“I think what separates successful people from unsuccessful people is just heart.
There will always be somebody bigger, stronger, and faster than you.
It doesn’t matter. You fight them with heart”.
Dave Bautista
Charismatic Drax the Destroyer, the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) six-time world champion, father of five children, dog rescuer (he calls himself “dog dag”), philanthropist, and writer…. It is surprising, but all these titles relate to one person, the Hollywood actor and retired professional wrestler and bodybuilder Dave Bautista. He is most recognized for his starring as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His name must certainly be familiar to you if you not just enjoy gambling at blackjack online games, but also like watching action films. The list of his notable achievements both inside and outside the ring is impressive, and there are certainly some lessons to learn from the success of this actor and retired wrestler.
Born on 18 January 1969 in Washington D.C., David Michael Bautista Jr., better known as Dave Bautista, was raised in an upper-middle-class family and rough violent neighborhood. His mother, Donna Raye Batista is of Greek descent and was working as a homemaker, and his father was the son of Filipino immigrants and a hairdresser by profession. Parents of Batista divorced when he was young. Dave visited Wakefield High School in Arlington.
As a child, he had witnessed several murders directly near this house, and as a teenager, he had even committed several criminal activities, including stealing cars. At the age of 17, he went living on his own, started working as a bouncer in night clubs, and was sentenced to one year of probation after injuring two people in an ugly brawl. This event made the guy seriously rethink his life and change his priorities. The very next day Dave got a job as a beach lifeguard, and he spent all his free time at the gym. In his autobiography, the athlete mentioned that the decision he made at a young age potentially saved his life. His successful bodybuilding career also opened doors for him to enter the film industry.
After school, Bautista was attending college for one year but after one year he was expelled from college and decided to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. His first debut as a wrestler, and attempt to participate in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was not successful. After it, Dave started training at Wild Samoan Training Center. But in 2000, Batista appeared in the ring on the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) show under the alias of “Leviathan”. The stage name that brought him fame as one of the top stars of WWF was “Batista”.
Bautista won multiple world heavyweight championships. At that time, the wrestler decided to also try his luck in mixed martial arts competitions. In mid-2014, Batista stopped performing due to film shoots. Dave ended his wrestling career in 2019, during which he was a WWE world champion 6 times, a team champion 3 times, and won twice at the Royal Rumble matches. Moreover, Bautista held the World Heavyweight Championship for the longest time at 282 days.
While still a wrestler, Bautista began appearing on non-TV WWE shows. He began his television career in WWE on the May 9, 2002, episode of SmackDown! as Deacon Batista. Four years later, he starred with Denny de Vito and Kathy Bates in the American comedy “Relative Strangers,” directed by Greg Glienna. Later Bautista also played various roles in the TV series “Chuck”, “Head Case” and films “The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption” (2012), “The Man with the Iron Fists” (2012), and “Riddick” (2013). He played a role in the film “In My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?” directed by Werner Herzog. 2014 brought Batista a role that allowed him to switch completely to acting, the role of Drax the Destroyer in the MarUniverseerse.
In the spy action thriller about James Bond „Spectre“ (2015), Bautista starred with Gina Christoph Waltz and Naomie Harris in the role of Mr.Hinx. His other notable works in the TV and film industry include “Blade Runner 2049”(2017), “Kickboxer: Vengeance” (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), “Army of the Dead” (2021) and “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022). During his acting career, Bautista tried himself as a producer and writer. In 2007 he released his autobiography, “Batista Unleashed’” (2007). He also recently published a book about his life called “The Animal”.
Personal Life
Bautista has been married three times. Batista married for the first time before he started fighting. His first wife’s name was Glenda, Bautista married her in 1990, and together they had two daughters, Keilani (born 1990) and Athena (born 1992). Today Bautista is also the happy grandfather of two boys through his daughter Keilani. After the divorce, he married again in 1998 to his second wife, Angie, and the matrimony resulted in the birth of a son Oliver. In 2015 Bautista married his third wife, the competitive pole dancer and former wrestler Sarah Jade. The marriage lasted several years until the wrestler announced on social media in 2019 that he was single again.
Interesting facts about Dave Batista
- Batista holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
- Bautista is widely known for his charity work and activism. He is also an active dog rescuer.
- Bautista is fond of collecting steel lunch boxes. One of his favorite boxes in his collection is the Green Hornet from 1967.
- Aside from his acting career, Dave Bautista is also a successful entrepreneur and owner of several companies.
- Bautista has a unique car collection and has in his collection such cars as a 2003 BMW, Mercedes-Benz SL 500, Hummer H2, Pontiac Trans AM, and 1964 Chevrolet Impala.
