Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine May 2019 Diversity Rules Maga- zine is very excited to Fred Rosser, other- wise known as "Mr. No Days Off" WWE Veteran Superstar Darren Young! "Mr. No Days Off" hails from Union, New Jersey. In an interview on August 2013, Young discussed being gay, mak- ing him the first WWE wrestler to come out publicly while s ll signed with the compa- ny. Since his announcement, Young has been ac vely par cipa ng in various organiza ons such as GLAAD, NOH8, and AthleteAlly to take on a posi ve stance against discrimina on toward the LGBT community. Young served as a mo va onal speaker for WWE's an -bullying campaign, Be a STAR, visi ng schools na onwide and talk- ing about the damaging effects of bullying and how we can reverse the trend. He has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, People Maga- zine, and the Huffington Post for his courage to come out as the first ever gay WWE Superstar which led him to take part in last year's Pride Parade in NY and LA. Fred Rosser now wrestles in the in- dependent circuit around the world, while s ll serving as an advocate for the LGBT community. JRK: Before we get into the interview, can you tell us about Fred Rosser, where you are from and all that good introductory stuff? FR: I am Fred Rosser, be er known by my ring name Darren Young, is a WWE Superstar and relentless LB- GTQ advocate. " Mr. No Days Off" hails from Union, New Jersey. I was born November 2nd, 1983 with no siblings dreaming of becoming a WWF Superstar someday. Growing up I had a speech impediment so I would stu er a lot. I was also an overweight kid who was fed a tremendous amount of food from both grandparents, who at one me lived right next story to one another. I didn't let those disabili es of having a speech impediment or being overweight stop me from achieving my dreams of someday be- coming a WWE Superstar. Over the years I received the help I needed to achieve my dreams. How I became interested in professional wrestling was through watching wrestling on TV with my dad one day...and from then on I was hooked! My dad would always take me to wrestling shows at the Meadowlands arena in NJ or smaller li le high school gymnasium shows to watch the "WWF" wrestlers perform. It was nothing I'd ever seen before; it just amazed me. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be a professional wrestler. I was so excited about it. Watch- ing wrestling with my dad are memories I will never forget. Those were the days. JRK: You are the first WWE wrestler to come out publicly while s ll signed with the organi- za on. Can you tell us about that? What was the reac on? How were you treated a er coming out by the organiza on and other wrestlers? FR: Before I came out to the world, I had already came out to my mom and my best friend Nicholas, who I call Trouble, two years prior to my announce- ment. They are important to me. They are my sup- port system and soundboard. When I came out pro- fessionally, one moment in par cular stands out to me in WWE was when CM Punk, a er his Summer- Slam match with Brock Lesnar in 2013, came up to me in catering in front of everyone while he was iced up from head to toe and told me to stand up and he gave me a hug and said: " I heard your story and I'm very proud of you for being so courageous to make that move to come out. If anyone has a problem with it in the locker room, you let me know, and I'll take care of it." Same thing with Randy Or- ton. He's one guy who gave me a big hug and much love, s ll to this day. I became even closer to the gi- ants of our business like Big Show and Mark Henry. Just the love from those guys made it much easier to walk in a locker room without fear and knowing Mr. No Days Off A Chat With Fred Rosser (a.k.a. Darren Young) By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher

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