DDP on Embracing Yoga, Arthur Boorman’s Viral Video and Chris Jericho

Fred: Fred Richani here for The Sports Courier, joined by one of our all-time favorite guests, Diamond Dallas Page. How are you doing, Dallas?

Diamond Dallas Page: Unstoppable, brother.

Fred: What brings you to Wizard World Comic Con in Philly?

Diamond Dallas Page: I was signing a bunch of autographs and seeing a lot of the fans. It’s cool, because I get to talk to a lot of people who come up to me and say, “Dude, I’m doing DDP Yoga, and I love it,” or “I saw the video of Arthur. That never-give-up thing was awesome.” That video of the disabled veteran I helped walk again has over 4.7 million hits in just over three weeks, and I’m sure you’ll put a link up on your page. That’s pretty strong. It changed my whole business.

Fred: Speaking of changing your whole business, we asked you a lot of times about yoga, and you said it’s not yoga. What made you turn the corner and finally embrace it?

Diamond Dallas Page: DDP Yoga ain’t your mama’s yoga. It’s its own animal, but it does have yoga in it. I actually thought about changing the name completely from YRG because of the wall people hit with yoga. But when I did all the research on myself and everything that’s on the internet, I realized it would be impossible to get away from the word “yoga.” So many people would say, “DDP, how’s your yoga?” and I’d say, “It’s not yoga.” Finally I went, “You know what? It is yoga, but it ain’t the yoga people think.” They think it’s humming and chanting, and I got rid of all the spiritual mumbo jumbo. Not that there’s anything wrong with that for people who really love the namaste part of yoga. I do that too occasionally, but it’s not what I love to do. I love to have a really great workout, sweat my ass off, increase my flexibility and keep getting stronger every day. If you look at some of my videos, I’m doing superhero push-ups, with my arms straight out in front of me and my arms and feet coming off the ground, 40 of those. My core strength and overall flexibility are through the roof, and I’m 56. So what does DDP Yoga do? It makes you unstoppable. It’s the fountain of youth.

Chris Jericho was done because of back injuries, a herniated disc. Not anymore. He wrestled CM Punk for the WWE title at WrestleMania. We’ve got Santino, Kane, Titus O’Neil, Ryback and Zack Ryder, about 20 guys in WWE. We’ve got over 15 guys in the NFL and guys in MMA. I’m going to be personally working with Bellator champion Michael Chandler, and I’m going to Parris Island to work with the Marines in July, which is going to be really sweet.

Fred: A lot of wrestlers are embracing it now. What took so long?

Diamond Dallas Page: I think it took someone like Chris Jericho, who was hurt and really thought he was done. He saw an earlier version of the “Never Give Up” video of Arthur, and that pulled him in. Once he started doing it, he called me up and said, “D, I’m addicted to this. If I don’t do it, I feel bad,” because it is the fountain of youth. When you’ve got a guy like Chris Jericho putting it over, that’s huge. He’s not just a wrestling star. He’s a rock star, he did “Dancing with the Stars” and he had his own game show. He’s a multifaceted, talented cat. As a matter of fact, I just got a tweet from him letting me know that Men’s Health and Fitness did an article on him doing DDP Yoga, and they wanted to talk to me about my thoughts, which is very cool.

Fred: We’re so happy for your success. You say Jericho’s a star, but you’re a star too. What other projects are you working on, maybe in acting or even professional wrestling again?

Diamond Dallas Page: Nothing right now. I did a movie last year with Frankie Muniz called “Pizza Man,” which is supposed to be out sometime in 2013. It’s a family movie geared toward kids, but adults find it funny too, some of them anyway. And now it’s about making the infomercial for DDP Yoga. It ain’t your mama’s yoga, and it’s going to be amazing. We’re already a million-dollar company. When that video came out, and it wasn’t even geared toward selling DDP Yoga, it just inspired the world. I’ve got orders from Dubai, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Cape Town, Namibia and Chile. It’s crazy how many places. If you’re watching, watch the “Never Give Up” video of Arthur. It’s the most inspirational video you’ve ever seen. Go to DDPYoga.com, where you can also be part of Team DDP Yoga, which I’m on all the time. And check out the DDP Yoga Retreat Extravaganza. That’s all I’ve got for you, Freddie.