A SCHOOL teacher has no problem keeping his pupils in line – because he is moonlighting as a WRESTLER.

Carl Restall – known as the Keyboard Warrior – spends his spare time smashing opponents over the head with chairs and ladders in the ring.

It’s a far cry from the 33-year-old’s day job at Denmead Junior School in Waterlooville, Hants, where he teaches nine- to 11-year-old kids.

The 20-stone beast admits his unusual hobby has its benefits. Carl said: “It’s well documented that teaching can be very stressful.

“My school is supportive and lovely but the workload is heavy, so having an outlet like wrestling is great for my mental wellbeing.

“The parents who know what I do haven’t said anything negative about it. It’s not like I’m wrestling with their children in class.”

Carl, who also uses the stage name Karl Atlas when wresting, took up the brutal sport when he was 15.

Now a dad-of-three, he juggles somersaulting around the ring with his young family and day job in the classroom.

Carl, who lives with partner Fay, said: “Even though I’m well over 20 stone, I can do things like backflips.

'GREAT FOR MENTAL WELLBEING'

“I do a moonsault, which is a back somersault off the top rope where you land on your opponent. I’m also well-known for the piledriver.

“Along with ladders and trestle tables, I use a keyboard as a weapon too. I’ve even built myself a giant sword out of keyboards to pose with during my entrance to the ring.”

But while some wrestlers follow a strict diet, Carl admits he “isn’t a body guy”. He added: “There are guys who look like they’re made out of granite and dedicate their whole lives to wrestling.

"But I’ve never been that way. I have a family and a career as a teacher. They call me a ‘weekend warrior’.”

Carl believes there is one big similarity between wrestling and teaching – being in the limelight.

He said: “When I stand up in front of a class, all eyes are on me. When I stand up in front of an audience, all eyes are on me. Both have an element of performance so you must enjoy being in the spotlight.”

Despite initially hiding his weekend passion from colleagues and parents, Carl has begun telling people what he does outside of the classroom. And he has been surprised by the response.

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He said: “I think wrestling used to have quite a stigma attached to it. People have branded it as fake or too violent in the past, so I didn’t tell people that I did it.

“But it turns out my kids in class are actually fascinated by it. It shows them that I’m human and exist beyond the school walls.

“Some of the boys and girls who I teach are really into it and they’ve ended up going to the local wrestling academy. It’s got them away from a computer screen and doing something active.”

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