‘Massive Spider-Man Fan’ – Willie Van Rooyen Reveals His Lifelong Love For The Marvel Superhero
Spider-Man first captured Willie “White Lion” van Rooyen’s imagination through cartoons. Then came Tobey Maguire, a family trip to the theater, and a version of the superhero that looked too real for the young South African.
The two-time EFC Flyweight Champion still enjoys superhero films today, alongside action movies and anime such as “Dragon Ball,” “Naruto,” “One Piece,” and “Attack on Titan.”
Yet one character stands above the rest. The 23-year-old grew up watching Spider-Man cartoons, remembers being “mind-blown” when he first saw the web-slinger come to life on the big screen, and remains a fan to this day.
Before he faces former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu at ONE SAMURAI 3 on Saturday, September 12, at Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan, the Pretoria native opened up about his childhood fascination with Spider-Man and why his favorite superhero eventually came to mean more than entertainment.
Van Rooyen Grew Up A ‘Massive Spider-Man Fan’
Van Rooyen’s introduction to Spider-Man came through cartoons when he was still a young boy.
Those animated adventures quickly captured his imagination, and his interest in superheroes has continued into adulthood.
The A-Team Stars representative said:
“When I was very young, the Spider-Man that I watched was still the cartoons.
“Even just by watching the cartoons, I’ve just been a massive, massive Spider-Man fan.”
His entertainment tastes have expanded considerably since then.
Van Rooyen describes himself as more of a casual anime viewer, though he regularly turns to the genre when looking for something to watch. In fact, he is currently watching “Attack on Titan” for a second time because his girlfriend had never seen it before.
When it comes to movies and television, the South African gravitates toward action and comedy, along with the superhero worlds of Marvel and DC. But when asked about his all-time favorites, Spider-Man was still the character that immediately came to mind.
Van Rooyen said:
“Ever since I was little, I’ve always been a fan of Spider-Man, any Spider-Man movies. I like Spider-Man a lot.
“Actually, Marvel movies. I could say Marvel is one of my favorites. All of their movies are some of the best movies that I like. So yeah, that’s definitely something I like to watch a lot.”
Van Rooyen Was ‘Mind-Blown’ Seeing Spider-Man Come To Life
Van Rooyen’s childhood connection with Spider-Man became even stronger when the character made the leap from animation to live action. He remembers going to the movie theater with his family to watch Tobey Maguire portray the web-slinger on the big screen.
For a youngster who had previously known Spider-Man through cartoons, seeing a realistic version of his favorite superhero was an entirely different experience.
He said:
“When the first Spider-Man movie came out, I remember I went to the theater, and it was with my parents and my brothers. It was just our family that went to watch it.
“For me, it was so cool to see a live-action Spider-Man because I was used to the cartoons and everything.”
Van Rooyen can now appreciate just how much filmmaking technology has progressed since those early Spider-Man movies.
He specifically pointed to the contrast between Maguire’s portrayal and Tom Holland’s modern version. But as a young fan watching Spider-Man come alive in a theater, technical considerations were the furthest thing from his mind.
Instead, the future MMA star was simply amazed by what he was seeing.
He said:
“Looking back at it now, if you look at Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man compared to the new Spider-Man, Tom Holland, the technology improved. Even looking at it now, the CGI is actually not bad, but it’s not at the quality that it is now.
“But for me, it looked so realistic, and I was just mind-blown by how they made the movie and everything. I’ve just been a fan ever since.”
Spider-Man’s Lasting Impression On Van Rooyen
As entertaining as Spider-Man’s superpowers and adventures were, Van Rooyen eventually found something more meaningful in the character.
The South African remembers being inspired by the superhero’s desire to help other people and continue doing good even when dealing with difficulties of his own.
Those lessons stayed with him as his own life took a dramatically different direction and he developed into an elite professional martial artist.
Van Rooyen said:
“When I was young, the Spider-Man movies inspired me a lot to be a better person, to help people around me when they need me or when they are in need.
“Even when you have a hard time, just be the best possible version of yourself and still do good, even when you are feeling down or if you’re feeling sad or whatever. Don’t be a sad or bad person. Just stay a good person, stay who you are.”
As he prepares for his high-stakes battle with Wakamatsu, “White Lion” is once again going through the sacrifices that accompany a demanding fight camp, including spending less time with friends and family.
Martial arts have also taught him the importance of discipline and respect, qualities that Van Rooyen believes are necessary for anyone hoping to improve.
He said:
“Discipline, respect, the ability to make sacrifices – those are just a few of the many values that you learn over the years when you’re doing martial arts.”
“Sometimes you need to make sacrifices to do whatever you need to do. For fighters, you need to sacrifice family time to go and train, for instance. It happens a lot, especially in a fight camp. You spend much less time with your family and friends, and you are more focused on your training.”
