In a recent interview with Metro UK, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay discussed his experience with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, emphasizing how these conditions have positively impacted his career as a professional wrestler.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On life as an autistic wrestler: “I feel like it’s excelled my abilities to the point where I do think I’m at a superhero level, super genius level of pro wrestling now. But I honestly don’t know. The truth is, I take every single day as it comes. I do feel like this has helped me out so much because it helped me dive into something that I genuinely love, and I think about constantly and I want everyone else to feel the same love that I feel.”
On not trying to be a role model for people like him: “But in the same way, I do understand when people see someone and go, ‘I’ve got the same thing as you do and you’re on this stage’. So like I do get it. And like, the goal was never gonna be an electrician or a good one anyway, I’ve blown up about four or five kitchens. [laughs] But like I was just obsessed and like I had like a fixation on wrestling. If anyone is struggling with that and is struggling to find their joy and their happiness, because they feel like this is holding you back – don’t let it hold you back. Look straight ahead at where you want to get to and then you’ll find a way of getting there.”
On how promos and interviews are hard for him: “Even talking to you, I hear myself messing up parts of my speech pattern. And that’s because with my dyslexia, I struggle – and my ADHD, I think ahead to what I want to say, like my brain is running too quick that my mouth can’t keep up. It’s just something that it’s always been a part of me. But I feel like I’m getting all right, because I’m studying and I’m writing down lines and I do my best with it. But I’m still nervous doing it.”
