Lizzy
So to start out generally, how did you spend quarantine?
MV
I was in Pennsylvania for the first three months, and then I went back to New York where I really live. I guess I made the most of it. That sounds horrible case of, fucking tragedy, but I did the best I could do for myself during that period of time and during what we’re all dealing with right now, weaning our way back into live shows and what not. I’m doing the best I can and trying to stay relevant and gain more of a following, so it’s working out in that regard.
Lizzy
So you said the word tragedy, though it seems 2020 is the year of tragedy, so was that in regard to the pandemic or the events surrounding the protests that you participated in?
MV
200,000 people are dead, George Floyd’s death, people shitting on the Black Lives Matter movement, the brute force of our hideous police force in America, where do I even start with tragedies in 2020?
Lizzy
I get that for sure. Also, I noticed during the protests, you dropped MV Young and started going by Michael Vincent. Can you talk about that a little?
MV
So I just very recently changed my name back to MV, just because it’s picking up for me show-wise, but yeah I did. My online persona was just like “oh MV’s so hot and you’re also hot.” This isn’t the time for distraction. Everywhere there are people dying in the streets by way of our police force. I don’t want to be MV right now, I don’t have it in me to hold a ring light in front of my face and play a character right now. It wasn’t the time to do so. I still haven’t fully transitioned to being a character again, nor do I know if I ever will, because I need to use my platform. I’ll do a promo in character at the shows, and every now and then I’ll drop an MV promo, but you know I feel like it’s still not the time to just be fully playing around as my character yet.
Lizzy
Can I ask you a question that might get you in trouble? Because I noticed some people are kind of taking advantage of everything going on, and they’re using it to build heel heat. I’m thinking of Flip Gordon when he was spreading misinformation–
MV
Ok so Flip Gordon’s a moron. You don’t need to capitalize off of tragedy and all the shitty things in the world. Second off, you know bigotry is a problem in wrestling. You’re gonna put people around you in danger, every brown person around you, every Queer person around you, every person that’s not a white skinhead around you in danger, and that’s what the real problem is that you’re creating. Also it’s uncreative. It’s just problematic.
Lizzy
Yeah, and we’re in Tr*mp country here, so–
MV
I know when I come to little bum fuck towns like this then you know I feel a little uneasy about being Queer, and [being Queer] shines in my gimmick. I feel fine whenever I do that now because I’m popular, but at first I mean like yeah, I dealt with many people who hate Queer people.
Lizzy
I was going to ask too, do you consider kind of showcasing your sexuality and your Queerness as also kind of a political statement?
MV
Oh it’s punk rock. You know, it’s like I’m also polyamorous and I legitimately have girlfriends boyfriends and non-binary partners in my life, and if I went out there and played it as a straight man I’d be lying. If I went out there and played as a gay man I’d be lying. I think that pansexual representation is important, and I think that it is a political statement, but I also think that it’s an empowering, you know? A lot of people reach out to me and say that I am making them more comfortable with her bisexuality or their pansexuality because I am masculine presenting, because I do beat people up, because yeah I like girls and nonbinary people. I don’t even lean into it as much as I’m just like this. This is who the fuck I am. Like “hey yeah like I’m gonna go kiss my boyfriend, but I’m also going to go beat up some straight dudes.”
Lizzy
Yeah, definitely. Part of the reason why I was drawn to you was your work with body positivity. Is that also a statement or is it just, again, you being yourself?
MV
I am yeah I know I’m bo-po for sure, and I still struggle with that. I’ve worked out for years, coming out of modeling in and being a wrestler. bBt also being a model and then failing at modeling, essentially, and just kind of coming to the realization that I’m gonna love myself in any form. Maybe sometimes I’m a little chubbier and sometimes I’m thinner, but I’m always a beefy star. I think that it is important for people to see representation of that. I don’t ever let myself get grossly out of shape because I’m an athlete, but I believe that you should love yourself for how you look. Also not everyone is a professional wrestler. People don’t have to look like fashion models or wrestlers, and people don’t have to look, you know, the way that Vince McMahon thinks you have to look to be a professional wrestler or to be a star. I’m a star and I know I don’t look like a prototype. And I really do believe that I’m a star, and I’d like to inspire people. If someone is recovering from bulimia, if someone is out there doing that to themselves– I’d call that self harm– I want them to feel inspired to stop and love themselves.
If it’s not obvious, my entire character is at its core is a satire of the modeling industry. I think that there’s a lot of performative bullshit in modeling, and really awful people in modeling. I can get there’s a lot of really good people, but I think that there are much more good people in wrestling then there is in modeling. I think that me presenting myself as a model and a professional wrestler but not being skinny, and being a little jiggly, being proud of myself, I think that that’s needed representation. I am giving you an honest platform, and I’m also very honest about my real struggles with eating disorders. When I go on Twitter and I see all these people say, “oh my God MV’s such a star and MV’s so hot,” every now and then I bring it back to remind people I am bulimic, like, I have issues. Like yes I’m a star, but I also have issues that I deal with. I like really being relatable and inspiring. What’s the use of a platform if you’re not inspiring?
Lizzy
I think it’s a good point to kind of close things up. This is Lizzy Flanagan from CKNF, with MV Young!
MV
Bye!