Dave Bautista says bodybuilding saved his life.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Y Dune The actor recently visited his new tattoo shop, the Tampa, Florida-based DC Society, where he discussed his journey from troubled teen to Marvel superstar.
“Bodybuilding saved my life because I was really screwed up,” Bautista told Dan Solomon, president of the Olympia bodybuilding and competition company, while preparing for a new tattoo. “I was in a lot of trouble, got into the worst trouble and dated the worst people. I just had nowhere to channel all my anger and aggression. And when I found a gym, it became therapeutic for me.”
Bautista, who began wrestling in high school, explained that his love of the sport served as a springboard on his journey to recognizing weightlifting as his passion.
“I loved wrestling, I really loved training,” he shared. “So I started training for years and then when I got out of high school, all I wanted to do was be a bodybuilder. [But] For years and years and years I just paused on it [because] I didn’t have what it took to be a professional bodybuilder. But I loved training so much that I turned it into professional wrestling.”
He continued, “[I] I started taking my body that I had from bodybuilding and my athletic ability from wrestling, and turned it into a [wrestling] career, which led to movies,” he said. “That’s where it all started for me.”
Bautista worked with WWE for about 10 years before he began performing as Drax the Destroyer in 2014. Guardians of the Galaxy. However, Bautista, who has had recent roles in Dune, of Apple Watch Y army of the deadHe will leave the Marvel role in May 2023.
“I’m going to be 54 by the time guardians 3 come out,” he said the ellen show in May of last year about why he will no longer be the alien character. “The shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s done training. Rather, like him recently told Men’s Health, continue to work hard, still provide mental health benefits. “I think a lot of people think that I’m just an idiot and that I live my life lifting weights. And actually I don’t. I live my life training, but I think people think I train because I want to look like a bodybuilder or a big muscle man. And that is not the case at all,” he said. “The way I look is really kind of a byproduct of that. I’m not consumed like, ‘Oh, I can bank, like, 500 pounds; I can deadlift 800 pounds. I’m not that guy at all. I’d rather watch someone else’s deadlift than do it myself. I’d rather be boxing or doing some interesting cardio like riding a bike. I prefer to work with a coach and keep him updated.”
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