Paul Heyman has seen plenty of wild things throughout his career, but apparently nothing compares to what went down during his days at Studio 54. The WWE personality just revealed that when he was working at the legendary New York City nightclub at 19 years old, management actually offered to pay him in cocaine instead of money.
While speaking with Graham Bensinger, Heyman looked back on his early career and explained how he went from being a teenage photographer to producing and promoting events at one of the most famous clubs in the world. He also revealed just how normal drug use was behind the scenes, claiming that cocaine was even offered as a form of payment.
Heyman explained that when he first joined the staff as a house photographer, he was given three different options for how he wanted to get paid. Two involved money, while the third was something completely different.
“My secret in Studio 54 was that I didn’t drink. I didn’t do drugs. Everybody was doing cocaine. There were people that were being paid in co- When I first started on staff as the house photographer, I was told by the person running Studio 54, ‘We can pay you three ways. We can pay you on the books, in which you’re going to pay taxes. We can pay you a little less in cash and do it do the what you want. Or we give you this much in cocaine and you do with it what you want.'”
Heyman wasn’t interested in taking the cocaine. At just 19 years old, he decided it was smarter to get paid the normal way rather than risk getting himself into trouble.
“And I just said, ‘Oh, just put me on books. I don’t need this trouble at 19 years old.'”
That decision ended up working out pretty well for Heyman. While he claims everyone around him was either drinking or getting high, he was focused on getting work done and moving up the ladder. According to Heyman, being one of the few sober people in the building gave him a serious advantage.
“Everybody else was either drunk or high, and I wasn’t. So, I had the run of the joint because I was the only one that was thinking straight. So, my ambitions could play out in the things that I wanted to accomplish here because everyone else was high.”
Heyman went on to explain that his priorities were completely different from those of the people around him. While others were chasing their next high, he was chasing opportunities that could help build his career.
“So, they’re skewed in that perspective, and I’m just trying to get the job done and move up the ladder, which was pretty easy because their pursuits including the chase of the high. And mine didn’t. Mine was the chase of the actual chase of accomplishment.”
His approach paid off quickly. Heyman became Studio 54’s head photographer at 19 and was already producing and promoting Friday night events before turning 20. That experience eventually led to him organizing his first professional wrestling event at the nightclub, where he brought in names like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Bam Bam Bigelow.
Looking back, Heyman clearly believes staying away from drugs was one of the biggest reasons he was able to accomplish so much at such a young age. While Studio 54 was known for its wild parties and excess, Heyman was using the opportunity to build a career that would eventually make him one of the most recognizable figures in professional wrestling. And the fact that he was offered cocaine as a paycheck shows just how different things were behind the scenes at the legendary nightclub.
What do you think about Paul Heyman’s story of being offered cocaine as payment at Studio 54 and using everyone else’s partying to get ahead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
