♪ bright music ♪
[laughter]
Well, what do you think? Am I great or am I great?
The most unbiased announcer in professional wrestling,
Mauro "The Mouth" Ranallo.
All the shows have dealt with me
in one aspect or another, because I'm so good looking,
and I am so great.
I am only 18, and I'm a superstar already.
Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of the show.
[laughs]
Oh, my God, what a fucking journey.
What an incredible fucking journey.
♪ ominous music ♪
[Mauro] Christ. He was just in the zone.
You can feel it.
Yeah, buddy.
[laughs]
[speaking gibberish]
I get very angry at this.
♪ ominous music ♪
Hello, I'm Mauro Ranallo. Judo hip toss by Rousey!
[Mauro] Down goes Klitschko!
I just want to sleep.
I have to show everybody what I'm about,
because if I don't now, it's done.
Tornado DDT by John Cena!
[crowd chanting]
[Mauro] I just want to sleep.
I want to sleep, just sleep a long time.
Wow, I'm a fucking prisoner of my own fucking mind.
- You didn't record that, eh? - [cameraman] No.
You're just holding it like that?
Coming up, the Bipolar Rock and Roller.
Maybe you'll get a glimpse into what makes me...
me.
♪ tense music ♪
♪♪♪
♪ bright music ♪
♪♪♪
[Duilia] Um, my husband, we know each other
already from Italy.
We got married in 1967.
And then in 1969, Mauro born.
[laughs]
And then it was the first child,
and we were very happy.
[Mauro] Yeah, I was born on a six-acre farm
in a place just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia
called Mount Lehman.
And it was a very interesting childhood.
Growing up on a farm,
but not really wanting to be a farmer.
The road I grew up on, the road was a dead end.
There was no through street.
[Duilia] He was really smart. Very, very smart.
♪♪♪
When he was three years old, he never interested in toys.
[Elio] Always, I see him reading a lot of books.
Steady, reading, reading.
[Duilia] Always with the comics books all over his bed.
♪ ♪
[Mauro] For me, my first true memories
of talking were actually reading out loud.
He liked to talk, liked to read.
Read like crazy.
[Mauro] I was able to discover at a very young age
that my voice was an instrument.
♪♪♪
[Duilia] I emptied the toilet paper,
Mauro go picks it up.
♪♪♪
He used the tubes for his microphone,
and talked to himself in bed.
[Mauro] I knew when I was four or five
what I was put on Earth to do.
And so, I would immerse myself in my own little world
in my room.
Truly in my own world.
The moon would cast a light on the wall,
and my hands would be the shadows.
I'd give them characters, I'd give them names.
I'd give them storylines.
And it was always conflict.
[Duilia] He was watching TV very close.
He was interested in so much, like.
[Mauro] I would always be attracted to voices,
of the radio, of TV,
the news anchors, play-by-play announcers.
Escaping what, again, was a farm life.
I lived on a dead-end road.
♪ bright music ♪
Lots of times, I say Mauro,
you got to cut the grass outside.
Eh, he don't want to do that.
He say, "Dad, I like to read a book.
You know, I like that."
Always, always, he doesn't like to do,
like, this kind of work, you know?
[Romolo] Dad had a chicken farm.
And after school, we'd have to go and feed.
He really didn't have any interest
in any of the manual stuff. I didn't mind it.
[Mauro] My creativity was never nurtured.
If anything, it was stifled, and it was, you know.
Go and feed the chickens. Go outside and mow the lawn.
Go and be a man.
[Elio] Then, in 1977, I open a pizza place.
Mauro, he says,
"Well, Dad, I'm going to get the caller for the pizza."
And I say, "Come on, how you going to deal
with the customer?"
He just, "No, no, no, let me do."
Soon he started to answer the phone.
"Hey, Ranallo's Pizza."
So that'll be two medium, one pepperoni and mushroom,
one ham and pineapple. May I get your address, please?
As great as it was to grow up on that chicken farm...
...you know, there's that metaphor there,
where that's a dead-end street.
And I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be more.
♪ energetic synth music ♪
[Ezio] Growing up, we used to watch wrestling religiously.
We'd go down in our basement there,
and introduce ourselves, and pretend we were wrestlers.
[Mauro] My best friend, Michael and I,
go to each other's houses on the weekend
and put on our own wrestling matches,
either on his trampoline,
or in my basement with my brothers.
It didn't cost a lot to go see pro wrestling,
and you didn't even have to know the language
to be able to see the morality play.
My parents, without a lot of money,
that was their form of entertainment.
[John] We would go to every wrestling match
that there was.
There, I would see Mauro and his family,
sitting not far away from us.
[Mauro] My mom is going crazy yelling at the ref
and my dad, you see the energy coursing.
And it dawned on me, wow. My dad likes this.
I have to be involved in this.
[Ezio] Al Tomko, the promoter of All Star Wrestling
was looking for an announcer.
Mauro was there at the right place, the right time...
[Mauro] And he goes, "Hey, have you been on a mic before?
Can you do some announcing?
I got to take care of some business in the locker room."
Mike Janzen starts laughing.
He goes, "Um, this guy's got the biggest mouth
in the school, he's our announcer.
He does all the sports games, he's our PA announcer."
"Well, then, can you handle the mic?"
And in that moment, I just went, wow.
This is, this is...
Like, I get goosebumps now, and the smallest thing.
There was maybe 100 people in that gym watching the show.
I end up calling the rest of the show.
Everybody comes rushing.
"Ah, man, that was amazing. That was wild."
He walks over to me out of the thing,
he's got a smile on his face.
"What's your name, kid?" I gave him my name, he goes,
"I think-I think I got some work for you.
That was-that was pretty good tonight."
Time for the voice box...
You want to mess with the junior heavyweight champion?
I am the greatest wrestling match...
[Duilia] It was fantastic to see Mauro in action.
We might just go out and--
[Duilia] He was big mouth.
I'm Italian, I like Italian food, okay?
Anyways...
[Jack] I always marveled at Mauro.
When it came to a microphone, he had like a switch
that he put on, and he was a different person.
Let's do it, then. Let's do it right now.
[Jack] He was just a natural.
But forget that for now.
Guess who's back in town?
You want truth, take a look in the mirror.
[Jack] So much energy.
So much incredible energy.
You're at the bottom of the ladder.
I'm not scared to wrestle anybody.
