Q: Your ring name, Brodus Clay, is a take-off on Snoop’s real name of Calvin Cordozar Broadus, right?
A: That was one of the deals when I asked if I could go back. He’d always known I wasn’t happy bodyguarding, and that’s why he always gave me other stuff to do. I coached his youth football team with him, did a lot of stuff with the family. He kept me busy. [Bodyguarding is] a great career, but my head was always in the clouds a little bit. When I asked him if I could go back when [WWE] asked me to come back [after being released once], he was like, ‘Yeah.’ Before, I was G-Rilla. I was like, ‘Well, I’ll change my name.’ Originally, it was Brodus Pryor. Then, the American Dream told me to pick something else, and I picked Clay after Cassius Clay and Brodus is, y’know, Calvin Broadus. It was kind of a tribute to him.
Q: Did you come up with the Funkasaurus idea or did somebody else pitch it to you?
A: Actually, the original nickname that I was told — it scared me to death — was Heavy G. I think the last thing you want to be known as is Heavy anything. No offense to Heavy D — rest his soul. Worked for him, wasn’t really my bag. Rob MacIntyre, who I trained with, was a big reason behind me dropping me a hundred and 50 pounds. Him and I were lifting weights and making jokes, trying to figure out better names. First it was the Funk Monster and then Funk Nasty. Then, he looked at me and [said], ‘Funkasaurus’ and started laughing, and he pitched it.
You can read the entire interview at this link.
