DDP On WWE’s New Crop Of Stars Changing the Wrestling Landscape, Top Names Using DDP Yoga, Is He “All In”?

Diamond Dallas Page is one of the greatest salesmen inside and outside the ring. With the motivational speak of a Tony Robbins and the entrepreneurial spirit of Oprah, the WWE Hall of Famer has built an empire for himself with his DDP Yoga programs. The former multi-time champion’s magnanimous personality earned him a diverse fan following. Fans that will be showing up in full force for the legendary figure at the Motor City Comic Con May 18-20 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI. Before the event, DDP sat down to talk about his con experiences and much more.

When you’re doing these conventions, tell me what the atmosphere is like for you? What is it like for you to meet the fans after all these at events such as a Motor City Comic Con?

It’s kind of wild because there is this cross pollination from people from wrestling. Now that I’m a Hall of Famer, I feel a boost a bit. I get fans who come see me for my wrestling career but also The Devil’s Rejects, Ready to Rumble. People loves stuff from my movie career. Then there are the people who love me for DDP Yoga. Some of them are all three. The stories people come up to me with. They get emotional when they start telling me their story. Sometimes I get choked up with them. I will have moments where I’m told, “Come on. You’ve got a really long line.” I’m like, “No. I’m going to talk to each and every one of those people.” They’ve waited on line, or they had a story they wanted to tell me or something they wanted me to hear…. I have people who will hand a letter to my wife. She tells them that they should give it to me. They tell her no, and that she should give it to me. Then I’ll be taken aback by what they wrote and read them on Motivational Monday on my DDP Yoga Now App. It’s really emotional because of their stories. People who do my program see it’s not just a workout or a diet. DDP Y is a lifestyle that if you do it, it can literally change your life. I hear it every day.

I’m going to start working with prisons.  Within the prisons they have these tablets or iPads, which inmates can rent out. They can buy videos, but everything has to be wholesome and have a message. They are not going to let them rent or buy Die Hard. The first two movies they can get really are The Resurrection of Jake the Snake and our new one coming out next year called Relentless. They’ve already got it. It’s an inspirational story and ups and downs of how DDP Yoga, in its eighth year, became an overnight success.

That’s incredible. I’m sure Jake’s story of redemption resonates with many of the inmates.

Jake actually just spoke at a prison and about DDP Yoga and turning his life around. The sheriff who was in charge of bringing the inspirational programs to the prisons and keeping them in the best mind space they can be. I got on the phone with him and sent him the app. I’m going to Canada for a workshop. I’m flying into Buffalo where this sheriff is from Buffalo. He calls me asking if I’m going to be at the workshop and that he is definitely coming. He was doing the work out for the last five days in a row and loves it. And this is an old meathead like me and I was. I ‘m excited to go back to Detroit because one of the first workshops I ever did was at Funk Fitness, about 50 miles outside Detroit.

So, it’s like coming full circle. You’ve done so many signings over the years. What’s the craziest thing someone got you to sign or where you were like, “This is incredible. Where did you get this?”

It amazes me getting these large posters of The Devils Rejects. Some of them are like 11 feet long and 5 feet high. More people bring in memorabilia from me as a wrestler that I didn’t even know I had. Whether its an action figure or a body pillow. Grown men will bring their Wrestling Buddies they grew up with and had as a kid because their own kid loves it now. NFL players and professional wrestlers beat up their bodies so bad. I don’t think any other sport gets the fan appreciation like we do. They appreciate you and what you did to your body for your enjoyment. They get it now and realize you can’t fake gravity. People will look at me and go, “You look amazing.” Not bad for 62. Then their jaw hits the ground. Most of my buddies don’t look like me at 62. But they don’t do what I do. I’m my own walking billboard. Like Chris Jericho.

Jericho really is a shining example. AJ Styles is another. Scott Hall, Jake Roberts. Is there anyone new you’ve taken on as a DDP Y believer from WWE?

