ODB On Wrestlers Needing To Have Fallback Plan, Driving Her New Food Truck Amid A Pandemic
Much of the country has been shut down the last few months due to the coronavirus, but ODB's new Meat & Greet food truck continues to hit the road. The pro wrestling community came together last year to help raise money for the TNA favorite through an Indiegogo campaign after her last one caught fire. For the Minnesotian, business has been booming. Or maybe in her case bamming!
"Everyone needs food trucks right now. I'm going wherever I can. I'm doing neighborhood delivery even," she said. "It's kind of a cool thing we're kind of doing together. It gets me excited and happy because I get to see when I'm coming through the neighborhood all the kids say, 'Oh sweet, we get our own food truck tonight.'
"Then they get excited because of all of the wrestling stuff. They get to hold the belt, so it's kind of cool. It puts a smile on my face that I can do that for people. Then the whole wrestling world has been amazing to me. I basically got my dream food truck."
The entrepreneur describes the new version as a "120 percent" better upgrade. The original was actually a trailer where this is an actual truck.
"It puts me out there more because I'm based in Minnesota. They do a lot of events here, but sometimes they just want food trucks. It does open more doors for me with the truck," ODB said. "There have been some pros and cons like I've been having some trouble with it breaking down here and there. That's one thing about a food truck. You're definitely putting a lot more money into it than a trailer. You break down, you're screwed."
It's hasn't been a totally easy road for ODB as the truck did break down almost two weeks ago.It also got towed twice. These temporary setbacks haven't stopped her from continuing to keep bringing her signature BBQ to the masses.
"Thank God the mechanic I went to, they really hooked me up. They paid for the towing. Sometimes it's good to be ODB," she said. "I think they were scared of me too because I do get a little sassy. I'm a hot head sometimes. They're like, 'Please don't slam us.'"
Aside from the food truck, ODB is known to pick up a bartending shift here and there. Working in so many industries, she feels for everyone hurting right now. This includes her wrestling brothers and sisters. The veteran applauds those who have been pulling through and wrestling in front of no crowds.
"That goes back to our indie days wrestling in front of five people. It's pretty bad ass they're doing that," she said. "WrestleMania, the biggest event of the year, and they wrestled with no crowd. That goes a long way with those guys. It's pretty cool the wrestlers and crew did that?.I just hope everyone is safe. I just don't know what to think of this whole damn virus. I think if everyone has to travel a lot, but you're going to the same place. If you're around the same people pretty much, I don't think it would be a problem. If you do have a choice. The wrestlers hopefully had a choice of going on the road or staying home."
With the landscape of the business so unpredictable, she feels it's important to have a backup plan. These uncertain times are a reminder or wake-up call for getting that in place.
"Some wrestlers focus so much on their wrestling. I get it. I was there too. But I always had in the back of my head that I was going to be expanding my brand," ODB said. "I'm going to be a pro wrestler, but also something else. Especially for those indie workers, where who knows when the next indie show will be. You really have to sit down and figure out things.
"I think any women's wrestler, s— once the bars start opening, go get a job at a bar if you have to because those tips are going to be freakin' amazing I bet. So if you're a chick wrestler with a big rack, good personality, go bartend."
ODB's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.