Steve Austin’s journey after stepping away from the ring took on a very different pace than the life he once knew. Speaking with DJD Classics, the WWE Hall of Famer reflected on how difficult it was to walk away in 2003 and how his search for a new path unfolded in the years that followed.

Austin described the early part of his retirement as a shock to the system. He said:

“I retired when I was 38, man. You know how much money I left on the table? I mean, it’s not just about the money , it’s about the good times, being with the boys, traveling down the road, being in front of a crowd, getting that adrenaline rush. That’s what I lived and breathed. And so, I didn’t handle it well. And for about three years, I drank, I hunted, and I fished, and just did a lot of stupid stuff.

And one morning, I woke up and I went in the bathroom, and I just looked at myself in the mirror , it’s a true story. And I didn’t say this out loud, but I was thinking to myself, ‘Dude, the things you’re doing are not conducive to living a long life. You need to slow your ass down.’ And I didn’t have any designs on being a movie star, nothing like that, but I was driving a forklift before I got in the wrestling business, and as much fun as that was , and I loved it , after being on top of the world in the wrestling business, I didn’t want to drive a forklift again. I said, ‘You better get your ass down there to Los Angeles and try to do something in the entertainment business and do that.’”

Austin explained that his first move was to Los Angeles, where he lived with Diamond Dallas Page in an attempt to reset his life. That time was still filled with uncertainty, but it eventually steered him into small film projects and new opportunities.

He said:

“And so, hell, I packed up and moved in with Diamond Dallas Page down there in Los Angeles. Wasted about a year out there still, you know, searching for the bottom of a lot of bottles. And we found some people and started making some , I call them low-budget movies. Someone with a big ego would call them independents.”

His return to WWE’s orbit came years later when he was offered the hosting role on Tough Enough. Austin admitted he needed that break from the business after retiring, but said the time apart helped him regain his passion for mentoring rising talent.

He said:

“And man, I got a chance to host a reality series called Tough Enough for WWE. They reinvented it on USA Network and they said, ‘Hey man, we want you to host this show.’ And I said, I love it, because when I first retired, I was so upset that I had to leave the business that I loved, I had to be completely away from it. I couldn’t even watch it. I didn’t want nothing to do with it. If I can’t be the main guy, I don’t want to be any guy anywhere around.

All those years later, in , I think it was 2009 or 2011 , when they did Tough Enough, I had been away long enough, the wounds had healed, and I wanted to be closer to the business. I didn’t want to be taking bumps, but I wanted to help people learn the trade. So that put me back in touch with the business in a position that I really loved.

And after one season, they yanked it , and it did good numbers , but that helped me out a whole lot. And then after that, a couple other people contacted me, and the last show I did was Broken Skull Challenge. And some rocket scientist canceled that one, and I still ain’t figured that one out, right? But I found out that I really enjoyed , through my podcast , talking to people and shooting the breeze on the fly.”