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Student of the Month, November 2004 Hector Canales |
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by Les Honig If you ask
Salvadorian-American Hector Canales what the credo of his life would
be, he likely would answer “Work hard!”
And when you explore a little bit into the background of this
gifted young athlete/musician turned wrestling student, you will find
that such a motto rings so true; not only for the young recruit but
for his whole family as well. Arriving in America,
his parents, (his dad had been training to be a dentist in their
native country), found the bitter taste of poverty immediately
overtaking them as they were confronted by a harsh life in downtown
L.A.’s barrios. Still
Hector’s folks persisted as his father sought any work to pay their
subsistence, eventually finding a successful career as a trucker while
his mom began cleaning homes. The youngster’s
dad, unlike many of his friends’ fathers who “would take their
earnings and head off to the grocery store to buy beer”, instead put
the money away for a future nest-egg and accumulated enough to
eventually provide a good life for his children.
A voracious reader he continued to improve his mind, reading
many of the books he had brought with him from El Salvador, all while
working endless hours to support Hector, his older brother and sister. Still, despite later
adopting his parents’ own outstanding work ethic, Hector admits that
he was a childhood “Hispanic Dennis the Menace”, being both a
prankster and occasionally a handful to handle. He remembers once
causing one of his elementary school teachers to even quit, as he
threw chairs at her and otherwise made her life miserable. Outside of school,
however, the rebellious kid discovered a fantasy outlet when flipping
through the TV dial and happening upon his first pro wrestling match. “I was only six
and I saw the Big Bossman beating up on some guy.
I had always dreamed of being a superhero and so I was
naturally attracted to this bigger-than- life character.” While his older
brother and he would wrestle around the house often and became hooked
on such early superstars as Randy Macho Man Savage, Brutus Beefcake,
Jake Roberts, Bret Hart, Razor Ramon and most of all, Hulk Hogan,
Hector’s school life was tough as he was immediately labeled an
outsider being one of the few El Salvadorian’s in his largely
Hispanic school, causing him to be relentlessly picked on. “Even though I was
a big kid for my age, that didn’t stop some of the kids from trying
to start fights with me.” Already
a confirmed Hulkamaniac, and not really knowing many wrestling moves
yet, he was still able to scare off one potential attacker by simply
“hulking up” a few times. “He
and his friends weren’t wrestling fans and it really freaked them
out. After that I was left alone because they thought I was really
weird.” Moving on to junior
high, Hector’s life unfortunately took a downhill turn, as he was
introduced to marijuana and other harder drugs by a friend.
This sidetracked what could have been a positive entrée into a
basketball career, (the sport his dad had excelled in and an area
where he had already shown talent).
“I was really into bands like Nirvana and thought it was cool
to imitate their behavior.” Taking up the
guitar, he even played in a few bands with friends but it was
developments at home which took their toll on the pre-teen, leaving
him ever more isolated and ready for a totally negative lifestyle. “My brother had
been bothered a lot in school and he would often come home after
having to fight other kids. He would always take it out on me.
One day I had had enough so I fought back and kicked his ass.
My mom happened to see the fight and blamed me. She got
hysterical and nearly had a stroke. From that point on I became the
black sheep of the family.” (Canales’
mother had already suffered from high blood pressure so such traumatic
events were definitely a serious threat to her health). Not caring any more,
Hector began more experimentation with drugs, using speed and acid.
“It got even worse at home when my parents found pot in my
drawer. Then I failed to graduate from junior high. I disappointed my
parents. I still can
remember my dad whipping me while my brother looked on laughing.” Entering
high school he faced even more problems as suffered an illness from a
mosquito bite which caused him miss the first month of school as well
as the chance to make new friends.
The problems even escalated more as Canales tried to do
something positive and play basketball again.