You have to prove yourself to me, because--
Have another match right here.
Wait, come on.
[Mauro] I'm going to become a major star.
I'm going to make it.
And I started at 16? Wow.
I'm on top of the world, ma.
Keep writing into the [indistinct].
Write in to Mauro "The Mouth" Ranallo,
right here on the Universal Wrestling Alliance.
Hi, I'm Mauro Ranallo.
From the Soviet Union, to Czechoslovakia, to Scotland.
Good evening, everyone, I'm Mauro Ranallo.
Great day for soccer, the Air BC Cup, and...
[Mauro] I've called every sport in the book
from when I was a kid.
I did basketball, football, basketball, baseball,
hockey, lacrosse.
[Jack] I mean, he's pretty well announced
everything under the sun.
[Mauro] And I was not prepared
to have that kind of attention.
I was not prepared to deal
with the changes that were happening.
I am sick and tired of what is going on...
[Mauro] And I noticed that there's change in the mood,
there's change in the biology, as it were.
And I'm going to tell you something else,
you midget bunny, wait,
the wrath of Mauro Ranallo in its fullest force,
and you stupid idiots better just shut...
The reason I was so good as a heel manager
is because I was...
Pretty sick and tired of not getting the respect we deserve
in the UWA.
...able to release all of the hate.
What in the hell does the UWA
think they're trying to prove, huh?
The anger, the stuff inside me.
Well, to heck with it all.
I'm just going to set the mad dog loose.
It was good and it was bad, and I was all-in.
Richie, my name is not Moron Re-nerd-o, by the way.
It's Mauro Ranallo...
You know, the professional wrestling journey began,
that's where my career began.
Working away at Powers, ugh.
And it's no real surprise that shortly thereafter,
that's where the biggest battle of my life began.
♪ tense music ♪
♪♪♪
[Mauro] My best friend, Michael John Janzen.
He was like my third brother.
We were pro wrestling fanatics.
You know, it was our cool little thing,
and that's where our friendship was born.
♪♪♪
The phone rang at 6:00 a.m.,
and I answered, and it was Michael's sister, Debbie.
♪♪♪
And I thought she was laughing,
but she wasn't laughing.
She told me that, uh...
It was a hot day.
He was feeling faint.
Sat under a tree.
And never woke up.
He was gone.
[Ezio] On a field, he passed. That's it.
I knew Mike quite well.
As kids, we wrestled too.
So I said, "Okay."
You know what, he's-- We'll see you, buddy.
We're going to wrestle, don't worry, we're going to wrestle.
Mike was an awesome guy.
That fucked up Mauro, you know?
♪ somber music ♪
♪♪♪
[Pieter] I noticed this nude guy
running around on the unit.
Urinating on a different patient's bed.
I asked, and I said, "Who do I have to see?"
They said, "That guy."
♪ tense music ♪
Mauro was just lying there, wet as a sheet.
Um, he was so heavily medicated that...
[Duilia] He didn't even know who we were.
They had him overdosed so badly.
Talks like, didn't make sense.
♪♪♪
The medication they were giving him,
they were making him worse.
♪♪♪
[Pieter] He was really out of it.
He thought he saw his brother dead on the bed next to him.
♪♪♪
I made the diagnosis that he had a delirium.
Delirium is a condition where you can actually
get almost a toxic state in the brain.
In this case, it happened as a result of, I think,
having too many medications.
I-I was-- I was like paralyzed.
In my mind, I was paralyzed with fear.
I was paralyzed with pain.
♪♪♪
[Pieter] He felt very ashamed
about what he thought his behavior was
when it wasn't him.
It was a guy that was not even there.
It was a brain that didn't know where he was, who he was,
what the time was, what the date was.
[Mauro] The more I began to study about
this so-called manic depressive mental health, mental illness,
the more I became convinced, that, A, yes,
[chuckles] I was suffering from it.
I could have written the diagnosis,
according to what I was reading.
And two, the treatment, or lack thereof,
was mind-blowing in itself, and it scared the hell out of me.
[David] So bipolar disorder, or manic depressive illness,
it's really the exact same thing,
is a condition that's been recognized
since Greek antiquity as a psychiatric illness.
It's had many names over the years,
and now, in the 21st century, we call it bipolar disorder.
But it really describes
two phenomena that people experience.
[indistinct chatter]
One is depressive episodes.
[indistinct chatter]
And what we call manic episodes.
But just like depression is not the same as sadness,
mania is not the same as joy.
[screaming]
[laughter]
Oh, my God, what a fucking journey.
What an incredible fucking journey.
[yelling]
♪ groovy music ♪
[speaking gibberish]
♪ whimsical music ♪
Crazy!
Oh, I just want to hold something, and my name...
[David] What goes with it
is an extraordinary burst of energy.
And that burst of energy can result in people
not sleeping at all for days on end,
or getting by with one or two hours of sleep
and feeling fully restored.
They may think more quickly,
they may think more creatively,
and they may speak a lot more quickly.
So much so that their thoughts become disjointed,
and it's hard for people to follow along.
Sex with a man or a woman. There's a whole world of babes
[overlapping dialogue]
...some fine scotch, and I'll speak for those of us men
who aren't in the know. We're fucking stupid, we are.
[David] At the same time, they can also get
an inflated sense of their own skills, their own potential.
I'm the voice reminding you you're not as good as I am.
[laughs]
[David] And that can lead them into some
very dangerous behaviors.
- But you better believe me. - [man] Sing it so it blurs.
- [man] More like-- - Just so the thought's across.
- [woman] Yeah. - [man] Most of the time,
when you do these things, you can't see if you look at them.
But there, looking at that, you can see there's a bird.
Fuck Mike.
Mike is playing with everybody's head tonight.
[screaming]
She may be 11 years older than me,
but she doesn't look at it properly and never would have
told me on her age except she had to
when we filled out her application.
She dresses great and smells good, too.
All in all, she's one hot-looking, cool babe.
She looks like she can take good care of me too,
she can cook dinner, she's got me...
[David] That's what mania looks like.
And when it occurs, it can go on
for days, to weeks, to months.
Typically, bipolar disorder, or manic depressive illness,
has its onset in late adolescence
and early adulthood.
And can have some very serious personal and family
and social consequences.
[Pieter] He would have these bursts of energy.
He would get an enormous amount of work accomplished.
