Hey, I Wonder What They're Up To Now? (Part 1)

I would like to start a segment in my blog that takes a look at the athletes and celebrities of our past to see what they're up to now. It is so often the case that our favorite athletes slip into obscurity once they retire, or we'll love an actors performance in a movie only to never see them again. It got me thinking "Hey, I wonder what they are up to now?" and believe me I was shocked at what I found for some of these people and the new careers they have crossed over to. For instance:

After retiring as baseball's iron man leader with 2,632 consecutive games played and amassing over 3000 career hits, Cal Ripken Jr. began a career as a security guard where he even landed a job on The Jerry Springer Show breaking up fights. He was so successful and such a fan favorite that studio executives rewarded him with his very own TV talk show. You can now catch Ripken Jr. going by the stage name of Steve Wilkos and giving marital and domestic advice to to the lovely functional citizens of the U.SofA





Do you remember the kid from the hit film Dazed and Confused? The kid with the long hair who gets paddled after pitching in his baseball game and ends up hanging out with all the older dudes for the rest of the movie. Yeah, well that kid became a pitcher in real life, and a damn good one at that too. After a failed acting career, he decided to drop his uber cool stage name of Wiley Wiggins and go back to his boring birth name Tim Lincecum. You can now catch Wiley Wiggins or Tim Lincecum, whichever you prefer, pitching for the San Francisco Giants, where he is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Remember the guy who played Hank, Jim Carrey's alternate personality in the movie 'Me, Myself, and Irene'? His name was Rich Franklin, and he is now a UFC fighter.
Things never really took off for Rich Franklin after his performance in the movie. He was casted because they wanted a look-alike to play a more tough and aggressive version of Jim Carrey. He never really was able to land another major role in a movie, so after a short stint as Jim Carrey's stunt double, he moved to Mixed Martial Arts where he was able to become the UFC Middleweight chapion of the world at one point before losing the title to current champ Anderson Silva.

One of the more bizarre celebrity/athlete crossovers is techno dancer turned UFC fighter Keith Jardine. Once labeled as the Technoviking, this maniac was discovered dancing through the streets of Berlin, Germany during a rave party called Fuckparade 2000. During the video you can see Technoviking (Keith Jardine) almost apply his current skills on a few obnoxious fellow party goers, who seem to cross Technoviking's line of rave parade ethics.
Keith Jardine's amateur dance video can be seen here:


Well that sums it up for the first part of "Hey, I Wonder What They Are Up To Now?" I hope you enjoyed it and please subscribe to my blog. Also feel free to leave a comment, i would love to hear your feedback. Be sure to stay tuned for "Hey, I Wonder What They Are Up To?" part 2. Happy Easter!