About DDP BOOK DDP DDP's Video Blog YRG Warriors Gallery Testimonials

Friday, December 25, 2009

Hey Guys
I just wanted to let you ALL know I'm thinking about you this Holiday season... Angie cooking up a hell of Christmas Eve meal... Deep fried Organic Turkey (Yes I said deep fried... it actually seals the whole bird so no oil even gets in and the bird cooks in it's own juices... it's totally healthy and tastes AmaZing) plus gluten free stuffing... Yams and Sweat Potatoes... string beans with sliced almonds and cranberry sauce... Are you Hungry yet? Obviously there will be no food combining tonight:) Ha! There are also some pictures from when I read to kids at Kathy Ireland "911 for KIDS" Christmas event. If you are friend of mine on Facebook you can see a video of me talking about Kathy's event... btw she still looks GREAT... I'll be putting the reading up of "The Grinch that Stole Christmas" on Facebook as soon my buddy Randall has it finished... Try NOT to eat to unhealthy this Holiday... Ha!


Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and
Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP


Saturday, November 14, 2009


11.14.2009





Hey Guys,

I recently met with my architect in Atlanta to discus my YRG Transformation Center and I have to say that I am jacked to get it up and rolling. At this moment I don't know if I'm going to do it in LA or Atlanta. It all depends on what shakes out with the YRG infomercial, but I plan to make the decision on my birthday, which is April 5th... So that's 5 months away. In the mean time, I throwing it out there to the Universe, putting together the curriculum and business plan. I will give you the details as they come together... Having all the success I've had with my YRG Transformations, it's going to be great to have a place to call home base. At some point down the line I'll be looking to franchise... It's all about setting HUGE Goals and then working your ass off to achieve them!

Some of you may have heard I am taking bookings for independent wrestling gigs. My body is feeling so good form my daily ritual of YRG and the fact that I have given up wheat (wheat is the # 1 inflammatory to your body) that I'm going to do a few tag teams to see how my 53 year Young body really feels... So if you're interested in booking me go to www.DiamondDallasPage.com. Engagements will be limited:)

Go to www.DiamondDallasPage.com and view DDP Events and Workouts if you wanna see where I will be appearing... If you are interested in doing our Saturday morning YRG class in the Sports Park make sure you are signed up on the my LA mailing list so you know when I am doing YRG in the park and when I'm not:)

From time to time, I will continue to post updates on what I am doing on my DDP site but if you want to stay in direct touch with my day to day activities, you might want to be my friend on www.facebook.com. I constantly update facebook, answer questions and put up pictures and videos as I move along. If for some reason I haven’t accepted you on facebook, it is because you need to send me a message to be my friend…This gets rid of the spammers and shows that you really want to communicate with me.

If you are looking to stay in touch with me moment to moment (HA!), join me at www.twitter.com/theRealDDP . On the real DDP at Twitter you will get updates on what I am doing as well as inspirational messages. As my schedule gets busier, you will get more tweets. And of course you can always find me on myspace.com/dallas_page as well.

You can find all of my Social Network Pages at www.DiamondDallasPage.com

For those of you who are looking for inspiration in these times, you definitely want to go to the DDP store and get the Living Life at 90% inspirational DVD that will get you on the right track. It was $29.95 but now it is only $19.95.

The Costa Rica surf trip was great, got some great waves and some of them kicked the crap out of me. Overall it was a great time with some great guys. I wanna THANK my buddy Chuck who as always was an unreal host! You can see all of the pictures from the trip at facebook….and don’t forget to leave a comment.

In some Hollywood news I will be in an upcoming movie called "Land of the Astronauts". I start filming December staring David Arquete.

I am also working with Hollywood’s foremost acting coach Howard Fine and helping him produce “Facing Fine” a reality show based on the acting process. We got a great production company Renegade 83 on board to put this all together. I will keep you posted as we move along.

As you all know, I helped Carnie Wilson lose 50 pounds before her pregnancy. Okay, she added the 50 pounds back on because she got pregnant and had a beautiful baby girl…BUT NOW DDP and YRG will get her back on track this time for good... Ok we'll have to see about that... Ha! She is now hosting the new Newlywed Game on GSN and because of her crazy life she also has a reality show that she wants me to be a part of called "Unstapled" which should start airing January 15th... Angella and I have already done a bunch of shows.... She told her producers that no one has inspired her to the level that I have so she needed me on the show... I thought that was pretty cool... Again I'll keep you posted...

