Dustin Rhodes recently did an exclusive interview with Nerds & Beyond to talk about several aspects of his life, including his in-ring work and his career outside of wrestling. Dustin is active in with the Williams County Sheriff’s Department, where he serves as an honorary deputy. He says the relationship began after he bonded with the owner of his gym over their love of dogs, and noted that his father was also an honorary deputy in both Hillsborough County and Pasco County in Florida. Dustin says the gym owner put him in touch with Williamson Sheriff Chody and he’s been doing work with them since:
“We did that, and I guess he’d talked to Sheriff Chody and told him I was interested and Sheriff was very interested because I had been tweeting them all the time, a lot of social media involvement and stuff, and he made me an honorary deputy, like legally, which was really cool and I read the thing, however you get initiated in, ya know, and doing the video which became a big hit and all my wrestling buddies were like, ‘damn man, you get a knee injury, you’re out for a little bit and you become a cop’, and this and that. I’m like, ‘no man, I’m not a cop, I’m just a civilian but I’m an honorary deputy.’ I got to go on a couple rides with them and that was really cool, and kinda see what they do day to day.
I’m always there, and I go hang out with the guys, and they’re like one big family just like our guys ya know, and they have their family that they good take care of but they also take good care of us. First responders are very important, from firemen to EMS, to police officers to veterans. I’m a big veterans supporter and I love those kind of people; the ones that take care of us and our community because we don’t have the balls to go do that ourselves. That’s a scary job, and I wouldn’t wanna do it and they go out there and they risk their lives for us.”
Dustin, who is widely known in professional wrestling circles for being a great story teller, was asked which story he still has left to tell. Dustin previously talked about his battle with substance abuse and road to redemption in his 2010 book Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness, but he says the story of his personal life is something he still wants to share with people. He says he’s been through plenty of highs and lows in his life, but wants to highlight the importance of family and legacy, and how he is still clean and sober after 11 years and counting:
“If I could tell any story left in my life, I would probably want to tell the story of my life, and if it was made into a movie, of course I would want to play it because who better than me to know my own life story?
My life has been… it’s had its ups and downs. The downs were very dark times in my life, and I would love to tell the story of my alcoholism and drug abuse to 11 years clean and sober and where I’m at now and tell that story of what I went through, how I overcame it with perseverance and where I’m at today with my family and my daughter especially, as she’s getting older, and how much family truly means to me.
It’s everything, and ya know, you have your squabbles with your family sometimes, but you have one family and that’s it. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, so try to do what you can to keep your circle tight and your family strong because that’s your legacy, that’s what you want to leave and that’s what I want to leave. That’s the story I would tell.”
