Peer Support is something that saved my life. Pro wrestling is another thing that saved my life. Why not combine the two. My mental health journey has been a wild and crazy one that has had its ups and its downs. The two foundations of my life are peer support and wrestling with supplements of music, cars and sports to round me out. My vision for pro wrestling is for a peer worker whether it be a CPS, certified peer specialist, or a vet with the CPS certification to go through and help out. It’s a total radical shift but it may work. I work at a peer based mental health company in Pennsylvania and a lot of great work has been done there. Professional Wrestling could use the values of peer support in everyday instances in the locker room to prevent useless situations. And you might be saying, Danny, who are you to say this when you have maybe never been in a pro wrestling locker room? I have, for years, at this very building, the Monster Factory, has been my home since 2015. The lived experience movement could work in professional wrestling. Peer support is more based on the peer supporter side on listening and pulling back. I never realized that until very, very recently. You have to take into consideration all sides. Especially in pro wrestling locker rooms where there is politics. This might be a radical idea but it’s a radical idea that can work. It’s about giving and taking to the peer relationship. I have experience in the mental health world too, I’ve worked in it for 2 years in an entry level role and the reason why I haven’t gotten my CPS certification yet is simple. I’m not ready. Yeah I’ve talked to many people who have advocated and stuff like that, I’m really not ready to advance myself with a caseload or supporting myself with peers. I was at this conference in DuBois, Pennsylvania through my work and it was fruitful. It was like one of the Monster Factory camps I’ve had the pleasure of attending but this time it was for mental health. Pennsylvania is ahead of the curve when it comes to mental health and I at dinner thanks to my friend Mike Nelson, who works in my county and was one of the keynote speakers and I think the world of, got to sit next to Matthew Federici, the CEO of the Copeland Center, and Joan Erney, former CEO of Community Behavioral Health and former deputy secretary for the office of mental health for the state of Pennsylvania. And guess what I held my own with those people. I was holding my own with mental health influencers and it proves that my lived experience matters as much as theirs. Wellness is a multifaceted tool that includes your wellness toolbox. As I go through these blogs, you’ll hear me lament about recovery principles and things of that nature but all that will come in due time. All you need to know now is that professional wrestling is a part of my recovery and this is a win for Danny that I’m involved in it.

Epilogue, I left my job in the peer support field because it was stressing me out a bit too much and I’ll go into detail on my next blog on why that was and what I’ll do to help myself. At this time, I’m working on myself and I am the sole focus of my recovery.