Former DDT wrestler American Balloon posted an update on the Death Valley Driver message board about what he has been up to since his retirement from pro wrestling. It’s a pretty heartwarming read so I posted his message below. The thread he created can be found here.
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So, perhaps you remember me from DDT, Zero-One, Chikara, or if you’re really into Japanese wrestling, perhaps to the point of perversion, you know me from Hokuto Pro Wrestling, Toryumon Mexico, or DEP.
Regardless of whether or not you know who I am, I always had a great time posting here, and I greatly enjoyed all the support from you guys. I hope you’ll support me in reading this long-winded and very loosely wrestling-related summary of the going-ons in my life.
About a year ago, I had my retirement match with KUDO. The reason I decided to retire is, sadly, not very complex. I had moved to the Japanese countryside, and was working as a teacher for kids, which I loved. I actually hadn’t even realized I worked well with kids until I started, but I enjoyed working with kids as much or more than working as a wrestler. Both jobs are actually quite similar, in fact. Both of them involve childish craziness (especially in DDT,) pranks, and a lot of fighting.
So, shortly after my retirement match, I saw a documentary in Japan, called ‘Manhole Children.’ It was about street children living in Mongolia. I think it would be possible for you to find it, or a similar documentary, on youtube, but the one I saw was in Japanese, and was horribly eye-opening to the conditions such young kids, like those I was teaching, had to face. I instantly wanted to research volunteering in Mongolia, thinking about perhaps going for a summer and volunteering at an orphanage.
In September, a family emergency had me quitting my job and returning to America. I was extremely sad to say goodbye to all the great people I worked with, and the kids took it even harder than I did. My school was furious at me for not being able to finish the school year (Japanese school years end in March,) but without getting into specifics, the emergency was severe enough that my parents insisted I go to America immediately. The situation passed, and I had become free. I had money saved up from my work, no obligations in the US or Japan, and a chance to start something new. Whatever I did, I couldn’t forget the documentary I had seen, and I decided I would go to Mongolia and start something. I got in contact with a Mongolian woman who runs an NGO, as well as an English School, who wanted to found a new non-profit project with me. In January, I set off with no idea exactly who I’d be helping or what I’d be doing, but a strong feeling that I was likely to find the happiness that comes from helping someone in need.
After interviewing several projects, interviewing the directors of schools in poor areas, and talking directly with street children, we found out a few things about the situation in Mongolia. There are orphanages, but the kids who are on the streets feel that they would rather work collecting bottles and making a few dollars a day than live in an orphanage and go to school, and not make any money. They weren’t interested in education, as they already considered themselves employed. Furthermore, we found that there is a huge divide in the quality of education between rich children and poor children. Rich families could afford private schools with classes that run from 8-5, small class sizes, foreign language education, and all the things they need to be successful. Although many poor children don’t attend school, the ones who do have only 2 hours of lessons per day, due to the school being overcrowded, with substandard, underpaid teachers and only basic lessons.
After our research, we found that there is a lack of resources for the poor children who live with their families. They wear dirty clothes, don’t bathe, either don’t go to school or don’t get a good enough education, are often abused due to the alcoholism problem here, and all too often grow up to repeat the cycle with their own families. We started a center that allows them to come whenever they need to, take classes to give them education/job skills, have a place to relax, get support entering university, and eat, bathe, and wear clean clothes. Our center has, so far, been funded by our savings, but those are running out, and we hope to receive donations to keep our center going and provide the kids with the things they need.
My project’s web page is http://www.cocoonproject.org/. Definitely check out our introduction video! I’d greatly appreciate your letting people know about us. If you can, please donate or come to Mongolia to volunteer!
Apart from the project, it’s been four months, and I can finally communicate in Mongolian decently. To promote my project, I appeared on the Mongolian equivalent of American Idol, called Universe Best Songs, and made it to the semi-finals before getting dropped. I’ve had crazy people jump into my car to tell me they’ve seen me on TV… it’s much harder than it was in Japan at the height of my popularity 😛
Anyway, in a nutshell, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and I feel that I’m doing really good things here. I plan to stay here and run this project for the rest of my life. And as a special present for you guys, I’ll let you in on something I have going on. I’m training the Mongolian kids in puroresu, just as I was trained by Kendo Kashin. It’s good exercise for them, and they absolutely love it. Potentially, you may see an influx of Mongolian pro wrestlers in 6 or 7 years, as there are a few kids who are doing really great. You can see a video of them doing hindu squats here and here.
Wishing you guys all the best,
American Balloon
Posted by JamieOD 
