David McCallum was just six-years-old when he lost his mum to suicide. As he struggled to cope with the loss through his childhood, an fighting spirit grew within him and a sense that 'the world was against him'.

‘Woe is me’ is how he described his attitude but in reality, his life in Govan would have been unrecognisable to most young children, growing up in Glasgow with parents to support him.

Throughout his childhood there was one guiding light, the floodlights and pyrotechnics of professional wrestling. His dream was to become one of the stars of the WWE and carve out a career in the business. And while he has yet to reach the United States and join other Scottish superstars like Drew McIntyre in the WWE, today he is recognised as one of Scotland's most talented and charismatic wrestlers and better known as ‘Ravie Davie, the Fresh Prince of Drumoyne Square’.

What McCallum is doing outside the ring is even more impressive and, amid a boom for Scottish wrestling, he's organising selling out his own shows in his own promotion, Community Pro Wrestling. And, in his wrestling school on the banks of the Clyde, is quietly creating the next generation of stars and, more remarkably, making a tangible difference in the lives of young Glaswegians.

Read More: 

After launching his own wrestling school in 2022 now over 200 children and adults train there regularly.

It’s a far cry from his own childhood wrestling on, as Davie eloquently put it, ‘pishy, smelly mattresses’.

“It’s been an idea I’ve had since I was a little boy," he told the Herald. "I always wanted one in the local area. Youth workers would come and me and my cousin and my best pal would wrestle on pishy, smelly mattresses on the street and tell them 'we want a wrestling school'.

“This is going back 25 years. Eventually I became a wrestler, and I’ve been doing for 10 years, while working as a youth worker as well. As the years were going by I thought there needed to be something grassroots. Professional wrestling is one of the most popular sports or hobbies, but nobody does it for kids.

"I started my own wrestling company and shows have been selling out for the last three years, but lot of parents were asking me if I ever thought about offering training for kids and like I said, I had, but I never really had the logistics.

“It all changed when we had to buy a wrestling ring for the shows. We were spending £500 a time and all of our profits on renting the ring. It was just going to sit there in storage so we decided that I would take everything I had learned as a youth worker and my knowledge as a wrestler and set up a school in the area.

A kid performs a move under the watchful eye of Ravie Davie (Image: Gordon Terris / Herald Scotland) Some of the students at Glasgow School of WrestlingSome of the students at Glasgow School of Wrestling (Image: Gordon Terris / Herald Scotland)

The response has been nothing short of incredible and today, you can hear the slams, roars and, most of all laughter, emanating from a packed gym within Glasgow's Park Villa Community Sports Hub.

“I don’t know if I would believe it," said Davie when asked how his younger self would have reacted to be told that he would go on to run his own wrestling school. "At 10 I believed my life would end in failure. I was really low and 'woe is me', so if I was to be able to go back and tell him everything is going to be alright and I’d be one of the most popular wrestlers in Scotland he would probably say ‘aw so you’ve not made it to WWE yet'.

“On a serious note, I’d be buzzing. I thought you had to be American and take steroids to be a wrestler when I was younger and now I’m helping people be able to live their dreams.”

His work in the community has already produced results and the wrestling school has been a lifeline for many, including 15-year-old Kayden who had been bullied out of high school before he joined up with Davie.

Since then, he’s lost more than 100lbs in weight and his confidence has grown to the point where he now regularly posts videos on social media of his wrestling and having a laugh with his mentor.

Kayden is one of many success stories. Another young girl has overcome her anxiety and is now wrestling some of the biggest female names in the game.

Glasgow School of Wrestling owner Ravie DavieGlasgow School of Wrestling owner Ravie Davie (Image: Gordon Terris / Herald Scotland)

At a summer camp over the school holidays, plenty of new faces have appeared and the school is going from strength to strength.

Davie continued: “Kayden has been in my wrestling school since the start. He was at a WWE show last month and he told me everyone recognised him. He’s lost over 100lbs and he’s hopefully getting a job in the place where the wrestling school is held.

“I would never tell Kayden this, but Kayden is the face of Glasgow School of Wrestling. I’d never tell him because he’s already got a big ego. For a boy that had no confidence a year ago, look at him now."

To people who have heard of the school and wondered what it entails, Davie continued: "I would just say to come along and try it. A lot of people worry about it being a competition but CPW and the Glasgow School of Wrestling is a very welcoming environment. We’re all in the same boat and want to be wrestlers. Nobody is going to laugh at you if you do something wrong, in fact it’s quite the opposite.

“Most of the kids who are with me were nervous when they started and now when you see them battering each other you’d think they had confidence forever! A lot of these kids walk in the first time and can’t even look me in the eye when I’m asking their names and ages. Now they’re all brimming with confidence.

"I’m not trying to build wrestlers," he added. "I’m building confidence in them."

A move is performed by a studentA move is performed by a student (Image: Gordon Terris / Herald Scotland) (Image: Gordon Terris / Herald Scotland)

This approach is also helping his students outside of the ring, in their studies and social life.

“A lot of people say online I’m setting these kids up for failure and not giving them a pathway to get a full-time job out of wrestling," said Davie. "To be fair, I’ve made a full-time job out of wrestling and that is an anomaly, but what I’m doing is setting them up for real life.

“A couple of weeks ago a few kids came to Kintore with me and had to leave at 6am. They had all been ready and waiting since 5.30am. If you told them to get up for school at 5.30am I don’t think they’d do that. But they’re up for the wrestling.

"I try help them get jobs and with references and stuff like that. I help them with social skills and speaking to people. I’m always encouraging the kids to come and talk to me.

"I ask some of the older ones to come down and help me with the kids classes or building the wrestling ring or things like that and help them be part of a team and a crew.”

For some children, like Davie in his own childhood, role models can be hard to find. Somewhere in Govan, a Fresh Prince has found a way to make a difference.

You can find out more about Community Pro Wrestling, Ravie Davie and the Glasgow School of Wrestling on Facebook.