This Guy Wears a Dress, Is a Pro-Wrestler, And is Now Trying His Hand in Pop-Metal
by N/A, 9 years ago |
3 min read
If there's anywhere a "cross-dressing professional wrestler and heavy metal vocalist" can make it big, it's Japan.
Meet Australian professional wrestler Richard Magarey, or as he's more commonly known in the ring, "Ladybeard."
When he was 23, he moved from Australia to Hong Kong to pursue a career in kung fu movies, and because he was a martial artist, he got stunt training
When he just 23, Magarey - who was already a skilled martial artist - moved from Australia to Hong Kong to pursue a career in wrestling.
The young, multi-talented Aussie states that wrestling possesses everything he's passionate about.
While his wrestling attire strongly resembles that of Chun Li from "Street Fighter," Magarey says that the decision to dress up in Japanese female cosplay-like garb was fairly random.
“When I began wrestling I decided to wear a dress in the ring and make Ladybeard my ring name too. Everyone loved it.â€
After several years of making it big in the wrestling world, "Ladybeard," who still had a passion for heavy metal, wanted to try his hand in the musical world.
“After I started wrestling, I still wanted to sing heavy metal, so I kept the same character because I already had a fanbase for it. I was doing metal covers of Cantonese pop songs while wearing a dress.â€
“After every show people would come up to me and say, ‘That was crazy, you should go to Japan, because the Japanese would love this.'â€
It wasn't long after that Ladybeard began appearing in Japanese magazines. Soon after, he was offered to form a band with teen Japanese singers, Rie Kaneko and Rei Kuromiya.
Forbes reports that costume company Clearstone is funding the group in exchange for wearing their costumes, which are for sale on Laby Baby's official website. Essentially, Magarey is also a marketing genius.
Together, Ladybeard, Rie and Rei released their first single as Lady Baby last July, called "Japan Bun," and they haven’t stopped touring since.
And while Magarey admits the dresses are mostly in jest, the band's union is without a doubt not. Lady Baby recently announced that its premiere album will be due to drop July 29.
What plans does Ladybeard have for the future? “Ladybeard plans to ride around on a robot triceratops when those get invented.â€
For now, he's content touring Japan dressed as anime characters, rocking his heart cross-dressing out with Rei and Rei.
Without further adieu, "Japan Bun." Prepare to have this stuck in your head for the rest of the week.
"Please enjoy and taste many Japanese products, love us from top to bottom!"
