A pro wrestler's guide to confidence | Mike Kinney

Prevodilac: Stefan Zrnović Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

Picture it: a big, sweaty, tattooed man

Zamislite scenu: krupan, oznojeni, istetovirani čovek

in a cowboy hat and chaps,

sa kaubojskom šeširom i mamuzama

is in the ring

stoji u ringu

as the arena full of fans cheer him on.

dok mu arena prepuna navijača skandira.

Their hero:

Njihov heroj:

"Cowboy" Gator Magraw.

„Kauboj“ Gejtor Megra.

Gator bounces off the ropes and is quickly body-slammed to the mat.

Gejtor se odbija o konopce i momentalno pada celim telom na strunjaču.

His wild opponent leaps into the air,

Njegov divlji protivnik skače u vazduh

crashing down onto Gator's rib cage.

i pada na Gejtorov grudni koš.

Gejtor se bori za vazduh pitajući se:

Gator struggles to breathe, wondering:

"Is this really what my father wanted for me?"

„Da li je ovo moj otac želeo da postanem?“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

That wild man in the chaps ...

Taj divljak u kožnim pantalonama

was me.

bio sam ja.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

(Cheers)

(Navijanje)

And the answer to the question, surprisingly,

Odgovor na pitanje je, iznenađujuće, „da“.

is yes.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I grew up watching professional wrestling

Odrastao sam gledajući profesionalno rvanje

with my dad.

sa svojim ocem.

And like him, I loved everything about it:

Poput njega, voleo sam sve vezano za to:

the showmanship, the athletic skill,

umešnost zabavljača, atletsku veštinu,

the drama.

dramu.

I'd be this little boy, bouncing all over our living room,

Bio sam dečak koji je skakao po dnevnoj sobi,

pretending to be my favorite wrestlers from TV.

glumeći svoje omiljene rvače sa TV-a.

My dad actually reminded me a little bit of Hulk Hogan,

Otac me je podsetio na Hulka Hogana,

ali sam ja bio Hulk Hogan, a on Andre Ogromni.

but I was Hulk Hogan and he was Andre the Giant.

I'd get all serious on him and say things like, "Dad ...

Uozbiljio bih se i rekao nešto poput: „Tata...

someday I am going to be world heavyweight champion."

jednog dana ću biti svetski šampion u dizanju tegova.“

And he would usually smile and very calmly say,

Uglavnom bi se nasmejao i mirno rekao:

"OK, then I guess I can count on you to be my retirement fund."

„U redu, onda bih mogao da računam na tebe kao svoj penizioni fond.“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Kada sam imao 16 godina,

When I was 16,

a small wrestling show came to my little town in Minnesota.

malo rvačko takmičenje održalo se u mom malom gradu u Minesoti.

I couldn't believe it.

Nisam mogao da verujem.

Nothing like that had ever come to my town before.

Ništa slično se nikada ranije nije održalo u mom mestu.

So I got to the arena early in the morning the day of the show,

Stoga sam ušao u arenu rano ujutru na dan takmičenja,

waiting out in the parking lot to see if I could spot some wrestlers

čekajuću na parkingu kako bih mogao da vidim neke od rvača

kako se parkiraju.

pulling up in their cars.

Nije bilo jezivo kao što zvuči.

It wasn't as creepy as it sounds.

But I could definitely tell who the wrestlers were,

Ali sam definitivno mogao da razaznam ko su bili rvači

just the way they walked.

na osnovu njihovog hoda.

They were tall and confident and intimidating,

Bili su visoki, samouvereni i zastrašujući,

with their tank tops and Zubaz and fanny packs.

sa svojim majicama, pantalonama „Zubaz“ i pederušama.

Why wouldn't I want to be them?

Zašto ne bih poželeo da budem poput njih?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

All I could think about was who are these people,

Samo sam mislio na to ko su ti ljudi i kakvi su.

and what are they like?

How did they become wrestlers?

Kako su postali rvači?

