Marty Elias
Famous For...: his role as Referee in the WWE
Growing up, Marty Elias didn’t much care for having to babysit his younger brothers, who always had the television tuned to their favorite wrestlers. “Eventually, I became a huge fan.”
And a part of the show—after working his way in by setting up chairs and selling tickets at different local venues, Elias began training to be a wrestler. “But I’m not 6-foot-8, 380 pounds,” explained the 5-foot-9-inch, 180-pounder. “So, I said, ‘What can I do to contribute to this business?’” Elias eventually trained to be a referee. After 10 years of refereeing in smaller venues, Elias got a call from the WWE in 2006. “There’s no way when I was 10-years old did I ever think I would be in front of 80,000 people at WrestleMania,” said Elias.
Nowadays, Elias says he enjoys giving back to kids who grew up poor like he did. “One of the things I really love to do is go to youth centers and hand out WWE memorabilia,” he said. “It’s very gratifying to give back to kids who are down and don’t really have role models.”
Elias is a strong believer in music and music education, and saw the difference it made in his own children’s lives. When he speaks to kids, he encourages them to pursue their passions and never give up on their dreams “You get people who laugh at you and tell you you’re dreaming,” said Elias. “But regardless of who you are, and what your background is, dreams do come true. I’m living proof.”
Source: WWE
