How Bray Wyatt Affected My Life As An Artist

One of the more fascinating things to me is how people are inspired, motivated, and what builds their personality.

This is especially true with artists but really can apply to anyone. What motivates a politician? What drives a comedian? What pushes a doctor to get up every day? Sometimes these inspirations and motivations can come from the field or lifestyle that we are consumed by but sometimes it can come from something completely different but it important to us and touched us in a unique way.

Yesterday, WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt (real name Windham Rotunda) tragically passed away at the age of 36 from a COVID-induced heart issue. This was probably the most shocking and effective celebrity death for me, only followed by Phillip Seymour-Hoffman. And trust me, I understand—saying a professional wrestler inspired and motivated me as an artist and a human can seem little silly. However, pro wrestling has always been something much deeper to me than what the public reception of it is. Before I get into Windham/Bray, let me first touch on the history and attachment that I have with wrestling.

There is absolutely no way that I would be a writer or actor without pro wrestling. I remember the first time I saw it. I was flipping through the channels as a kid—I believe I was 10 years old— and I saw this man driving a Zamboni in a crowded arena. He then jumped off of it and tackled another man that was surrounded by police. I thought “this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” Now obviously that is very over-the-top and ridiculous but it was that moment that brought me and eventually led me to love pro wrestling for the long-form storytelling, audience engagement, and personal investment in characters. I have always loved movies. Imagine every time a new movie comes out, audiences and cheering and booing for their favorite and most hated characters in the film. Imagine whenever your favorite character accomplishes his goal. It doesn’t feel like fiction. It feels like YOU achieved the goal. It’s a beautiful style of storytelling that—when done right— is more intense and euphoric than any art form on this planet.

I am a writer and an actor. Without being so invested in these characters as a kid, I wouldn’t have my love for creating fascinating and different types of characters. Without wrestling, I wouldn’t have an ear for dialogue. Without wrestling, I wouldn’t be so in love with the craft of live performance. I do a lot of theatre acting and it might be my favorite thing in my life right now. Every single thing that I love about live theatre is incredibly prominent in pro wrestling. The roots of wrestling are tied to live theatre from centuries ago. And hell, you even look at my acting style, a lot of it reflects with the wrestlers that I love. I have even borrowed a few cadences or tones with performances in the past.

So all that being said—what made Bray Wyatt so special? On the surface, Bray was something so different in wrestling. He didn’t feel like a wrestler. He felt like an actor or horror director got together and created a wrestler. His promos felt so real and haunting. The wording and dialogue that he used often felt like something out of poetry. He never did anything by the book—it was always new and unique to him. He also fought for what he believed his character should be. WWE didn’t always treat Bray the best in terms of his position in the company, but his character always felt authentic to what he wanted it to be. There is something so special about that.

There are quite a few quotes or lines from Bray that live rent-free in my head. However, there is one monologue from him that will always be a life mantra of mine. It is not one that is talked about much from him but it is crafted so perfectly and I often repeat it to myself before every creative project because it truly reminds me that I am doing something special and everything I need to be great is within me. It reads as follows:

“There are several different types of men in this world. There are men who dream and never make it off their couch. There are men who dream and fail. And then there are men who dream and change the landscape of this world, people like Bray Wyatt. What about you, man? That's what I want to know. Aren't you tired of feeling unwanted? Aren't you tired of feeling like an outcast and being stepped upon? Well then today is your day because today is the day that Bray Wyatt decided he was going to change everything. Today is the day that hell froze. Today is the day that pigs fly. Today, me and my people looked at fear right in the eye and said 'Mr. Fear, sir, you are a liar'. “

There are two lines in there that always stick with me. That is how I am going to end this, because these two lines exemplify just why Bray was and is so important to me as not only an artist, but as a person.

There are several different types of men in this world. There are men who dream and never make it off their couch. There are men who dream and fail. And then there are men who dream and change the landscape of this world

A lot of times, artists and entrepreneurs are mocked for having a “dream” because the truth is: "almost everyone has a dream. “What makes you so special? You need to grow up and move on from your dreams. They do always come true.” There are the thoughts that live in the head of a hesitant artist. That is what makes Bray’s words so special here. There are people who have these dreams but never do anything about it, there are ones who fail and give up, and then there are people who take life by the horns and are forever remembered. That is the type of artist I want to be. Just because the world around me isn’t run like I feel like it should be—that doesn’t mean that I need to fall in line. I can shape the world the way that I want it to be. I have the ability to do that.

Today, me and my people looked at fear right in the eye and said 'Mr. Fear, sir, you are a liar'.

This is my favorite. First, I just love addressing fear as an actual person. Calling them a liar is even better. There are so many life decision that we do or don’t make based on fear. Fear can consume your life and restrict you from truly being the person you want to be. Calling fear a liar and pushing forward with what you believe in—that is where you will find true happiness and acceptance.

Thank you, Windham.

You didn’t know me. You’ll never know me.

But your effect on my life was crucial.