Happy Hour: Tyrus Tells All

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Kennedy Saves the World

Episode: Happy Hour: Tyrus Tells All

Date: May 22, 2026
Host: Kennedy, with guest Tyrus

---

Main Theme

This freewheeling "happy hour" episode of Kennedy Saves the World features a candid, humorous, and sometimes poignant conversation between Kennedy and wrestler/commentator Tyrus. The pair discuss the underbelly of celebrity nightlife, the pitfalls of fame, the realities behind the glamour, personal growth, and the heavy choices that come with pursuing ambition. Their reflections blend personal anecdotes, entertainment industry confessions, and lighthearted banter, all while sharing (and critiquing) cocktails.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Happy Hour Vibes & Custom Cocktails

• Kennedy and Tyrus kick things off with a custom, low-sugar cocktail crafted for Tyrus.
• Kennedy shares her plans for a future drink: “the Towering Tyrus.”
• Quote:
  • "You want to chug it, but there’s enough kick to say, whoa, whoa, big fella." – Tyrus [01:20]
  • "This might be my new favorite drink." – Tyrus [01:14]

2. Celebrity Party Culture & Substance Use

• The hosts riff on the phenomenon of celebrities blaming their intoxication on drink tampering rather than overindulgence, referencing Lisa Rinna and Tara Reid.
• They analyze the pressure to party, substance abuse in entertainment, and how social situations drive both up and down moods chemically.
• Kennedy recalls her MTV days as a straight-edge anomaly and not giving in to peer pressure.
• Quote:
  • "No, I think they get so hammered and they're embarrassed. That… they have to say something that absolves them of the responsibility of drinking too much." – Kennedy [02:08]

3. Backstage Realities: Walks of Shame, Bodyguard Tales, and Industry Cynicism

• Tyrus details his time as a bodyguard:
  • The dynamics of “walks of shame” after hookups backstage, and his subtle efforts to protect women from repeat situations by offering knowing glances [04:09].
  • The sometimes transactional nature of encounters, especially with wealthy clients and high-end sex workers.
  • The emotional cost for everyone involved.
• Kennedy and Tyrus observe the recurring cycles of insecurity among both high-end call girls and their clients, and how relationships based on exclusivity and money usually unravel quickly.
• Quote:
  • "When they have each other, they realize they have absolutely nothing in common but cocaine and nightclubs. And that's not a lot to build a foundation on." – Tyrus [08:44]

4. Strip Club Economics & Ethics

• Kennedy asks about the overlap between high-end strippers and prostitution; Tyrus confirms the connection, especially among those with wealthy repeat clients.
• They discuss the business acumen and boundaries managed by dancers, and how legislative and technological changes in Vegas altered the landscape (e.g., cameras in champagne rooms, mandated sign-ins for cash transactions).
• The hosts highlight gender and power imbalances, with Tyrus describing the psychology of rich, insecure clients and the transactional “carrot-dangling” tactics used by savvy dancers.
• Quote:
  • "The ones who make a lot of money and have returning customers... it’s like a doctor performing a surgery." – Tyrus [14:09]
  • "Is there really no sex in the Champagne room?" – Kennedy [16:44]
  • "There's sex in the champagne room, yeah... unfortunately." – Tyrus [16:49]

5. Personal Boundaries and Professionalism

• Tyrus shares principled approaches as a bodyguard:
  • Never getting personally involved with those he protected.
  • Ensuring his role was more akin to an adviser or “conscience,” notably acting as the sober decision-maker for clients prone to excess.
• His experiences include shepherding celebrities to after-parties, managing cash for strip clubs, and keeping clients safe from themselves and others.
• Quote:
  • "You end up becoming their conscience." – Tyrus [09:58]

6. From Club Bouncer to Wrestling Star

• Tyrus recounts his side hustles (teaching, group home counseling, security work) and how a bodyguard gig at Saddle Ranch indirectly led to his wrestling career.
  • Discovered by wrestling pro Tommy Dreamer after handling a situation with charisma and physical prowess.
  • Details the skepticism and hustle required to transition careers.
• Memorable moment: Tommy Dreamer joins Tyrus for a shift, breaking up bar fights to vet Tyrus.
• Quote:
  • "Tommy Dreamer jumped in his arms and Tommy carried him to his car… felt like a scene out of ‘Road House’." – Tyrus [22:28]

