Konrad needing to come out of his comfort zone request by Mr Kei. (EPW Version)

Washington, DC. Wednesday, 21st October.

Usually, I wouldn't have bothered coming to the EPW Danger show when I wasn't booked, because I wasn't the kind of guy who liked appearing in front of a camera unless I had a match or something Ashes and Thorns wanted to talk to me about. I chip in here and there and come out to do stuff for the team, as requested, to handle team business. Unfortunately, I realised that even if I didn't like that sort of stuff, and how uncomfortable it made me, I still had to do it, as one of the Raab family members who would, because Lord Raab, my twin brother, sure hated it. Still, I had to because I sometimes felt comfortable, but not always anymore. 

But Mr Kei told me to meet him in a public place, which I rarely did, because I always met wrestlers and Mr Kei at racetracks and wrestling arenas, where I'd always felt comfortable, ever since wrestlers stopped wanting to meet with me, and I accepted that. Public meetings were always uncomfortable for me in the wrestling and racing business; I usually went to public places without wrestlers or racers around me, but Mr Kei told me to meet him at Gerrard Street Kitchen. Any public place was uncomfortable enough, but restaurants were the worst. I stood outside, texted Mr Kei to say I was out, and gulped, feeling well out of my depth. 

Mr Kei came out and told me to come in, so I did, feeling so out of it, feeling I shouldn't be here or in Washington, DC, when I didn't have a match, when I'd rather be at my own home, which, granted, even with Mr Kei wanting to do the meeting yesterday; I was at home yesterday. I said no because I had something important to do yesterday, and I wasn't booked to wrestle either. However, he kept insisting I come for the team's sake, and I sighed, saying, "Fine, I'll come, but I'm not happy about it." Mr Kei knew why I didn't want to be at the restaurant now, with how stiff and uncomfortable I was; worst of all, a man and a woman were there, two people I didn't recognise, which made things even more uncomfortable for me.

Mr Kei: "I thought you weren't going to come."

Konrad Raab: "I wish I didn't."

Mr Kei could easily tell how stiff I was, and it got worse when Mr Kei was speaking in English, and it did make sense after all with two other people at the table around me.

Mr Kei: "That's been your biggest problem, hasn't it? You're not willing to go out of your comfort zone. That's why everybody is ahead of you on the Danger roster. Yes, I get that you don't like talking in front of cameras, but you're not thinking about the bigger picture. Nobody is saying don't do blogs, but you need to have more of a creative outlook on things."

Konrad Raab: "Because it's not only just not who I am, but I don't have creative ideas for stuff. It makes me extremely uncomfortable."

Camera guy: "That's why Charlotte and I will be your creative front horse for YouTube content so we come up with creative shit for you."

Charlotte: "Let us fuck shit up on camera, and you can write shit without doing anything on camera. Loosen up, man, have some fun in your life."

Mr Kei: "Oh, those two people are very well-known YouTubers; meet Charlotte and Ryan. They are good friends and want to expand the audience. They don't ever want to be wrestlers or racers, but you need friends outside of those working environments, Konrad."

It was true; I didn't have any friends outside of wrestlers and racers, unlike someone I know who does. I didn't really care about people's lives outside racing and wrestling. I didn't care about being here, and I didn't care about meeting these YouTubers who wanted to do more than their usual stuff.

Ryan: "I know you dislike us and want us to leave, but hear me out, Konrad. I know you're a super serious guy; I know you're always worried about getting fired in wrestling and NASCAR because you don't have creative ideas, or because the ideas you would have will get you fired, but let us take responsibility for what we do. Let us be creative for you, and you won't be responsible for anything"

Konrad Raab: "What if I get accused of allowing it to happen?"

Charlotte: "We make sure people shit on us rather than you, and we make sure that we say anytime in court if people land all of us there that Konrad has nothing to do with it. We appear on his camera because we wanted to be a part of it. Come on, it doesn't seem you want to be open to me or Ryan doing shit to mock your opponents on camera at all."

I didn't, because none of this was me; I shook my head because they were right, and I didn't want that kind of stuff, even though everyone else had friends outside their workplace, and I preferred it that way. Especially after I was shut down and banned from interacting with other wrestlers I don't work with on social media ever again. Most likely, I shut out public interactions with people outside of work because of it, except for autographs and taking pictures with fans at race tracks.

Konrad Raab: "How do you even know them?"

Mr Kei: "I saw their YouTube content, and I got in contact with them because I loved what they do, and they want to expand the audience further. I thought, well, we have someone in Ashes and Thorns who needs to get out of their comfort zone and think of more creative things to do, without fearing they'll lose their job as a wrestler or a car driver. I thought, why not have them do stuff for you, and you take zero blame; neither NASCAR nor wrestling bosses will fire you for anything."

Ryan: "Yeah, we just want to make content that is fun and interactive for everyone. We want to be a part of your creative team, Konrad."

