Ex-wrestler spreads message of inspiration to area students

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Ironwood - Marc Mero went from having a dream as a kid to living it, then losing it all.

At 55, he's living a new dream.

The motivational speaker addressed a Gogebic Community College gymnasium filled with area students in grades 5-9 Tuesday afternoon.

Mero experienced his first crisis at age 8 when his parents divorced. He grew up in a single-family home in a poor section of New York, and wrote down his dreams and goals at age 10, setting his sights on athletics. He achieved success in hockey, football, boxing and professional wrestling, spurred on by his loving mother.

Although he now appears relatively small in stature, he became a four-time New York state boxing champion and then turned professional. A shattered nose from an accident led to a planned year's recovery that turned into about 10 years of drug and alcohol abuse.

"I've been through it," he told students, noting he lost his sister, Andrea, to cancer and his mother around the same time.

Although he became a rich pro wrestler and traveled the world, he was "empty and sad," with a lot of it about not being there for his family when they needed him most.

Then he realized the loss of more than 30 close friends and family members - shown on a big-screen DEATH LIST to students Tuesday - was mostly because of lifestyle choices. Around 27 died of overdoses, two committed suicide and one was murdered.

He was headed for the list and that spurred him into action. In 2007, he founded Champion of Choices, Inc., a nonprofit organization. He has also written a book titled, "How to Be the Happiest Person on the Planet."

Clean, he now speaks around 250 to 300 times a year, talking about how he has recovered from drugs and alcohol to spread a message of hope and inspiration. He's no longer Johnny B Badd, who wrestled at more than 200 pounds.

Mero encourages students to write down their dreams and goals and follow them through, now matter how rough it might get along the way.

He said he should have died at least three times from drug overdoses, but believes he is still walking on the planet to deliver his message. "I Believe" is written on his T-shirt.

He encourages bullying students to be kind to those they torment. A simple, "I'm sorry" will go a long way, he said Tuesday.

Mero also advised the students to address their parents' smoking, saying he lost both his mother and father to smoking-related causes.

He offered a presentation earlier Tuesday at the Ewen-Trout Creek School.

His key messages are:

-Students have hope for a brighter tomorrow and the choices they make today shouldn't derail their dreams.

-School cultures are being transformed as students take a stand against bullying, drugs and peer pressure.

-Students who are depressed, exhibit self-injuring behavior (cutting), or have suicidal thoughts can get help.

-Young people are discovering their life passions, setting goals, and becoming "the champions they are destined to be."

His appearance to Wakefield-Marenisco, Bessemer, Ironwood and Hurley students was sponsored by the Range Suicide Prevention Council.