7. Mentorship, Tough Choices, and Life’s Collateral Damage

• Tyrus gets personal about working at a group home and mentoring troubled kids; shares poignant stories about two boys, Luke and David.
  • His wrestling call-up forced him to choose between a new career and deep relationships with those kids.
  • One boy succeeds with Tyrus’ tough love; the other’s story ends tragically.
• Kennedy and Tyrus reflect on sacrifices behind success, and the idea that every “happy ending” comes with losses along the way.
• Quote:
  • "Whenever you go from one thing to another, you’re always going to leave something behind." – Tyrus [27:27]
  • "If people ever ask me what’s the secret to success, I always say: accepting the losses along the way." – Tyrus [28:16]

8. Lighter Moments: Chicken and Stereotypes

• The episode wraps with a funny recall of a viral TV moment where Tyrus didn’t share chicken with Kennedy, which turned into a stereotype joke.
  • Kennedy confesses she was wearing Armani and didn’t want chicken grease on her expensive dress.
  • The hosts toast to “chicken and stunts and being awesome.”
• Quote:
  • "I was wearing a Giorgio Armani dress and I looked at that chicken and… I knew there was no way I was going to get grease stains out of that dress." – Kennedy [28:30]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The thrill of, ha, I’ve taken her off the market like she’s mine now... And now the thrill of 'she’s mine' isn’t a big thing anymore." – Tyrus [08:22]
• "I always saw the downside. I saw... a 22-year-old girl who misses her family. Like making horrible life choices with disgusting men." – Tyrus [12:13]
• "It wasn’t being judgmental. It was like, make better choices." – Tyrus [12:41]
• "Every happy ending, every choice... there’s collateral damage along the way." – Tyrus [28:03]
• "You are the ultimate winner and one of my absolute favorite stars." – Kennedy [28:16] (A touching note as the episode closes)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:20: Cocktail banter & recipe
• 01:32 – 03:30: Celebrity substance use, peer pressure on MTV
• 04:09 – 08:13: Backstage stories, bodyguarding, high-end sex work
• 08:44 – 09:39: Psychology of relationships based on money/power
• 12:42 – 17:59: Strip club world, Vegas, boundaries, shifting legal landscape
• 19:34 – 25:06: Bodyguard career, teaching gigs, discovery by Tommy Dreamer
• 25:06 – 27:27: Mentoring group home kids, choosing between passion and relationships
• 27:27 – 29:20: Costs and choices behind dreams, viral chicken moment, wrap-up toasts

---

Tone & Language

The episode is rich in snappy wit, streetwise candor, and moments of heartfelt honesty. Kennedy’s curiosity pairs with Tyrus’s blend of humor and gravitas as he draws back the curtain on glitzy LA nights—as well as the very real, human cost underneath fame and fortune.

---

For Listeners/Newcomers:

This episode is a revealing look at what really goes on in the shadows of celebrity culture. You’ll come away with insider stories, cautionary wisdom about chasing status, and a few laughs about chicken, cocktails, and life’s unpredictable turns. The chemistry between Kennedy and Tyrus ensures you’re in for an entertaining, enlightening happy hour.

---

Transcript

[Tyrus]

Foreign.

[Kennedy]

Hello, and welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World. I am so excited because it is happy hour and we don't have an agenda. It's just Tyrus. Tyrus. Welcome to Kennedy Saves the World.

[Tyrus]

Always a pleasure.

[Kennedy]

Cheers to you.

[Tyrus]

Cheers to me. Happy hour with a cherry on top.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

Here we go. Yep. Oh, wow. Now, I came into this blind.

[Kennedy]

Damn.

[Tyrus]

Your producer had said, what drink I prefer, And I said, dealer's choice.

[Kennedy]

Nice.

[Tyrus]

Because I, too, like to play dangerously.

[Kennedy]

I have another drink that I want to make you. You know, maybe later in the summer, called the Towering Tyrus. This is not it.

[Tyrus]

What is this? This is delicious.

[Kennedy]

We needed something very simple and refreshing.

[Tyrus]

It's fashion, but it's like. It doesn't have the.

[Kennedy]

I know. So it's. It's.

[Tyrus]

Which is dangerous.

[Kennedy]

It's. I know that you watch your sugar. So it is Red Stag, which is cherry Jim Beam with diet cream soda, Coke Zero, a little bit of grenadine, and smushed cherries.

[Tyrus]

Just. Yeah. You know what? This might be my new favorite drink.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

Honestly, this is delicious.

[Kennedy]

Yes.

[Tyrus]

You want to chug it, but there's enough kick to say, whoa, whoa, big fella. Because you don't want it to be to where you just down it. And then it's like, jaeger, because I've been there. And again, to the good people of Germany at that bar.

