Zach Gowen has definitive moments in his life where he could have just given up and resigned himself to an unhappy and disconnected existence.

But Gowen told an audience in Western Nevada College’s Carson Nugget Hall on Tuesday morning that his mom motivated him to resume pursuing his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Gowen’s powerful presentation of “Don’t Quit Your Daydream” was arranged for WNC’s College Readiness Education for Students in Transition (CREST) program, but many others on campus turned out to listen to his motivational life of overcoming obstacles and not giving up. CREST, which is grant-funded by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), prepares students with disabilities for college success and beyond. It’s part of the college’s Disability Support Services program.

“It’s this partnership with DETR since 2016 that allows events like this to happen,” said DSS Director Susan Trist.

Gowen found many people in attendance that empathized and related to the struggles that went through early in his life.

Despite losing his left leg to cancer as an 8-year-old and his dad leaving his family when he was 4, Gowen dreamed of his promising future, and he dreamed big: becoming the first professional wrestling star with one leg.

“Two weeks after the amputation of my leg, doctors allowed me to go home. My grandma ordered the WWE Royal Rumble on Pay Per view for me in 1992. My boyhood hero Ric Flair won his first championship on that card. I got lost in the magic of professional wrestling and I didn’t feel like such an outsider. I didn’t feel the pain of losing my leg or the pain of not fitting in with any of my schoolmates, and I didn’t feel the pain or anger at my father who left us when I was 4 years old.”

However, by the time he was in high school, Gowen was told by too many of his classmates that he was crazy and not capable of wrestling professionally.

“Whatever you do, don’t tell small-minded people your big dreams,” he said. “From their limited experience in life, they can’t accomplish the dream you are talking about, and if they think they can’t do it, why can you?”

Unfortunately, Gowen started to believe his naysayers. Fortunately, his mom intervened when the 17-year-old became depressed and resigned to not becoming a pro wrestler.

“I didn’t want to go outside, I didn’t want to go to school, my grades started slipping,” Gowen recalled. “If I didn’t have professional wrestling, I didn’t have anything. One day, thank God, my mother burst into my room because she was sick of it. That mama bear instinct takes over at the right time and at the right place.

“She said, ‘Zach, knock it off! You are not to be defined by what other people say you can and can’t do. That is not for them to decide, that is for you to decide. The history books in the library of the school that you go to are filled with people who were called crazy by those who were lazy. I’ll be damned if I’ll have a son that grows up to be lazy. If you want to be a professional wrestler, go be a professional wrestler.’ At that point, she spoke life into me. We need people who believe in us, even when we don’t believe in yourself.”

Zach listened to his mother – like good sons do – and attended wrestling school. Only 19 at the time, he was contacted by a WWE representative about joining the professional ranks. He signed a three-year contract, debuted with Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper, then went on to wrestle John Cena, The Big Show, Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon. He developed a huge following among fans on social media and became the WWE superstar he dreamed about as an 8-year-old.

But pro sports careers don’t last forever. The married father of four, however, did possess a powerful story, message and perspective to share with young people. He has traveled across the country working with more than 200,000 students, parents and teachers to share his experiences as an empowerment speaker.

“Life isn’t about what happens to us; life is about how we respond to what happens to us,” he said.

WNC’s Diversion, Equity and Inclusion Committee joined DSS in presenting Gowen’s appearance on Tuesday.

To learn more about WNC’s DSS and CREST programs, visit https://wnc.edu/dss/index.php. For more information, email Trist at susan.trist@wnc.edu or phone 775-445-4459.