So before the show started,

Pre nego što je takmičenje počelo, ušetao sam u malu arenu,

I walked into this tiny arena --

koja je bila više poput fiskulturne sale,

more like a gymnasium --

and I asked them if I could help set up the wrestling ring.

i pitao ih da li mogu da pomognem da nameste rvački ring.

"Sure, kid. No problem."

„Naravno, mali. Nema problema.“

And then I pleaded with them to show me some wrestling moves.

Zatim sam se nagodio sa njima da mi pokažu neke rvačke pokrete.

"Sure, kid. No problem."

„Naravno, mali. Nema problema.“

Čoveče, samo su me pesničili i udarali - jako!

Man, they would just punch and kick me -- hard!

But I never complained.

Ali, nikada se nisam žalio.

They would come to my town for one night every couple of months that year,

Dolazili su u moj grad jednom u nekoliko meseci te godine i onda - puf!

Sledećeg dana bi nestali.

and then -- poof! -- next day, they were gone.

Sledeće godine su mi konačno rekli za kamp za obuku rvača

By the next year,

they finally told me about an actual wrestling training camp

koji je vodio jedan od rvača.

that one of the wrestlers was running,

Preklinjao sam svoje roditelje da me prijave.

and I begged my parents to sign me up.

Next thing I knew, I was a high school senior by day

Sledeće čega se sećam je da sam bio maturant po danu

and wrestling in front of live audiences by night.

koji se rve ispred žive publike uveče.

I had this giant poster of an alligator hanging on my bedroom wall.

Imao sam ogroman poster aligatora na zidu svoje spavaće sobe.

So when I needed to come up with a wrestling name at the last minute

Kada je trebalo da smislim rvačko ime u poslednjem trenutku

a Džes „Telo“ Ventura je već bilo zauzeto -

and Jesse "The Body" Ventura was already taken --

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I went with "Gator."

izmislio sam „Gejtor“.

I also wrestled in a t-shirt and camouflage pants

Takođe sam se rvao u majici i kamuflažnim pantalonama

because that's what I had in my closet.

jer sam to imao u svom ormaru.

I hadn't quite figured out how to develop my own persona yet,

Nisam još uvek smislio kako da razvijem svoju ličnost,

ali sam učio.

but I was learning.

Bilo je to nešto poput prakse,

It was sort of like an apprenticeship.

ali sam bio rvač.

But I was a wrestler.

And my dad would come to all my matches

Otac mi je dolazio na sve mečeve

wearing a t-shirt that said, "Papa Gator" across the front.

noseći majicu sa natpisom „Tata Gejtor“ na grudima.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And he'd brag to his friends

Onda se hvalio prijateljima

about how his son was going to pay for his retirement someday.

kako će njegov sin da plati njegovo penziono jednog dana.

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

I uradio bih to.

And I would've.

Not long after I started wrestling,

Nedugo nakon što sam počeo sa rvanjem,

my dad unexpectedly passed away.

otac mi je iznenada preminuo.

And as you can imagine,

Kao što možete da zamislite,

especially as a teenage boy,

posebno zato što sam bio tinejdžer,

it destroyed me.

to me je dotuklo.

If you've ever lost someone,

Ako ste ikada izgubili nekoga znate kako vremena mogu da budu teška.

you know what a difficult time that can be.

Your mind -- it's not working right.

Vaš um ne radi pravilno.

Čitava situacija je toliko nadrealna.

The whole thing is just so surreal.

I wanted to feel normal again, even if it was for just a second,

Želeo sam da se ponovo osetim normalno, čak i samo na trenutak,

so I went back to wrestling almost immediately.

pa sam se vratio rvanju gotovo momentalno.

Wrestling belonged to me and my dad, you know?

Rvanje je pripadalo meni i mom ocu, znate?

So there I was,

I eto me

sitting in the locker room,

dok sedim u svlačionici,

spremajući se za meč nekoliko dana nakon smrti mog oca.

getting ready for a match within days of my dad passing away.

He was gone.

Nije ga bilo više.

And sitting there alone --

Dok sam sedeo tamo sam

it felt like I was hiding.

osećao sam se kao da se skrivam,

But it also felt like I needed to be there.

ali sam osećao i da je trebalo da budem tamo.

