I still knew I had to disclose some information to them
I'm not like most girls, I'm a little different
I'm transgender
Hi everybody, I'm Eve!
I'm 22, and I am currently training to be a pro wrestler
I started looking into Premier Pro Wrestling last year, around December
It's about two hours away from me, so I do take that drive twice a week
Going into the New Year of 2018, it was one of my new year's resolutions because
for quite some time, I had been saving and looking for the perfect school for me
Where do I even start? My love for pro wrestling…
the first girls I ever notice, that really caught my attention, was
Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson
So they started it all for me and...
Back in December when I was looking at the training and I sat in
I was pretty much sold but
I still knew I had to disclose some information to them
So I sat down with Matt initially
I was like "hey Matt...um...I'm transgender,"
and he was just like "oh...that's..."
He turned a little white haha
He goes "um..Rand! Rand!!"
I said something brilliant I wish I could remember cuz it was so simple
cuz you're were like "I'm transgender" and I'm like...
Oh yeah, you were like "why the (bleep) does that matter?"
I said something like, "I'm old and broke down, so what?"
I feel like I always knew. The biggest struggle for me was actually just
accepting and owning it. Because, I knew it was something I wanted
I knew it was who I am
But I was just scared I was like, you know, what if these people don't accept it
or is it gonna deter me from my goals in life, is it kind of make it that much harder
it's still a challenge because I, of course, love and accept myself but
it's also learning to love and accept how people will react to it
It takes a lot of courage and strength to deal with the backlash that can come from that
My whole thing like I tell her all the time, you know, she's mine so
I'm gonna be there, you know
That's my job as mom
it does take a whole lot of support like almost overboard support
The past month she's been amazing
Doesn't give up on anything and I got a lot of hope for because like they say
I think that she is gonna get more confidence, because you see it already
When she first came here, I was not happy with
the way she was handling her work ethic
Now, it's almost like it's completely different person. So, that's good
The way she can handle it helps her improve
So, if she can keep this up, she's gonna be somebody
So far on this journey, chasing my dream,
I would say that I've learned to embrace the hunger
because a lot of times I feel like okay, you know, this is too much
or maybe it's a little far-fetched
Just going back a little bit, I wasn't even fully Eve all the time
until after in October and like looking back now
I've never lived more in my life
I feel like if I keep that same drive in all these different areas and
especially in wrestling, who knows where I'll be in a couple months
(Eve and Ollie talking after the interview)
Hi Eve, Hi Eve's mom!
My name is Leilani Tominiko a.k.a Candy Lee
And I'm New Zealand's first transgender pro wrestler
And I'm just hearing your story, and I want to tell you that
I'm so proud of you, and your story is really amazing and inspiring
I'm 23 years old. I was born in Samoa, but I live here in Auckland, New Zealand
and I trained and wrestle for Impact Pro Wrestling New Zealand
Before I trained, I let my promotion know that I was transgender
and they have been nothing but supportive
They've always had my back, and they've always supported me from my journey
Keep doing what you're doing! You're doing so well
I've seen your training videos, and you're killing it like so good!
Yeah, you're gonna do amazing things I can already see it
And hopefully our paths cross one day
Maybe in a ring, we have a match that would be fun
You got it girl!
If you need, I will always support you, cuz I believe in supporting each other
cuz his only few of us in the wrestling business
Hopefully I'll get to meet you!
Just keep doing I'm so proud of you
And own who you are. Be proud of it