You wouldn’t know it by just looking at him or what he does inside a wrestling ring, but Kyle O’Reilly lives with type-1 diabetes. A story he’s more than willing to share in hopes of inspiring those living with the disease.
WWE NXT Superstar Kyle O’Reilly recently sat down with Muscle & Fitness to discuss his pro wrestling journey and living life with type-1 diabetes:
“I was 18 years old, and I had just started my pro wrestling journey,” Kyle O’Reilly said. “I was in wrestling school and getting to the point where I could start getting booked for matches. But something was off, and I was pretty sick. I was dropping weight, and I was urinating every five minutes, and it felt like there wasn’t enough water on planet earth to quench my first, you know?
“I visited a doctor to get my physical done for wrestling, to get my Washington State wrestling license, and the doctor comes back and asks me if I have type 1 diabetes. I was like, ‘no.’ So that was awkward (laughs). The diagnosis kind of came out of nowhere, but after that, it’s been a blessing in disguise. It keeps me accountable for my own health, and I’m a lot more on top of everything now. Once I was able to get on insulin therapy, I was able to gain the weight back.”
O’Reilly talked about the pushback he received on following his dream as a professional wrestler after the diagnosis, but he refused to let diabetes define him:
“People were reluctant to support this dream of being a pro wrestler with this new diagnosis, but I refuse to let that define me, or stop me from chasing and following my dreams,” Kyle O’Reilly said. “Living with diabetes is about having a support system and being part of a community. You have your people that you look up to. Hockey legend Bobby Clarke is a type 1 diabetic, and he always says that he never wanted to be looked at as the hockey player with diabetes, you know? He wants to be known as a great hockey player that just happened to have diabetes. And that’s how I look at myself, as a wrestler in NXT. I want to be seen as an awesome wrestler that just happens to be diabetic.”
The former multi-time NXT Tag Team Champion hopes that by sharing his story he can inspire people dealing with a similar situation:
“Hopefully, I can inspire people that may also be dealing with something like this in their own lives,” Kyle O’Reilly said. “I would be lying if I said it’s not difficult. On days where I wrestle, my stress levels are up and my cortisol is high. Because my body kind of goes into that ‘fight or flight’ survival mode and releases a lot of sugar (during the match), so I tend to run my insulin levels a little high before and after matches, but I would rather that than the alternative of going low, and being hyper glycemic. We all have good days and bad days as diabetics, but I don’t let one bad day define me, or ruin the next day.”
READ MORE: Adam Cole Defeats Kyle O’Reilly In Rematch At NXT Great American Bash
Has your opinion changed on Kyle O’Reilly after reading this? Did you enjoy his match last night against Adam Cole on WWE NXT? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
