Former WWE Superstar Brodus Clay was a recent guest on the Why It Ended with Robbie E podcast. Clay opened up about his time as Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard and his WWE career. Highlights appear below.
(Transcription Credit: Michael McClead, WrestleZone)
On How He Became Snoop Dogg’s Bodyguard:
Anybody that thinks hanging out with Snoop is fun, is cool, you’re in for a rude awakening because he is the most down to earth, boring dude ever. All he wants to do is hang out in his man cave, smoke, and play XBox. If you’re not playing XBox with him, it gets dull real fast. I was lucky. Honestly, wrestling and Snoop both came together pretty much the same way. There was a bar fight, where I put hands on some people and Snoop’s manager was at the bar….and he was like, ‘Who was that? We need him on our team. We need someone who can throw stuff around like that. That dude looks like he don’t take no sh*t.’
I basically came in and was working nights a couple nights a week and one night Snoop came out and wanted to go somewhere. I think he wanted to go to 7-11 to get some food or whatever and he started talking about Lakers stuff and I was like, ‘You’re not gonna talk that Lakers sh*t in my car, bro. I’m a Celtics fan, so you can save your L.A. stuff for someone else. I’m here to protect you. I’m not here to kiss your ass.’ He was like, ‘What?’ From there it just kind of grew and then later on I started working shifts and doing concerts and stuff – nothing major – and then I had previously been in WWE, but I was in Deep South and FCW – never made it to TV. A lot of the guys were talking about me doing stuff in wrestling and Snoop was like, ‘Oh, I love wrestling.’ We just had a couple things we kind of hit it off with, but it was always the job for me and that’s why we maintained. It was never, ‘Hey boss, can I get a picture? Hey boss, can I get some tickets to the show or hey, can I bring my girl backstage?’ For me, it was always about the job and I think that’s why we were able to be cool because at the end of the day, you work for him.
On His Relationship With Snoop Dogg:
There were days that I couldn’t stand him. There were days where he was unreasonable because he was the boss and this is what he wanted to do and a bodyguard’s hustle is tough because it’s not all excitement. You’re a butler, you’re a psychiatrist, you’re a babysitter, you’re a waiter. There’s certain parts of the job that just suck, as far as pride and manners because you’re gonna have a guy that’s as big as your leg talk to you like you’re nothing. Luckily, I didn’t get that, but some of the other guys did get that. I had a certain look where they weren’t sure, if I was gonna punch him or protect him. I always liked having that edge to where I didn’t get treated like that.
Brodus On Being Snoop’s Bodyguard & Having To Return To WWE After Being Let Go The First Time:
Snoop was gonna do Jacksonville Monday Night RAW and I said, ‘Switch me out, I’m not going back there,’ and he was like, ‘We can’t fly another bodyguard in.’ I’m like, ‘You can and you will. I wouldn’t ask you to go back someplace you got fired. You know how awkward that is? Everyone walking around you and whispering and stuff. Plus I’ve seen guys, who show up, who have been let go trying to get a job and it’s brutal. It’s brutal…..if they don’t want you, they don’t want you. I wasn’t gonna give them that satisfaction. Most people when they get fired, they don’t go back and Snoop’s like, ‘Look, you’ll be fine. You’re my bodyguard now. What does it matter? Don’t trip.’
I remember the first person I saw coming out of the hotel was Cody Rhodes and I acted like I never saw him in my life. I actually gave him a dirty look like, ‘What you looking at? I’ll smack you right here.’ I was that upset. I did not want to be there. It was just an awkward thing. A lot of the guys I thought I was close with I never heard from again. [Brodus further describes doubts among the talent as to whether he was actually Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard]
Brodus Opens Up About An Encounter With John Cena During A Snoop Dogg Recording Session:
John Cena actually showed up to do a song with Snoop in L.A. and he walked in and was like, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ I was like, ‘You didn’t know? I got let go. I’m back bodyguarding now. He was like, ‘What? That’s crazy!’ I was like, ‘It’s all good. Good to see you. Appreciate it.’
Here’s the thing all the other rappers there were heated because literally they thought they had to write sh*t for him, so they were talking sh*t about him a little bit like, ‘What the hell do we got to do with this white boy when he gets here?’ He comes in and he just drops bars, freestyles, and he’s done in 15 minutes and walks out. I could remember the dudes were like, ‘Motherf-.’ They were all heated. I was like, ‘Yeah that dude can flow.’ He ruffled some big feathers.
I had met him like twice in FCW, but the fact that he remembered, I was like, ‘Man, I appreciate that. That’s cool.’
What John Laurinaitis Told Clay After The Recording Session:
After Cena and John [Laurinaitis] came out, they not only shook Snoop’s hand, they shook my hand and the first thing John Laurinaitis said was, ‘We made a mistake with you. Can we talk later?’ I was speechless. I literally was just taken away. All the anger and anxiety I had about being backstage was gone. At that moment I was like, ‘No matter what happens, at least I’m validated.’
On Life With Snoop Dogg Contributing To A 120 Pound Weight Gain:
I had gained 120 pounds from the time I left. Snoop Dogg eats terrible. That’s another reason I had to leave him. I would have been dead of a heart attack. He literally eats at 7-11. That’s where he does his grocery shopping or it’s Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, or it’s Denny’s delivery. There’s not a piece of salad or vegetable within two miles of this dude. It’s all super high carbs. It’s all 1 or 2 AM and while he doesn’t gain a pound, you just stand around. You don’t do much physically because he’s not a moving around kind of guy. He’s very stationary. You’d just gain weight and I was surrounded with other guys that were 6’8”, 6’10”, 7 feet. Everybody was a biscuit away from 500 pounds. Everyone felt normal. You didn’t realize and you lie to yourself, ‘I’m in my frame. My shoulders look great.’ I remember I stepped on the scale for Dr. Tom and he was like, ‘498.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He repeated, ‘498.’ He’s like, ‘Sh*t, what are we gonna do?’ I was like, ‘I can’t believe that. When I left, I was like 335.’ I started training….and we dropped 125 pounds.
Readers may listen to Robbie E. and co-host Matt Koon’s interview with Brodus Clay below:
READ MORE: Ariane Andrew On Who In WWE She Butted Heads With
