Ric Flair claims to have had "10 beers and five mixed drinks" a day for 20 years.
Ric Flair
The 68-year-old wrestler - who was hospitalised with multiple organ problems in August - used alcohol in place of pain relief and left a psychologist stunned when he revealed the extent of his booze consumption.
Recalling a 1989 meeting with the healthcare professional, he said: "[The psychologist asked] 'How much do you drink a day?'
"I said, 'I'll drink at least 10 beers, and probably five mixed drinks [every day]... I work every day. I drink a beer in the car, I get to the hotel and I drink vodka.'
"He came out of his chair and [he said], 'You drink every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and you've been doing that for how long?'
"I said, 'Well, let me see. It's 1989, I started in '72, you do the math. Almost 20 years.'
"He said, 'That's not possible.' I said, 'Oh yeah, it is.'
"By the time I got through with that son of a b***h, he was laying on the couch and I was on the chair talking to him."
But Ric - who admitted his drinking escalated further after his 25-year-old son Reid died from an overdose in 2013 - insists he's completely cleaned up his act since his hospitalisation over the summer, where doctors gave him just a 20 per cent chance of survival.
In an ESPN '30 for 30' documentary, he said: "I wouldn't even begin to think about drinking. If you ever hear that I'm out drinking again, say, 'Ric, you [dummy], you deserve whatever you get."
And the wrestling legend urged his young fans not to copy his hard partying lifestyle.
He said: "Going forward, I want people to take my advice as opposed to wanting to be or act like me. There's a lot of 20-year-old kids that want to be Ric Flair. That's cool if it's in a good context. But if it's drinking to relieve stress or cope with life, that's not the answer."