The Sandman Is Surprised He’s Still Alive Today, Recalls Wrestling While High

The Sandman is as surprised as anyone that he is still alive to this day with everything he did in his career. The ECW legend was famous for his hard living lifestyle, including wrestling while under the influence.

Sandman reflected on the ups and downs of his career during his appearance on Insight With Chris Van Vliet. He touched on his history of drug abuse and more. You can see highlights below:

On the Roller Coaster Ride Of His Career:

“Too many drugs, honestly, too many drugs. A lot of smiles. I get a lot of fan mail and stuff at home. Just some of the things that people write to me and they tell me how I got them through a hard time in their life, or when their dad passed away, or something like that. Those are the times when it’s really, really worth it. I mean, it’s great when you’re living your life dream. When I was five years old, all I ever wanted to be was a pro wrestler. That’s it. Not a cop, fireman, doctor. All I ever wanted to be was a pro wrestler, so I got to live my life and make decent money out of it and make people really happy. You know, when you get some people come up to you and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you’re the greatest thing ever.’ That just gives you goose bumps. That’s cool sh*t.”

On If He’s Surprised He’s Still Alive:

“Yes, my doctor just told me the other day. He’s like, ‘You’re about out of your cat lives. You’ve used like three of them in the last couple of years.’”

On How Often He Was High When He Wrestled:

“I didn’t start drinking until, let’s say, 200 matches in… By ’96, I’m rocking and rolling. I’m snorting in the 80s, drinking a 30-pack of beer before the show. Not the whole 30, but you’re drinking 15, because you’re there early too. And a lot of times, if you’re working the main and it’s an ECW show, freaking, you’re there at five o’clock in the afternoon, you might not go on until 11:30, so you got a lot of time to drink and party.”