[Kennedy]

I'm sorry, My favorite is celebrities who. I think they're. They're possibly. Maybe they could be taking pills. They could be taking, like, antidepressants. Anti. Anxiety medication, some sort of benzo. And then they drink, and then they're like, my drink was tampered with. I was roofied.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, no, you were roofied before you walked in.

[Kennedy]

Like Lisa Rinna and Tara Reid. And then the bars freak out because they're like, oh, this is our reputation on the line. We have security footage, and they go through all the footage and like, no. No one.

[Tyrus]

Do you think they do that to try to get out of their bill?

[Kennedy]

No, I think they get so hammered and they're embarrassed.

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

That. That they have to say something that absolves them of the responsibility of drinking too much. Or. And you. You know, they're like, well, I was fine when I walked in. And it's like, well, maybe you took a pill, like a half hour because you were going into a social situation.

[Tyrus]

So I needed to bring myself down. Or bring myself up, depending on whom. We're just, you know, let's. You have been in entertainment forever. Yeah. 35 years. Yeah. And yet we all had our. We've all had our issues and stuff goes on, but you, at least, unless you just have the greatest PR ever, you never really got caught up into all that.

[Kennedy]

No, because when I was like, I think probably the most famous on mtv, I wasn't drinking.

[Tyrus]

You were underage.

[Kennedy]

I wasn't drinking. I wasn't doing any drugs. I didn't smoke.

[Tyrus]

Like, wasn't there a lot of pressure? And I'm not trying to. On anybody from back then, but it seems like, at least in my experience, that whenever I was around that element, they want you to do the same things they're doing. So they're always kind of like, hey, come drink with us or come do this with us.

[Kennedy]

So. So there was a lot of pressure to drink. There weren't a lot of people who weren't drinking, like, who were actually straight edge. But what was funny. So the really cool people, when they would go do drugs, they would be like, oh, it's just us. It's just like our small group. And, like, you can't penetrate that small group.

[Tyrus]

So it's like, Jimmy Cox, you don't want nothing to do with this over here.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, but I was. I was never a part of, like, the small.

[Tyrus]

You weren't in the break in the in crew.

[Kennedy]

No, no, no. I would. And I would be hanging out, like, en masse with bands and stuff. Saw a lot of stuff backstage. Saw a lot of women compromise themselves backstage. And there are things where I look at that and I'm like, I am so thankful I'm on the other side of the camera right now.

[Tyrus]

You know, I used to. As a bodyguard, the walk of shame. I always would make eye contact. Like, I don't know why, but it was just. I had to let them know that, like, you know, and sometimes they would come back around.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

And by giving them the eye contact, when they would see me again, they would suddenly not want to come backstage. It would just be like, oh. Because I would always do the same look. It was always the same look. It was always, you know, I just do it. And the guys would stop doing that to them. Like, no, I'm trying to help them.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

Because I think, okay, but how long.

[Kennedy]

How long would that last? So when you do the walk of shame, is it like the girl goes with the artist or the wrestler to their hotel room and then leaves a few hours later? Or is it like backstage after 20 minutes?

[Tyrus]

It's. Well, certain clients I had, it would be. They would. I would always have to be outside the door. Right. So that was always. I was always the presence there. But I always volunteered, you know, I can do the same thing from inside. You just text me or tap. And we had like. If there was something got went wrong, there was a code.

[Kennedy]

Like what could go wrong?

[Tyrus]

For example, like girls too aggressive. Girls too. A girl goes in and all of a sudden realizes that she's not where she wants to be, you know, or freaks out or gets rejected and becomes very upset.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

You know, or like a lot of times it would be. People would get backstage and they would think they were. They weren't necessarily there to see the artist. They brought a demo tape or they're trying to, you know, get themselves on the team or whatever the hell it is, or an over aggressive fan and you have to have to walk in and kind of throw them out. And then there was, there was actually, it wasn't really the celebrity clients that I was bodyguarding before they had the thing. It was like the guys with a lot of money.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

And they, they always had a saying. I don't pay for women of the evening. I pay them to go away.

[Kennedy]

Yes.

[Tyrus]

So when they don't go away, then it's, you know.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. Because it's like if you're super hot. Because. And I saw, and I always thought this was fascinating. Like I was always very intrigued by high end call girls. And I saw them a lot at a list parties in L. A And you would see them and I could imagine that women like that who look because they are pristine. They do not look like shabby hookers.

[Tyrus]

No. They don't work by the hour either.

[Kennedy]

No. And that's what they are paid for. I mean they are paid to blend in and be a super turn on. But I could see someone like that going, oh no, I actually want to settle down with a billionaire now.