I just found out that I will be heading back to Afghanistan or Iraq in 2010. More to follow as the dates gets confirmed.
As Always it's been your Pleasure as well as mine

 
Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP


Thursday, June 11, 2009


6.11.2009





Hey Guys
If you want to get ahold of the real Diamond Dallas Page on facebook click here for Diamond Dallas Page or YRG Fitness System fan page... I actually go on both sites and put in my own blogs and pictures... just click it and hit request friend and I'll pull you in!

Here is a quick update on some recent and new events.

I want to remind you that this Friday June 12 I will be at Howard Fine’s acting studio giving my Inspirational speech Living life at 90%. So many of you have asked me “So what does Living Life at 90% mean?” If you are in the LA area you should stop by and check it out. I have made a lot of friends out here in the land of LA so you never know who's going to show up... One thing is for sure it's going to inspirational, entertaining and FUN! I expect a lively crowd.

Two weeks ago we did YRG at the LuLuLemon store in Santa Monica. They moved all their clothing racks and opened up the store and over 60 people were there to workout with me. Normally they do it for a basic yoga class but this was a special event featuring YRG. They had to turn people away because it was packed…sorry but that was a good thing. Some of the people who are avid yogi’s that lululemon brought in really dug the workout, except for one person who left before it ended… Ha! I guess they couldn’t handle that this was not yoga... it was YRG…Like I said before, if yoga was a bicycle then YRG would be a Harley, they both have 2 wheels but that is where the similarities end. See pictures on the site.


I want to send out a shout to the Laguna Beach High School Boys Volleyball team who won the California State Championship. Laguna Beach's gutsiest effort came on the day it mattered most this season, as the Breakers fended off Francis Parker to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division III championship. Their Head Coach Lance Stewart credits the YRG Workout as a main tool to keep his players focused, flexible and strong. Here is the article

www.ocvarsity.com/articles/laguna-game-parker-2448139-point-championship


 
Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP


Thursday, May 21, 2009


4.18.2009





Hey Guys
Instead of doing one of my normal emails I’ve decided to send one of my blogs that I just posted on Team YRG. Team YRG is a private site developed for members who do YRG. Team YRG is a support system that somes with the new YRG Fitness System that helps members achieve their goals. I just wanted you to see some of what I’m up to on that site.
“When the Student Becomes the Teacher, the Circle is Complete”
I know it sounds like something you might find in a fortune cookie, but give me a chance to explain. By the time I was 3 years old my mother was married, divorced and had 3 kids. She was 19 years old at the time. When my parents split up my brother and sister went to live with my mom who in turn had to have my Grandmother raise them so she could move up north to try to make more money. I went to live with my dad. Let's just say that little Page had too much energy and there was no way my Grandmother was going to be able to handle my infant sister, my one year old brother and me—a 3 year old little WildMan!
Click for More Photos
The problem was my dad was a Wildman too. He was a great guy but back then he couldn’t spell the word father back then let alone be one. I grew up bouncing around from family to family till I was 8 years old when my dad finally brought me to live with my Grandmother. It killed him to have to give me up but he knew it was best for me. I didn't see my dad or talk to him when he was sober for the next 10 years.




My Gram was one of the best things to ever happen to me but a Grandmother going through menopause and a kid who would one day become Diamond Dallas Page didn’t have a lot in common. HA! Ladies, just imagine what it must have been like for a woman going through menopause TO RAISE ME! HA That poor Grandmother of mine she must be in heaven! I have to laugh out loud myself at times. My mom is a strong woman, really strong, she did everything she could to provide for us financially and I will always appreciate everything she’s ever did, but because of her work she was only around every other weekend so I pretty much feel like I raised myself.
Click for More Photos
My point to this whole trip down memory lane is to let you know I never really had any mentors or teachers growing up. If you read my last blog you will understand that I didn’t have much use for teachers in school since I couldn’t read!

But just because you never had that father figure or teacher you could relate to in your youth doesn't mean you can't find them as an adult. And that’s exactly what has happened to me. As an adult I have been very blessed throughout my career with GREAT teachers and mentors.

When I was a nobody in professional wrestling, the first person to actually believe in me was a man named Dusty Rhoades (“The American Dream"). Dusty is without question one of the all-time legends in professional wrestling. Dusty taught me the wrestling business inside-out. Without Dusty Rhoades's mentorship there
never would have been a Diamond Dallas Page.