Much more than other people would usually do.
But then also would spend money quite frivolously,
and do impulsive things.
[Romolo] When the cell phones came onto the scene,
I remember some of his cell phone bills,
at that time, would be eight, nine, $1,000.
Like, 800, 900, 1,000 bucks. It's like, that's a disease.
[Ezio] He would, you know, speed, and lose control
of his speed, and the next thing you know, he's always
being pulled over by the Mounties.
[Romolo] My dad thought it was just all bullshit.
No one wanted to admit that there was a disease.
[Elio] What you call a disc jockey, or something.
I think maybe he got too drunk, maybe something went wrong.
Even with the diagnosis, my dad's still thinking,
he just parties too much.
Get him out of the fucking bars, he's a drunk.
[Romolo] It's late at night, we're in the living room.
He wakes up, and he starts wandering around.
And I'm like, Ma. And he's not registering.
He's trying to pee in a flower pot.
I said, "Hey, what are you doing, huh?"
And I thought right then, okay,
there is something that is not balanced here.
Then after I believe he has kind of depression
or whatever you call it.
[David] When episodes hit, they can be very painful
and damaging for the person.
[Romolo] He'd have these breakdowns of rage.
Just, uh...
All of the brain chemicals,
we didn't know anything about it.
I know it was very, very hard for him.
He was calling, "Mom, I don't want to be this way.
Mom, I never wanted to be this way.
It's not me, it's my illness."
♪ tense music ♪
But I should have never went to see nobody
in the psychiatry ward, never.
[Mauro] My twenties were a blur
of being in and out of hospital
anywhere from three days, up to three months.
♪♪♪
When you're suffering from something
that not everyone sees, or you can't see,
that's terrifying, and it's...
it's debilitating.
So, yeah, I just, um...
The twenties were the worst decade of my life in many ways,
and yet...
I can't believe I survived my twenties.
I really can't believe I survived the twenties.
♪ light music ♪
♪♪♪
[Mauro] I get introduced to the Hart family.
I get to go to Hart House. That was amazing.
And even, you know, they would say
wow, we met someone as crazy as ourselves,
because they are an interesting family.
♪♪♪
[Jenni] Well, we kind of just
stumbled upon each other.
I didn't really know much about Mauro or his career.
I just remember him coming to my grandfather's house,
and he was staying there on different occasions
when he was commentating Stampede Wrestling.
Here at Stampede Wrestling, Principal Richard Pound
once again beating up...
[Jenni] We would have these really deep conversations
that were quite meaningful,
and I think some of my family members
also suffer from some of the stuff that Mauro suffers from,
so it was easy to relate to him.
In some way, she understood me.
Another prominent player in my life, Keith Crawford.
He was bringing Muay Thai to TSN.
He heard me on Stampede, asked if I'd be
interested in doing it.
Again, it was all these little connections.
Never applying for jobs.
[Keith] It just amazes me what he was able to do.
He had probably done five or six or seven TSN shows,
and then I just thought it was in our best interest
to get him to Calgary full time.
[Mauro] You know, he really wanted to help me.
And so we took him to The Fan 960 here.
I think he started within days at the radio station,
which was really unusual for The Fan 960.
It was like, you know, a typical radio job.
You know, you've got to know someone who knows someone,
then you've got to pay your dues and everything else,
and Mauro just stepped right in.
We became best friends, to the point
where he allowed me to stay in his basement.
But soon after that, the wheels fell off,
and unfortunately, that fell apart, so...
♪ soft music ♪
[Pieter] Mauro particularly, I think,
had a very, very tough time.
He had what was called a mixed state.
[electricity crackles]
Doing a radio show, he was in such bad shape,
that whilst the show was on air,
he would be able to summon the naturally occurring high
of that moment.
And then, there'd be a commercial break.
And he would weep and rage, and gnash his teeth,
and feel like he wants to go and kill himself.
And then, when the light comes on,
he has to get it back.
That particular form is rare,
and often very difficult to treat.
Seeing someone with a mental disorder like that
just melt down, you just go...
Wow.
I was sick. I was really sick.
♪♪♪
[Jenni] I wouldn't get to see him for a few weeks.
I'd only have like, two days with him, too.
He would spend the entire time on the couch,
reading the newspaper.
I know he loves reading the newspaper, back to back.
It doesn't matter what newspaper it is.
Yeah, she was on the receiving end of a lot of my...
outbursts, whatever you call it.
My illness.
♪ tense music ♪
I don't know how to describe it, really.
Almost insanity, just...
His batteries ran out.
You know, it's my friend,
and I don't really know what's wrong with him.
I didn't understand it.
[Jenni] It kind of made me, if anything,
reflect on what the situation was that I had grown up with,
and it wasn't scary, it was just more...
Did I still want to live another...
Well, another lifetime with somebody
that had all these issues?
Jenni finally broke up with me, because she'd had enough.
And everyone had enough. I had enough of myself.
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[Romolo] Of course, there was the legendary trip to Calgary
where my dad and younger brother had to go get him,
because he was having a complete fucking breakdown.
♪♪♪
[Keith] It was like hearing Superman go,
"I'm not Superman anymore," you know?
You know, it almost makes you...you know.
Because he was like, he was um...
He was just destroyed.
[Mauro] They took me to the hospital, and I was on...
[sobs]
I was on medication...
[heavy breathing]
and I was a mentally ill patient
in a psychiatric ward for the seventh time in my life
knowing that I'm probably going to stay there.
I know I didn't belong there, because I-I had something.
I know I had something to do on Earth.
That I had something to do.
[phone rings]
[machine beeps]
I get home, messed, and that's it.
Now, now all of us have decided
he's no longer going to work in broadcasting.
Like, he cannot do this.
He cannot live a life on his own.
He's incapable of being on his own, nor should he be.
And my mom, and again, this is why my parents, God bless them,
but it's like, oh, I guess it's not a good time
to tell you about the message on the machine.
I'm like, what? Pick up the phone.
Listen to the message.
♪ soft music ♪
It was Bas Rutten on the phone.
I had met Bas in 2001.
♪♪♪
[crowd gasps]
[crowd oohs]
[Bas] I was doing a TV show called Freedom.
We met some people who were doing a movie.
And they wanted me to be a commentator on that movie.
And I walked in there after a night of partying,
I remember, and I came in to do it, and Mauro was there.
And I got the script and Mauro gets the script
and he looks it over for like, five minutes or whatever,
and he goes, okay, I got it.
You know, oh, my God, this guy has got a photographic memory.
This is crazy.
I told him, I said, dude, you have a talent.
This is crazy, why don't you give me your telephone number?
You never know if something happens.
When Pride needed a new commentator,
and then they asked me, do you know somebody?
I say, well, actually.
I hope I still have it in my-- I always had a PDA at the time,
and I had the number.
I left a message for him, he sent in a tape,
and he got the job.
♪ upbeat dramatic music ♪
[Mauro] Bas Rutten, the stage is set.
The first ever...
- [Bas] And look at this! - [Mauro] Oh, and it's over.
♪♪♪
[Mauro] It was like the Super Bowl meets Cirque du Soleil,
and then, the atmosphere.
[announcers yell]
Oh, my gosh, straight on his head!
What, what is this? I'm...this is...
And Bas, Bas is literally...
"Yeah, yeah, what I tell you, what I tell you?"
Like, it's like--
- [Bas] It's good! - [Mauro] And it's over!
This is-this is exactly
what I'd always wanted to experience in life.
Told you, he'd pick him up and slam him to the ground!
[Bas] Oh, he's out, he's out!
[Mauro] I told you!
Ten times a year, for three years,
at least, we'd go to Japan.
♪ whimsical music ♪
♪♪♪
Oh, this fucking...
Is there a fucking Kinko's or something around?
Arigato gosaimas, thank you.
I don't know which one it is.
This one here?
- Next one. - Oh, this one here?
[Bas] Oh, my God, this was like the first time
I worked with him, and he was like out of control.
We were walking on the street.
Mauro suddenly goes, "Bas, hold this."
And he give me his notes, and Mauro has his T-shirt
pulled in here, like it's a bra.
His glasses are here, and he's walking
on the street like this.
[yells]
[random vocalizations]
There was a big learning curve
for me to figure out what to do with Mauro's
emotional range.
Highs and his lows ♪ whimsical music ♪
♪♪♪
What's so funny?
And I've gotten used to it.
♪ upbeat music ♪
[airplane engine roars]
[Romolo] When he headed off to Toronto, that was a big break.
[Mauro] Yo, yo, yo, and away we go.
I'm the Fight Network's Mauro Ranallo.
Welcome back to...
I was given the opportunity to again
do something that's a challenge.
The first combat sports show of its kind
in Canadian television history.
The MMA Show, and I loved that.
GSP, Georges St-Pierre, joins us in studio.
And Georges, first of all, welcome.
[John] He wanted the best product possible.
Whether it be on television, on the radio,
he just wanted everything to be perfect
and raise everyone's standards around him.
And that's why I couldn't hold stuff against him.
Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
Myself, and my mom and dad, I think everyone here
thought this is going to be another failure.
[Mauro] Wow.
He's doing it, but, oh, God, he's doing it. [chuckles]
Like, he's getting on a bigger stage,
but that also means bigger opportunity
to, you know, really fail spectacularly
in a very public way.
It's always a pleasure, my friend, and yes...
Out of the blue, I receive a call from David Dinkins Jr.
Asked if I'd be interested in calling MMA for Showtime.
All right, let's rock this thing.
[David] This was a big experiment for us,
doing the MMA.
And the challenge was to find an announce team
that was knowledgeable, and of the quality
that we wanted to have on Showtime network.
So, Mauro, having been the voice of Pride
for a number of years, we took a good look at him.
But he was a relative newcomer to us.
♪ rock music ♪
[David] I got the impression that
I was just getting the tip of the iceberg.
Yes, we are making history tonight here on Showtime,
as this event marks the first-ever live broadcast
of mixed martial arts on premium television
in North America.
Now, which version of Tank will we see tonight?
Sherman, or septic?
Meanwhile, Kimbo Slice out to prove
that he's got more game than a wildlife reserve.
[David] Some things that come out of his mouth
are just immensely entertaining,
that you're not going to hear from another broadcaster.
Fight!
[Mauro] Cage tested, street certified.
The two bulls meet in the center of the cage.
[David] He comes up with some things that are just...
uh, that face looks like...
[Mauro] ...it's been put together like a ransom note.
[indistinct chatter]
Renzo, one of the first Gracies
to truly incorporate striking and cross striking
into his fighting style as he does secure
the neon belly position on Frank Shamrock.
[David] Uh, he's pretty much a savant
about all combat sports.
[Mauro] We're looking at a guy with educated feet.
That left foot from Yale, the right foot from Harvard.
But I didn't know how much he knew about boxing,
kickboxing, wrestling.
[announcer] I beg to differ, he's not--there you go.
[Mauro] Puts him down on the canvas permanently!
[cameraman] How do you feel after an event like this?
[grunting]
And the pound, Herschel Walker!
And again, you don't expect refined technique,
but he is dropping the bombs...
Lawler, beginning to pick apart.
Murilo "Ninja" Rua is on the canvas!
Lawler swinging wildly,
dropping one bomb after another.
Holy knockout, Batman, we've got a new
EliteXC middleweight champion!
I wake up in a panic attack every morning.
Going, holy fuck. I'm still alive.
I got to do this again today.
That's the life of a man on the road.
I'm very tired, I'm very tired.
And the struggle is daily.
Jesus fuck.
I'm not always fun to be around.
I get very angry at this.
Dude, help me find my glasses. Get rid of that camera.
Where are they, honestly?
Busted my fucking ass to get to where I am.
I fucking went through hell.
And for me, my-my work is my therapy, my real therapy.
Oh, Kennedy is down and in trouble.
Full mount achieved by Rockhold.
[announcer] And still the Strikeforce middleweight...
[Mauro] Congratulations, champ.
What did you think of your performance tonight?
Why are you still
the Strikeforce middleweight champion?
Fucking Christ, man. I just want to sleep.
I'm just in the zone, I just want to sleep.
I can feel it, just...
Want to sleep, just sleep a long time.
[David] I'm the kind of person that thinks
there's a range of us out there.
And we do things different ways.
No two people are exactly alike.
Assume that here's a very, you know, energetic guy
that has mood swings.
[Mauro] Ronda Rousey, extending the arm.
[announcer] She's got to squeeze her knees
a little bit.
[announcer] Oh, she's got that right hand.
[Mauro] Oh, it's over!
Rousey has done it! Five professional fights!
Five first round armbar submissions.
Strikeforce was sold, I was like, well,
here's another job, and I was leaving Toronto
like it was almost like everything was ending
again at the same time.
I let it overwhelm me, and my experiences
put me in the hospital, again.
Can I just go the fuck home and get rid--
Stop this bullshit?
Because I don't need to be on this roller coaster anymore.
I want to fucking die. This is enough.
I'm embarrassed, humiliated, and ashamed.
I don't need any more chances. I can't do this shit.
Now, you're in your mid thirties, you're done.
You're finished, dude. Go back home to BC.
Get a job, live at home.
Help around the house where you can, and that's it.
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[Ezio] He's been struggling all his life.
He's got good days, bad days, but...
It's just, when your chemical imbalance is off,
you can't control that.
♪♪♪
And that might have explained why he was
the way he was as a kid growing up,
and just a little bit different
than, you know, myself or my brother
in terms of, you know, interacting with us.
[Ezio] He would sit in his own room,
lock the door, shut the door, and just whatever.
♪♪♪
Nobody knows what he was doing.
I mean, sometimes, I'd go check on him
and sure enough, he'd be reading newspapers
or magazines and just looking at history,
and reading up on it.
♪♪♪
[announcer on TV] Oh, now he's way into the corner.
Fires him into the opposite corner...
[David] When people fall into an episode
of clinical depression,
it's characterized not simply by a low mood,
but by a range of disturbances in pretty basic functioning.
Sleep, appetite, energy, concentration, memory,
sexual drive, all of these get disrupted
in characteristic ways.
And unlike normal feelings of sadness
that might last an hour or two, or a day or two,
when people become clinically depressed,
it's really something enduring over weeks to months.
It's not sadness at all they experience.
It's a profound loss of interest and pleasure
in the things that they normally enjoy.
♪ Sadness reigns ♪
♪ soft rock music ♪
♪ Watching my life swim away ♪
♪ Wondering why I can't ♪
Yeah.
[accordion synth plays]
♪♪♪
[Mauro] I finally made the decision
that I had been waiting to make my entire life,
and I moved to California.
As a kid, you know, you're seduced
by Hollywood, TV and movies.
So I'm like, well, I want to go to California,
I want to live there.
And Frank Shamrock, who had become
a huge mentor and my business manager,
he was incredibly positive about the future.
♪♪♪
"Don't worry, just move to Cali.
You'll be fine."
♪♪♪
- Mother nature. - Mother nature.
[Frank] You know, I saw his,
and felt his mental deterioration
working with him professionally.
And then, as we got to become friends,
and working together in business, I could feel it.
He spent a decade, you know, racing his car,
floored, non-stop.
Yep.
Did you see that big old snake I caught, buddy?
Nope.
[Frank] You know, before, he was letting his manic mind
guide his career.
And that was great, but you have to take care of the body,
and the spirit, and all the-- you know, mind, body, spirit.
If you don't take care of those things,
the machine will eventually break.
Right?
Isn't that what happens?
- We going to eat? - Yeah.
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[Pieter] We came to find medications
that worked for him.
He was not compliant.
♪♪♪
[John] He would tell me that he tricked his psychiatrist.
He would tell him that he took his medication,
but it gave him dry mouth all the time,
so he couldn't really do his radio show.
That lack of insight typical of bipolar disorder
has been the crippling factor for him.
Well, what happened when I was on meds again?
Going around to people's rooms in the middle of the night,
urinating on their beds, what?
Put me on a med that was supposed to be helping people?
I paced back and forth the entire time,
and all I could think about was getting on the roof
and jumping off.
That's your medication?
That the first time you take it,
you spend the entire night pacing,
and looking at getting on the roof so you can end it.
"Why does it work?" "We don't know."
"So why does this work?" "We're not quite sure."
I'm supposed to get better taking these meds.
So why the hell am I gaining weight?
Why the hell am I feeling lethargic?
This is not helping me.
♪♪♪
I know what's helps me. It's not pharma.
♪♪♪
And there's been arguments made,
well, maybe it exacerbates your illness,
or maybe it compounds.
Uh-uh.
I know it keeps me alive.
♪ dramatic music ♪
Here in California, I am allowed to medicate.
And that's when I start writing.
That's when I play my music.
That's when I give my mom a nice phone call,
because I'm not anxious and feeling scared.
It helps me sleep, it helps me focus.
Have conversations with people.
People, I just don't get it, how can you not
if you're suffering from pain, nausea,
for cancer or HIV, any debilitating disease.
And bipolar disorder is a debilitating disease.
This is what has saved my life.
It's got to be something that brings me inspiration.
Children, travel and escape across the world
from your living room.
[uplifting piano chord]
Stratosphere, Stratosphere,
Fridays at seven, six Pacific, on Travel and Escape.
[goofy voice] How about this, kids?
Let's just do this.
I don't even know what this is going to sound like,
but this is the voice I'm going to use
when I sing it, okay?
One, two, three, four.
♪ jaunty music ♪
♪ High above the mountaintop ♪
What are you looking at?
I've never had lessons, I'm not a professional
by any means and incredibly unorthodox,
but music is a...
it's one of my favorite therapies.
I love to just discover sound.
Okay.
[coughs]
So what we're doing right now,
this is called guerilla song comprising.
♪ I feel like a flower ♪
♪ Been stepped on once before ♪
♪ Trying to push the envelope just a little too hard ♪
♪ Now I'm living too large ♪
[vocalizing]
[David] Some people who are struggling
with a mental illness can find a tremendous outlet
through artistic or creative expression.
Be it music, be it painting, uh, be it theater.
[scatting]
♪♪♪
♪ upbeat dance music ♪
♪♪♪
[reporter] Probably would not know that.
So these are all the issues that will be looked at.
How did one gunman, possibly two,
we don't know that yet, get past security,
get into the Navy yard.
This is just, uh, a very big mystery at the moment.
[Mauro] Not everything can be hunky dory.
But I just feel that to me,
the biggest challenge is...
[man on TV] Squat, drop it, and push.
[exhales]
[man on TV] Pull forward.
[Mauro] Being good to myself, because I already, you know,
I'm not a person that's comfortable
about treating myself, like, taking care of myself first.
[speaks Italian]
♪ upbeat music ♪
♪♪♪
♪ groovy music ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Call it Money Mayweather, making it better ♪
♪ Getting back into the ring for another run ♪
♪ Toe to toe with Canelo and Angulo with Mauro ♪
♪ And Ranallo and Bowe, man, I need another, oh ♪
♪ Charlo twins run the scene at 23 ♪
♪ The one who's a minute older, man ♪
♪ He's trying to make history, I wonder how it's gonna be ♪
♪ When Leo Santa Cruz puts on his belt, man ♪
♪ Is he headed for destiny ♪
♪ Keep up, keep up, keep up the good vibe, yeah ♪
I get calls every day from everybody at Showtime.
Just, hey, how are you doing, bud?
Thinking about you. Don't worry.
You're still here. You're a part of our family.
[indistinct chanting]
You got a job, bro.
We're not letting you go. No, no, we get this.
We want to understand. We get this.
♪ upbeat music ♪
♪♪♪
September, 2012, I'm in a hospital bed,
telling my friend, thanks for your support, bro,
and that's enough, I'm done.
September 2013, I'm ringside in Las Vegas
at the MGM Grand,
calling Floyd Mayweather versus Canelo Alvarez.
[Mauro] What a sublime right uppercut up the middle
by Mayweather.
Canelo comes back with a one-two combination
of his own off the ropes.
[announcer] Floyd "Money" Mayweather!
[reporter] So Mauro, you've been in, you know,
a big stage before, you've called big fights from Pride,
and MMA on CBS, network television,
the big Strikeforce fights, EliteXC, all that stuff.
Would you say this was bigger than all of them?
What this meant, you know, in terms of my career,
there's nothing close.
I've had the pleasure of realizing
every one of my dreams, and I'm not doing this to brag.
I'm doing this to tell everybody, man, oh, man.
I say it every day at 11:11, carpe diem.
Seize the day, man. Chase your dreams and goals,
and work hard, and be real to yourself, because, brother,
I am living the dream. There's no other way to put it.
I'm in a happy place, because I'm alive,
and I get to do something I love.
And I just wish I could give this to everybody out there,
that everyone could do something they love,
because I know how fortunate we are
with everything that's going on on this planet,
like, I scratch my head going, how the hell am I so lucky?
[laughs]
♪ upbeat music ♪
[David] People who are affected by these relatively rare,
but serious illnesses like bipolar disorder...
[heavy breathing]
...can still lead meaningful
and productive lives.
When they're well.
♪♪♪
[angelic harp]
♪♪♪
[groovy music]
♪♪♪
[Elio] You want to know something?
You tell him, he remember it.
Since he was small, eh?
He even remember when I used to get drunk.
[laughs]
Oh yeah.
[Romolo] The guy didn't do any homework,
and yet, he was like an honor role student.
♪♪♪
And I think, okay, I grew up in that same household,
I went to the same schools.
But no, I didn't get the knowledge level that he has,
He's got the craziest vocabulary
of any human being I've ever met.
He used to read books cover to cover out loud
and drive people nuts.
[Bas] And he doesn't try.
People go, oh, he's using these big words, he's trying.
He does not.
For him, that's him. It's like from...
A painter, it's paint. For him, it's words.
3, 2, 1, testing.
I shot in for a takedown so I could...
Top position always seems dominant in the fight game...
Still, the more he struggled, the more the choke tightened,
and the more his face turned a deeper red.
I love to tell stories in my own unique way, that's my job.
Fans were screaming because they knew
once the triangular was set, that it's usually game over.
[phone buzzes]
Fuck.
I knew if I didn't go balls to the wall that I'd...
Otherwise, it's, you know, it's not that hard to--
There's a left hand, right hand, left hook, right hand.
Boring.
[Romolo] I mean, mechanically, he's a fucking disaster.
♪ groovy music ♪
I mean, he just is. I mean, it's brutal.
But when it comes to like, names, places, people,
world history, uh, sports, even political stuff,
entertainment, it's crazy.
I think he overloads his brain.
Read any famous person or successful genius.
All the greats, preparation is everything, dude.
[Frank] The ability of information that he
processes, consumes, and prepares
for each and every show, it's-it's a bit crazy.
[David] There's some that, you know, commit to the process,
commit to their jobs at a very high level.
And he is like that.
[Mauro] In a year filled with fantastic fights,
this one has the makings of one of the most memorable,
and yes, that includes our mega main event.
About a minute.
What do you think?
[cameraman] How long is it supposed to be?
But whatever, who cares, what did it feel like?
How did it feel? I don't care about time.
What were the words? Did I describe these guys?
This is the biggest-- One of the biggest fights
of the fucking year, dude.
♪ tense music ♪
[Mauro] I want to tell the story of what's happening.
♪♪♪
Get you emotionally invested in both of the competitors.
♪♪♪
Who are they? Why are they fighting?
♪♪♪
One of 33 champions to hail from Argentina.
His mantra in life, KO's for life.
The sequel is more Godfather II
than Rocky II, my friend.
He will stick with his plan until the bitter end,
even if it means sinking to the bottom...
The man who but the "bam" in Alabama...
Being serenaded by a chorus of boos...
Listen to this crowd, over 5,000 from Northern Ireland...
7,000 strong to witness
what promises to be a thrilling tear-up.
Ladies and gentleman in attendance, it's show time.
[Mauro] Unwilling to give each other an inch,
as they continue to go toe-to-toe.
- And down goes Molina! - [man] Here's the deal.
And I'll say this respectfully.
Mauro is a throwback, old-school sportscaster.
[Mauro] Mares goes down again!
Mamma mia!
Stuns him with a right hand!
Legendary scrap here.
Oh, down goes...
[David] Some people might think it's manufactured, it's not.
That is who you see and hear on the screen is Mauro Ranallo.
There is no fake voice, no.
[Mauro] Vicious right hand, [indistinct] escapes,
and the referee has stopped the fight.
Well, there's a great shot, and he goes down
faster than a plate of Alabama barbecue.
His energy, I think, is infectious.
I think his energy is terrific.
[Mauro] Errol Spence Jr., working the body.
[David] Some people might think he's a little bit too much.
Either way, as a play-by-play man on boxing,
he gives people what they're supposed to get in a broadcast.
[Mauro] He got stunned with that left hook by Molina.
How is he still standing?
Right hand.
And the referee has stopped the fight, mamma mia!
It looks-it sounds like a crazy man just going nuts.
[Mauro] Oh, nice right uppercut, left hand,
and Zlaticanin goes down for the first time in his career!
I know I've been given a gift, and part of it has to do with
that ability to just really come up with things quickly,
and really just hyper-focus at times
on things, and also, be unhibited.
Be-be-be, you know, don't be burdened
with whatever constraints
you think you must have in that position.
♪ upbeat music ♪
[David] There are certain elements of mania,
for instance, that accelerated process of thought,
increased creativity, which could be helpful,
if the train didn't become a runaway train.
[mutters]
How come there's only one thing?
Did I lose something?
Where's my credit cards and stuffs?
Come on, let's go up there and see.
Got to find my card, or I'm not going anywhere.
And it's just another fucking pain in the ass,
like, what just happened here?
[sighs]
Okay.
It's always something.
Why didn't it fall here?
Did it fall here?
There it is.
You can see it.
The MGM Grand, baby.
In Las Vegas at the right time, the night time.
This is the venue, the MGM Grand.
Saturday night.
Unbelievable pay-per-view.
♪ tense music ♪
♪♪♪
[man] Live television is filled with adrenaline.
There's this pressure, you know?
You're hearing the producer talk in your ear,
and you know you're going out
to however many people there are.
It could be millions, it could be a million,
it could be 700,000, whatever the number is.
So the highs and lows are accentuated a little bit.
[rhythmic clapping]
[vocalizing]
High, low, oh.
He'll be looking to give the fans
boxing's version of the walk-off home run.
[cameraman laughs]
[cackling]
July 6, 1989, my best friend, Michael Janzen passed away.
A huge pro wrestling and boxing fan, I wish he was with me.
[stifled sobs]
♪ I'll be your friend ♪
♪ I'll help you carry on ♪
♪ So when you're not strong, baby ♪
[phone rings]
♪ I'll be there for you, lean on me ♪
- [Duilia] Hello? - Hey, Mom, how are you?
- How are you? - Good, I'm just headed
to the arena right now, so I just wanted to call you
before I shut off the phone.
Biggest show of my career.
Thanks for your love and support,
and I will call you guys tomorrow.
- Good luck, Mauro. - All right.
- Okay, love you, Mom. - Go do it, take care.
- Take care. - Thank you, bye, good luck.
- Yeah, thanks Mom, bye-bye. - Bye.
♪ tense music ♪
♪♪♪
[Mauro] Our fight of the century!
Pacquiao, initiating the attack.
That straight right hand down the middle.
♪♪♪
Sensing that he has done enough,
Pacquiao on the attack,
but the final bell has gone.
Now, Floyd Mayweather, 48-0.
♪ soft music ♪
I know for a fact that Mauro thinks he's not that good.
I guarantee you that.
♪♪♪
[Mauro] Oh, my God, Mauro Ranallo, I love you.
You're the best thing about Showtime boxing broadcasts.
Great card, good job, Mauro.
Great work on the mic tonight, Mauro.
That's just... It continues, dude.
It fucking continues.
[Harris] What do you think about it?
Like, fuck off, people.
[laughs]
Wow, dude, wow.
I'm a fucking prisoner of my own fucking mind.
If I can't appreciate tonight, then I'm going to kill myself.
I'm done with this, Harris. I'm not doing well, man.
I'm never going to do well, that's the thing.
I just, I look around, and I see it tonight, too.
Just too much.
People are fucking weird, man.
Too real. I don't feel good.
[laughter]
Dude, I said hardly anything. I love it, man.
I just sat there.
[Harris] Why don't you feel good, man?
I don't know, dude. I'm tired.
Just...
I own-I earn too much. Like, I want too much.
Like, I want to rule. I want to be the best ever.
I want to make no mistakes.
I want to describe everything exactly as it should be.
Like, I couldn't even see my fucking notes half the time.
And a lot of the time, all I did was call the fight.
That's all I did. I didn't look down once.
Just, boom, and like, dude, it's repetitive.
Like, you know, I'm trying to come up
with different ways, and...
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[David] There reaches a tipping point
where the illness itself becomes so overwhelming
that you're not able to draw on your internal capacities
to express yourself.
Or that your self-perception becomes so distorted,
that you can't value the work you're doing.
♪♪♪
[John] Every July 6th for 23 years...
♪♪♪
...he has always phoned.
He has never missed a year.
A very special person.
He just feels so much sorrow and sadness.
A lot more than the next person might.
[Mauro] It's amazing on this journey,
that regardless of the setbacks,
or the severity of the setback,
the comeback has been that much bigger.
Another one of my dreams came true when I was 46.
The new voice of Smackdown, this guy right here.
The new face as well.
Veteran combat sports announcer, Mauro Ranallo.
Thank you very much, King.
The boyhood dream has come true for yours truly.
Yeah, being in WWE at 46, that's not supposed to happen.
[indistinct yelling]
And so, after a year of being on the road with Smackdown,
the toll it had been taking on me, the road, the travel,
I didn't see it as being feasible for me
and my situation.
Make sure to feed the cat!
And after a breakdown at the Chicago airport,
I decided, well, here we go again.
WWE, instead of saying yeah, well,
we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Instead, they went and said, well, wait a minute.
There's got to be a place in here for him.
All right, uh, let's-let's see here.
I am thrilled to announce I will now be part
of the NXT broadcasting team. Boom.
Okay, now, I can't share that yet,
so if I hit "okay," it's still good, right?
- That's not sharing? - [man] Don't press share.
[Mauro] Yeah, good, okay, perfect.
[man] Make sure you didn't share it accidentally.
Yeah, can you imagine? Whoa!
[Paul] The fit for Mauro at NXT is in his wheelhouse.
He loves the young up and coming.
He loves that style. He loves the newer guy.
He thrives on that underground feel.
- He's... - All right.
[Paul] He's legitimately on the edge of his seat,
excited, shocked, intrigued.
Oh, fuck, dude.
I got to grab my iPad for the work, I'm an idiot.
[Paul] And I think that's what makes him so good at his job.
Okay, now, what do we got here?
I'm going to start emailing this stuff.
[Michael] You can't fake passion.
You can't do it, I don't care if you're
the greatest actor in the world.
Not for sports entertainment, you can't.
