By Mary Carmichael
Readers of FSJ won’t have seen too many pictures of topless, oiled, Spandex-clad wrestlers in our pages but this month is unusual. Meet Midlands-based funeral director Lee Russell, aka (ahem) Love Muscle Russell, in a former life.
Before working in funerals, Russell, who nowadays runs his eponymous firm in Droitwich Spa, regularly made an entrance (to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff no less) in wrestling rings both in this country and the US. “My dad took me to wrestling events when I was young and I loved it,” he says. “I got the opportunity to train seriously and started taking part in matches. I’ve won a few belts and titles over the years.”
Russell fitted wrestling around earlier careers in the police force and in security and training. The pursuit took him all over the country, mainly to holiday camps and also to Florida and Texas.
“We were like a travelling carnival,” he laughs. “It’s a show first and foremost, with goodies and baddies and a storyline. Everything is choreographed to a certain point, but the bumps and falls and injuries are very real!”
Russell has broken several ribs and fingers over the years, as well as a hand and his nose, but it was having a family and the consequent shift in priorities that prompted him to hang up his wrestling boots.
Two of his grandparents had passed away quite close together and Russell had been so impressed by the level of service and respect at the funerals, that, when he spotted an ad for a trainee funeral director at one of the firms concerned, he applied.
He joined the profession in 2018, starting out with Dignity, moving to a smaller family-run company then working freelance during COVID. In 2021, he set up on his own and now runs a “small but perfectly formed” team.
“I love feeling part of the community,” he says. “We get involved in charities, and sports sponsorship and it’s great to be able to make a difference to people’s lives during their most difficult times.”
Russell still gets requests to return to the ring but the potential injuries make him hesitant. “I’m still in touch with the wrestling world and the camaraderie is still good but I just can’t afford to be out of action,” he explains. “Still, maybe for the right show and the right storyline…. I’d never say never.”