Click for More Photos
My other teacher and mentor was Jody Hamilton. Jody was better know as the Assasin and was one of most skilled worker to ever grace the square circle. Jody believed in my ability in the ring because of my work ethic I displayed at the Power Plant. He taught me how to perform in the ring.
And then theirs my mentor Jake"The Snake" Roberts. I wanted to like Jake (in the ring that is) I loved the way Jake moved the fans. Jake took me under his wing and taught me how to get over in the ring and make the fans care. I will never forget what any of these gentleman have done for me.
As an actor, my business mentor is a man named Barry Levine. Pretty much every movie I have been in since 2002 is because Barry got me in the room with the producer or director.
My voice coach is David Coury. Today, my voice is as important as my body when it comes my acting, inspirational speaking or YRG.
And then there's Howard Fine--my acting coach. Howard is the Lee Strasberg of our generation. He has been voted “Best Acting Coach” by Back Stage West, the actors magazine here in HollyWEIRD, for the last 6 years. I would never be able to connect to my material in my inspirational talks or in film the way I do without the teachings of Fine.





Click for More Photos
All of these men have taught me so much and helped me to become what I am today. Since they have seen the new YRG infomercial they have all stepped up and asked me to teach them what I know. How weird is that? These people who I have looked up to and learned from want to learn something from me! We're talking inspiration and perspiration. Each of them wants to learn how to “Own their Life” as time ticks on.
Barry will be starting when he gets back from the Cannes Film Festival and David started last week. Howard, well, Howard is already a YRG star. He is doing everything in the YRG program to the letter. In his first 16 days he is already down 10 pounds and by the end of his 30 days he is down 17pound and is already setting new goals.
But the point of this isn’t about me or any of my mentors. It’s all about you. Most of you are starting your journey with YRG right now. I am sure you are a little skeptical and you’re not exactly sure where this will all lead. I mean this in the nicest way—right now, you all are students. And you are hoping to learn from me and from everyone else on TEAM YRG who has been where you are right now. Believe me, they all have a lot to offer you.
There’s this great story about a man who falls in a hole. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.’
Click for More Photos
Who better to teach and help you get to where you want to be than people who have been in the hole you’re in now. That’s what this is all about.
And now back to the strange title at the top of this blog. “When the Student Becomes the Teacher, the Circle is Complete.” Believe it or not, one day (and it’s gonna be sooner than you think!) you’re gonna reach your goals. And someone who just discovered YRG is gonna see your story and it’s gonna hit them like a ton of bricks. And that person is going to write you a message and want you to teach them what you know about reaching your goals. That’s what I mean by “When the Student Becomes the Teacher, the Circle is Complete.” And that is VERY COOL!
Now I gotta go work on Jake, Jody and Dusty as well :)
Click for More Photos
I wanna send a shout to my daughters Kimi and Britt and their mom Linda. While I was in Atlanta last week I got to spend some quality time with my girls. We were all treated to a phenomenal dinner to honor Linda on Mother's day by Britt's boy friend Jim. Nice touch bro:)

Mean while back in LA last week Angella and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary with are very close friends Marlin and Sheryl Ransom. We all went to see Seal who was absolutely Amazing... I became a HUGE fan of Seal with his latest CD entitled Soul... If you haven't hear and you like old school tunes you need to get it.

Up coming Events
If you’re in the Los Angeles area I will doing YRG Saturday at the Sports Park and then Sunday May 31st at the lululemon store (they move everything out of the way to make plenty of room for YRG) on Santa Monica and 3rd from 9:30am to 10:30am and I would love to see you come by and join us. Let’s show all the yogi’s what YRG is all about. Bang!

I will also be appearing at Howard Fines Acting Studio Friday, June 12th in Hollywood at 7:30pm... I will be doing an inspirational conversation on my concept I developed called "Live Life at 90%" . I am filming this presentation so I really would like to pack the place so really appreciate you attendance... bring some friends who wanna walk out of the building that night BELIEVING ANYTHING’S POSSIBLE!


Click for More Photos
 
Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP


Thursday, April 16, 2009


4.18.2009

 

 

 

 

Hey Guys,

Before I tell you about my trip to Booker T’s event and the WWE Hall of Fame event--I gotta start off by telling you that the long awaited brand new YRG Fitness System is finally here…check it out at www.YRGFitness.com.


