A professional wrestling champion has spoken about how he transformed himself from a shy and overweight teenager into the ultimate Morecambe action hero.
Ryan Hunter is the champion of Odyssey Pro Wrestling who put on regular shows at Alhambra Live (formerly The Carleton) in the town.
Ryan, 24, began his decade-long journey to the championship in 2012 when, while still at high school, he travelled from his Blackpool home to attend weekly wrestling training sessions at Regent Park Studios in Morecambe.
At the age of 18, he weighed 20 stones.
But when he was informed that he'd be making his wrestling debut at the Morecambe Winter Gardens in 2015, Hunter lost six-and-a-half stones in nine months, to get himself in fighting shape.
"I joined a gym, I started lifting weights, I'd wake up at half past four and go for a run," he said.
"I was doing a lot of drinking and takeaways that I shouldn't have done.
"But I got a whole new motivation to spur myself on and change my life."
LISTEN NOW to Ryan Hunter talking about his early years as a pro wrestler in Morecambe and how he got himself in fighting shape:
After Hunter made his debut, wrestling fans in Morecambe quickly took the underdog teenager to their hearts, and he became a massive crowd favourite.
Ryan continued to work hard and improve, and after shows moved from the Winter Gardens to The Carleton, he became the Morecambe wrestling champion in 2018, aged just 20.
"Everyone loves an underdog," said Ryan.
"I was very overweight, but the Morecambe fans saw me progress and show that you can overcome being put down, put in the work, and it pays off."
Then the Covid pandemic hit in 2020 and Hunter said he found the lockdown period extremely difficult.
"It had a massive effect on me, physically and mentally.
"I loved to go to the gym, it had become a real passion, and I couldn't get the same motivation to work out at home.
"I'd sit there, I'd watch wrestling, but it hurt. I was nearly falling out of love with wrestling because there were no shows.
"I had to get a job in a supermarket, a place that was high risk for Covid at the time. I was going there miserable. It's not what I wanted to do. I didn't feel like a wrestler or an athlete any more."
LISTEN NOW to Ryan Hunter talking about how the Covid pandemic impacted him:
But after restrictions lifted, Ryan and three friends were finally able to realise their vision to set up a new wrestling company in Morecambe.
Odyssey Pro Wrestling ran its first show in August 2021 and has gone from strength to strength, with Ryan becoming its champion, and his special bond with the Morecambe wrestling fans has carried on.
"There are many British wrestling companies, but in Morecambe, the fans just eat it up like nothing I've ever seen," he said.
"If you ask every wrestler backstage at Odyssey Pro Wrestling if there's anywhere like Morecambe, they'll tell you no, because Morecambe wrestling is special."
LISTEN NOW to Ryan Hunter talking about why wrestling in Morecambe is special and his main event match on April 9:
Ryan will defend his championship at an event called 'War on the Shore' in Morecambe on Saturday April 9, in a 'triple threat match' against two other wrestlers.
His opponents will be his arch-rival Andre Dekker, and Hunter's close friend the former professional boxer RP Davies.
You can see Ryan Hunter in action when Odyssey Pro Wrestling presents 'War on the Shore' on Saturday April 9 at Alhambra Live in Morecambe.
Ticket details and more information here.
All photos by Tony Knox.
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