Being a huge pro wrestling aficionado all my life it’s only fitting that I’d end up in the ring one day, which is exactly where I found myself come 1992. I was 18 years old, living out on my own in Calgary, Alberta when I heard during the summer that a group of local wrestlers were looking to get a promotion going once again. Pro wrestling had pretty much been swept under the carpet in Calgary since legendary promoter Stu Hart sold his Stampede Wrestling territory to Vince McMahon of the WWF back in 1989. Calgary was host to many incredible talents trained at both Stu hart’s legendary Dungeon in the basement of the infamous Hart House and at the official Hart Brothers wrestling school. Chris Benoit, The British Bulldogs, Jushin Liger, the late Brian Pillman and Bret and Owen Hart along with a ton of others got their breaks in Stampede, so I was treading on holy ground. The guy who gave me my first break in the wrestling business was Chris Benoit’s old tag team partner Beef Wellington. Wellington spearheaded the new indie promotion that started up that summer which was given the name Rocky Mountain Professional Wrestling. I started out as a ring announcer and commentator for sporadic TV tapings, excited to high heaven to be a part of the greatest sport on earth. I originally inquired about getting trained as a pro wrestler from renowned shooter and former NWA Jr. heavyweight Champion Les Thornton. I had gotten to know Les in 1992 and once in awhile I’d visit him and pcik his brain for useful knowledge on the business while we watched football. Les claimed that he had no interest in getting back into wrestling after he had retired and it would have taken a good group of guys to make it worth his time and effort. As fate would have it, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm had just been trained at Hart Brothers the previous year and they were earning their wares in the business and so I became fast friends with both guys. Lance and I became training partners at a local Calgary gym and upon seeing the fire and zeal that I had for pro wrestling he offered to mentor me as an active wrestler in 1993. I exuberantly obliged, needless to say. I must state here that a definite credit also goes out to 80’s veteran Karl Moffat, who wrestled as Jason the Terrible in Canada and Puerto Rico and The Jackal in Japan, for the role that he played in teaching me elements of the trade also. Lance taught me the ins and outs of the wrestling business and prepared me for my first outing which was coincidentally against Lance himself for Rocky Mountain on January 7, 1994. Chris “Lionheart” Jericho (a name given to him in Mexico where he was the 2nd most popular foreign wrestler behind fellow Canadian Vampiro Canadiense) gave me his old pair of wrestling boots for the match and told me to keep them. I even borrowed a set of Chris’ old tights for that match. Hey, I was a poor bastard! Of course, I lost to Lance in seven minutes but it was a good loss. We had a hell of decent “meat and potatoes” type match with great timing and psychology, simple as it was. The guys in the dressing room said we had the 2nd best match that night, which was a fantastic honor for a raw rookie. Beef Wellington regaining the Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Title from Chris Jericho took top honors that evening if memory serves me correctly. Since then, I´ve worked for a load of independent promotions across Canada, the USA and Europe. In August of 2003 I encountered my first serious injury when I broke my left tibia and fibula (ankle) in a match against Norway’s top pro wrestler, Erik Isaksen. Sure, I’ve had sprains and a few minor concussions before in addition to the bumps, scars and bruises but this knocked me out of the picture for a good year! During my time in pro wrestling I’ve worked as a trainer myself all around Scandinavia. I have held numerous Titles, among them the Italian Heavyweight Championship, the Finnish Wrestling Championship and my pride and glory, the European Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. In early 2004, I appeared as a “tough guy” in one of Finland’s leading beer company’s TV commercials, Lapin Kulta Ice. In 2005, I appeared as the lead in a TV commercial promoting Citymarket superstore products in a Robinson (the reality TV adventure show) campaign. During 2006 I was chosen as the lead performer for a large-scale rockstar commercial promoting Fazer's Kismet chocolate bar line on both TV and in movie theaters. In general it can be said that I’ve been on television in Finland on several occasions in various spots and programs since 2003. In 2005 my interview with Finland's leading radio station YLE X was in the top five voting for "interview of the year" due to its entertaining and controversial nature. I’ve also been in several top print and radio medias, both for pro wrestling related issues and representing my heavy rock band, Stoner Kings. In 2007 I appeared in a TV commercial for McDonalds. I was also picked up as the host for a new fitness TV series coming out on in Finland on MTV Max in January 2009 called Maximal. With Stoner Kings I have toured through Central Europe and across Finland, garnering a reputation as an incredibly visual and explosive live band. I also write do album reviews and interviews with certain rock personalities along with writing a regular, albeit outspoken column entitled Starbuck’s Retrochasm for Finland’s top online metal music media, Imperiumi.net. Whatever the case, no one can argue that this guy is one-dimensional! MySpace link: www.myspace.com/canadianrebel E-mail: starbuck (at) saunalahti (dot) fi