I have to tell you I couldn't be any happier with it and there is still more to come. This is your first chance to get the NEW YRG Fitness System. If you have been doing YRG and like it then you will love this new program. I added in a lot of great, new exercise movements and, of course, you can still make YRG your own.


You can modify the workout so you can ease into it or challenge yourself right from the start! None of the people featured in the YRG DVDs are professional fitness models; they are all people who changed their lives with YRG. Many of the people in the DVDs are on the website and in the infomercial. And yes, you will even see the one and only Arthur in the DVDs doing the most challenging YRG positions.

It's pretty amazing. With this program you really get everything you need to Own Your Life. The YRG Fitness System comes with the Diamond Dozen, 3 incredible YRG workouts, the YRG Program Guide and the Diamond Dozen Poster. Plus 2 FREE bonus DVDs--Red Hot Core and Below The Belt, FREE 24/7 access to Team YRG--YRG's online community and a FREE Heart Rate Monitor...Yes I said a FREE heart monitor, which is the same heart monitor I have used for years.


The infomercial launches this weekend in a bunch of different markets and on some cable networks as well. If you happen to catch the infomercial let me know what you think. You can also see it on the site.

Now about my trip to Texas a few weeks ago…I went to see my buddy Stone Cold get inducted into the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame and it was way worth the trip. When I showed up to the hotel where all the WWE superstars were staying, I immediately went up to Steve's room to surprise him. His lovely lady Kristen let me in and when he walked out of his bathroom he was truly surprised... Ha! I've always felt you have to support your boys. I congratulated him and told him I would hook up with him after the ceremony. Then I went to check in and find my other buddy the Yoga-doc who had gotten in the night before. I went to the Green Room to get my tickets and room (Thank You NIC... you're the best) and ran into Cowboy Bill Watts, one of the HOF inductees that night... Cowboy (who is the dad of one my closest friends, Eric Watts) came up to me with a big smile and shook my hand. While doing so he gave me some of the best complements I have ever gotten. Bill was running WcW when I tore my rotator cuff and was let go, so he saw DDP is the infancy... He also got to see the journey as it developed week to week, year to year after I returned to WcW... He said so many nice things it actually choked me up a little... Basically he let me know that he really enjoyed watching me defy the odds and that he admired my undying perseverance ... He actually said I had some of the best work ethic he's ever seen. And if you know Cowboys that's really saying something.


COWBOY BILL WATTS


AMERICAN DREAM AND MENTOR DUSTY RHOADES

Click for More Photos

Next I ran into Edge who I hadn't seen since I left the WWE back in 2002. I always really liked Edge and have really enjoyed his rise to the top of our profession. He was genuinely happy to see me, as was I to see him. After that I had sushi with my friends Jim and Chris Click... You may remember the Clicks from when I went to do my inspirational talk "Live Life at 90%" for his 15 car dealerships last year. Then I came back to get ready for the HOF. Yoga-doc and I took the buses over from the hotel to the arena. You had to see this to believe it... These were the buses for the friends and families of all the WWE. They had 7 HUGE black executive buses, 5 limo's and at least 15 cops giving us an escort to the arena to beat the traffic. Yoga-doc looked at me at one point as we were driving down the interstate and the cops were blocking off the intestate and the exits... It was really surreal... Yoga-doc starting doing the instrumental to The Empire Strikes Back... The funny part about that was it really did feel like that... Ha! We entered the building and were dropped off where all the wrestlers go in... It was a door to door operation... The WWE does not do anything small... When we got to the building all 500 of us got off the bus and headed in a stream down the halls to get to our seats on the floor of the arena... Along our path I started to see all my brothers from the Hall of Famer's to the new young talent coming up... I talked with Roddy Piper, Eric Watts and family, The Big Show who I got to take pictures with were Eric’s kids, Noah and Sydney. It was really important for Watts to have this shot since he has pictures of him with Andre the Giant. Other guys who I got to see include Ric Flair, Christian, Steve Regal, the Funks Dory and Terry, my mentor Dusty Rhoades and his young buck son Cody Rhoades... if you've listened to my inspirational audio book, Own your Life, you may have heard me talk about Cody... I was very happy we got to spend quality time together. I've know Cody since he was about 7 years old now. The buck is truly making his own way and making his own name. I'm very proud of him.



