TERRY YAKI shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning TERRY, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
A moment that I feel proud of that recently happened was at game changer wrestlings hit em up event held on August 1st this year Matt and Jeff hardy came out to save me from an attack by vandal 48. Two guys not only I watched as a kid, my oldest brother(Thomas ) and I would mimmick and aspire to be like!! I shared a ring with them and that was like a dream come true!!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m The Undeniable, The new generation of innovation, holy sh** shawty, Mr. Please don’t die, The Real Deal Terry Yaki! I’m a professional wrestler who’s been competing for over three years around the world, including Japan and Puerto Rico. I’m known for being innovative in the ring, creating my own moves and bringing my own sauce (Style) to every match. My brand is about authenticity, creativity, and giving audiences something they’ve never seen before, both in the ring and in the way wrestling is presented.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
The person who taught me most about “work” was my father. He always compared himself to a machine, all my life non stop he was hustling grinding and doing whatever it took for us to have what we needed. There’s times where we didn’t have much but it was always enough because of his work ethic and how hard he was willing to not only work for his family but for himself and his dream my dad always said “if you don’t work, you don’t eat” that’s something that still instilled in me today. He also used to say “you can want in one hand, and sh** in the other and see which one will gets full” which is a wild thing to say but it told me as a Kid if you want something wanting it doesn’t do you no good without working towards it.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say 1 thing to my younger self it’ll be to keep going! There were times as a kid I had gave up on my self too easy I feel and as I got older I noticed that maybe I was one step away from whatever that said goal was. There’s times now as a professional wrestler where I’d thought about giving up, but if I’d given up would I’ve accomplished what I have? Would I’ve been able to get to wrestle, meet my wonderful girlfriend (Jazzy yang), not only wrestle in Japan but go out the country at all? Not too sure but now as a 23 year old man I know all of my losses were lessons. I’d ask my younger self this question. if you knew you were 10 failures away from success, how fast would you want to fail?
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Getting signed! Now, I’m not saying being signed in professional wrestling measures success, Hell, I feel successful, right now. I travel every weekend, I’ve won championships, and I’m friends with, shared a ring with, or wrestled people I watched on TV growing up. That’s pretty successful to me, but I think every wrestlers goal is to replace their day jobs with professional wrestling. In Japanese culture, “ikigai”means something you love, something you’re good at, something you get paid for, and something the world needs. Wrestling is my “ikigai”; no matter how long it takes I will continue on my path toward achieving my goal!
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Yes, I can because I never needed praise from anyone. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate the praise I receive, but as long as I’m satisfied with what I’m doing; if I make myself feel like a kid again by watching my matches then I’m cool without the praise.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Terryyaki.com
- Instagram: Therealdealterryyaki
- Twitter: Real1terryyaki
- Facebook: Terry yaki
- Youtube: Therealdealterryyaki
- Other: MERCH WEBSITE: BigyakiSO.com
Image Credits
Everyone who took the pictures
