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by
Les Honig
He is only the
latest in a long line of exciting and fresh talents to come through
the UPW territory via Ultimate University. His name is Rick Mathey and
for many of his classmates and instructors his future seems
incandescent indeed.
Born in Berwyn, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago, the gifted 18
year-old remembers his first interest in the pro wrestling world
developing from a childhood love of fantasy; playing as a tiny tot
with Ghostbusters and Ninja Turtle toys. As he got older, however, his
passion for athletic competition was to develop alongside his other
more passive interests as he excelled at a variety of neighborhood
sports like football, baseball and basketball.
With a mom who was a housewife (and an artist on the side) and a dad
who began as a tile-setter but through luck on the stock market soon
turned into a successful trader, the family moved out to the Coast
when Ricky was 10, settling in southern Orange County.
But the passion for the squared circle developed instantly a year
later when he went back to the Midwest on a family visit and a friend
of his took him to his first live wrestling show.
“I remember the card featured Triple H and the rest of DX and I was
hooked right away. The funny thing was that at first I cheered for
anybody my buddy cheered for because I didn’t know any of the
competitors but soon I was finding my own favorites like Golddust.”
Recalling that “I knew immediately I wanted to do that for a career,
not just be a fan,” he nonetheless was soon a diehard follower as
well, “buying all the tee shirts, all the posters I could find.”
After returning to his new So-Cal home he was already looking through
magazines for schools he could attend but noticed that many required a
minimum entry age of 18, so he decided it was probably necessary to
graduate high school first before pursuing his ultimate dream.
Nonetheless he kept his active interest alive throughout this time,
forgoing the active team sports in his school to focus on theatre,
realizing that sports entertainment involved a considerable of acting
talent as well as pure athletic acumen.
A turning point, however, occurred for Mathey, when as a sophomore he
purchased the UPW training video series and before long discovered
that our El Segundo school wasn’t all that far from his own home. “I
began to hear about all the big names who had made it right from here
to major feds and that only intensified my interest.”
Then a tremendous fan of charismatic talents like Chris Jericho, Eddie
Guerrero, Rob Van Damme and Chris Benoit, Rick could wait no longer to
start emulating their best assets, so he contacted Ultimate U and
decided that the moment to actually start his efforts must soon be at
hand.
Originally making a trip before the end of his senior year and
watching Tom Howard conducting training, “I wanted to get in the ring
right away,” but deciding to restrain himself just a little longer
till he graduated that spring, Mathey eventually traveled up to the
L.A. training center, again, for his initial training just a few
months later.
Beginning in July, 2005, Rick recalls his first sessions with the
Ballards who he credits with most of his success thus far, pointing
out their extreme patience and understanding of new students.
“Some of the moves I picked up right away,” he observes, “while others
took longer but I continued to hang in till I also mastered them.”
Now nearly a year later, Mathey feels he has made considerable
progress in mastering his new craft but acknowledges he still has a
long way to go till he reaches his own personal level of satisfaction.
He points to our other featured talent this month, Kevin Martenson, as
a terrific training partner who, he feels has also shown great
patience and has also helped him make terrific strides. Another fellow
student who he has “clicked with right away” as a good friend is
Darrold Taylor who he also enjoys working out with in the University
classes enormously.
His goals, as with many other hot Ultimate Pro prospects, are indeed
ambitious ones; hoping to someday occupy a Titan Sports ring; but for
now the gifted rookie is more than satisfied to merely hone his
abilities and learn from the masterful teachers that UU features
weekly.
Being realistic about his future need to progress, Ricky Mathey “would
just like to start by doing small and then larger shows so that I can
gain the experience I need and also have some good audition tapes to
send out to the bigger indie promotions.”
With a non-stop intensity and never-wavering dedication to the sport
he has loved since childhood, we know that our newest featured student
is well on his way to accomplishing both the ambitious short term and
ultimately grander long range plans he has now set for himself and to
that end we wish him all our best.
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