Pro wrestler swaps the ring for beauty pageants

A professional wrestler has made a career change into the world of beauty pageants as England’s representative in Mr International.

Nathaniel Cranton, 21, has added one more accolade to his list of achievements by swapping wrestling for international pageants – along with his day job at a family farm.

A sheep farmer by day and a pro wrestler by night, Nathaniel has been slamming his opponents in the ring in front of fans under his fighter name ‘Nathan Angel.’

Nathaniel, from Wareham, Dorset, said he is ‘very proud to be a British farmer’ by day which sees him ‘work hard’ with his dad and dogs from a young age.

He said: ‘Our work is hard, a fully encompassing lifestyle and not for everyone but being able to experience lambing season and the magic of farm life is something I wish more people could enjoy.

‘By night I’m a professional wrestler. I get to ditch the waterproofs for wrestling trunks and the sheep for thousands of screaming fans.

‘Whilst both seem very different on face value I’ve always said wrestling a man is not that different to shearing a sheep.

‘The point is both takes a lot of hard work, determination and grit and I think everything I have learned through farming and wrestling lends itself perfectly to the world of pageants.’

Now the 6ft 2ins Mr England, who hopes to become a WWE champion one day, is off to Bangkok, Thailand, where he is competing for the Mr International pageant crown against 48 men.

Nathaniel said: ‘Modern day pageants are so much more than a beauty contest and having the work ethic to travel all night, the confidence to speak in front of large crowds and the determination to carry on and improvise when things don’t always go to plan are necessary skills to be representing our great country around the globe

‘So far my experience with Mr England has been one of the best of my life and the opportunities to work with charity and give back being involved with things such as the great “balls to cancer” project just go to show what a great thing pageants have become.’

When taking part in the Mr England competition, Nathaniel struck a friendship with Scottish bodybuilder Christian Hawkins, 22 which he described as ‘the greatest prize’ to come out of the experience.

The pair were interviewed as Mr England finalists on ITV’s This Morning which showed the blossoming ‘bromance’ between ‘two country boys.’

They were pictured together for the front cover of the Mr England Balls to Cancer charity calendar which is out for sale now.

Nathaniel explained: ‘From two country boys struggling to navigate the tube on our London bus tour as part of the Mr Engalnd semi-finals to jetting off to Thailand together.

‘I couldn’t ask for a better partner in crime. The Southern Studs, the Jurassic boys whatever you call us we are ready to bring the bromance around the world.

‘We love the outdoors, we love natural bodybuilding, we love cars but most of all we love to put on a good show.

‘And we can’t wait to show what we can do on the Mr International stage.’

Christian, who lives in Sussex but has Scottish heritage, said the pair have become ‘inseparable’ and have ‘very similar entwined lives.’ They were both competing in Germany at the same time, Nathan in the country’s biggest international wrestling match and Christian in bodybuilding world championships in Munich.

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