Braun Strowman talks getting bullied, struggles with mental health issues and more in a lengthy Instagram post

Braun Strowman has finally won a World Title in WWE

WWE superstar Braun Strowman posted a picture of him from his strongman days on Instagram. The eight-year-old post shows an even larger man of whom the fans are used to seeing inside a WWE ring.

In the caption of the photograph, Braun Strowman noted that he was not at all a happy man during his career as a strongman, and that the career affected his mental health.

Braun Strowman, whose real name is Adam Scherr, had a serious case of body dysmorphia during his strongman days. He was an overweight child and was bullied for his weight. Strowman hit the gym and trained hard to stop the bullying. Unfortunately, not once could he convince himself that his body was good enough, and he always wanted to get bigger.

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8 years ago when I weighed over 410lbs. I had serious body dysmorphia i was never happy i always wanted to be bigger more muscular because I was a fat kid growing up and severely bullied for it when i was young. So i went to the gym and busted my ass but it was never enough. I hated the way i looked cause it wasn’t enough. I always thought i needed to be bigger. Im glad I have been able to get over those mental demons even though I still struggle with them. To realize that it wasn’t healthy or good for me. I loved competing in strongman but I honestly do not miss being that big at all life was hard. Like I don’t think many people realize what it takes to maintain this and compete at the level I did in strongman it was a full time job just eating 15000 plus calories a day waking up in the middle of the night to eat. My poor gf at the time had to help me tie my own shoes cause I couldn’t bend over to do it. #FuckBullies #LiveYourLifeHowYouWantTo #BeHappy #ScrewWhatOtherPeopleThink #DoYou #UglyDuckling #MentalHealth #TheGymSavedMe #JoinAGym

A post shared by Adam Scherr (@adamscherr99) on Jun 8, 2020 at 12:25pm PDT

Braun Strowman mentioned an incident when his then-girlfriend had to tie his shoes because he was unable to bend over and do it himself. Life as a strongman was seemingly too much for him, and fortunately, he gained the required mental strength and quit the spo for greener and healthier pastures of the WWE.

Braun Strowman's successful WWE career

Brought in as a rookie with very little experience, Braun Strowman never really honed his skills at NXT before being rushed to the main roster as a member of the cult-like Wyatt Family. Introduced as 'The Black Sheep' of the family, he helped Bray Wyatt overcome many challenges.

After being separated from The Wyatt Family, Strowman began to gain momentum as he became a popular star due to his size and his display of unbelievable strength.

We had a feeling @mikethemiz and @TheRealMorrison would regret it...

Don't mess with #UniversalChampion @BraunStrowman! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/W4iSZKggBL
— WWE (@WWE) June 6, 2020

Braun Strowman has since accomplished a lot in WWE. He won the Intercontinental Championship and Raw Tag Team Championship, and also the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the Greatest Royal Rumble and Money In The Bank.

Main event in #MSG @TheGarden with @undertaker and Uce @WWERomanReigns.
I’ll never forget the words he said to me that night. #TheLastRide https://t.co/I1QRjnhkEo
— Braun Strowman (@BraunStrowman) May 24, 2020

At Wrestlemania 36, Braun Strowman defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship, which he went on to retain once against Bray Wyatt. At Backlash, he will face The Miz and John Morrison in a handicap match for the championship.