Click for More Photos

I didn't realize how many people were there till I walked into the arena... The fans were going crazy (as only wrestling fans can). Each WWE superstar emerged from the tunnel with there families... I was actually surprised how many people started chanting DDP when I came out... I really didn't think I was that recognizable in my suit and being off tv for the last 7 years... Ha... I guess I was wrong... I didn't know it at the time but as you walked closer to the stage there was a cameraman videoing everyone for the 3 Giant Big Screens. Not really thinking about it I put my Diamond Cutter sign into the camera and gave a huge BANG and the arena exploded. Yoga Doc said, “Man that was great Pop!” I said, “What was that all about?” He said you were just up on the big screen doing the Diamond Cutter and the fans popped. I started laughing and kept walking.

Special moments for me at the HOF ceremony were listening to Terry Funk, Cowboy Bill Watts and of course Steve Austin. The funny part behind the scenes part was that Steve had all these notes of what he wanted to say and in true Stone Cold Steve fashion he didn’t even use his notes and shot from the hip as only he can. Towards the end of his speech the fans were so loud chanting “One More Match” that it was almost deafening. But he said there wouldn’t be one. Wrestling will always be a part of his life but my boy has moved on to his next field to conquer…the acting world. Steve got a great break by getting a key part in the Sylvester Stallone movie “The Expendables” that they are filming right now. Look for Steve to really shine through in this movie. After the ceremony Steve and I had a few beers together and signed some autographs as fans came by. It was amazing how considerate the fans were.



Click for More Photos

The night before I was at Booker’s T’s Legends of Wrestling Charity Event. His autograph session was all about raising money for the community and giving back to the less fortunate kids. It was really like a WcW reunion with guys like Nash, Sting, Nasty Boys, Jake Roberts, Jimmy Hart and my ex, the Lovely Kimberly. And even the new blood from TNA Christy Hemme and Samoa Joe were there. It was great seeing all of these guys.

I got to tell you that Kevin Nash showed up with his arm bandaged up after having surgery less then 24 hours early. Just goes to show what an unbelievable warrior and friend Kevin Nash really is.

Click for More Photos

It is times like this that the old ribbing (practical jokes) stories come out. My favorite one was when Jake reminded Nobbs about the time he had an entire pizza in the sleeves of his jacket. Jake said “Remember when Nobbs and Saggs were in the main event, their music hits and Nobbs grabbed his jacket, put it on as he was coming through the curtain headed to the ring and realized all this cheese and grease were sliding down his arms. He can’t stop to wipe it off or anything because his music was playing, the announcer was going and they had to start the match.” So Nobbs looked at Jake with a surprised pissed off look and said “I knew that was you”. Jake said, “It wasn’t me, I was just bringing it up” (said the spider to the fly). To watch these 2 go back and forth had me and everyone else pissing in our pants with laughter.

The event was a huge success and Booker and Sharmel raised over $60,000 for their charity in 1 day. Sharmel and Booker really worked their ass off on this one. The next day Booker picked me up and brought me to the hotel were everyone was staying for Wrestlemania. We got to spend some really good quality time which was great because I hadn’t talked to Booker since I left Pro Wrestling. It was an honor to be able help Booker with this charity event.

Remember to keep me posted on when you see the YRG infomercial on TV. I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP

Wednesday, March 25, 2009


03.25.2009





Hey Guys

If you read my last email , then you know I am in the middle of some great events these next few weeks. Well here is story #1 from my most recent trip to Syracuse for the Sgt. Chris Simpson Charity event at which I appeared .

I've been very blessed in my life over the years and had some really cool experiences... I've gone to see our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan on several occasions... I've spoke to kids about the importance of reading and they actually listened... and many times I‘ve had 20,000 people chanting DDP while I was in the ring at a deafening level... but this weekend I was able to touch lives at another level... I t all started in Atlanta... I was heading to the airport to go to see the mother (Kate) and fiancé (Carol) of one of our fallen Soldiers... A true American Hero , Sgt Christopher Simpson... Kate and Carol asked me if I would come and speak at the first Sgt Chris Simpson Fundraiser... Obviously I told them it would be an honor... Here is that story.