One of the wrestlers who'd been on the scene a long time

Jedan od rvača koji je dugo bio na sceni

knew what I was going through,

znao je kroz šta prolazim i prišao je da vidi kako se držim.

and he came over to see how I was holding up.

I couldn't get the words out.

Nisam mogao ništa da izustim.

I just said, "I don't know what I'm doing."

Samo sam rekao: „Ne znam šta radim.“

And then we just sat there in silence --

I samo smo sedeli tamo u tišini;

samo...tišina.

just ... silence.

Before he got up to get ready for his own match,

Pre nego što se spremio za svoj meč, dao mi je savet

he gave me this piece of advice

that would change the entire direction of my life.

koji mi je promenio čitav pravac života.

He told me the best wrestlers are just themselves, but "turned up."

Rekao mi je da su najbolji rvači apslutno svoji, ali „razotkriveni“.

He said successful wrestlers find the traits within themselves

Rekao mi je da najbolji rvači nalaze najsnažnije osobine u sebi

they're the strongest at

and make those the focus of who they become in the ring.

i čine ih ključnim za ono što postaju u ringu.

So there I sat --

Tako sam sedeo tamo,

a scared teenager who didn't know who he was

uplašeni tinejdžer koji nije znao ko je

or why he was even wrestling anymore.

ili zašto se više uopšte rvao.

I looked around the locker room at some of the other wrestlers,

Obišao sam svlačionicu u potrazi za drugim rvačima i pomislio:

and I thought,

„Izgledam potpuno drugačije. Kako bih ikada mogao da budem kao oni?“

"I look so different. How can I ever be like them?"

And then it hit me.

I onda sam shvatio.

That's the moment I realized I didn't have to be like them.

To je momenat kada sam shvatio da ne moram da budem poput njih.

What I did have to do was find out: What did it mean to be me?

Ono što je trebalo da shvatim je šta znači biti ja.

What made me unique,

Šta me čini jedinstvenim

and how could I use it to my advantage?

i kako bih mogao da iskoristim to kao svoju prednost?

I knew I wasn't a chiseled athlete like some of these guys,

Znao sam da nisam izvajani atletičar poput tih momaka, ali me nije bilo briga.

but I really didn't care.

Prvo što sam pomislio bilo je:

So the first thing I thought was,

"How can I amplify something as simple as: comfortable with my own body?"

„Kako mogu da uvećam nešto toliko jednostavno

kao što je osećati se ugodno u sopstvenom telu?“

I didn't know.

Nisam znao.

Zatim sam pomislio:

And then I thought:

Speedo.

„Spido.“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Or "trunks,"

Ili „gaćice“, kako smo ih zvali u rvanju.

as we call them in wrestling.

Yeah, trunks.

Da, gaćice.

Mogao sam da budem krupni lik

I could be this big guy

who was comfortable wearing these little trunks

koji se osećao ugodno noseći te tesne gaćice

in front of a bunch of strangers.

ispred gomile stranaca.

Skinuo sam majicu i kamuflažne pantalone

So I ditched the t-shirt and camouflage pants,

i Gejtorova nova odeća je stvorena.

and Gator's new wardrobe was born.

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

I was also pretty good at drawing cartoons,

Bio sam prilično dobar u crtanju stripova, pa sam razmišljao kako da i to iskoristim.

so I wondered if I could turn that up.

I could design my own wrestling costumes,

Mogao sam da dizajniram svoje kostime za rvanje,

so each pair of trunks would have its own unique design and color,

pa je svaki par gaćica imao jedinstveni dizajn i boju,

all of them completely different --

i svaki od njih je bio potpuno drugačiji

and extremely comfortable, by the way.

i pri tom izuzetno udoban.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And I was also the funny kid in school,

Bio sam i smešan klinac u školi,

believe it or not.

verovali ili ne.

So I thought maybe I could turn that up.

Stoga sam pomislio da možda i to mogu da iskoristim.

