Shelton Benjamin made an appearance on Out Of Character with Ryan Satin to discuss a wide range of topics.
During it, he opened up his friendship with Shad Gaspard and his son.
Shad passed away at the age of 39 in 2020 during a tragic incident at Venice Beach while with his son. Gaspard insisted on lifeguards taking his son before him and he was taken away by the water.
“When you get in this business, it’s really hard to find friends. You make a lot of acquaintances. You meet a lot of people, but you don’t meet a lot of friends. Shad is one of the people I consider a brother from the time he got here.”
“We became so close. I was with him when he became a dad. When he passed away, for me, it was losing a family member. Just like any other family, I look out for his family, his son, his widow. I stay in very close contact with them. If they need anything, if I have it, they have it. It was such a crushing blow to everybody when he left, so the least I can do for my friend, for my brother is try to keep as close an eye as I can on his son, because now you have a child growing up without a dad. I grew up without a father, so I understand the importance of having that. To have that and to lose that so suddenly and so tragically, that kid has a lot of challenges, so I want to at least be around to try to help him. It’s not just me. We have a whole network of really close friends, myself, MVP, Mark Henry, and I hope I’m not missing anybody. We’re close friends, and I would hope if anything happened to me, someone would step up for my family as well.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription