METAMORPHOSIS-BY MIKE FAZIOLI
AFTER YEARS OF LEGENDARY HELLRAISING, MARK CALLAWAY ENJOYS THE QUIETER SIDE OF LIFE.
When someone appears on your television for as long as Undertaker, you naturally assume you know all about them. But can even the most ardent devotees of the Deadman honestly say they know Mark Callaway?
The likely answer is no. Callaway is someone who works diligently to separate his Taker persona from the personal life he closely protects, and even people who knew him "from way back when" might be shocked by the transformation Callaway's life has recently undergone.
For years, he was a self-professed hellraiser away from the ring, indulging in life on the road to the fullest. Those were fun times and the stories have become legend, but they were not necessarily happy times. Then he met Sara, who would have a profound effect on him in every way imaginable and eventually become his wife.
Now, long nights of partying with the boys and raising hell have been traded in for quiet times with Sara on their spacious and private Texas ranch. It's a change which has made life better for Callaway both personally and professionally.
"It took meeting Sara to really know what personal happiness was," Callaway says. "After that, I had no desire to go to strip clubs; I had no desire to go out and drink Jack Daniel's by the gallon. I guess those were all crutches, for lack of a better term. But, once we met, I found somebody I was not only attracted to physically, but also mentally. We have so many of the same interests. Everything was like, 'Here is my best friend, who I'm also highly attracted to.' It's been that way ever since."
"It's just amazing that after going out every night drinking, hanging out, and carrying on.....boom! Overnight, I had no desire to," he continues. "As much as I went out and partied, I was waiting for that desire to go and hang out to come back. But, it hasn't."
The new, more domesticated lifestyle Callaway has enjoyed with Sara is like night and day compared to the wild days of yore. Like many athletes and entertainers who spend extended periods of time on the road, sports entertainment performers can often be notorious party animals.
Even within that framework, however, Callaway's nights of excess stood out. But as great as those stories might be, they came at a heavy price. Callaway was burning the candle at both ends, and burning down fast.
"Within the circle of our business, my nightlife and partying was the stuff that legends are made of," he says. "My home life, without getting into details, was miserable. I hated being home. When I was out, I got the most out of a celebrity's nightlife. But, I didn't take care of my body. I never allowed it to affect what I did in the ring-business always came first-but it made things harder for me at times."
Callaway is quick to point out that his hard living and endless excess never affected the business he is fiercely protective of. He never missed shows feeling hung over, nor did his performance in the ring ever suffer from the previous night's libations. Those are transgressions he will never tolerate from hismelf, nor from others in the locker room.
Yet, it was not until he abandoned that lifestyle that he began to notice that he wasn't as young as he used to be, and that his body had suffered from years of neglect and abuse. As happens to many big men who perform in the ring for so many years, Callaway was suffering from painful hip and knee ailments. His metabolism had also naturally slowed with time, and food he used to burn off with little effort was now sticking to him and adding weight, causing further stress on his ailing lower body.
Unlike many WWE Superstars, Callaway was never a gym rat. He worked out and did general maintenance on his body, but did only what was necessary to stay in shape. Blessed with superior genetics, he was able to stay on top of his game with very little effort in the weight room.
Now, not only was he happy to spend his nights at home with Sara, he also found that he had a partner who was a fitness fanatic, and who inspired him to hit the gym with her.
"Sara really pushes me to the brink sometimes," Callaway says with a laugh. "You can see how great her body is in the WWE Divas 2002 swimsuit magazine. With her energy, desire and motivation to keep her body at that level, it motivates me. We motivate each other, and that's fun. She's a great training partner."
When Mark and Sara moved from Florida to their Texas ranch, one of the first things he did was install a state of the art gym on the property. The couple works out there often, and Callaway takes much of the restless energy he once spent living the wild life, and puts it to work in the gym, strengthening his battered and injury-plagued body in order to keep up with the younger members of the WWE roster.
Callaway has embraced his new outlook as the latest and greatest challenge of his legendary career-defying the effects of time and reversing years of punishment suffered both in and out of the ring.
"I'm getting a little older, I don't recover as quickly as I used to, and the weight isn't as easy to keep off as it used to be. Now that I have this personal happiness, I had to take it and use it to motivate me to keep physically fit. When we moved to Texas, it was a new beginning in how my life was going to be lived. It's a constant struggle to keep my body at a level to fight off injuries and to conpete with guys that are 25 to 26 years old. It's a constant struggle, but with the commitment I have now, I'll be able to be productive for some time to come."
The new spread also allows Callaway some much needed peace of mind when he's not on the road. It's a place where he can leave Undertaker behind and be himself-a husband and a father, and a man who'd now rather spend time at home than out raising hell.
"This is awesome. I am a very reluctant celebrity," he says. "I don't put much status in being seen or having notoriety like that. When I'm off, it's nice to be able to come out here to the ranch and not have to deal with anything other than my animals and family. It's fun to be able to live that kind of life and be normal. I can go out on the property and be lost all day. It keeps my feet grounded when I'm here.
"I can't wait to get home now. I guess it would have been nice if Sara had continued to work with me. I know a lot of fans didn't appreciate her being with Undertaker, because he had been a loner for so long. I think they took that awkwardly. But, it was nice having her on the road with me, traveling and training together. Now, that she's home, I can't get home soon enough-and I cant stay long enough. It's always nice having someone you love and respect waiting for you."
With his personal life now in order, Callaway has begun to give thought to life beyond Undertaker. He remains a force in the industry, a legend who is still very much on top of his game. But, Callaway realizes that even the phenomenon known as Undertaker has a finite lifespan, and the day will come when the character is gone and only Mark Callaway remains.
But even then, the business he had given so much to over the past several years will always be a part of his life, in some form or another.
"I think in the next few years I'll work a little less. But, I'll still be out there quite a bit," Callaway says. "I just want to take a little time to spend with my family. The reality is, I don't know how many years I have left. The people who backed me and stayed behind me all these years, I don't want to sell them short. It's going to be a juggling act."
"I've got a lot of different irons in the fire. I think initially I'll just sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I definitely feel like I have something to give back to the business. Whether I stay on the ranch and have WWE Superstars come and work out with me, or whether I go out on the road and do something behind the scenes, I don't know. I don't have any desire to go out and be a full time agent. I want to spend more time at home. So the more things I can do from here, the better. I have some interest in developing some real estate as well. But, I think most of it will be here, hanging out at the ranch, relaxing and enjoying my life."
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK BETH AT "KANE AND TAKER'S LUSTY LADIES" FOR THE PICTURES OF TAKER. THESE PICTURES WERE SCREEN CAPS FROM TAKER'S APPEARANCE ON THE "JIMMY KIMMLE" SHOW ON AUGUST 21, 2003.