Many a wrestler has been said to have a magnetic personality. But Paul ‘The Butcher’ Vachon has taken it a step further.
Butcher and his wife Dee sell rare Earth therapeutic magnets at flea markets and conventions across the United States. It hearkens back to his days on the road as a pro wrestler and allows him a chance to be out in the public eye again.
The couple have been at it for about eight years, and recently launched a web site to further promote their products. The Butcher, a 30-year veteran of the squared circle, makes a great spokesman for the healing power of the magnets. “He does have aches and pains. His feet swell, he’s diabetic, so he wears the soles. He tells the people that and they buy from his testimonial. They believe in it,” said Dee Vachon at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas in early April. “We had two people buy pairs today and they put them on, and they’ve already come back to say how much better their feet feel.”
Butcher Vachon was first exposed to the healing power of magnets while wrestling in India. “I had a bad injury to my knee. I was having trouble walking on it. I was overweight. A doctor said ‘The only thing I see, short of drugs, to help you are these magnet stones.’ He went back into his office and came out–this is an Indian doctor–he came out with something that looked like a coin, but was actually a stone. What it was, was rare magnets. He said, ‘Put that inside your knee pad and the pain will go away,'” said Vachon.
Years later, he was at a convention in Miami Beach. His feet were in pain from being on them for three straight days. “Somebody sold me a pair of soles, except they sold it to me for $63. I thought it was a bit expensive, but I was so desperate, I was going to pay for it anyway,” he said. “Within two hours, the swelling in my feet went down. My feet haven’t hurt since.”
Since then, he sought out the source for the rare Earth magnets, and sells his arm, leg , knee, ankle and elbow wraps, headbands, back supports, wrist/thumb supports and flex pads at a more reasonable price. “When I found the source for the inexpensive magnets, I also found the source for the necklaces, wristwraps, knee braces. They also make bedcovers, mattress covers, car seat covers with magnets in it for all the truck drivers of the world. They’ve all got bad backs. This will help them. Me, when I wear my magnets, I feel well. And when I don’t wear it, the arthritis pain in my joints [returns]. I’ve had 6,000 matches, travelling five million miles, wrestling in 33 different countries. All my joints hurt. This is what keeps me going. They’ve given me a new lease on life.”
There is still some debate as to how, exactly, bioelectromagnetic therapy works. One theory is that each cell in the body acts as an electro-magnetic unit, maintaining its own magnetic field. When healthy, cells vibrate properly; when sick, the proper electromagnetic balance isn’t going on in the cells. Therefore, the magnets help restore. electro-magnetic balance.
Another theory is that the rare Earth magnets increase the circulation in your body, warming hurting joints and giving them better flexibility.
In short, it’s not for everybody, said Dee Vachon. “You have to believe in this alternative medicine. It’s an alternative way of healing and feeling better without the price of drugs, going to a doctor, having operations on yourself. It doesn’t work for 100% of the people but a lot of people believe in it and it helps them.”
Butcher Vachon is also peddling a self-published autobiography these days, written by hand and printed by friends. Called When Wrestling Was Real, it’s just his career up until the end of the 1960s. Compared to the slick productions put out these days by major publishers, it’s a refreshing change.
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