This article has been transcribed from the show this morning for accessibility. Any [alt] editing is for the purpose of grammatical comprehension. Some elements of the interview may seem grammatically incorrect but follow the grammatical rules of American Sign Language. If you would like to learn more, Justin is a Deaf advocate who posts content on his Tiktok about his experience as a member of the Deaf community.
Could this Nova Scotian be the next Myles Borne? Making his debut this past Saturday at Alderney Landing in a match hosted by Dartmouth wrestling group Kaizen, wrestling has been a life long dream for wrestler and advocate Justin Mariott who has been deaf since birth and goes by the stage name Deaf Power. Taking the time to chat with me between taking care of his 9-month-old child and the aftermath of his first big fight, we are thankful to have Justin join us to share his story. FORMAN: A very special guest, in a way, somebody who made his big professional debut here in town on Saturday. MEGAN: Yeah! Justin Marriott, East Coast Canada’s first ever Deaf wrestler. We had a conversation last night about his experience but on Saturday, he made his debut at the Alderney Landing Theatre. [Audio of his show intro plays, video here, begins at 0:55 when he walks on stage] AUDIO: Hailing from Timberlea, Nova Scotia… Weighing in at 260lbs… representing the Deaf power… he is the first Deaf Maritime wrestler making his Kaizen debut, let’s give him a round of applause….Justin Marriott! MEGAN: So Justin had his first ever fight this past Saturday, unfortunately not taking the fight victory but still taking away a victory of his own as East Coast Canada’s first-ever deaf wrestler. So I reached out to him, for obvious reasons he couldn’t be [on air] with us as there wasn’t an interpreter available but he was more than [happy] to answer some questions over [chat] [Interview begins] MEGAN: Some of the articles mention you’re the only deaf wrestler in the East Coast of Canada and likely one of only two in the country. How did you get into wrestling? And how did Saturday night go for you, form your perspective? JUSTIN: When I was three years old and I was watching wrestling on TV, wrestlers like Yokozuna, Andre of the Giant, Undertaker and Mankind. I always thought they were amazing Super Heroes and Villains with magical superpowers. Pro-wrestling made my experiences feel so real because they are real people rather cartoons. I was really nervous and excited at the same time. Butterflies in my stomach just fade away after I walked out [of the] curtain and witnessed the most beautiful moment ever in my life. I never see whole room over 200 silent applause. Besides that, I’m extremely upset that Sebby and Ryan Cleary ruin my chance to get victory in debut match by cheat. Overall, it was an amazing experience and feeling in the world to step in a ring in front of the crowd. Thank everyone for supporting my journey to become deaf wrestler in Maritime. Mean lots to me.MEGAN: Are you open to sharing any sentiments or experiences about how being deaf has affected your journey?
JUSTIN: Thank you! I find lots of challenges with communication which cause lots of barriers and challenges for deaf people like me. Everyone at Kaizen Pro Wrestling Academy helped me to break communication barriers and show everyone that we can work together. [Saturday] night is perfect example.
[Interview Ends]
MEGAN: And I think that is so incredibly wholesome and so representative of how welcoming our community is, but also Kaizen wrestling which is Dartmouth-based, giving an opportunity to somebody who is dealing with something that wrestlers aren’t typically accustomed to dealing with. Thank you so much Kaizen wrestling and for the people who went and attended the show, congratulations Justin Marriott, I hope you have a fruitful wrestling career.
FORMAN: And hey, you know, the WWE does have a deaf wrestler who just signed about a year ago to NXT [referring to Myles Borne] so this is a long journey but it is possible to keep getting bigger and bigger.
