AJ Mendez
Photo Courtesy: Cathy and David Photography
AJ Mendez is a former professional wrestling champion with the WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Don’t let her diminutive stature fool you, she was a formidable opponent. She threw people around like a short order cook threw pancakes onto a plate. With her trademark black widow submission move, she easily took out her competitors. But in real life--nothing came easily for her.
In her autobiography, which was a New York Times best seller, Crazy Is My Super Power, she details what it was like being a petite Puerto Rican girl growing up in an unstable home, struggling with poverty, homelessness and mental illness to how comics, wrestling and her fans helped change her life.
Because of her own personal struggles, she is a mental health advocate, and is an ambassador to The Jed Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
If that’s not enough, she also partnered with actress Aimee Garcia and founded Scrappy Heart Productions. Together, as Latin X storytellers, they want to create the change they want to see in the media and to tell stories that have universal themes.
She is a warrior. Meet this incredible woman, who is breaking boundaries, who has overcome so many personal challenges and now she’s out in front working to help others.
AJ’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAJMendez
AJ’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theajmendez/
Mental Health Resources:
National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI.org
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)