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Like, no, I actually want to change that now. I want to be the girlfriend.

[Tyrus]

And that's what happened a lot with certain clients that would have reoccurring business. And what happened, what's funny is that they usually the men who do that are very insecure. Right. So as long as the girl acts like she wants, but she can only want him. So he will get upset if she's not available or he will get upset if she talks. I remember I was at a club and there was this group of older men and they of course in LA and this was a guy, TK Used to throw these parties. And he was Jerry Buss's nephew. He used to throw these big A list parties in LA and, and it was like everyone was there. It was like when the Lakers won the championship, they had their party there, he had everybody and getting in was very tough. And he loved to be able to walk out with me and go, nope, nope, nope, yes, you can come in. And I always felt kind of bad, you know, And I would see certain guys who were standing there with attractive girls and I'd be like, bro, I'm just going, it's not going to happen. Like he's going to let them in and we'll see, we'll see, dog, we'll see. You know, I'm a young recording artist, you know what I'm saying? And I got, you know, I ain't worried about it. I got, I got stacks and I got. You might have all those things, but because of what you're carrying betwixt your legs, you're not, he's not going to let you in. He's going to take your girls, he's going to take your girls. And that would happen a lot. And then they get very possessive over these high end ladies and the ladies know that, so they kind of playing along, playing along. And then it will switch to where then she'll be like, hey, I'll get out of the business since you've been chasing me so long and I'll move in with you and we'll be together or whatever. And it usually lasts about a month.

[Kennedy]

So why is that? Is it because the guy knows that she's been with so many other men and like, if a guy like that wants to settle down, it has to be with someone who is.

[Tyrus]

I think when you have two insecure people to begin with, I think the, the thrill of, ha, I've taken her off the market like she's mine now and none of the other guys can have them, you know, and can have her. And then life settles in and you realize she has a lot of issues to begin with and so do you. And now the thrill of she's mine isn't a big thing anymore.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

So then usually the billionaire then goes after a millionaire goes, then after the next one he can't have. I think it's the unattainable thing on both sides. Then when they have each other, they realize they have absolutely nothing in common but cocaine and nightclubs. And that's not a lot to build a foundation on.

[Kennedy]

It's horrible for your skin. Like, women like that may look incredible in their 20s, but then like, yeah.

[Tyrus]

And then reality, cumulative effect they look like they sunbathe in the Florida sun with no, no sunblock whatsoever for 10 years straight. And we're always on time for the tanning appointments. And the men, on the other hand. But again, they only have to look good for about an hour. That's really, it's why it's making your presence on the red carpet.

[Kennedy]

Yep.

[Tyrus]

Connecting. By the time you're, by the time bottle service is half over, no one's seeing clearly anymore anyways. And then, and then it's wake up

[Kennedy]

in the morning and go in the dark.

[Tyrus]

So it's really just getting prepared for two hours.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

On both. And I just. As a bodyguard, I would always sit there and I was always given jobs because I never personally got involved with anybody I worked with. I was always very. Even when I was with Snoop. And as cool as Snoop was, never smoked with him, never did any of that because I'm on the job, you know, and once you break that line, you're not the thing. So you end up becoming.

[Kennedy]

It's like, don't get high on your own supply.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, but you becoming their conscience. Like they literally, like, they will be. I have a guy who was. I'm driving him and his. In his Bentley. He's in the back seat and he wants to go and he's had too much to drink and he wants to go to these after hour parties in la. And I'm taking him, he has a sports jacket on and he's calling, he's texting this one of those escort people to meet him there. And he's in the back and he's, you know, he's really excited to go on this party. He's up like he can barely walk if I don't help him. And, and I'm like, hey, bro, maybe we should just call it a night. He's like, no, man, I've got this now. I got business. And then he then gets sick on her way over there. Oh, no, no, no, no. It was the coolest thing ever. Horrible, but cool. He took his sports jacket off. Cause I'm like, he's about to throw up in a $300,000 custom Bentley in the backseat. He pulls his sports coat off, makes it, folds it up into a perfect, like, jacket bucket.

[Kennedy]

Oh, my God.

