Exclusive: DDP Reflects On Helping Jake Roberts And Chris Jericho Through DDP YOGA

Diamond Dallas Page always knows how to capture the attention of a large crowd. The former multi-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion caught up with Still Real To Us at the New York Comic Con last month to talk about DDP YOGA, whipping Chris Jericho into shape, and how his good friend Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts changed the wrestling business.

“A lot of people come up here because they grew up watching me. They haven’t seen me in 15 years unless they caught the WWE Hall of Fame speech,” said Page at the NYCC. “A lot of people tell me, ‘You made me laugh. You made me cry. But most importantly, you started to make me believe in myself.’ When you see all of the adversities I went through to get to where I am, it starts to make you believe, ‘Maybe I can’t do what he’s doing, but maybe I can do what I want to do.'”

DDP transcended the world of professional wrestling in recent years to become a respected motivational speaker who changed so many lives, that even Tony Robbins would eat his heart out.

That’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing. Page shared his early source of inspiration with Still Real To Us in an intimate moment. “When I was 22 years old, I was watching Zig Ziglar. He is an old school, motivational speaker, and Bible thumper. He has a really good message. Basically, the one thing I’ve taken away from any of his speeches that I heard early on is this: You can get whatever you want, as long as you help enough people get what they want.”

The incredibly positive wrestler nodded, “You look at the movie, ‘The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.’ Jake is here and he looks great, doesn’t he? If you’ve never seen the film, do yourself a favor and watch it.” The founder of DDP YOGA began to quickly list off the film’s copious accomplishments. “It’s the second highest rated sports documentary on Netflix. It’s the number one rated biopic, rated by the fans, which is very cool,” recalled Page.

More and more spectators gathered as Dallas Page began speaking in a loud, booming voice that was unmistakable. “Our fans are ravenous. I make good money when I come to these things, but that’s not why I’m here. I don’t need the money,” laughed Page. “My life has been blessed because I worked my ass off. I’m here to share stories with people and hear their own stories.”

He wasn’t kidding. How exactly does DDP effortlessly draw people into his fascinating and larger-than-life world? Well, he learned from the best talkers that the wrestling business had to offer.

Page shrugged, “There’s no Diamond Dallas Page without Dusty Rhodes or Jake Roberts. Dusty gave me a break that ever meant something while Jake taught me how to work in the ring. I already knew how to do the moves, I just didn’t know the when, why and where.”

“He taught me how to be a storyteller. I never forgot that. I always wanted to help him,” Page revealed to Still Real To Us.

Roberts wasn’t the only person that DDP supported through tough times. Through his highly successful DDP YOGA program, countless individuals transformed into healthier, stronger, and wiser human beings. “So many of the stories are mind-blowing. One woman walked up to me today and said that she lost over 140 pounds because of DDP YOGA.”

DDP YOGA has gained serious momentum in recent months. With new subscribers joining every day, Page’s program has a lot of eyeballs on it. In a shocking announcement, Dallas Page implied that his program will take a name change in the near future. “I’m actually going to be rebranding. It will always be DDP YOGA as the company, but I am rebranding it as DDPY. It’s kind of like P90X. People want to call it ‘yoga’ when it’s DDP YOGA. It’s not yoga. It’s yoga for people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing yoga,” explained Page.

The New Jersey native has a thing for getting the name of his company right. There is a reason for that. He elaborated, “I am the biggest poster boy on the planet for that. I enjoy all kinds of yoga these days, but I was that guy–the guy who wouldn’t be caught dead doing yoga. I was already sharing my work with so many people when I was done with wrestling. It would have been very easy for me to take that over to the ‘Namaste’ side. Super easy. I would be humongous in the yoga community.”

Page told Still Real To Us, “But that wasn’t me. I wouldn’t have been true to myself. I would have never reached the people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing it.”

