He grew up in a wrestling family with his father a match announcer and businessman in the industry, but John had other ambitions. First it was college football and following graduation he moved to California with only $500 in his pocket to become a Venice Beach Bodybuilder. At this time, he slept in his car and cleaned toilets to get by and later as a limousine driver. Eventually he would find his calling as a wresteler, initially under the moniker “The Prototype.”