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Student of the Month, April 2003 Lamar Tinnin |
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by
Les Honig He’s already made
it to seven major UPW venues since his arrival here at Ultimate
University just ten scant months ago but for Lamar Tinnin; known to
UPW fans as Sabbath, training must continue as his way of wrestling
life indefinitely. “I’ve learned a lot already about ring
psychology and putting a match together but I still have other areas
to work on,” this large, bruising , intense competitor and standout
student candidly admits. Following in the
footsteps of other amazingly rapid learners like Nate Nickerson, Sam
Culver and Van Ayasit, the former policeman turned matman has shown
such promise that Rick Bassman early-on gave him a chance to shine in
front of our legions of fans; and in typically Tinnin fashion he has
done nothing to disappoint those who have put their faith in him. Always an achiever
despite long odds that might frustrate others, Lamar grew up in rural
Staley, North Carolina, raised in a large family with 9 other kids
running around his house. He recalls always being a large youngster,
tipping the scale at 99 pounds when he was just in kindergarten.
Yet; he was always athletic and became a fan of pro wrestling
at the tenderest of ages. (One of his cousins is past-WCW star Joey
“The Nighthawk” Coltrane. “I
can remember watching the old NWA, Atlantic and Smokey Mountain
wrestling shows back then and seeing stars like Dusty Rhodes, Harley
Race and Wahoo McDaniels,” says Tinnin. Continuing to pursue sports
into high school he literally added a lot to his school’s football
team, entering at 335 pounds and standing 6’1” and eventually
making second string all-County. Studying law
enforcement at his local community college and then entering the
police academy, Tinnin was sworn into the Ashville, North Carolina
police department in 1994; just as he turned 21, and over the next
eight years rose to be the senior patrolman on his team; “the person
most of the guys came to with job-related and police problems. I also
responded to calls myself, made arrests, served warrants and wrote
tickets.” Receiving three
commendations for heroism on the job from his chief, his career surely
seemed on the rise, but still something lurked in the back of his
mind; something that burst forth as he had a chance encounter with
World Championship Wrestling talent Lodi, who had gone to high school
with his older brother. “He
thought I had the right attitude to enter the pro’s myself and
encouraged me to look into pursuing it.” Having earlier
joined a local gym owned by a friend and slimming down from 290 to 208
in just six months, (he had decided to try out bodybuilding and
already had placed high in four contests), and also having perfected
martial arts over the previous six years of police work, (he had
earned a black belt in tae kwon do and was proficient in a variety of
fighting disciplines), all the elements seemed to be falling into
place to give this once dream career a chance so it was time to make
the big move. Taking a leave of
absence to pursue his new area of interest, Tinnin searched for just
the right facility where he could learn the sport and in a moment of
sheer good luck, came across an article in Flex Magazine detailing UPW
and its outstanding training school where bodybuilding champs Paul
Dillet and Aaron Baker had attended and were already excelling. Deciding that this
was the ideal place to roll his life-career dice, Lamar arrived in
L.A. in June 2002 and soon was enrolled and appearing at the Raw
Center for his training. Now firmly
entrenched as one of the school’s core group of dedicated students
he looks ahead hopefully to building upon what he has done so far and
moving on to work someday, hopefully, as part of Zero One’s Japanese
touring group and eventually in WWE.
He credits Tom Howard with helping him to learn how to make a
match tell a story and the Ballards with their patience and ability to
bring him to a higher level by breaking the most difficult moves down
into their component parts so that they can be mastered.
As for his developed character, Sabbath, he hopes to have him
incorporate the best of his own mat idols, Ricky Steamboat, the
Undertaker and HHH, into “a strong person really concerned about
winning; a tough guy with a dark, almost demonic side,” mirroring
some of the super-hero comic book and film characters he followed as a
kid. Having now made the total commitment needed to achieve future fame and fortune in the exciting field he now pursues, Lamar Tinnin seems destined to reach the lofty level of success he is truly worthy of and we wish him only the best as he continues to delight and impress his fans and teachers all through the UPW universe! |
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Previous Ultimate University Students of the Month: February 2003 - Nate Nickerson |