I took a cab on Friday at rush hour in Atlanta to the airport to head towards Syracuse. Leaving two hours ahead of time... I figured I'd given myself plenty of time to get to the airport and check in. To be fair to myself , my email was down this week so I couldn't confirm my flight reservations... A t that moment I remembered that I've had it on my phone! So I looked it up on my iPhone , and t hat's when I realized that the flight wasn't leaving at 6:30, it was leaving at 6:04. It was about that time that the 285 Freeway in Atlanta had become a parking lot. BTW you can't check bags after 45 minutes before a flight. So my driver starts driving like a mad man to get me there while I'm on the phone talking to the woman at Delta, trying to get a backup flight…which of course is sold out!


Did I tell you that Chris's Mom Kate had a huge meet and greet for me that night, but the odds of me making that flight where a slim to none ? We got to the airport 27 minutes before my flight got ready to take off. Have you ever been to the Atlanta airport? My chances now of making this flight are a thousand to one! Thank God the sky cab was a fan, he ran me into where the security section was at a full speed run. There was about 150 people in line ahead of me. The sky cab walked me up front but won't let me in line because it's against the rules to cut in front of people. Realizing that he's not going to let me go in yet, I yell out , "Hey everyone, I'm Diamond Dallas Page, and I'm on my way to see the mother and fiancé of one of our fallen soldiers. Does anyone have a problem with me cutting in line I have a less than 20 minutes to catch this flight?" Magically everyone backed up a couple of feet. Even the people who where putting their stuff on a conveyer belt let me go first. I threw all my stuff on the conveyer belt and luckily the person checking my bag was a wrestling fan.. They loved the belt! I crammed everything one on top of the other and started running to the escalator. If any of you know Atlanta airport, you know that gate 36C is a looooong way away! Throughout the trip so far, it was doing some serious deep breathing.. trying to remain calm and believe that I was going to make it. I've got 12 or 13 minutes at this point. I get off the Tram and I think I'm the first cart, no... I'm the furthest from the escalator. So, I start sprinting through the escalator yelling to the people, " P lease let me go first!" What I forgot to tell you is that I'm carrying my suit jacket and tie, and it's hooked to the back of my collar and it's waving behind me like a damn cape. If you've been to Atlanta you know it's a really tall escalator. I took 2 to 3 stairs at a time... I finally get to the top and sprint towards gate 36. As I get to 30 I hear "LAST CALL.. GATE 36"

So I sprint faster. It felt like it was a mile away! I finally got there, and the door is closed! Now as any of you know, when the door is closed.. it's closed, they don't reopen the door. I start to go , "Noooooooo I can't believe this!" As I'm about to start pounding on the door, it opens and the guy behind it says " You' re just making it!" and I say "No kidding!"

By the time I get to the plane the stewardess looks at me and say s, " You look like you could use some water" . I say , " How about a bottle?". I took my bottle and sat down... as I realized that I wasn't going to ruin the night... I thought.. Thank God!


When I got to Syracuse I was greeted by Kate and Carol. I had a very emotional greeting from both of them. From there we headed to the family get together. I was greeted by maybe one of the warmest families ever! I was immediately transformed into Mickey Mouse with tattoos,



Click for More Photos

taking pictures and saying hi, making everyone feeling comfortable. All the pictures are on the site. Later that night Carol, Kate and I went to dinner to have some private time.. A e talked about Chris and the fund raiser that we where doing the next day. I asked them if they've seen "It's a Wonderful Life" . T o my surprise, neither of them where familiar with the movie, so I told them that they needed to watch it this Christmas because I felt that I was at George Bailey's house. I remember the first time I talked to Carol was on her birthday… here is a recap from her Dad.

From: Michael Fries
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 2:07 PM
Subject: Carol's Birthday Call


Hello DDP,

I just wanted to thank you for the call that you made to my daughter Carol on her birthday a couple of days ago. She, as you probably know, was at the homecoming for Chris Simpson’s unit in Colorado when you called. It was an intensely emotional few days for her and the thoughtfulness and caring of your call really brightened the moment.


As you have said, most of getting somewhere in life is not about what life deals you but how you respond to it. Six months after Chris was killed Carol started medical school. This is a daunting task for anyone but to do it in a state of grief and emotional exhaustion is almost unthinkable. She has worked so hard while feeling such despair and has performed with excellence. It would be so easy for her to give up but she won’t. I think you can identify with that kind of struggle.


