Wresting champion Tommy “The
SpiderBaby” Saturday, also known as Terrance Griep, says “bullying”
nearly drove him to suicide.
The openly gay wrestler reached out to
troubled gay teens and talked about his experience in an It Gets
Better video.
In the video, Griep explains that his
sexuality “caused quite a bit of conflict” for him as a teen.
“I began bullying myself,” he said.
“This is not to diminish the more traditional form of bullying
that is out there. And we all know about the horrible and horrific.
But the one big disadvantage of being bullied by yourself is there is
nowhere to run. You can't really get away.”
The Minneapolis native, who was named
Best Professional Wrestler of 2009 by Minneapolis alternative weekly
City Pages, goes on to describe how he planned his own demise
and his ultimate resolution. (The seven-minute-ten-second video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
“It got better for me,” he said.
“It will get better for you.”
It
Gets Better is a collection of inspiring videos that reach out to
troubled gay teens considering suicide.
In the videos, everyday folks,
celebrities and politicians let teens who are struggling with their
sexuality or are being bullied because they are perceived as being
different know that life gets better.