Mauro Ranallo willing to be a professional 'casualty' to further mental health discussion

Brian Fritz

Mauro Ranallo willing to be a professional 'casualty' to further mental health discussion image

Mauro Ranallo always knew there was something different about himself.

Even age at age five while living on a small farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, he knew that he was put on this planet to be a broadcaster. So rather than feeding the chickens or doing other chores, he spent hours upon hours in his room calling his own TV shows, creating stories that vividly played out in his imagination using a toiler paper roll as a microphone.

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Now at the age of 48, the bombastic broadcaster has become the preeminent voice of combat sports, currently calling the action for Showtime Boxing, Bellator MMA, and the WWE’s NXT brand.

It’s quite the success story for anyone reaching the pinnacle of their profession. But what most people don’t know is that Ranallo has done it while suffering from bipolar disorder for most of his life.

The mental illness brings out a dark side that manifests itself multiple times a day, taking him on ups and downs that can include incredible bouts of depression to manic fits of rage. It’s a day-to-day battle with mental illness that Ranallo is fighting, one that many others also deal with.

Ranallo is looking to shine a light on mental health awareness through the new “Bipolar Rock ‘N Roller” documentary that debuts Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET on Showtime.

It’s a gritty, deep look into his life that captures the ugliness of mental illness, many times making you feel uncomfortable seeing Ranallo break down through his struggles. And that’s exactly what how he wants it to look.

“I wanted it to be bipolar,” explained Ranallo. “I wanted it to feature the roller coaster ride that is my life and that is why you see so much raw, unflinching footage of me at my absolute worst threaded with the epic highs of calling the biggest events in combat sports history. It's been about 11 years in the making and I'm very happy that it will be premiering as part of Mental Health Awareness month on May 25 on Showtime.”

The film is directed by his good friend Haris Usanovic who nearly a decade ago asked if he could document what he was seeing in Ranallo — an incredibly successful man full of energy and life as a broadcaster to someone who would transform into a different person once the on air light went off.

“He was quite intimidated, a little frightened I think at first but also, because he cares about me as a human being, he was there as a big supporter for me,” said Ranallo.

“We knew we had something and I was going to use it to try to raise awareness about mental health. When we finally realized this was something a lot more powerful, a lot bigger than both of us would have imagined, we went to Showtime who immediately jumped on board and wanting to produce this.”

Ranallo began his broadcasting career at the ripe age of 16 with All-Star Wrestling. He was a natural both in calling the action but also a budding manager. He had the gift of gab and could easily get under anyone’s skin.

It almost came to a crashing end a few years later following the death of his best friend. His manic behavior that no one had understood took him to an even deeper point. He knew there was something wrong. He knew he needed help. He spent the next three months hospitalized thinking his broadcasting career was already over.

Instead, it was just getting started and has become a vital part of his treatment as he believes his work is his therapy.

“I believe for whatever reason, and it goes back to when I was just a kid, I know what I was put on Earth to do,” said Ranallo. “And whatever it took to get there, regardless of the insurmountable odds that I faced regardless of literally growing up on a dead-end road, I was supposed to be where I am but I believe in myself. I believe in my dreams. I didn't want to surrender my dreams. That's what kept me going. That's what kept me alive.”

Ranallo has felt the high of calling some of the biggest shows in combat sports history where he injects his frenetic, energy-packed style as the soundtrack for the action, taking the excitement to another level. But what we don’t see is the what happens hours before and after shows when the self-doubt is creeping into his mind.

“There will be hours before the card where I'm in my hotel room wondering can I even go through with this or wondering if this is the night that I'm exposed as a fraud,” concedes Ranallo. “Then, you reach the highest high and then I'm at the hotel room crying, wondering 'wow, that was embarrassing. I'm embarrassed myself. I embarrassed Showtime. I suck.' It's a constant battle.”

While Ranallo deals with this battle that brings out the worst in him from angry rants to crying fits of depression, he admits in the documentary that his mental illness is both a blessing and a curse. Would he be as good of a broadcaster if he wasn’t bipolar?

“I would have to say I don't know,” wondered Ranallo. “I don't think so because I see my own reaction sometimes, even this video that NXT just produced.

“I get that there is no one quite like me nor should there be anybody quite like anybody else in any field. I've always said don't be the next anyone; be the first you. I get it. I know my energy level is unlike others. I know that my capacity to really think fast is unlike others but I also know the price that comes with it. So, what my goal and what I've battled for the last 28 years is just trying to find some peace because, in a perfect world, I have the perfect life. I'm living the dream.”

Ranallo knows all too well the stigma that comes with mental illness. That includes his admission that even his father, Elio, still does not totally understand it to this day.

“This (the documentary) is just something to hopefully get the conversation going a little more regularly,” said Ranallo. “It impacts all of us in one way or another whether we want to believe that or not. I wanted to make sure that if I were to do something, it would have to be the next level.

“People will say they've never seen anything like this in terms of the depiction of me putting my mental health condition on camera. It wouldn't work otherwise. With all due respect to so many other people and their stories, you need to see it to believe it. That's why it's invisible. I don't want it to be invisible. That's why I'm showing you my illness at its worst.”

Ranallo also knows the ramifications that could come out of showing this side of his life, especially when it comes to his admission that he regularly uses cannabis. That has been the best form of medication to ease his mind although he never uses it on the air.

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“If this costs me anything professionally, so be it,” says Ranallo. “I'm more than willing to be a so-called casualty for this cause because this is something that is impacting us to the point where I've met and know more people than I care to acknowledge that have killed themselves. And I know what suicide has done and it's so unnecessary. I know why I was almost going to kill myself. I know what I was able to do in order not to.

“I tell other people I have to do this because if I don't, I feel I'm as culpable as anybody else who says snap out of it or you're fake or you're just wanting attention or there's no such thing as mental health issues.

“Depression, mental heath, is almost No. 1 around the world when it comes to death. So, the amount the resources, the amount of money that we put into these very necessary things like cancer, we have to start doing that for mental health as well because there are so many people that are needlessly dying because of a stigma that has been placed on them by society, that has been fomented by ignorance.”

Ranallo is hoping that his legacy will not be his broadcasting career but what “Bipolar Rock ‘N Roller” can do to help people with mental illness and bring more attention to a disease that effect millions. And in the process, the film has given him a new perspective on his own life.

“I've learned about myself that I'm much stronger than I ever had any idea about myself,” admitted Ranallo. “The fact that I think I have made an impact on some people is allowing me as I get older to appreciate that more. I'm beginning to realize that maybe the world is a better place with me in it instead of me out of it.”

Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on iTunes.

Brian Fritz

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Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.