Sometimes we don’t know how meaningful small things can be. I wanted to tell you that your call was meaningful for my daughter and for me and I am grateful.


Yours, Mike Fries


One thing that came out of the many interesting things that came from dinner was the perspective of the fiancé in a situation like this. Kate and Carol want to lobby for the fiancés of fallen soldiers to also be acknowledged. I totally agree.
The next day the event started at noon and I got there at 1:30 to speak at 2:00. The place was packed with about 500 people. My buddy Dennis Dipaolo asked Jim Kelly to send a few autographed items. There was a bunch of sports memorabilia and electronics that were donated by the community that brought nice money at that silent auction.

It amazed me how this little town outside of Syracuse came together for their fallen hero. This was America at its best. People drove from hours away for the event that the family had not seen in years. I wish I had taped my inspirational speech because it was one of the best ones I had ever done. It was in a firehouse building . I had a couple hundred people sitting down, a couple hundred people standing and a 100 people at the bar that I had to talk over. This was a great test for me and it was by far the best inspirational talk to date ending with a standing ovation. Scott and Kate, Chris’s parents and Carol, gave me a plaque to show their appreciation.


Click for More Photos
Afterwards I signed autographs, DVD, books and Action Figures that I had donated to the event. Out of all the things I have ever done in my life this was the most gratifying of them all.

I have two new t-shirts at the store . One is in honor to Chris Simpson and any that are sold from my site will have the total profit go to the Christopher Simpson Fund



Before the trip to Syracuse, Dr. Don Austin (pictured in the black shirt) , who is the Principal of Laguna Beach High School and a really great guy, asked me to come back and speak to some of the athletes, students and faculty of Laguna Beach High School. The kids at Laguna don’t know how lucky they are to have a Principal like Dr. Austin. Maybe if I had a Principal like that I would have focused a little more on learning in school… well... maybe…lol

I got to the school and found out that Jennifer Muir of the OC Register was going to do a feature article on DDP and YRG. Not only was she going to check it out, she actually wanted to do the YRG workout which I love.

We started in the gym for my inspirational speech. Usually it is a 60 minute speech but I cut it down to 25 minutes and it had a phenomenal impact on everyone. Angie and Alan, my team YRG people, were there and they said during the speech there were kids with their mouths dropping at the stuff they were hearing and seeing.


After the speech we headed down to the baseball field for the workout. I thought some kids would peel off and ditch the workout but to my surprise more kids saw us and actually piled on and joined the workout. This was a great group with a ton of energy. I took them through a high level workout and as challenging as I made it, they kept asking for more… A t the end they were feeling good and as they marched back up to the school they were chanting “DDP” and flashing Diamond Cutter signs to each other.

This was the most fun I have had doing the YRG Workout since I was in Iraq doing it with the troops. That is one of the great things about the YRG Workout. We had top High School athletes doing YRG right next to their teachers. You can modify YRG at an easier level or you can challenge yourself as much as you want.
Click for More Photos

One of the real cool things is that I know YRG and DDP left an impact on the school. Not only am I getting emails from parents, faculty and students but I hear that the Volleyball team is now flashing Diamond Cutters after a kill shot and they are still chanting DDP in the halls of Laguna Beach High School.
YRG Warriors Newsflash!:
The Laguna Beach Boys Volleyball team just upset #3 ranked San Clemente and the match was televised as the High School game of the week. Also the Laguna Beach Baseball team is now undefeated in league and the top 5 batting averages in their league is all Laguna Beach Baseball players. Great Job Guys!

YRG Warriors Newsflash! #2:
Check out this link. The top 5 hitters in league are all from one High School…Laguna Beach!
http://www.maxpreps.com/california/baseball/orange-coast/leaders.aspx?leagueid=e55fda69-ed09-42d7-9685-f0148371334f&urpath=,local,league

Don’t forget on April 3rd I will be in Houston, TX at Booker T’s “Legends of Wrestling Fanfest”, which raises money for his charity Fight for Kids Foundation. Joining me there will be Sting, Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, Jake the Snake Roberts and a lot of others. It‘s at that George Brown Convention Center in Houston, I will forward more info as I get it.
Also, just so everyone knows the launch of the New YRG Fitness program has been pushed back two weeks to the 17th + 18th.
Get Healthy... Stay Strong... Be Unstoppable and Do your YRG or else!
Live Life at 90%
DDP


ShareThis