Maybe I could go from the boy who made his buddies laugh

Možda bih mogao da se iz momka koji je zasmejavao svoje drugare pretvorim

to the man who could rally hundreds or thousands.

u čoveka koji može da zasmejava stotine i hiljade ljudi.

So I committed to the idea

Stoga sam se posvetio ideji

da moj lik neće biti strašan kao neki drugi likovi.

that my character wasn't going to be as scary as some of the others.

Bio sam urnebesan od momenta ulaska u arenu.

I'd be hilarious from the moment I walked into the arena.

With every wrestling match, I dug deeper.

Sa svakom daljom borbom više sam se razvijao.

I found out that I could laugh at myself.

Otkrio sam da mogu da se podsmevam sebi.

Ovaj momak je igrao i pevao svoju muzičku tačku sve do ringa.

So this guy would dance and sing his entrance music

all the way to the ring.

Inače, to je bio ples.

That was dancing, by the way.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Otkrio sam da sam solidan rvač,

I found out that I was an OK wrestler,

but I was an even better entertainer.

ali da sam još bolji zabavljač.

And turning myself up made me unforgettable to the fans.

Moje preusmeravanje učinilo je da sam postao nezaboravan za fanove.

I was trying to find those things about me --

Pokušavao sam da otkrijem te stvari o sebi,

jednostavne stvari koje su bile posebne,

the simple things that were special,

and then ask, "How can I turn them up?"

a zatim da se zapitam: „Kako mogu da ih razotkrijem?“

Now, I knew I wanted my character to be a man's man like my dad was.

Znao sam da sam želeo da moj lik bude pravi muškarac kakav je moj otac bio.

I thought, "What's more of a man's man than a cowboy?"

Pitao sam se: „Šta je muževnije od kauboja?“

And that's when Gator became "Cowboy" ... Gator ...

I tu je Gejtor postao Kauboj Gejtor...

Yeah, I needed a last name.

Da, trebalo mi je prezime.

I thought about it until my head hurt. I couldn't come up with anything.

Razmišljao sam o tome dok me glava nije zabolela.

Ništa nisam mogao da smislim.

I'm sitting there watching TV one night, flipping through the channels,

Sedim i gledam TV jedne noći, listajući kanale,

i pojavljuje se reklama o kantri pevaču

and this commercial comes on

about a country singer who had just won an Entertainer of the Year award.

koji je upravo osvojio nagradu Zabavljača godine.

Tim Mekgra.

Tim McGraw.

On je kul kauboj sa sjajnim prezimenom. I sviđala mi se njegova muzika.

He's a cool cowboy with a great last name.

And I liked his music.

It was just all part of my process.

Sve je to bilo deo mog procesa,

But I just kept turning myself up

ali sam nastavio da se preusmeravam

until I became Cowboy Gator Magraw!

dok nisam postao Kauboj Gejtor Mekgra!

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

And I knew that if I kept turning myself up

Znao sam, ako nastavim da se razotkrivam

and pushing myself harder,

i da se više trudim,

the opportunities would come.

prilike će same doći.

And then it finally happened.

I onda se to konačno dogodilo.

In the middle of the night,

Usred noći sam primio poziv.

I got a phone call.

It was the call I wish my dad was around to hear.

Bio je to razgovor koji sam želeo da je moj otac mogao da čuje.

The WWE,

WWE,

the biggest wrestling organization in the world,

najveća rvačka organizacija na svetu

wanted me to come and be a part of Monday Night Raw.

želela je da dođem i budem deo Primarne sile.

Yes -- all of my hard work and miles on the road were finally paying off.

Da, sav moj naporni rad i kilometri pređenog puta su se konačno isplatili.

I got to walk down the WWE Raw entrance ramp on live television --

Dobio sam priliku da prošetam do ulazne rampe Primarne sile

uživo na televiziji -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

dressed up as a fake security guard --

obučen kao lažno obezbeđenje

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

to escort another wrestler to the ring.

da ispratim drugog rvača do ringa.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Sure, I was disappointed I didn't get to wrestle,

Svakako da sam bio razočaran što se nisam rvao,

but very few wrestlers get any kind of call from the WWE.

ali samo nekoliko rvača dobije neku vrstu poziva od WWA-a.