[Tyrus]

Earl's in his jacket, curls it ties it, lows the window. And I was like, bro, you probably should not throw that out on the freeway. But he did it anyways and did not have a drop on him because I was like, open the thing. I think there Was like looking for paper towels or something. And I handed a napkin and handed back to him and he was like, he literally was like, I'm good, I'm good, I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go. And I'm just like, that can't be. And I took him to the after party and he literally just walked in and face planted, basically. And then, you know, carry them out, bring them home. You like, you're like, all of a sudden you're their mom, their butler. They're conscious. But I remember when he was walking in and I said, if I were you, I would not bring my wallet in cash. Maybe let me hold it, boss. And he was like, hey, you know what? I think you should hold my wallet in cash. I was like, yes, probably a good idea, you know. And then he would come out like, I need, I need, I need 300 stacks. I'm like, okay. You know, And I would do things like when they go to the strip club, I need money. I would get $2,000 in ones because they would have to hold it.

[Kennedy]

How do you get that? Do you have to go to the bank and just wait in line for.

[Tyrus]

No, believe it or not, the spearmint rhinos of the world and stuff carry plenty.

[Kennedy]

Oh, that's funny.

[Tyrus]

But I would always do that and I would always have to do. And you're always the babysitter and you would say, but the thing is, is like when it was my turn to be in front of the camera and kind of none of that was appealing to me because I saw. Always saw the downside. I saw the, the drugs are off. And now you have a 22 year old girl who misses her family. Like making horrible life choices with disgusting men. Yeah, they're disgusting. And the only reason why she was with him is because he had money or he was on a TV show. And then that reality hits and then they walk, as they walk down the hallway, then there's me going, yeah, just shaking your head. And it wasn't being judgmental. It was like, make better choices.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tyrus]

And then there's other things.

[Kennedy]

I see you. I'm a so super normal person.

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

And I see you, I see what's going on. I'm working my ass off for a living.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, you can work too.

[Kennedy]

You can work and feel good about what you do. You don't have to be doing this. Like you can say that with one look. I have a question. Strippers who work at the higher end strip clubs, like, I lived briefly with a stripper who worked at 11 in

[Tyrus]

the morning dated 1 or 2 at

[Kennedy]

the 7th Veil during the week.

[Tyrus]

I've been to the 7th Veil back in the day, long before children in married life.

[Kennedy]

The hot ones who work on like Friday and Saturday nights, are they also prostitutes?

[Tyrus]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

Really?

[Tyrus]

Yes. And some of them don't charge.

[Kennedy]

I went to a strip club once in Vegas with a group of people and I was like a cultural anthropologist.

[Tyrus]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

I was like fascinated looking at the behavior of. I was more interested in the people who were like, trying to get people's attention and lap dances and the amount of money people had or didn't have. And then I was like, wait a second, that. That man is putting his fingers in her. And they were like, yeah, yeah. No, it's because he paid so much. And I was like, but that's like a form of yeah. And I was like, ew.

[Tyrus]

The ones who are the ones dancers. No, no, the ones who make a lot of money and have returning customers, they are just. It's business. It's like a doctor performing a surgery.

[Kennedy]

But is there a line between, okay, I'm dancing and you can touch me, but we're not having sex? Or is it like most of the time?

[Tyrus]

Most of the time it's. It's from. I was always with super high end clients. They got treated. But the app, when I was with my buddies and we went to the strip club, you weren't touching nobody. I mean, you know what I'm saying? One, you didn't want to catch a case, and two, a $10 tip's not gonna get you a trip to Honeytown, you know what I'm saying? Or 20 or, you know, you know what I'm saying? It's not. But when there's a guy who comes in with a clear briefcase of 20s just stacked, he's got 50 grand.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. The guy was sitting like in the middle of the room.

[Tyrus]

Yes. And he's usually the most ugly.

[Kennedy]

He feels very intimate. Oh, he was disgusting.

[Tyrus]

And they. But they're. When I was need and when I was living in LA and I was in between wrestling stuff and I was bodyguarding, a lot of the clients would want to go to Vegas. A lot of Los Angeles clients would go to Vegas, take the private jet to Vegas, and then they would go to places. And the super high end strippers were also psychiatrists. They always found a way to just give them enough attention to get what they needed. Finders money, but not go all the way with them. So the guy would keep coming back.

[Kennedy]

That's smart.

[Tyrus]

So they would always be. They would always be clever. And now remember this one? Because one was like, hey, big guy, you want to dance? And I just looked at, I'm on the clock. And I was very dismissive because you have to be. Because I could lose my job if I'm having a conversation. Understand? My clients are insecure. You have this six year old, your client, monster trouble. Yeah. And a lot of times strippers will see a big bodyguard and they'll, hey, I'll want to work next to him because I'm safe with his client or whatever. So you have to like, straight. And I've seen other bodyguards get fired because they want to talk and this, that, whatever. And the guy who's sitting there with the bottle service, he has to be the funniest guy in the room. Of course, he has to be the smartest guy in the room.

