Carer slept in his motor to make it as a wrestler and ended up Netflix poster boy

Scottish Sun

3 days ago

' I took to it like a duck to water. Wrestling comes naturally to Scots – we're battle-ready by primary school'
CAR-NO-JOKEY Carer slept in his motor to make it as a wrestler and ended up Netflix poster boy
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A SCOT who quit his carer job to live in his car with his dog while pursuing his wrestling dream, ended up the poster boy for a major Netflix documentary in America.
Luke Scoular, from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, left his career and home behind when he signed up for an intensive academy in London run by WWE legend Al Snow.
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The Scot and his dog Odin slept together in a tiny Ford Fiesta as he tried to make it as a wrestler.
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Luke with his champions belt and holding a lion's head.
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Luke working out and as the face of Netflix Wrestlers series.
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Drew McIntyre made it to the top of WWE but Luke Scoular is with Ohio Valley Wrestling - which launched John Cena along with Batista to global stardom.
But having blown all his life savings on the course he had nowhere to live, so the 6ft 1in, 17 stone musclebound wrestling wannabe slept in his tiny Ford Fiesta with his husky Odin.
Luke, 34, says: 'I'm a big guy and Odin was a big dug, weighing 47kg, so yes it was cramped.
'But I slept in the motor because I couldn't get a hotel that would take Odin and they were all a fortune anyway.
'So starting from that and ending up on a Netflix poster was surreal to say the least.'
Luke was raised with his three brothers by mum and dad Lisa and Derek, starting work as a lifeguard in Wishaw Sports Centre, then as a personal trainer, before becoming a support worker for young adults in residential units.
But he was inspired to walk away from it all after watching a video featuring wrestling superstar John Cena, 48, who has since become a Hollywood actor.
However Cena also holds the Guinness World Record for granting more wishes - over 650 - than anyone else for the US charity the Make-A-Wish Foundation for kids with critical illnesses.
Luke explains: 'A lot of wrestlers take part in Make-A-Wish and visit kids in hospital but John Cena is the most famous one for doing it.
'One night when I was home doing nothing I came across this video on YouTube with all these testimonials from kids he'd helped. It was tug at the heart strings stuff and brought a tear to my eye.
'I will never forget the date as it was November 3, 2017 and I had been toying with the idea of joining Al Snow's wrestling academy.
'But after watching John Cena and all the good he had done as a wrestler, I looked at the dug, he looked back at me as if to say 'Just do it'.
'So I did it and, bang, I chucked my job and drove down to London that night to start the six month course the next morning.'
Luke bypassed the vibrant wrestling scene in Scotland, that has produced WWE champ Drew McIntyre and cult favourite Grado, as he believed moving south would allow him to concentrate on his training.
He says: 'I needed a clean break with no distractions.'
Al Snow and his team soon allowed Luke and Odin to stay in their gym where he worked as an informal janitor.
He says: 'They saw I was sleeping in the motor so invited us to stay in the building.
'So I offered to keep the place clean and make sure it was ready for the guys to start training when they came in every morning.
'It was great as all I got to do was hammer it, practising for six or seven hours a day.'
He adds: 'But I took to it like a duck to water. Wrestling comes naturally to Scots – we're battle-ready by primary school.'
Luke worked on his ring persona as Crixus, named after the real-life Gallic Gladiator, and impressed Snow so much he was invited to move to the States to join Ohio Valley Wrestling - ironically the same place that launched John Cena along with Batista to global stardom.
And it was there where the Netflix cameras turned up to follow the wannabes from across the world for the 2023 series Wrestlers.
He says: 'When the film crew first came in to meet us, they found out I was Scottish and were like 'Wow'.
'They loved my story of how I'd quit everything to be a wrestler and spent about three months following me around.
'Then when it was finally shown things went crazy. I was getting flooded with messages from across the world and a few from back home too saying 'So that's where you f***ed off to'.'
Luke, 34, is following in the footsteps of fellow Scot Drew McIntyre, 40, who also trained with Ohio Valley Wrestling on his way to becoming our country's first WWE champ in 2020, while Edinburgh's Joe Hendry made his WrestleMania debut this year.
It led to Al, 61, who has shared a ring with the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, to declare that the Scots are 'having a moment'.
But Luke admits: 'When Drew became WWE champ it p***ed me off at the time, as I wanted to be the top Scot.
'But I am secretly delighted for him and it only helps me because we have similar styles, so I play off of that sometimes and I've also called him out once or twice (challenged him), but nothing has come of that, so far.'
However one part of the job that Luke truly loves is seeing the eyes of sick kids light up when he and his fellow wrestlers pay them a visit.
He says: 'We do a lot of outreach stuff and have visited a children's cancer unit in Cincinnati and we've done a few things with Ronald McDonald House too.
'This was a big part of why I wanted to become a wrestler in the first place after watching that John Cena video all those years ago and seeing the sheer delight you can bring.
'I may get booed in the ring but I'm really just a big softy at heart.'
Luke is now based in Louisville, Kentucky, where he recently got married to an American woman Rosey, who works for a supplement company who sponsors the Scot.
And he's also swapped sleeping in his car for a hammock on his front porch. But sadly, his companion Odin passed away last year aged 24.
Luke says: 'Weirdly I actually look back on those times with fond memories even though we were sleeping in a tiny Ford Fiesta.
'Odin came with me when I threw myself into a new unknown world of wrestling. I was able to stick it out because I wasn't alone as I had him.'
He adds: 'So yes, it really is amazing to now be a professional wrestler and living the dream, but I couldn't have done it without him.'