Being authentic to his roots, Dallas Page swiftly transitioned the conversation to touch upon the infamous ratings war between World Championship Wrestling and the then World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s. “When you talk about the path less traveled, there was no path. Just like I did with my career in wrestling. Nobody believed in Diamond Dallas Page. One by one, I made believers out of people. So many of them, come here, to see me. They want a picture. They want an autograph. They remember the ‘Attitude Era.’ It was such a special, special, special time.”

The Monday Night Wars made wrestling mainstream for people of all ages. Adults proudly wore t-shirts of wrestlers representing their favorite company while kids would hit each other with Stone Cold Stunners during recess. It was a good time to be alive for the common wrestling fan. “Thank God for the WWE Network, because it has given us a whole other life. It’s kind of like what happened in music with the classics,” nodded Page.

“Songs of the 70s and the 80s?  The Eagles became hot as hell all over again,” exclaimed Page. “What’s great is great. Don’t we play Frank Sinatra? Dean Martin? The Rolling Stones? The Beatles? People will be listening to that stuff 200 years from now! It’s like people still listening to Mozart.”

Page brightly smiled, “They will be literally showing the Monday Night Wars over a hundred years from now.”

Don’t doubt his claims. History backed up everything DDP was genuinely saying. “The WWE isn’t going anywhere. It will always have its crowd. We will always be, along with the 80s, the most special time in the business. How can it not be when you’ve got like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, or Randy Savage, that were literally a part of both eras,” Page told Still Real To Us.

DDP switched gears once more and began speaking about the subject of “The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.” Page wanted to give his friend the ultimate compliment. “Jake Roberts didn’t quite catch the ‘Attitude Era,’ but there is no ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin without Jake. Steve will be the first to tell you that,” Page nodded. “That one match that they had at King of the Ring changed Steve’s career. The whole industry, even.”

Besides remembering legendary moments inside of the squared circle, Page made it clear that his final goal is to help as many people as he possibly can. Even more eavesdroppers assembled at this point. Page stated to Still Real To Us, “I come here to hear the stories, and grab the people. I have given 9 different people my email address. My personal email. These are people that need help. I challenge them to step up, put in the work, and follow this thing I call ‘the list.'” DDP warned that a person has to really want to change if they want his mentorship. “If they do ‘the list,’ I’ll actually help them. Out of those 9 people, maybe 1 of them will follow through. That’s all that it takes though. I’ve got so many great stories from people who already have had an amazing transformation. That’s what makes it really awesome,” Page glowed.

One man that had a storybook transformation is Chris Jericho. ‘The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla’ is one of the most well-known stars in all of entertainment who practices DDP YOGA on a daily basis. Y2J was inspired to take up DDP YOGA after watching the famous Internet video featuring Arthur Boorman. Boorman is a disabled veteran who was injured in the Gulf War. The disabled vet took up DDP YOGA and received incredible results that had to be seen to be believed.

Seeing Boorman’s video was enough to convince Jericho to give DDP YOGA a shot. “Arthur and him put us on the map. That one video moved Chris Jericho. When Chris blew his back out, he told me, ‘Dallas, you tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,'” firmly stated Page. “Five weeks later, he was 85% pain-free. Three months later, he is in a headlining WrestleMania match with CM Punk and 100% pain-free. Six years later, he is 47 years young and still bumping around at his choosing like he’s 23. He does one workout,” grinned the proud WWE Hall of Famer.

Other famous athletes are enthusiastically following Y2J’s lead by practicing DDP YOGA in order to create more fulfilling lives for themselves. “I just had a meeting with NFL legends. They want to have a partnership with us so I can help out a lot of my heroes that were before me and that I grew up with. I’ll get to reach out and be able to help them.”

Before giving out high-fives to fans who were patiently waiting for autographs and pictures, DDP reiterated why he’s the true ‘People’s Champ.’

“That’s what being out here means to me. I’m telling stories and having fun,” stated Page.

You can learn more about DDP YOGA by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also follow DDP on Facebook and Twitter. Pictures were provided by Kevin Jackson Jr. More of Kevin’s work can be found by clicking here. To read more exclusive Still Real To Us interviews featuring your favorite Superstars, click HERE.