[Kennedy]

That's what he's paying for.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, exactly. So they, Once they get him, they always just kind of put the carrot in front of him. It's always, oh, I have to go, I have to go. Because there was this. I would see this one every time and it was like. It was business. She was like, I'm. I have my own businesses, I own land and I own realtors and this, that, whatever. And she would finance her stuff by stringing along these wealthy guys, you know, and then. And the guy would keep coming back and keep. And then he would lie in the car, but all the stuff they did. And then, you know, and it would be like I was outside the room. Yeah, I heard you.

[Kennedy]

Is there really no sex in the Champagne room?

[Tyrus]

There's sex in the champagne room, yeah.

[Kennedy]

There.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, unfortunately.

[Kennedy]

Condoms.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, I think. I would say. I would say 90 of them do. Because I know they do. Because I've had. I had one client who was upset because he kept telling her he was allergic, and she was like, well, I'm allergic to STDs, you know, and. And like, it was like an argument. Like it was like a legit argument to where I had to say, hey, boss, we gotta go, you know, And. And I look back on that and it. But it also seems like it changed. Like it went from that, I think that was like early 2000s to like around 2000, like 5. The whole. I don't know if they cracked down in Vegas, but it changed to where the strippers had strong lines that they would not cross. And I think some of that was that. I think Vegas cracked down on it. I know that, like, they. When they started. Started on cameras in the champagne room and things like that. Things changed, I think as technology got better lawsuits. I think there was a lot of things where guys were saying they were getting robbed and going back to the club and saying, like, hey, this, that, whatever. So they would change things.

[Kennedy]

I mean, I could see that going both ways. I could see the guy saying, I got robbed and the girl saying, I got raped. And it's like.

[Tyrus]

So they put the cameras into that.

[Kennedy]

Know who to believe.

[Tyrus]

And also another thing they did was they started making them have to, like, a bank where you had to, like, give them an ID and sign for money. And that kind of.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

Changed. Plus, you know, most of these guys, let's be honest, there was somebody waiting at home.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

And it's a little hard to hide 50 grand.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

You know, when you're. Before, there was no questions asked, but they started having to, like, fill out forms and stuff because I had a client who was asking me to do it. And at the time, I was married to my first wife, and I was like, you're out of your mind. I'm not. And then.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. You think I want to get that?

[Tyrus]

I'm not getting tagged here.

[Kennedy]

I'm on the road.

[Tyrus]

I always had a rule. Don't ask me. Yeah. Don't ask me what my business. And I don't want. Yeah. You know, like, hey, what is this?

[Kennedy]

$10,000?

[Tyrus]

Because I would get big tips. Right. And I'm not reporting them.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

Statute of limitations. But I. I would. But the taxation is theft. Yeah. And they would literally be like, fill out all your information and stuff. Whatever. And then they would have all your information also if you made a mistake or acted dumb. Oh, I have everything. I think that changed it a lot. And then you started. Guys started going to less. There was. I had a line I drew. I would not go to a hen house. We'll just call it that. Because Vegas. And that's where I'd be like, I'll wait in the car. Not gonna be in there. You know, always had in my brain that eventually I was wanting to have some kind of career.

[Kennedy]

Don't go anywhere more. Kennedy saves the World. Right after this. How soon after bodyguarding did you start wrestling it?

[Tyrus]

I was.

[Kennedy]

And did you ever go back while

[Tyrus]

I was doing all this? I was substitute teaching during the day.

[Kennedy]

Really?

[Tyrus]

And I was working at. I was working at group homes as recreation therapist during the day. And then on the weekends, I would bodyguard. At night, I would work at Saddle Ranch.

[Kennedy]

Okay.

[Tyrus]

So I was working I was hustling a lot. And because you had. It's California, and California has always been expensive. Not as bad as it is now, but back then, teacher salary, whatever. And it wasn't. I was actually working a club, Saddle Ranch, when I got discovered by Tommy Dreamer, because I beat up two guys. But apparently I do it with flair. And I was making jokes, and I was just being. I'm who I am. Always been.

[Kennedy]

But that's like the Roadhouse era.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. Holy.

[Kennedy]

He's Patrick Swayze.

