Wrestling With Faith

Mick Foley is the kind of rockstar dad you'd want. If you were a young'un, he'd read you his own children's books and make you laugh while correcting your grammatical errors. Later on, he'd provide great stories to tell your mates. And then there's those impressive WWE championship belts (17 to be exact) to show off. Foley is a pro-wrestler turned author turned stand-up comedian. A Most Mizerable Christmas, Foley's fourth children's book, was released in the US last month. Foley, who has four children, warmly shares, “My kids are the first people I read to and nothing makes me feel better than when they ask me to read to them or when they ask if they can read to me.” This man – known to many as The Commissioner, Cactus Jack or Dude Love – is definitely a family man. “I feel like whilst I am not in control of how many people ultimately buy it [A Most Mizerable Christmas], it's a success of the biggest level because my kids really love it.”

Kids are known to be the toughest of critics. Foley's son accidentally interrupts our chat. Unaware that his dad is talking internationally, the confident kid jumps on the line to give a review of his dad's latest book, “Yep, I love it!” says the sweetly spoken boy. Foley confesses, “[Once] I started writing, I did it wherever I was, whenever I could”. Our convo now takes an unexpected turn, as two writers geek out on syntax. “I don't often get a chance to talk about writing and I love it.” During one Independence Day party, Foley found himself conversing with thriller writer Steve Barry about the craft of writing. “Barry hates semi-colons and I think they are the greatest thing in the world, because you put one in a sentence and it makes you look smarter,” an audibly excited Foley shares. 

Continuity throughout Foley's pro-wrestling and comedy careers is provided thanks to his red and black flannelette shirt: A uniform, you might say. When informed that a flannel is also a hit with Australian farmers and the occasional hipster, Foley chuckles and promises to bring some with him when he tours Australia with his stand-up show next February (“I haven't been to 'Oz', as they say, in 13 years”). Who knew The Commissioner, who is known for his brutal wrestling style, would be so warm?

“In some ways doing stand-up is as scary is pro-wrestling,” Foley shares. “The element of failing creatively is always there and I think that's what makes it exciting. When you become complacent with whatever you're doing, I think the product ends up suffering.” Foley admits he's not yet comfortable calling himself a professional comic like Brendon Burns (who is touring with him). “Comedy audiences can be very similar to wrestling audiences,” Foley explains. “There's a big difference between being humorous and funny – that was one of the rude awakenings when I started doing stand-up.”

Foley went to the Edinburgh Fringe earlier this year with Mick Foley: Prisoner Of Raw. He didn't walk the hazardous cobblestones, preferring to 'cab it', but he did prepare for his foreign audience: “When I got to Scotland, I had material that would have died in the US but really worked because it was tailored to British culture. When it comes to comedy, Foley confesses, “I enjoy performing internationally more than I do in the US; I think people's minds are a little more open to tell you the truth.”