Have you ever thought about meeting your hero?
Whatever walk of life you're in, we all have one.
Whether it's the bodybuilders who look up to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the wannabe singers who dream of belting one out with Beyoncé, the grown men who want to pick the brain of Sir Alex Ferguson or the ladies who want to just spend one night with Robert Pattinson because they got that funny feeling watching the Twilight movies... every one of us has that one person that we look up and call our "hero".
My hero is a professional wrestler, and his name is Hulk Hogan!
On Saturday October 13, the night before TNA's biggest PPV of the year Bound For Glory, I shook hands and spoke with the man I had idolised my whole life. As expected he was larger than life - his one hand covered my whole arm when I shook it!
Next to Hogan was the man called Sting. Sting is another true legend of professional wrestling and somebody who had just become the first inductee into the TNA Wrestling Hall Of Fame.
Both offered us individual advice and took the time to give their thoughts on our chances in the wrestling world and the new Challenge TV series TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp.
One thing they both agreed on was that "longevity was the key". The business had certainly taken its years off both their bodies, yet they're STILL dishing out a 'Stinger Splash' here and a 'Big Boot' there when the time comes. Another thing they also said to me, which struck home more than anything, was that "now is the time to get serious!"
We sat with Kurt Angle at the TNA Hall of Fame dinner, which was an experience that I will never forget. Sitting with a multiple-time World Champion and an Olympic gold medallist was so special. Kurt isn't just showing off when he says these things, he is the real deal. Nicknamed 'The Cyborg' by his peers, he is such a character and was really pleasant with all of us, offering great advice and telling us about the experiences he has had in the hope we could learn from them.
I think meeting Hulk, Sting and Kurt came at the right time for me personally. Was I taking British Boot Camp as seriously as I should have? Did I make a good impression on our mentor Rollerball Rocco with my attitude? Meh, probably not - as you have probably seen already in Episodes 1 and 2 of the show.
I know now that I need to forget about all things people had said to me about "not making it" and stop alienating myself from everyone. Most importantly, I needed that reality check of "OK, here I am, this is where I want to be and the person you've looked up to you whole life just said to you that you're here for a reason, this is your chance, don't mess it up."
I think I needed that realisation of instead of thinking about "not making it", now was the time to think "IM GOING TO MAKE IT!"
The third episode of TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp airs on Challenge TV (Sky channel 125, Freeview 46 and Virgin Media 139) this Tuesday at 10pm. To see me meet my hero, I beg you to tune in. The best really is yet to come.