Wrestling legend Ric Flair, who was hospitalized and fell into kidney failure last month, offered a (literally) staggering statistic on Thursday, saying he consumed approximately 20 drinks a day during his wrestling career.
“I’ve done all the math and figured it out with my accountant,” the 68-year-old told “The Dan Le Batard Show.” “Between 3,700 and 4,000 calories worth of booze, soda, a splash of cranberry in my body every day, in like 20 drinks a day.”
While Flair emphasized that he never drank before he had to wrestle, he did concede that drinking became “just a way of life” for him.
“I just drank too much. The problem is, is that, when I started in the business in 1972, we drove 3,000 miles a week, we drank beer. We rolled down the road, threw the cans out the window … it was just a way of life,” Flair said. “And then pretty soon it was drinking the beer, and then getting to the hotel and then drinking the liquor.”
In an interview with People this week, Flair recalled his recent near-death experience, allowing that it “scared the sh– out of me.”
Flair, who was given just a 20 percent chance of survival and placed in a medically induced coma, added, “I didn’t think I was an alcoholic, but obviously I was.”
The former pro wrestler, who attempted rehab four years ago, added that the alcohol helped him cope with the physical pain resulting from his wrestling.
“I’ve never taken a pain pill in my life,” Flair said. “I’d just take a shower, flip my hair back and go to the best bar in town.”