Pank Nayyar - A 9,000 Mile Journey to Pursue a Dream to Become a WWE Superstar

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What would you do to reach your dreams? How much would you sacrifice to get one step closer to reaching them? The most beautiful part in pursuing your dreams is the journey. That’s where all the stories and the good stuff happens that we teach and share with others. One of my main missions of this podcast is to share inspiring stories and insight with lessons from leaders of the Entertainment Business and fascinating Entrepreneurs. It’s my goal to share those stories in a way that the guests would be proud to share with their family and closest friends, and also bring a lot of value to our listeners. I also look for stories that inspire me, and that I want to share with the world to help make a difference in people’s lives. This weeks guest is Pank Nayyar who travelled to Orlando, FL all the way from New Delhi, India to pursue his dream to become a WWE Superstar. Pank Nayyar’s story is very inspiring to me, and I’m excited to share it with you.

Pank’s story is an inspiring adventure of someone that will make massive sacrifices to pursue their dream. When he was 12 years old, he was sitting in a classroom when the teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up, and in front of the entire class he answered “I want to be a WWE Superstar just like the Undertaker.” And just a few years later the journey began where after several obstacles he moved to Phuket to train with an MMA school and started getting in shape. In 2015, he was voted as the WWE’s biggest fan in India, and was able to attend a live event. After seeing WWE Tough Enough on TV in India being broadcast live from Full Sail University, he decided to move to Orlando, FL to go the Full Sail for his masters, and pursue his dream. And the journey begins.  

In this conversation we talk about his journey so far, his obstacles pursuing his dream, traveling the world and much more. Pank graduated from Full Sail University with his Masters Degree in Entertainment Business with me on June 2017. He’s a very humble and very inspiring human being, who works extremely hard for his dream. How far would you go? How far would you travel? What would you leave behind to live the life you love?  

Highlights from this Episode
Where is Pank today (05:40)
Pank’s story (6:00)
Influencers in his journey (7:00)
First experience with pro wrestling (07:45)
How wrestling is broadcasted in India (08:30)
Pank’s dream for his future (09:20)
How India impacted wrestling (11:35)
School in India vs School in America (12:05)
When Pank began training (12:45)
Journey to OVW & FCW (13:13)
Pank’s journey after rejection (15:00)
Training (16:30)
Biggest WWE fan of India interview (17:30)
Motivation for moving to American and enrolling in Full Sail (18:40)
Relationships with Pank’s parents (19:45)
First live wrestling experience (20:20)
Pank’s MMA schedule in Orlando (21:12)
Training routine (21:45)
WWE tryout experience (23:36)
Pank’s internship with WWE at Full Sail (27:17)
The upcoming journey to a wrestling career in India (28:20)
How Pank’s peers could support him (29:37)
Favorite books and quotes (30:38)
Pank’s superpower (31:55)
Who comes to mind at the thought of successful (32:03)
New discovery (32:23)
Best piece of advice (32:55)
Where would Pank travel to in time (33:10)
Journey for Pank’s next 3 months (33:40)
Making It to Pank (34:40)

Quotes from Pank Nayyar
“I can do it; I want to follow my dream.”
“You just have to be at the right place, right time.”
“I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping for the best.”
“If it’s meant to be, it will be. It it’s your destiny, it will be.”
“I’m an open book.”
“Dream big”

Links to people, places, and things mentioned
People
Undertaker
John Cena
The Rock

Places & Things
Full Sail University
WWE
New Delhi – India
WrestleMania
Festival of Lights
OVW
FCW
The Jungle
NXT

Get in Touch with Pank Nayyar
https://www.instagram.com/wwepank/
https://www.facebook.com/wwepank

Pank Nayyar’s Definition of Making It
“Me representing my country and making my family proud. Like okay he made it. Dream big.”