And Mauro was very passionate about this product,
and it comes out in his delivery on the air.
He's absolutely incredible. He feels it.
He has this emotion that is-- that just oozes out of him.
And I think that's why the fans love him
when he calls action.
What I'm kind of saying is, for entrances,
how do you, how do we-- Is there a formula?
- Or do we just go with it? - What I'll do tonight,
so we're not stepping on each other,
is I'll just kind of get in your guys' ears...
[Paul] It's a funny thing.
You know, you can walk out in that arena,
and you can call things, and you can do things,
but they see through it.
They see through the passion if you don't have it.
And now, in terms of on camera, so let's just say...
[Paul] They relate to Mauro because Mauro's them.
Mauro is just them, but he's got a better seat,
and he has a microphone.
I think he's different, I think he brings
a different aspect to the way he calls matches,
more than anyone else, really.
He's probably one of the best announcers in history.
You know, he's calling the Mayweather-Conor match.
He has that kind of voice. It's so iconic and strong.
And it's his wording. It's the way he words things.
- He connects to the fans. - Oh, yeah.
He knows that he's a fan at heart.
He's always been a fan of contact sports.
Wrestling, MMA, boxing, doesn't matter.
So when he calls it, he calls it like just one of us.
Man, his passion, and his knowledge,
and you can really tell that unlike some announcers,
he really does his homework.
And so, you know, with everything
that, you know, he's gone through, and just to see him
succeed like that, you know? I'm somebody that his kind of
gone through some similar things,
and it's really emotional for me
to see somebody like that be successful
on such a big stage.
The fact that he's here tonight at Full Sail,
when he comes out, I'm going to chant "Mauro,"
I'm going to chant "mamma mia,"
I wish they would just give me a headset,
then I could listen to him call it live.
I hate that I got to wait. Uh, but it's worth it, man,
because he's the best in the world at what he does.
[Paul] There are a lot of people out there.
There are a lot of people that struggle with mental illness.
That struggle with, um, those challenges
every single day, but they do it solely by themselves.
And I think in some way, inside, they think like,
that I'm different from everybody else.
I'm the only one that has this problem.
♪ soft music ♪
Ugh, I can't do this.
For somebody at a high level that you respect,
and you think is an amazing person,
performer, however you want to label that.
Wow, he has the same issue? He has the same problems I do?
That's inspiring, lets you know
you can do anything you want.
I'm on a platform that will allow people
to understand holy shit, he's doing this,
but he's also dealing with this, so it's possible.
[cheers and applause]
[announcer] Please help me welcome...
the one and the only...
The Bipolar Rock and Roller, Mauro Ranallo!
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[Romolo] It's a real life true story
of someone who was...
...rock bottom.
I mean, in the eyes of his family, a failure.
And look where he is today.
[David] I think he's a fighter, he's a fighter.
I mean, he's an inspirational person
to a lot of people for what he's been able to do.
And he's living his dream. God bless him for that.
[Mauro] What the hell is he doing now?
Wait a second, oh, my God! She's going...
[indistinct yelling]
[woman] Oh, my God!
[Mauro] It's just a blessing.
The career has been a blessing.
And I just want to continue to work on my health,
and to hopefully continue to share my message
with those who need it, and who want to listen,
and who want to be a part of a growing movement.
We all are in a fight on this planet, and for me,
on a daily basis, for most of my adult life,
there has been a fight going on in this space between the ears.
And at times, the fight has told me
to take your life, Mauro, because you are a fraud.
So for many years of my life, I wanted to end it,
and every day that I woke up, I looked at the light,
the chandelier of my bedroom,
wondering if it could hold my body weight.
♪ rock music ♪
♪♪♪
[Mauro] Everything I have visualized or said
has come true in my life.
And it's been recorded, so if it can come true for me,
do it for yourself, please, in your own way.
You have to believe in yourself, people.
♪♪♪
Oh, they both double knockdown!
Fedor Emelianenko's hurt, and just like Dan Henderson did,
it's all over, it's over, mamma mia!
I started my career at 16.
I knew what I wanted to do at five.
And the roadblocks, and the potholes,
and the derailments, I'm not supposed to be here.
What keeps me going? I love what I do.
Klitschko, trying to survive,
as it's an onslaught by Joshua.
Down goes Klitschko!
The competition, the purest form,
mano a mano, the ultimate highs and the lows.
It--competition is...
I'm the Bipolar Rock and Roller.
It is bipolar, life, my life is bipolar, it's extremes.
♪ slow rock music ♪
♪♪♪
...against Floyd Mayweather!
And Floyd Mayweather, landing the right hands now
at will, and tags McGregor again!
Floyd Mayweather has McGregor on the ropes,
literally and figuratively.
What a night it has been here in Las Vegas.
Wilder's right hand is Thor's hammer,
and he is Ragna-rocking Stiverne!
And Stiverne goes down!
I love what I do.
I scarified marriage, family, vacations.
I live for what I do.
♪♪♪
[David] All too often, people who have experienced
a major mental illness like bipolar disorder
tend to be written off by other people,
saying, well, that guy's finished.
We've lost one too many because of that.
I'm here to smash this stigma.
[Frank] With his voice, passion, and persona,
I honestly think he can change the world.
That, I think, is going to be his true legacy.
[Mauro] Mental illness may be a life sentence
for a lot of us,
but it does not have to be a death sentence.
If there is someone in your family or your social circle
that needs help, just listen, do not judge.
There is no bandage around our head.
We are not in a wheelchair, but we do have an illness.
[Duilia] I always have Mauro in my heart.
I never forget from where he was
to where he is today, and when I'm watching him on TV,
I have tears all over.
- You think of, uh... - Back to his...
- All Star Wrestling? - All Star.
You know, what, two, three hundred?
Take a look at this.
- [announcer] Mauro Ranallo! - There he is, look at this.
[crowd chanting] Mamma mia!
Right back into this unsanctioned match, oh, God!
[cheering, yelling]
[man] Oh, no.
Whoa!
Don't kill me!
Oh, you're killing me!
Talk to someone.
Get the right medications.
Exercise, try to eat healthy.
And don't be ashamed to talk about it.
I'm Mauro Ranallo.
I suffer from bipolar affective disorder.
Thank you.
♪ inspiring music ♪
♪♪♪
C'est fini?
Peace out.
♪ mellow rock music ♪
♪♪♪