Former WWE Superstar Zach Gowen, has published a new column at PWMania.com. Gowen talks about becoming the youngest WWE Superstar ever, how he was an inspiration to Gregory Iron, first meeting him and eventually teaming with him, forming “The Handicapped Heroes.” Gowen also includes photos of him and Iron in action. Here is an excerpt from his article:
“Please allow me to set the table for the uninitiated: my name is Zach Gowen and I lost my leg to cancer at 8 and at 19 I became one of the youngest WWE Superstars ever. Gregory Iron was born with cerebral palsy which severely affects the right side of his body. His right hand is practically useless. When Greg was 16, he saw me on WWE television and my story inspired him to get off his butt, stop feeling sorry for himself, and to live out his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Pretty epic to think about but I think there’s a lesson to be learned here: We all affect each other. If we share time and space on this earth, I think our presence, action, or inactions can have huge impacts on lives even without our knowledge. So let’s help each other out whenever we can, not just when it’s convenient. Life is hard. It’s hard for you, it’s hard for me, it’s hard for everyone. Our time is limited, let’s build up rather than tear down.”
“Moving along, I first met Greg right after he trained to be a wrestler on a Cleveland All-Pro show in 2007. I had no knowledge of how impactful my story was on Greg. I was dealing with substance abuse issues as well. I’m a recovering addict/alcoholic and this would have been right about where my using started to get pretty dark and heavy. So I didn’t mean to be rude or to blow Greg off. I was too caught up in my own garbage to really have a grasp on reality. And the reality was 4 years after I inspired a kid to live his dream, I may have just taken a huge crap on that same dream by being a jerk. Luckily for all of us, Greg is more resilient than me. And that little incident with me wasn’t going to stop him from continuing on the path to greatness.”
You can read Zach Gowen’s column, “Kickin It with Zach Gowen” in its entirety at this link.
