AEW superstar Malakai Black was a recent guest on the Drinks With Johnny podcast to discuss a wide range of topics, most notably his battle with mental health and how sometimes he uses his depression to fuel his creativity. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says that he’s had some of his best matches when he’s at a low mental point:
I remember one specific point, I was 15-years old and I remember waking up in that place after another night of way too much alcohol for a 15-year old, and I look around and there’s a dude literally injecting himself and I just go, “Wow.” It’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘I don’t think a 15-year old needs to be in this surrounding. I think all that creativity, all that anger, all that frustration, all the sadness, all the hurt can create such creative passion. It literally is sometimes, and it’s sad to say, sometimes the best fuel to create some of your best work. I’ve had some of the best matches when I was mentally at my lowest point.
Says it’s not fun to have an unhealthy mindset:
There was a time in my life where I thought that I was going to lose my wrestling career because I thought if I wasn’t sad or if I wasn’t depressed, I wouldn’t have any fuel to create. I wouldn’t have any fuel to make anything of myself and I would lose all the stuff that I had worked for. So, all this pain and anguish, and I hate using those words, they sound so edgy, but it’s not fun to have this really unhealthy mindset where you’ve convinced yourself that you can only be good if you’re absolutely f**king horrible and you destroy s**t and you deliberately get involved with people you know are not good for you.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)