Maybe one in a few hundred.

Možda jedan u nekoliko stotina.

And becoming Cowboy Gator Magraw is what got me there.

A to što sam postao Kauboj Gejtor Mekgra me je dovelo tamo.

So instead of walking away that day,

Umesto da sam otišao tog dana,

I decided to turn myself up again

odlučio sam da se ponovo razotkrijem

and become the best security guard I could.

i postanem najbolje obezbeđenje koje sam mogao biti.

In fact, I did it so well,

Zapravo sam toliko dobro to odradio

I was the only guard to get a close-up on TV that night.

da sam bio jedini član obezbeđenja koji je toliko bio blizu kameri te noći.

That's a big deal, you know?

To je velika stvar, zar ne?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And I got to sit backstage that entire day

Mogao sam da sedim u bekstejdžu celog dana

with some of the most famous pro wrestlers in the world,

sa nekim od najpoznatijih profesionalnih rvača sveta,

some of which were heroes of mine as a kid.

od kojih su neki bili heroji iz mog detinjstva.

And I got to listen to them and learn from them,

Mogao sam da ih slušam i učim od njih,

and for that day,

i tog dana

I was accepted as one of them.

bio sam prihvaćen kao jedan od njih.

Maybe my experience with the WWE wasn't ideal.

Možda moje iskustvo sa WWE-om nije bilo idealno.

I mean, I didn't get to wrestle.

Mislim, nisam se rvao.

But it made me work harder,

Ali mi je pomoglo da još napornije radim,

turning myself up louder year after year.

razotkrivajući se sve glasnije iz godine u godinu,

I was becoming the biggest version of myself in the ring,

Postao sam najveća verzija sebe u ringu,

a drugi ljudi su to primetili.

and other people took notice.

Before I knew it,

Pre nego što sam shvatio,

I'd gone from wrestling maybe once a month in Minnesota

stigao sam od rvanja jednom mesečno u Minesoti

to as often as four times a week all over the United States

do četiri puta nedeljno širom Sjedinjenih Država

on the independent wrestling circuit.

na nezavisne rvačke turneje.

I was literally living my dream.

Doslovno sam živeo svoj san.

While wrestling over the next few years,

Dok sam se rvao narednih nekoliko godina

I suffered a pretty bad shoulder injury

patio sam od prilično teške povrede ramena

right around the same time my wife and I found out

u isto vreme kada smo moja supruga i ja shvatili

that we were expecting our first child.

da očekujemo svoje prvo dete.

Znam šta mislite,

I know what you're thinking,

ali verujte mi kada kažem da su ta dva događaja potpuno nepovezana.

but believe me when I say those two events are completely unrelated.

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

But I needed shoulder surgery,

Trebala mi je operacija ramena,

and I wanted to be home with my family.

a ja sam želeo da ostanem kod kuće sa porodicom.

It was my turn to be a dad.

Bio je moj red da budem otac.

So on July 27, 2007,

Dvadeset sedmog jula 2007. godine,

I wrestled my final match,

rvao sam se u svojoj poslednjoj borbi

and walked away from professional wrestling

i otišao iz profesionalnog rvanja

to pursue the next chapter of my life.

da bih otvorio naredno poglavlje svog života.

And as time passed,

Kako je vreme prolazilo, najčudnije stvari počele su da se dešavaju.

the strangest thing started to happen.

I found out that once someone has been turned up,

Shvatio sam da, kada se neko pojavi,

prilično je teško da ih ignorišete.

it's pretty hard to turn them down.

Napustio sam ring, ali je Gejtor ostao u meni

I left the ring but Gator stayed with me,

i koristim tu razotkrivenu verziju sebe svakog dana.

and I use the turned-up version of myself every day.

My beautiful wife has been with me through this entire journey.

Moja prelepa žena bila je sa mnom kroz čitavo iskustvo.

