15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Vader

15. He Was Around A Lot Violence As A Kid

VICE did a neat job of showing off some childhood pictures of a young Leon White during the earliest minutes of the doc. They depicted his journey from smiling young lad to still-smiling but also slightly damaged adult. Whilst those pics played on screen, Leon's son Jesse explained that his father saw his fair share of violence when growing up.

A lot of that "revolved around alcohol" too.

Meanwhile, White's ex-wife Debra said he had to grow up fast and learn to take care of his family. Summing it up, she said: "He had a rough one". Leon was forced to fight "pretty much every day" at school, and then he was also exposed to some violence at home too. That was a toxic mix, so it's actually quite a surprise that he survived it at all. 

Throughout 'Dark Side, Jesse repeatedly states that his dad was a loving father who was just flawed and more of a menace to himself than anything else. There was always a burning desire to succeed and prove others wrong; this wasn't the same as the relentless, slightly militant need to be loved and adored that Ludvig Borga from last week's episode had, but Leon definitely enjoyed the spotlight and the success that came with it.

One remarkable story early on in the show perhaps sums up why Leon had such a casual relationship with violence and intimidation. Some talking heads tried to palm this off as a 'different era', but it really is shocking and isn't something he should've been expected to do.

Ready? You might not be.