Steve Maclin is a big proponent of mental health advocacy.
Maclin, a former Marine, has worked with non-profits designed to help veterans and first responders and he says that he wants to introduce mental health aspects into the world of professional wrestling. During a vignette with Eric Young on the April 24 edition of TNA iMPACT, Maclin was seen writing in a journal. While some fans had fun with what he was writing -- comparing him to B-Rabbit from the movie '8 Mile,' this was a very deliberate, and important, move.
That's what Maclin recently told Jeremy Lambert and SP3 on Fightful Overbooked's In The Weeds.
"For the B-Rabbit comments, I was laughing hysterically. I saw some of the outtakes on those. I wanted to try to introduce journaling with mental health and PTSD, how do I bring that into my story and kind of show people that. Maybe people are thinking I’m B-Rabbiting the hell out of it, full on 8 Mile, but it’s something I’ve done and I know others do as well. If you can’t get it out there verbally, you have to put it on paper so it’s like speaking to someone. A lot of the times, I would have conversations with friends that aren’t here or a loved one that I want to reach or talk to, just to get something off my chest or off my mind. That’s something I thought I could incorporate. It was Eric Tompkins who originally had the idea of, ‘Do you journal in real life?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Let’s bring this into the story and see how it goes.’ It was another way of sprinkling a little bit of me in there and getting more detail into it. We’re working down that path and elaborating more. We’ll get there," Maclin said.
Maclin is currently scheduled to pariticpate in the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation's T2T Tower Climb on June 1, 2025. The climb, according to the T2T website, is the "only opportunity for the public to ascend 104 stories—or 2,226 steps—from the basement to the finish line on the 102nd floor."
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was designed to tell the story of Stephen Siller.
According to the T2T website, Siller was "A NYC firefighter who was off duty during 9/11, he drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, strapped his 60lbs of gear on his back and by foot ran through the tunnel to the Twin Towers where he ultimately lost his life.
"Started by his brother Frank, T2T helps support our nations heroes and their families by paying off mortgages and/or providing mortgage-free homes for families of fallen first responders, especially those with young children.
"More recently, T2T has expanded its work and is building smart homes for injured veterans and first responders. They have begun buying properties across the country to build “Veterans Villages” where they will house homeless veterans and provide supportive services to get these heroes back on their feet. Villages are currently being built across the country in places like Atlanta, GA, Bradenton, FL, Memphis, TN, Harrisburg, PA, Detroit, MI, and Las Vegas, NV, just to name a few. "
Maclin, a former Marine, filmed a commercial back in October, professing his support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
.@SteveMaclin joins the @Tunnel2Towers Foundation in their mission to do good.
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 4, 2025
Maclin shares his 9/11 story, what led him to enlist in the Marines and how that service continues to impact his life today.
WATCH: https://t.co/MEMFZcSPsl
To read about Maclin's thought process when he was released from his WWE contract, click here.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of TNA iMPACT! by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review here.
