from being in the spotlight to everyday life. That's evident by the number of premature deaths of former wrestlers. It's a damn shame. Mero was actually on that path to self-destruction, but cleaned himself up just in the nick of time.

When we saw Mero on Fox News and CNN back in Summer of 2007, it would be easy to say the guy was just trying to make a name for himself off of the Chris Benoit tragedy. What a lot of people don't know is that the man formerly known as Johnny B. Badd actually does charity work and runs a foundation called Champion of Choices, which strives to help kids and young adults make more conscious decisions that can affect their lives for years to come.

Last time I checked, that's a damn good cause that deserves some exposure.

So people may hate on Mero and as far as he's concerned, let 'em hate. Speaking for myself, I didn't truly learn about the rigors of the real world until I went through some problems of my own in the form of brutal honesty and reality. Sometimes kids need to go through that to learn. Mero doesn't sugarcoat his trials and tribulations, in addition to the issues that plagued his colleagues' lives. I commend him for that.

Are some of his stories vivid and brutally honest?

Yes.

But they are stories that are true and need to be told. I mean would you rather baby a young guy all his life and then let the real world swallow him whole?

As a 20-year-old going on 21, I can see where Marc is coming from. You got to show kids that life can be hard, but it's ultimately about the choices you make that will get you through those trials and tribulations.

As far as him being a "bad person" and all, that remains to be seen because when I spoke to the former Golden Gloves boxer, he exuded nothing but class. Those hundreds of schools that call him for speaking engagements echo my sentiment.

But I'll let you decide for yourself.