Ranallo embraces Bipolar Rock ‘N’ Roller
How is it that Mauro Ranallo, the most recognizable play-by-play voice in combat sports, could be at the top of his profession while dealing with a debilitating mental illness every single day?
That question was on Haris Usanovic’s mind in
2006.
Colleagues at the time, Ranallo and Usanovic, then an aspiring filmmaker, got to know each other well outside of work. As their friendship grew, he wondered how Ranallo managed to make it all so seamless on TV.
“He said, ‘Mauro, we’ve got to do something with this,’ ” Ranallo recalled to USA TODAY. “‘I can’t believe you call the biggest boxing matches, biggest MMA (fights). You’re on the Fight Network every day. You’re on the radio. And yet, bro, you’re dealing with some serious stuff. I think there’s something we can do.’ ”
Twelve years later, that something is a documentary chronicling Ranallo’s daily struggle with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Rock ‘N’ Roller premieres Friday at
9 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Directed by Usanovic, the film is an intimate look into Ranallo’s life. It’s filled with home video footage that shows Ranallo, 48, in some of his darkest moments — which is the point.
“I’ve always been an advocate for mental health,” Ranallo said. “I gave myself the nickname ‘Bipolar Rock ‘N’ Roller’ way back in the 1990s, when — as much as we don’t talk about mental health now — back then it was almost non-existent. And if it was broached, it was done in a very pejorative way. …
“The fact that we are losing so many people to suicide because of a stigma. I’ve looked at the chandeliers in a hospital and the light fixtures wondering if it could hold my weight. I know the feeling.”
Ranallo began his broadcasting career at 16, working as an announcer and manager for a nationally televised pro wrestling show in his native Canada. He be- came prominently known to mixed martial arts fans in 2003, then took over as the voice of the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships on its North American pay-per-view broadcasts.
These days, you can hear Ranallo calling the biggest events in boxing, mixed martial arts and pro wrestling. He does play-by-play for Showtime Sports, Bellator MMA and WWE. It was Ranallo who called last summer’s blockbuster crossover fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor.
That’s quite the résumé for someone who was dealt a “life sentence” of mental illness, as Ranallo calls it. He recognizes the risk involved by baring his soul in the film, that how he’s perceived afterward could have a negative impact on his career moving forward. And that’s OK.
“I don’t mind being the proverbial canary in the coal mine,” said Ranallo, who hopes to have a version of the film shown in schools across the country. “I don’t even mind being a casualty. If this were to cost me some work, so be it.
“Thankfully, Showtime, WWE, Paramount Network, all of my media friends — the amount of feedback I’ve received? First, it’s humbling. I’ve got goosebumps. But the support, the fact that so many people are saying, ‘ We need this now. You’ve inspired me to phone a therapist. You’ve inspired me to tell my wife.’ And it really is about the men, the alpha male syndrome we all — especially in my world, where you ‘show weakness,’ they say, or you’re shamed over the fact you may need to cry. Or maybe you need to get some help.
“I want to make it so that it’s OK to not be OK.”