Mike Parrow has revealed he is gay, and is soon to be married.
Parrow, who has wrestled for WWN and MLW, spoke to Gay Star News about coming out and is speaking publicly about it for the first time.
?I?ve always known I?m gay" he said. "That was never a question in my mind. But growing up, I went to Catholic school my whole life. My mom?s a Sunday school teacher. I came from a small town in upstate New York. It didn?t have a flourishing gay community. The only exposure I saw of any gay culture was extremely effeminate and that was what was on TV. I?m not like Jack on Will and Grace, so I?m not gay."
He trained under the Dudley Boyz wrestling academy, moving to Florida He had a tough time at first, adjusting and accepting himself. He even contemplated suicide and conversion therapy at one point.
?I prayed to God and said, ?Hey, show me what I need to do. Just show me a sign" he recalled. "Show me something: Am I gay? Am I straight? Because I did try to pay for conversion therapy. It was an absolute joke. Kind of hilarious. Basically, it was just them saying, ?We?re going to set you up with girls and that?s what you?re going to like. What, all of a sudden? Um, no! That?s the whole point. We don?t like girls!"
His situation got better. He met someone, got engaged to his now fiance Morgan and is finding success in his career. He's found the locker room to be accepting, though he will address things if they go too far.
"You get a lot of different things said in locker rooms that you?d never say in real life" he said. "People will throw slurs around left and right, so I just address it when I feel like it?s gone too far. Maybe it?s not towards me, but if it?s gone too far, I will address them. I?ll say, ?Do you really think that?s necessary right now? I find, especially with a lot of wrestlers, they have a lot of questions. A lot of questions. I?m open and honest when people ask me questions. So, I?ve not necessarily had hatred towards me. More curiosity.?
Parrow continues to wrestle in the Florida area, wrestling most recently for Major League Wrestling earlier this month, losing to Saieve Al Sabah.