I first met DDP at a wrestling event in 2012, it was a big deal for me as he had always been one of my favourite wrestlers. People tend to use the word ‘fake’ in a derogatory sense when discussing wrestling, but there was never anything fake about Dallas. In an industry filled with larger-than-life monsters, giants, super heroes, and cartoon characters, he always seemed like a genuine guy who tried his hardest and gave his all for his fans. That meant a lot to me, I believed in him then same as I do now, and on that evening in 2012 he proved to me that my faith in him was entirely justified. 

I wasn’t in a good place and in truth I hadn’t been for some time. I was overweight, not massively, but certainly out of shape having done no exercise since the age of 10. My life was about excess; food, drink, drugs, cigarettes, whatever, you name it and I consumed it in abundance in the hope that it would bring me some kind of happiness or satisfaction. The reality of the situation was I was empty on the inside, I had been bouncing from failure to failure for the longest time, my confidence was shot and I had lost all sense of self-worth.

They say never meet your heroes, clearly whoever said that never met Diamond Dallas Page, because on that night he sat patiently and listened to my story despite the growing queue of people waiting to meet him. Diamond took the time to talk to me, I like to think it was because he saw something in me that I couldn’t see myself, a genuine person who was trying his hardest, but just needed someone to cheer him on. The roles were reversed as DDP, the wrestler who I had believed in all these years, said he believed in me.  

That night DDP gave me his card and told me to check out DDPYOGA.COM. I’d like to say I went straight home and ordered the DVDs by express mail and started to take control of my life the very next day, but that would be a lie. Things don’t change overnight, life isn’t a fairytale and I continued on my downward spiral for several more months. After a particularly destructive binge session inspired by yet another poor life choice, I found myself alone, desperate, with no prospects, no job, no drive, and no hope. This was my rock bottom; it was also the moment I decided to take back my life.

This time I did take action, I began my journey with the YRG programme. It was hard at first, but I was realistic with my expectations, I hadn’t done anything more exuberant than walking to the shops in the best part of two decades, I checked my ego at the door and worked at my own level. I had zero flexibility and no balance to speak of; I fell down… a lot! But every time I got back up, and with each fall, I felt different. The old me would have seen it as a failure and gone of to drown his sorrows in whatever stimulant was close to hand. The new me didn’t see it as a failure, the new me saw it as a bench mark:

“This time I managed to stay upright for 1 second, next time it will be 3”

I worked at it, and worked at it, and worked at it. I began to notice changes in myself and not just physically either. Sure the weight was starting to slowly drop off of me, but it was never about that, the greatest change was in my attitude. I was happier, I was confident. I hadn’t made any conscious decision to stop smoking and taking drugs, I’d made no vows, attended no meetings, I just genuinely didn’t feel like doing it anymore. I had a goal, something to strive for, I wanted to be the best me I could possibly be and that old lifestyle just didn’t have a place in my new philosophy.

Now 6 months later I can truly say DDP YOGA has transformed my life. I have lost almost 3 stone, I am eating healthier, aside from the occasional social drink I am living healthier, most importantly my success  with the YRG programme has given me the confidence to try new things. I taught myself to ride a bicycle, something I had always dreamt of doing, I am trying to learn to swim, heck I even plan to take guitar lessons! I don’t expect to succeed at all these things right away, but I now have the confidence and belief in myself to know that if I do fail it doesn’t mean I am worthless, it just means I have to try harder.

A lot of you may see the other testimonials on here and think that DDP YOGA is just a health and fitness programme designed to get people in shape. Whilst there can be no argument that Dallas has managed to yield some amazing results in terms of helping people to get back in to shape and lose weight, DDP YOGA is truly more than just another fitness regime. It’s like a mirror, one that lets you look at yourself and see the person you really are, not just the person you wish you were, but the person you could be, and will be if you work at it.

Thank you Dallas, thank you for believing me in me, and thank you for teaching me to believe in myself.