By Jack Robert Stacey | Editor-in-Chief
Steve Hannam is a Harlow-based former semi-professional wrestler, author, actor and father, who has become a local advocate for children on the autistic spectrum. Now that his experiences with the ÔÇÿautistic shadowÔÇÖ have been adapted to both stage and┬ápage, Gair Rhydd sat down with Hannam to discuss his varied career and┬áplans following his 100th blog post.
Steve Hannam is by no means an ÔÇÿordinary fatherÔÇÖ. Just last month the former semi-professional wrestler, author, actor and father of two posted his 100th consecutive post in celebration of eight years of the ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ blogs – a self-described ÔÇ£stream of conscious(ness)/train of thought/load of bollocksÔÇØ that Hannam had been writing since mid-2013.
The blogs follow HannamÔÇÖs experiences and personal struggles raising┬áLuke, his 23-year-old son who was diagnosed with autism at an early age.
Autism, or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ÔÇÿASDÔÇÖ) refers to a broad, complex group of developmental disabilities which influence a personÔÇÖs behaviour and interaction with others. According to the National Autistic Society (NAS), it is currently estimated that 700,000 people in the UK are on the autistic┬áspectrum.
HannamÔÇÖs intentions to write posts for ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ were always simple: the blogs provided him with a way┬áto get his thoughts, feelings and uncertainties down on virtual paper. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a┬ávery personal story to a lot of people,ÔÇØ he┬ásays. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs not your typical father-son relationship. ItÔÇÖs very much a different and┬áchallenging relationship at times.ÔÇØ
Part of his usual writing process, Hannam explained, is to write each post in one sitting: ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs very much a stream of consciousness thing. If I think I have┬ásomething to write about, then IÔÇÖll usually write about it in one go and post it.┬áItÔÇÖs very rare that IÔÇÖll go back and edit what IÔÇÖve written.ÔÇØ
This way, Hannam said that itÔÇÖs important for him that the blogs to present an accurate representation of life┬áas a parent of a child with autism. A key part of this, he continued, involves him actively acknowledging and reflecting on his own occasional shortcomings as┬áa parent.
Hannam was conscious not to come across as a ÔÇÿperfect dadÔÇÖ in his blogs. Instead, he admits that like other parents,┬áÔÇ£we all have our shortcomings and we all have our failings.ÔÇØ
Hannam’s semi-professional wrestling career
Growing up in the late seventies, Hannam said that he would often spend┬áhis time writing stories or ÔÇÿpretend wrestlingÔÇÖ with his brothers. Two activities┬áwould eventually dominate his life after leaving education and finding work as a so-called ÔÇÿblue coat entertainerÔÇÖ.
During this time, Hannam spent a number of years working on the sidelines of semi-professional wrestling matches until, by chance, he was asked whether he would be interested in refereeing a match.
ÔÇ£And thatÔÇÖs how it started,ÔÇØ Hannam explained.
After acting as a referee, he spent some time on the road with a group of wrestlers where Hannam became familiar with wrestling himself. This experience turned out to be, as Hannam saw it, his ÔÇÿon the job trainingÔÇÖ as an aspiring semi-professional wrestler. He quickly picked up ÔÇÿthe basicsÔÇÖ of setting up a ring and began learning how to perform a variety of wrestling moves. To Hannam, this experience was his first ÔÇÿrealÔÇÖ chance to be a wrestler:
ÔÇ£By the end of the week, bearing in mind it was only a five day tour, I had wrestled my first match. One of the guys who was wrestling had injured himself and, as IÔÇÖd done a bit of refereeing for the shows, they said: ÔÇÿYouÔÇÖre on!ÔÇÖ So, yeah, I wrestled my first match a week after I┬ástarted training and that was pretty insane and it was great, I absolutely loved┬áit!ÔÇØ
Hannam would continue wrestling for a while longer, competing at the┬áHarlow ÔÇÿWrestle FestÔÇÖ and several charity wrestling matches under the name┬áÔÇÿDanson ThunderboltÔÇÖ before eventually settling down to start a family. With his wrestling career on pause, Hannam and his wife had two sons, Jake and Luke who was diagnosed with autism as a child and would become the basis behind the ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ blogs.
