“I Wasn’t Ready for This”: Braun Strowman’s Shocking Truth About WWE Fame and Panic Attacks
Braun Strowman has always looked like an unstoppable monster on WWE television—but behind the roar, the former champion was fighting a very real and very personal battle.
Speaking candidly on a recent episode of the Something’s Burning podcast, Strowman opened up about how his meteoric rise in WWE took a serious toll on his mental health, triggering panic attacks and overwhelming social anxiety.
Growing up in a small town, Strowman lived a quiet, grounded life. His high school had just 400 students, and he worked as the local mechanic—hardly the background of someone destined for global stardom. Then everything changed almost overnight.
“One minute I’m fixing cars in my hometown,” Strowman recalled, “and a couple years later I’m on WWE television in front of four million people every week.”
That sudden jump from anonymity to worldwide fame hit him harder than any chair shot ever could. The attention, the crowds, and the constant recognition became too much at times. Strowman admitted he suffered full-blown panic attack meltdowns in public, especially when fans surrounded him unexpectedly.
“You want to talk about developing social anxiety?” he said. “I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Even after years in the spotlight, those feelings haven’t completely gone away. Strowman revealed that crowded environments can still push him to the edge when people start recognizing him.
“There are times I’m in a crowd and I feel it coming,” he explained. “I’m like, ‘You’ve got to get me out of here before something bad happens.’”
In one of the most striking moments of the interview, Strowman clarified why he often travels with security—not for his own protection, but for everyone else’s.
“I don’t have security to protect me,” he said bluntly. “I have security to protect people from me.”
Despite these struggles, Strowman’s WWE resume remains impressive. He’s a former Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and Tag Team Champion, and he famously won the 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018.
Strowman’s WWE journey hasn’t been smooth in recent years. After being released in 2021, he made a return the following year, only to be released once again earlier this year.
Now, with his wrestling future uncertain, Braun Strowman’s honesty shines a light on a side of WWE superstardom fans rarely see—the mental and emotional cost of becoming larger than life, faster than anyone could ever be prepared for.