[Tyrus]

Come alive without the cool hairspray or the abs, you know? But I was the most. And all our crew was big. Like, Tiny was seven feet. Keys is six, nine. It was me, Bo, all the guys, we were just this big, monstrous crew.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

But because I made jokes. Why I beat people up, they made it. Tommy was like, can you do that on tv? You know? Yeah. And then I remember saying to him, I thought it was full of. I did. I was like, you know how many times I've been promised movies? Probably the best was. What's his name? He's always at the Knicks games. Tracy Morgan. He would come sing karaoke and be hammered there. And every time, promised to take me on tour as his bodyguard. Every time. Because you're only allowed to sing one song. The. The karaoke, there was. It was 1300 people in the. In the bar.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Tyrus]

Like, it was a performance. It was, like, professional character. You got one song, that's it. Waiting list was forever. You had to sign, like, a week ahead of time. And he got to sing his one song. And he always ended up taking his blouse off. And, you know, and then they would have to walk him out. And he was always kind of had, like, a sad. And he had a. He was cheap. He never did the VIP parking, so I had to walk him all the way through Universal, past all this stuff. And he would talk about life and, you know, and he was very, like, somber, and, like, the crowd was away, and he'd be like, you know, dog, you know, I need to take you on tour with me. And, you know, one night, I was my. I was going through separation or whatever you want to call it, getting ready to get divorced. And I was kind of down. And. And. And he was just like, you know, the worst part about being a bodyguard is you're protecting us. But she's at home alone. You know how that ends. And I was just like, ow, man.

[Kennedy]

That's deep.

[Tyrus]

They appreciate that. How about a joke, mother? But he would always, always promise me a job. So I was Used to it. But that night, Tommy was like, hey. I said, you know what, man? I'll tell you what. How about you work for me? That's. Cause I'm to say I was a little bit. I'm sarcastic and the glass is half empty kind of guy. Kind of like right now is kind of who I am. So when he said it, I was like, you got a better. You know what? I do the hiring here. You want to work with me? And he called me out and he f. He worked to finish the shift with us. He was breaking up fights.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. At one point, he had. And of course, wrestling fans were going nuts seeing him, because that is amazing. Yeah. He had someone give him an atomic drop on a rail. But, I mean, it was a guy I was going to beat up pretty bad. And he ran the. Tommy Dreamer jumped in his arms and Tommy carried him to his car. And I was like, tommy, I'm walking behind him. Put him down. Give him to me. Because he. You know, and he was like, I got him. So after that, like a month later, he called me up and he's like, hey, I. He took a picture of me.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

And I was like, yeah, right. You know, whatever. And I honestly forgot about it, other than the great, like, hey, Tommy Dreamer came to the bar and was awesome.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

And then I get a call like, hey, somebody up here likes your look, so we're going to bring you in for a tryout. So, I mean, that's literally how it happened.

[Kennedy]

How. How quickly? From the tryout to hiring.

[Tyrus]

So I went down with McDonough. That's where I met Bill Demont and John Larinaitis and worked out for them. And there was like 10 of us in the first afternoon. I think it went from 10 to 2. Wow. And then at the. Then at the end, I went. My whole goal was, I'm not. I won't quit. Don't finish last. That was my whole goal. And apparently that even though I had coming from an athlete. Football background and stuff, wrestling is. Is the complete opposite. You have to learn how to kick your own ass, which is hard. When football. When you're always taught to go forward.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

So it was a little bit of an adjustment, but they were just his work ethic. So they said, I'll tell you what. Lose £50 and we'll give you a deal. So I went back to life, did what I did. Smackdown comes, I get a call from John Laren, and I said, hey, I want you to come backstage and see how your progress is going. And I was like, oh, yes, sir. And I went back there, and I had lost, I think, £75 at that point. I was training like. Like a Rocky montage. And right there, he was like, okay, you're signed. And then it was like a month later, because I had my kids, not my students. And at that time, I was working 80 hours a week at the group home. And five acres, great place. And I had two cottages. And they had basically invented a position to me where I was just teaching them how to play. It was the greatest job I ever had. Like, the pay was not great, but, like, every day. I mean, it was Nerf football. It was just me reliving my childhood. And, like. And the boys would be like. Instead of getting sent in rooms in isolation, they had to go outside and play with me to work it out.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

So I would come to. And so to the point where a couple of them, Luke and David. David. When I first saw him, he was like. I think he was maybe a first grader. He looked so much like me that I started going, you know, I mean, but he only said one word.

