A man has said he starting to get angry when people laugh at him when he tells them that he is a wrestler.
Adam Bowler jumped in the ring for the first time last year and won his first fight. He is due to have his second bout later this month.
However, despite his earlier success in the ring, the 36-year-old says that life has not been easy for him since he joined the wrestling world. He told LeedsLive that since he joined the ranks, people within the industry have "bullied" him.
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Adam wrestles under his own name and dons a Leeds United kit to represent his favourite club. But he says people have laughed at him when telling them he is a wrestler because of his "short and skinny" build.
He said: "Some people were surprised when I started wrestling because I don’t look like a typical wrestler. They’re normally big, muscular and sportive but I don’t look like that kind of wrestler. I look short and skinny.
"I do get bullied a lot, they say I don’t deserve to be there and the way I look. They just laugh. They say I’m just too short and not good enough to do wrestling and that I could get hurt. There are people shorter than me who do it. Don’t judge a book by its cover, everyone can do what they want if they put their mind to it."
Speaking about why he got into wrestling, Adam said it helps control anger issues he has. Before entering the ring, Adam was heavily involved in the wrestling world as the organiser and promoter of events after he founded Classic UK Pro Wrestling in 2011.
"Years ago, it was all Adam’s crazy, he doesn’t deserve to be a fan or a promoter," he said. "All that kind of stuff because I was losing my temper all the time."
But Adam has been defiant, saying he will not let the bullies stop his wrestling career. He added: "I am going to do it no matter what.
"I love to do it and it’s a challenge for me. I feel like over the years, I’ve been an underdog and I do get beat down quite a bit. I want to build my confidence up.
"It’s upsetting, it does knock me quite a bit mentally with my confidence. But every time I give it a go, it does help."