Charlotte: "Because Mr Kei said you don't know how to be creative, and you yourself admitted you don't know how to. It's OK; we just want to be involved, and we want to be the ones who cause controversy and fuck shit up with creative ideas that you have nothing to do with."

It was clear they were committed, and it was a way to get out of my comfort zone, because I never felt comfortable with that. I was just listening and wanted to get the hell out of there and head home, since I had no reason to be at the EPW Danger show, especially when I wasn't wrestling. I saw we had a menu, but I didn't want to eat because I felt more at home with the food and drink I brought from supermarkets to take back to the hired apartments, home, and my motorhome to cook and drink in.

Mr Kei: "I know this is hard for Konrad to even come to a public place because he doesn't even do that. He never goes anywhere outside of arenas and race tracks. Maybe to a gym or his wrestling-racing school in Germany, but you don't see him anywhere else. I think this is perfect for you, Konrad: the creative ideas aren't coming from you, and you won't get in trouble for it. Everyone in Ashes and Thorns is doing something creative, but you."

Ryan: "And we're going to fix that by being the creative heads; you go and talk."

Charlotte: "Write."

Ryan: "Write whatever you want about your opponents, whoever your opponents are; we poke fun at them, interact with the public and mock anything they do, say or portray themselves as fools."

Charlotte: "The fact that this guy is a wrestler and a racer, but refuses to go anywhere outside of wrestling arenas, racing tracks, his homes and maybe the gym and supermarkets, is shocking."

All I could do was sit in silence, and Mr Kei knew that when I sat in silence, I wasn't being myself, and this was a situation where I wasn't being myself; being in a public place wasn't being myself. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't leave because I'd let the team down if I walked out now.

Mr Kei: "And they can use the racing stuff for the whole thing, as they know a lot of people. They'll be parodies with zero involvement from you. Konrad, please reconsider this. Mara has people to talk to; Belladonna has people to talk to; heck, even Abaddon has people to talk to outside of racing and wrestling. Time you do the same, and it's time for you to be creative and still be the terrifying wrestler in the ring."

Konrad Raab: "YouTube is a social media platform. Aren't I banned from that?"

Mr Kei: "From what documents you've shown me, you're only banned on text platforms such as X, Bluesky, Facebook platforms; it doesn't say video social media platforms like YouTube are included. That's not the point; the point is you need to stop being in your comfort zone and get out of it by allowing these two to help you with creative material."

Ryan: "There's no point convincing him, Kei; he won't do it."

That's exactly what I thought, but I didn't say no because I honestly didn't care to be creative; it wasn't me, so I let it drag out, and Charlotte addresses it.

Charlotte: "I mean, it's a shame because we really want to work with Konrad to get his creative mindset to kick in. I mean, this would be big for us with sponsorships and everything."

Mr Kei: "Hang on, Konrad hasn't said no. He's just silent because this whole setting and the creativity wagon is very uncomfortable for him."

Which it was, as Mr Kei turned towards me and addressed it to me.

Mr Kei: "I know you're uncomfortable with the idea and the setting, and I understand, but this is the only way you'll be back on top: letting these guys be creative, and you continue doing your thing without participating in any of it. Keep writing about your opponents on the blog, but let these two have some fun with creativity while you're the blog star. You need to get out of your comfort zone, and you need friends outside of racing and wrestling."

Konrad Raab: "Because I'm committed to Ashes and Thorns team, fine, let these guys do their creative output without me being involved in any of it, and I just write blogs; that's all I want to do, and I don't want to do any entertainment stuff."

Ryan: "Hooray, we got somewhere. We will be friends and hang out for sure, though, because we will also encourage you to step outside a lot more and let people see you outside of the regular places."

Charlotte: "Yeah. Forget the past of people shutting you out; we're going to change that, bring you life, and loosen you up. It will be fine. I promise that we won't force you to do entertainment stuff for your wrestling blogs."

Konrad Raab: "Thank you, that's all I ask."

Mr Kei: "I think that was successful; we eventually got there in the end. Now, go out and spend time with them as a new working relationship."

Ryan: "Want to play basketball? There are basketball hoops nearby, and we have a ball."

Konrad Raab: "Sure."

I'd rather just go home and relax. Still, I know what Mr Kei was thinking: I had to be more creative somehow with my videos, and I never had the ideas. Not only that, but I didn't know how to be creative without getting in trouble, but Ryan and Charlotte will help me, or so Mr Kei wants some creative material out of me; rather, these YouTubers will help me. I know he only told Ryan to play basketball with me to stop me from going home. So for two hours, we played basketball. 

After that I decided since I met Mr Kei and I really didn't see the point of showing up on Danger when I wasn't booked, nor had any ideas and likely best I stay away from Abaddon for a while anyway, I catch a flight straight to Lincoln, Alabama for Talladega Superspeedway race instead where I had to write more notes for Truck Series qualifying and race on Friday, plus doing qualifying and race there at the weekend anyway.