When I hear the name “Stone Cold” Steve Austin a few images immediately jump into my mind: a boot to the gut and a stunner, two hands with only one finger sticking up on each (you can guess which one), two beer cans crashing together, a bald head and a heavy knee brace.
To most fans those images, along with the lines “give me a hell yeah” and “that’s the bottom line” kind of sum up Steve Austin, but just as he reinvented himself at the King of the Ring in 1996 by proclaiming that “Austin 3:16 just whipped your ass”, since retiring from professional wrestling in 2003 Austin has moved on to a new chapter in his life, revamping his image along the way.
Soon after the lime limelight went away for professional wrestling’s biggest star, he spent a lot of time keeping to himself and enjoying life with his family. After years of being on the road and taking bumps perhaps he deserved a well earned break. Austin is an avid hunter and has even come out with his own line of gun scopes. But being a self-confessed loaner wasn’t cutting it for Austin.
Transitioning into an acting career seems to be a natural thing for professional wrestlers. Going back to the mid 80’s when Roddy Piper starred in the cult classic “They Live” several wrestlers have gone on to have film careers, most notably Dwayne “The Rock ” Johnson. Austin has been casted in several top box office draws alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names such as Sylvester Stallone, Chris Rock, Bruce Willis and David Spade in such films as “The Longest Yard” (2005), “The Expendables” (2010), and his latest endeavor, Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups 2” which is in theaters now. Austin also hosts one of the top reality TV shows in the market, CMT’s “Redneck Island” which in now just wrapping up its third season.
But in my opinion his best project to date is his new podcast “The Steve Austin Show”. In this show you really get to see (or hear) a different side to the “Stone Cold” we all once knew in the WWE. Steve really comes across as a down to earth guy and isn’t afraid to show that he has no issues with not being in the wrestling world anymore. You really have to listen to a few episodes before you can cast away all of your previous stereotypes of who the character “Stone Cold” was and start to accept who the real Steve Austin is, but once you do, you are really in for a “can of audio whoop ass”, as Steve would call it.
The first thing that really caught my attention was the sheer number of “four letter words” that Austin uses so nonchalantly. Not that I mind, in fact I quite like it. It seems so natural for him to swear, and he seems to have made a fine art out of it, even incorporating “the world of the day” into his broadcast, with some really off the wall words to help increase his listeners vocabulary.
Most shows consist of interviews conducted by Austin. He has had a number of professional wrestlers on the show such as Terry Funk, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Kurt Angle, but he’s also interviewed a few MMA fighters and a number of interesting celebrities as well.
When not interviewing others, Austin turns the show in a different direction, painting a first person picture of his life, sharing stories of what goes on in the world of “The Texas Rattlesnake”. This is really where some of the most entertaining material on the show comes from. What’s a guy like Steve Austin really like? What does he do? What’s he currently up to? There are a lot of fans out there who would like to know the answers to these questions and Stone Cold doesn’t hold anything back. In fact, one of the things I really like about the show is how much time he dedicates to answering fans’ e-mails and tweets. He claims that he reads each and every e-mail he receives and I’m hard-pressed to deny it. Austin comes off as someone who genuinely cares about his fans and appreciates all the support that they gave him over the years. He’s a guy who loves his country, knows the value of a dollar and is all about hard work and dedication being the driving forces behind getting what you want in this life.
So if you’re looking for an entertaining show that you can download onto your mobile device or computer, I suggest you have a listen over at podcastone.com or head over to www.brokenskullranch.com to get all the latest on Steve Austin and follow him on Twitter @steveaustinbsr.
And if you’re a true fan of pro wrestling, MMA, sumo, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, boxing, arm wrestling, muay Thai, or ANY other combat sports, I highly suggest you check out Fightbox in the month of August. Don’t miss Fighting Rookies or Fight Code, two of our featured programs. Make sure to check out www.fightbox.com for the complete up-to-date schedule to see what’s on.
Daniel Austin
daniel.austin@spiintl.com
