Mike Monroe dreams of being a professional wrestler. For now, he lives in a shelter for homeless veterans in New York City.

After serving in the U.S. Army for seven years as a medic, including on a tour of combat duty in Iraq, Monroe returned to the United States and decided his future was in New York City, a place he could pursue his childhood dream of becoming a professional wrestler.

But the transition to civilian life has been challenging for him. Today, the 28-year-old Ohio native finds himself living at a veterans shelter in Long Island City, Queens, anxious for his new life to begin.