[Kennedy]

Like Maria Shriver with the housekeeper.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, but he only said one word,

[Kennedy]

the F word, son. Looks a lot like.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. To the point where I was like. He was. He had. He ended up. He came from. It was a lot. His family. His story was one of the most tragic, horrible stories I'd ever heard in my life. He literally would end up. He was throwing bricks off a roof as a child. I mean, his parents are letting him. Basically a toddler on a roof, and he's throwing bricks. But. And I. That was my guy and his other kid named Luke. They would act up on purpose whenever I was working to the point where their rooms would be like, hey, Tyrus, they're in your office. They're waiting for you. And then at that time, it was a lot of these crazy rules. The best people to help these children, especially delayed children, are the people that work with them. But they weren't allowed to have relationships outside of work. So you'd have people who would come in. In the virtue signaling. They only want to see them on the weekend. They'd never take them off campus. So I started having. We had. I had to take them for clothes shopping, but we always got stuck at the movie theater, you know, So I was pushing limits. But then one day my boss just said, hey, fill out the paperwork and take those two home for the weekend. Like, just, you know, and it got to the point where. And then the WWE calls and here's this great chance. And, you know, my wife at the time was like, I'm not ready for two troubled kids. Like, we'll have our own children. But I'm not, you know, in my career. I don't want to give up my career. So it was a horrible, horrible choice.

[Kennedy]

Do you still talk to them?

[Tyrus]

Actually, I reconnected with Luke. He messaged me when I was in the wwe and he was kind of lost in la, so I flew him out and he stayed with me for a while.

[Kennedy]

Nice.

[Tyrus]

But, you know, then I had to give him some tough love.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

You know, and because he was just not wanting to do anything, he threw on some bad habits, horrible habits. Put him out, put him on the thing. And then I get a letter from him, like, maybe two years later that he was in San Francisco, he drives a bus, he has a job. And he thanked me for straightening him out. So mission accomplished. David. Unfortunately, that story did not end very well. He's not with us anymore. I'm sorry, but it's just one of those things where then the WWE calls and there's always, no matter whether you have, people always talk about dreams and chasing stuff. Whenever you go from one thing to another, you're always going to leave something behind.

[Kennedy]

Yes.

[Tyrus]

And, and that's a very good point. In life. You. You, whenever you see someone that gets to a point, you just think, oh, their life is so great.

[Kennedy]

It's. And it's, it's one of those things where you have to do that cost benefit analysis.

[Tyrus]

And I know you have. I mean, the same thing. Like, I'm sure there was relationships, like, you know, if you weren't gone on TV all the time, we'd be better. And I'm tired of guys talking to you, you know, and then, like, you look like, then it's come, oh, you picked your career over me. And there's, there's. That's a real thing.

[Kennedy]

Yes. I mean, you have to, you have to try and figure out, like, what is best in this moment. And you don't have the benefit of hindsight.

[Tyrus]

There's collateral damage with every. Every happy ending. Every choice. Every choice. And I think that's, if people ever ask me, like, you know, what's the secret success is, I always say, accepting the losses along the way.

[Kennedy]

Beautifully said. But you are the ultimate winner and one of my absolute favorite stars.

[Tyrus]

Oh, by the way, I would like to apologize to the people because it was outraged that I did not give you a piece of chicken. I would just like to say that she had on a really expensive.

[Kennedy]

I was wearing a Giorgio Armani dress and I looked at that chicken and that was one of the most delicious things. But I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to get grease stains out of that dress. And you and I were thinking, because

[Tyrus]

I literally broke off a drumstick. That was not for me to do the stereotype gig. It just fell in my lap because I was getting ready to camera to go back to go to you. And I. My wife has expensive dresses. I know the difference now. So I literally was like, I can't do that. And then he said what he said and I was like, I don't appreciate stereotypes. And so it ended up being gold. But, like, it was very funny. People were like, how dare you not

[Kennedy]

share, by the way, like, high five to Whole Foods for making the most delicious smelling rotisserie chicken. Because that looked incredible.

[Tyrus]

It was dripping. Had it not been, if it was a little drier like the first one, we would have kept that party going. Absolutely.

[Kennedy]

And we will.

[Tyrus]

We will. There will be more times for chicken.

[Kennedy]

Yes.

[Tyrus]

To chicken.

[Kennedy]

To chicken. And stunts. And being awesome. To Tyrus. This has.

[Tyrus]

This is phenomenal. And thank you for having a man's cup, a glass, an actual whisk. Thank you for that. Hard to find these days.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. Little tumbler of love for Tyrus. This has been Kennedy Saves the World along with Tyrus. I'm Kennedy. Listen ad free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple podcasts and Amazon Prime. Members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon music app. Oh, go ahead and leave me a review while you're there. I'd love to hear what you have to say. You've been listening to Kennedy Saves the World on the Fox News podcast network.