At almost two metres tall and weighing more than 100 kilograms, it is hard to believe John Seru ever struggled with self-confidence.
But the wrestler turned TV and movie star was not always so comfortable in his own skin.
He said his life changed forever when he first stepped inside the wrestling ring.
“My confidence was so down, I didn’t have any self-confidence whatsoever,” Seru said.
“I went off to America and trained at the best wrestling school in the world, and it was the hardest six months of my life.
Source: SBS
“I learned everything I didn’t know about myself in a way – it just gave me that confidence that I lacked when I was growing up, because you’ve got to remember when you get in the ring it’s just you and the guy and the referee in front of all these people watching you wrestle.”
Seru, who was born in Fiji, travelled the world as his character ‘Vulcan’ – the bad guy audiences loved to hate.
Things took off for him when he was chosen among a select group of men and woman to star in the hit 90s TV series Gladiators.
But his career went to a whole new level when he was chosen to play the henchman Gabor in the James Bond film The World is not Enough.
Source: SBS
Now, with the bright lights behind him, Seru’s sole focus is on his wrestling school, where’s he’s helping people from all backgrounds build their own confidence.
“Can you imagine – some of these kids when they’re at school, or wherever they go, people look down on them and say they can’t do anything,” he said.
“But they’ve got one thing in common – they love wrestling.”
Source: SBS
His graduates have gone on to work as stunt-doubles, earn roles in commercials, and even feature in films.
They say Seru has changed their lives for the better – helping them get in shape, challenging them to be the best versions of themselves, and always making them feel like they belong.
One of those students is his own son, Zaac Seru.
While having a famous dad made Zaac fall in love with wrestling at a young age, he said he treated him like any other student.
“When I was a kid, I was a huge wrestling fan – I was obsessed with WWF, WCW – so having dad as a wrestler was the greatest thing ever,” Zaac said.
Source: SBS
“He didn’t treat me like a son or go easy on me – he just treated me like a student. It was good, because he can be very tough on trying to teach you the proper techniques and drill in the proper exercises.”
A budding DJ, Zaac is now helping his dad create a series of ‘hip hop wrestling’ shows; a new take on the ‘rock and roll wrestling’ craze of the 80s.
Zaac said the combination of live music and wrestling is all about putting on the best possible show for the audience.
“It’s crazy, it’s very energetic – you see the kids in the crowd watching, and you see their reactions to some of the moves,” he said.
“So it's very family-orientated, but very high-energy at the same time - it's nuts.”