Adam Cole, some people are calling him the next Shawn Michaels. That’s like calling someone the next Michael Jordan. The kid is amazing. He has been doing it. He got hurt three years ago and started doing it. You see the crazy s***. I saw him at WrestleMania and got him into the app. He loves it now. The guy I think is the next big thing is Drew McIntyre. Drew drove seven hours from Tampa to my home in Atlanta. We privately worked out for an hour. Then we went to the DDP Yoga Performance Center. We filmed me and him working out. Then we went to the Center where I was filming a live workout. McIntyre did the class for an hour. Then when the class was over, I did a screening of Relentless, which he stayed for. Then he turned back and drove seven hours back home. He texts me all the time. Him and Jinder [Mahal] because they’re buds. They were nobodies together, and now they’re both top guys together. That’s really awesome because I’ve been there with me and [Kevin] Nash and me and Scott [Hall] and a lot of the boys. He texted me from Europe and the tour. They’re doing the workouts together. AJ does it five days a week, and it keeps him in the ring and healthy. That’s why I give it to all my guys.

Back to the conventions, you get to see celebrities from all walks of life. Is there anybody you remember being a fan of that you have gotten to meet thanks to these opportunities?

Constantly I’m meeting new people. One of my favorites who I got to hang with the last week was Tommy Flanagan. What a classy, cool dude. Sons of Anarchy, Braveheart, he has been in everything. He was a cool cat. Manu Bennett is another guy who has become a good buddy of mine. Leo Rossi. And you know I get them doing DDP Yoga. I just set Tommy up with it.

As far as the landscape of wrestling these days, what has it been like for you to see the changes being made with the emerging stars. You mention young talent getting opportunities even later in their careers kind of like you had? That must be fun for you.

I love when they bring in a guy like Samoa Joe, who is phenomenal. He is finally getting his shot as I think he was around 39 when they brought him in. Bobby Fish is not young either. He is 40 and finally getting the chance in WWE. I love seeing these guys getting the opportunity What’s amazing to me more than anything is the independent circuit. A guy can work the independent circuit today and make good money. Like Cody Rhodes left WWE a couple of years back and had his biggest year last year. The world of wrestling to me now if you’re a fan and like WWE and the independent scene as well. There is just a lot of good stuff out there. Cody is doing this big show in September in Chicago. Conrad [Thompson] just gave me the rundown of what they’re doing with Bruce Prichard and Eric Bischoff going back and about WWE and WCW. You know that can get really colorful. They’ve got a lot of stars. It’s a big idea they’re turning into something special. Saturday morning before the show, I’m doing a DDP Yoga workshop. We just did the deal.

What’s crazy is you’re also doing the Jericho cruise later in the year too. You’re everywhere.

I have my own retreat as well in July 7 at a five-star hotel. We were just in UK doing a workshop. I’m doing anywhere between 70 to a 150 people a workshop. I’m hoping to do 151 and bust at All In. It’s $69.99 and you get a picture with me. More importantly, you get inspiration and perspiration. It’s two-and-a-half, three-hour deal…I break down the Diamond Dozen and do a 45-minute workout. I take pictures with every person. What’s fascination is 90 percent of the people come by themselves. Think about how hard it is to go to a function by yourself. Never mind going to do a workout with a guy that you were working out with on the DVD or DDP App. You see him as the bad ass but wonder if he is going to kick my ass. Nothing is further from the truth because I’m going to make it the easies thing you’ve ever done and challenge you and find what works for you. I want the DDP Y workout to meet you to where you are. Then let’s take it to the next level. That’s why we’re so successful.

Are there any other projects we should be on the look out for?

I have a book coming out in January called Positively Unstoppable: The Art of Owning It. I put a lot of owning it. Owning your life. Owning applies to everything from the way you live your life, the food you eat, your character. Everything. It’s all a mindset and what you tell yourself. I want to make this a best-seller because it’s powerful. The book is pretty awesome.