And by the way -- she does not like pro wrestling.

A inače, ona ne voli profesionalno rvanje.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Like, at all.

Uopšte.

But she was always my biggest fan.

Ali, uvek je bila moja najveća obožavateljka.

She still is.

Još uvek je.

She knows there's always going to be some part of Gator Magraw in here,

Zna da će uvek postojati neki deo Gejtora Mekraua ovde

i želi da naša ćerka i blizanci otkriju sebe

and she wants our daughter and twin sons to discover themselves

na način na koji sam i ja,

the way that I did,

ali verovatno sa manje modrica na telu i udaraca od čelične stolice o glavu.

but probably with fewer body slams and steel chair shots to the head.

I mean, do you know how many times she's had to remind me

Da li znate koliko je puta morala da podseti

da ne napadam sudije na fudbalskoj utakmici svog sina?

not to clothesline the referees at my kid's soccer games?

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

Desilo se samo jednom,

I mean, it was just the one time,

i moja ćerka je bila očigledno faulirana!

and my daughter was clearly fouled!

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

As a parent now, I've begun to realize that my dad wanted something

Kao roditelj, počeo sam da shvatam da je moj otac želeo nešto

much more valuable than a retirement fund.

mnogo vrednije od penzionog fonda.

Poput mnogih očeva,

Like most parents,

he just wanted his kids to reach their fullest potential.

samo je želeo da njegova deca dostignu svoj najveći potencijal.

I'm trying to teach my children

Pokušavam da učim svoju decu

that turning yourself up is just not some perfect idea of how to be great,

da razotkrivanje sebe nije neka savršena ideja kako biti sjajan,

it's a way of living --

već da je to način življenja,

constantly looking for what makes you different

neprekidno traženje onoga što vas čini različitim

and how you can amplify it for the world to see.

i kako možete to da pojačate da i svet to vidi.

And by the way, my kids don't like wrestling, either.

Inače, ni moja deca ne vole rvanje.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But that's OK with me,

Ali, ja se slažem sa time,

jer svako od njih ima svoje posebne talente koji mogu da se razotkriju

because they each have their own unique talents that can be turned up

just like the rest of us.

kao i kod svih nas.

My one son -- he's a whiz at electronics.

Jedan od moji sinova čini čuda sa elektronikom.

So maybe helping him turn up makes him become the next Steve Jobs.

Možda bi pomoć da se razotkrije učinila da postane sledeći Stiv Džobs.

Moj drugi sin i ćerka su sjajni u umetnosti,

My other son and my daughter -- they're great at art,

so maybe helping them turn up their gifts

pa bi možda razotkrivanje njihovih talenata

helps them become the next Pablo Picasso.

pomoglo da postanu sledeći Pablo Pikaso.

Nikada ne znate za šta ste sposobni

You never know what you have the ability to do

until you dig.

dok ne zarovarite.

And don't be afraid to put yourself out there.

I ne plašite se da budete u svetu.

I mean, look around.

Pogledajte oko sebe.

They say that if you get nervous in front of an audience,

Kažu da, ako se unervozite ispred publike,

just imagine them in their underwear.

samo ih zamislite u donjem vešu.

Tada pomislim: „Hej, pa ja sam se rvao sa manje stvari na sebi.“

But then I think, "Hey, I've wrestled in less."

(Smeh)

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Look, the wrestling circus doesn't need to come to your town

Rvački cirkus ne mora da dođe u vaš grad

pre nego što dobijete pozivnicu da budete istinski vi,

before you get an invitation to be the real you --

the bigger, more stunning version of yourself.

veća, sjajnija verzija sebe.

It doesn't even necessarily come from our parents.

Ne mora ni obavezno da potekne od naših roditelja.

Turning yourself up means looking inward toward our true selves

Razotkrivanje sebe znači gledati unutra, prema istinskom sebi

i koristiti glas koji kaže:

and harnessing the voice that says,

"Maybe, just maybe,

„Možda, samo možda,

ja sam mnogo više nego što sam mislio.“

I am more than I thought I was."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)