From The Mosh Pit To The Circle: Ben Tynan On His Lifelong Love For The Used

Canadian heavyweight MMA fighter Ben Tynan may enjoy riding his dirt bike and exploring America’s backcountry, but there’s no doubt that everywhere he goes, he brings a little bit of a punk rock vibe to the party.

A simple glance at “Vanilla Thunder” reveals that – he wears band T-shirts, has plugs in his ears, and bleaches his hair a shade of blonde that would make even Billie Joe Armstrong turn green with envy.

Tynan will bring that swagger into his showdown with Japanese knockout artist Ryugo Takeuchi at ONE Fight Night 40 on Friday, February 13, where he expects to deliver a signature performance. And, to steal a line from his favorite song by The Used, he’ll “savor every moment of this.”

Tynan’s fascination with The Used began when he was a young child living in Seattle, Washington.

In September 2002, the Utah-based post-hardcore collective dropped their first song “The Taste Of Ink,” a deceptively melodic track wrapped in raw emotion and featuring frontman Bert McCracken’s anguished vocals about his dissatisfaction with his place in life and burning desire to chase his dreams.

“The Taste Of Ink” would serve as the leadoff single to their self-titled debut album, and a young Tynan would borrow his brother’s copy and play that specific record on repeat.

Tynan said:

“‘The Taste Of Ink’ is, like, the classic. That was the first one I heard as a kid. It was on my brother’s CD, and I remember going, ‘Ohh, this is cool.’ And what made it worse is I was so excited about it. I kept listening and listening to it.”

Eventually, Tynan listened to the rest of the songs on the self-titled LP and fell even more in love with the band’s music. 

The four-piece became the soundtrack to his adolescence, as “Vanilla Thunder” obsessively consumed their follow-up albums – including 2004’s platinum-selling sophomore set In Love And Death, 2007’s Lies For The Liars, and 2009’s Artwork.

By that point, The Used had become one of the most popular bands in the genre and were regularly headlining tours across North America. The combination of adrenaline-fueled melodicism and emotional lyricism had Tynan hooked.

He said:

“I went through a huge phase. I actually really liked their album Artwork. That came out when I was in high school, and it doesn’t get a lot of credit. But man, something about those songs, they hit so hard. Album-wise, I love Artwork. In Love And Death is an awesome album too.”

Tynan Skips School To See The Used

In November 2009, The Used was on tour in support of Artwork, and Tynan – then a sophomore in high school – was determined to see them live.

There was a tour stop at Showbox SoDo, a converted-warehouse-turned-concert venue in Seattle, and the Canadian wrestling machine was able to secure a ticket and make the trek from his new home base in Eastern Washington.

Tynan recalled:

“That was my first big concert. I went to little shows before when I was younger, but I remember I was living in Eastern Washington at the time, and my sister was back living in Seattle. I had a buddy, and we road-tripped there. We had to skip school to make that concert, so we skipped a day of school and then went to Seattle and saw them. It was sick.”

Showbox SoDo is a standing-room venue with a maximum capacity of 1,800 people, making the environment seem intimate, yet feel big enough for moshing around.

As soon as The Used went on stage and played the opening riffs of Artwork‘s lead single “Blood On My Hands,” the crowd went berserk. Tynan and his friend were in their element. They found their people, their favorite band was playing, and they were savoring the entire atmosphere.

The 31-year-old recalled:

“It was packed, and I remember being a little dude getting all jacked up. There was a mosh pit, I went in it, and I got tossed around because I was a little pipsqueak back then. But, you know, it was good vibes. Everyone had good energy. It was really cool.”