RVD on His Longevity, Aging, Outlasting His Peers

His longevity:
"I haven’t aged. I’ve always taken care of myself and I’m a non-conformist, so I don’t accept the negativity that comes with birthdays. I’m 42 but I feel way better than I did at 18."

Getting more respect with age:
"I’m in a business where, until recently, the average standard for the wrestlers was probably in their young-40s, you didn’t get respect until you were at that point where your body was starting to break down and, until that point, you were still kind of paying your dues. It’s great for me to have so much experience yet my body is not breaking down."

Outlasting his peers after coming up:
"In time, I thought eventually me and my peers would move up and take over the top positions. Now I look to my left, I look to my right, and all my peers seem to have dropped off. I never dreamed of putting myself on the level of the guys that I looked up to and I never thought that I would be world champion, but I was a show-off and I thought that I had something that I could bring to the business. Now all those guys are gone, and my celebrity, my status, has me at the top of the company. I get the loudest responses from the crowd and it’s very rewarding."