Luke’s diagnosis
Speaking about his son LukeÔÇÖs diagnosis of autism at an early age, Hannam said that, ÔÇ£it was a confirmation of┬ásomething that [him and his wife] suspected, but didnÔÇÖt want to admit.ÔÇØ
Whilst this news came at a time when┬ápublic awareness of autism was beginning to increase, Hannam talked of the┬álimited amount of support available which essentially left him with no clear direction to follow. ÔÇ£We pretty much had to start from the beginning,ÔÇØ he said, ÔÇ£in the dark… with a bag over our heads.ÔÇØ
Around this time, the public understanding autism was largely shaped┬áaround the 1988 film ÔÇÿRain ManÔÇÖ, a road┬ádrama centring on the relationship between two brothers; one of which, the┬ácharacter ÔÇÿRaymondÔÇÖ, is presented as being on the autistic spectrum. Although┬áthe film has been widely recognised for raising the visibility of autism, it remains to be a subject of critical debate over what many have argued is an inaccurate and simplistic representation of ASD.
Following LukeÔÇÖs diagnosis, Hannam understandably found himself dealing with a sudden ÔÇ£fear of the unknownÔÇØ over what his next steps would be and how LukeÔÇÖs life would play out.
ÔÇ£With a lot of children, thereÔÇÖs almost a logical progression,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£Although that path was there for Luke, it wasnÔÇÖt┬áclear as we didnÔÇÖt know how he was going to react, we didnÔÇÖt know how everybody else was going to react to him.ÔÇØ
‘Living with Luke’ on stage
This story and many others eventually became the inspiration behind a┬ástage adaptation of HannamÔÇÖs ÔÇÿLiving With LukeÔÇÖ blogs, a show that toured the UK before COVID-19 restrictions were brought into effect.
Reflecting on the show, Hannam mentioned that he was approached by the playwright Paul T. Davies who expressed an early interest in creating a stage show based on the blogs. As they outlined the performance, Davis stumbled upon an old picture of Hannam during his wrestling days.
An idea struck Davies ÔÇô to set the show inside of a wrestling ring.
The basis behind the performance, Hannam explained, became a wrestling match between him and the ÔÇÿautistic shadowÔÇÖ, a depiction of his doubts and fears as a father. The show similarly explores a number of the stories in the ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ blogs, focusing on HannamÔÇÖs attempts to connect with his son whilst overcoming ÔÇ£the perceptions (and sometimes misperceptions) of the general publicÔÇØ ÔÇô this is, again, an aspect of his life that Hannam feels is important to present in a realistic way.
ÔÇ£I hope that the audience do identify with that. We do get a lot of feedback from people who say ÔÇÿthis is my life, this is what I go through every day, thank┬áyou for presenting that.ÔÇÖÔÇØ
Although live performances of ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ have been put on hold due to┬áthe COVID-19 pandemic, Hannam expressed that he was looking forward to┬áresuming the show again soon.
Hannam’s experiences with autism
The show has always been a key way for Hannam to get the message out about the reality of autism in his own uniquely personal way. By connecting people with his experiences as LukeÔÇÖs father, he said that he hopes to help his audience understand ÔÇ£that no autistic child is the same.ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£Sometimes, it doesnÔÇÖt matter how much education you create around the┬áautistic spectrum or special needs because, if you donÔÇÖt experience it [first-hand], itÔÇÖs never going to work for you.ÔÇØ
Hannam currently spends his time working at Church Langley Primary School in Harlow, a school which has been previously praised for its inclusive attitude towards children with special
educational needs.
When engaging with people with┬áautism or special needs, Hannam maintains that itÔÇÖs important to ÔÇ£get onto┬átheir wavelengthÔÇØ and make them feel as comfortable as possible.
Looking over varied career, Hannam said that the meaning behind his numerous blog entries and performances is still as clear as it was back in mid-2013. All of this, he summarised, is ÔÇ£a love letter to my little boy.ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs been an honour and a privilege to be able to have done [live performances of ÔÇÿLiving with LukeÔÇÖ] for so long and for
so many people.ÔÇØÔÇ£To have that opportunity to keep performing, that is just astounding and I hope that it continues.ÔÇØ
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