AS AN actor, a stuntman, a trainer at a gym, and a pro wrestler, the pandemic could not have come at a worse time for Azwan Razali. The movement control order (MCO) put his career in a chokehold just as it was taking off.
At the time he had just finished filming a movie, he was making a name for himself thanks to roles in the TV series Kampung People and Keluarga Karaoke, and he had just won the Malaysia Pro Wrestling Regional to World Championship Belt under the ring name Serigala.
But when it all came to a halt, this former bodybuilder took the changes in stride.
“When the MCO hit, gyms were ordered to close, and filming for movies and TV shows was prohibited, so I had no work. My wife and I stayed afloat thanks to our savings and her job,” said Azwan.
Unwilling to let his wife shoulder the burden of being the sole provider for the family, Azwan asked her if the delivery service FoodPanda would hire him despite his long hair.
“Turns out they do. Honestly, I didn’t want to cut my hair. Anyway, when they hired me to deliver food, I found out that my pay was higher than before.
“I also get to see and meet all sorts of people, and that is the best part of the job. Some people even recognise me,” he added.
“The discipline [to carry on] came from my father (Razali Othman). He was in the army, after all. When the MCO hit, it was easy for me to follow the rules. The MCO is all about discipline. Abide by the standard operating procedure (SOP), and we will win this battle,” said Azwan.
He said that it all began with his long-time interest in keeping fit, a notion inspired by his father. “When I was at school I noticed that, while other dads had a gut, my father was physically fit. He had a six-pack. At the same time, he let me watch all the [Arnold] Schwarzenegger movies. So, in my mind, I thought that is how a male physique should be.
“I also took part in a lot of athletic activities at school. My stack of sports certificates was thick,” said Azwan. Over the past 10 years, all the way up to today, Azwan is strict about what he eats to maintain his fitness. Just like his father.
After he finished school, Azwan joined PaduGym, where he trained to become a bodybuilder.
“I won seven bodybuilding competitions. My highest achievement was winning Mr Malaysia in 2010.
“Even when I did bodybuilding competitions, I used wrestling entrance music. That was how much I was into pro wrestling. In 2002, I saw Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson when he came to Malaysia. I told myself I wanted to be just like him,” said Azwan.
That led him to learn some basic pro wrestling skills while training at the gym. He eventually became a part of the Malaysia Pro Wrestling scene, which started in 2014.
“I wasn’t making much money working at a gym, so when someone asked me if I would like to be an extra in a TV production, I said yes. I actually like acting. I even joined the theatre when I was in school.
“KL Motion hired me. They said I was a natural comedian despite being muscular. So they cast me in Keluarga Karaoke [in 2015]. That was my first character role,” said Azwan.
While acting, he met with folks in the stunt industry. He realised that doing stunt work came naturally to him – and that it paid more.
“From then onwards, all I did was stunts. I was also a pro wrestler with MyPW at the time. That is, until I got another role in Kampung People, thanks to the same people that got me a role in Keluarga Karaoke.
“They said that my acting had improved a lot. I replied that pro wrestling had helped me improve,” said Azwan.
Although he began to receive more acting roles, it never became a full-time job for him. He still worked at the gym, and was a pro wrestler on the side.
To him, discipline has been the key to every step of his career, even in the face of the pandemic, and it is all thanks to his father.
You can follow Azwan's adventures yourself at @azwan_serigala on Instagram.