While jumping for a lay-up he was blindsided by a classmate “trying to show off” and he was sent crashing
down to the concrete, severely injuring his back; an injury he still
must deal with. Now hanging out
“with the bad crowd”, Hector became part of a small group of kids
who were into death metal music and all it’s trappings like devil
worship. More drug usage
was to accompany his destructive behavior causing an even more
dramatic downward spiral to his life Hitting near-bottom,
Hector was about to make a major turn for the better as a more
positive buddy, (who had previously been his dealer), introduced him
to Christianity for the first time. Giving him a book to read, Canales soon found himself
undergoing a personal rebirth as he gave his life over to Christ and
realized he must strike out on a new course. He successfully
completed high school and found a job at “7-11” where he was
promoted three times in only the first seven months. In addition, he
enrolled in a college where he now was determined to finally get the
most out of his education. Still another
potentially success-derailing near disaster was to occur, however, as
he volunteered to help his longtime buddy and co-UPW trainee Caesar
Solorazano, who was also a musician and currently in a band. “I told
him I would breathe fire during their performances and it would be
really cool.” Such creativity
turned to crisis, however, when during the first performance he
accidentally swallowed the kerosene he had placed into his mouth, used
to breathe fire. “No one knew I was dying backstage,” he remembers
grimly. “I didn’t
want to fight for my life anymore. But just when I thought I was all
alone God told me to get up and breathe”. While he recovered from
the injury, the resulting damage to his brain has resulted in some
loss of memory. “Even now when
I’m training and planning moves in a match I often have to keep
going back to my partner and ask him 3, 4, 5 times what we’re gonna
do and that sometimes annoys them. I feel bad about it but that’s
something that I can’t help.” Despite the severe
injuries he sustained, however, including a still painful slipped disc
in his back, the lifelong dream of being a larger-than-life superhero
resurfaced when Caesar came to him one day and explained he had
decided to become a pro wrestler. Not having given
that any thought, Canales nevertheless accompanied his friend to the
Raw Center last October after Caesar had discovered Ultimate
University on the Net and found the prospect an exciting one. “As Caesar was
signing up, I couldn’t resist. I told them, ‘Let me sign up
too!’” Having continued to
follow the mat game ever since his childhood and particularly being
smitten anew when the NWO came onto the scene as part of WCW, Hector
could now see the possibilities of this potential career.
A recent college graduate, his life now seemed open before him
so he decided to push forward. Despite some painful
first sessions, where his back severely acted up, and where he and
Caesar were pushed beyond the limits by the Hardcore Kidd in his
cardio-oriented beginning wrestler sessions, he decided it was time to
put his mettle to the test. “Both of us were a
little scared but we figured we had come this far and it would be
wrong to turn back. One
of my biggest heroes is Shawn Michaels and I remembered back to the
match when he came back after his own broken back and fought Triple H
so brilliantly. I
thought, if he can do that with a broken back, then I should surely be
able to persist with just a slipped disc.” Soon afterward
marrying a lady he met at church, Hector had to juggle new
responsibilities with his training, causing him to briefly drop out,
but he returned about four months ago and has been persisting with
even more determination than before.
“It has become a lot easier for me now,” he says with
confidence. “Even my
back problems seem to be better from all the bumping I took in the
ring.” Canales credits the
Ballards as “having taught me everything I know” and looks to
classmates like Nate Nickerson, Kevin Zacaula, Pete Zwissel and Tony
Stradland as being both nurturing and amazingly patient in helping him
to grasp the basics; (the latter quality also mentioned as one of
Shane and Shannon’s greatest strengths). Temporarily
sidelined with a broken leg from “a bad baseball slide” which he
suffered a few weeks ago during training, Hector Canales expects to
return soon to continue his tireless mat education and career-building
efforts. “The Ballards have
been great in getting me some spots already at various local carnivals
holding wrestling shows in the Latino communities. It has been a
thrill to be able to start entertaining fans this early in my
career.” Having endured and conquered so many personal trials thus far in his short life, we know the future shines bright and so we wish all the best to our outstanding Student of the Month for September: Hector Canales. |
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Previous Ultimate University Students of the Month: June 2004 - Thomas Scholdtfeldt February 2004 - Kevin Martenson January 2004 - Jason Sanfilippo December 2003 - Dmitry Masarky September 2003 - Tony Stradlin February 2003 - Nate Nickerson |
