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Student
of the Month, January 2003 |
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by
Les Honig Dedication can come
in many forms and for 20 year-old UU trainee extraordinaire Chris
Mordetsky it has focused not only in the Raw Center ring but at Venice
Beach’s famed Gold’s Gym, where the young recruit has already
worked non-stop for the past five years to develop an amazing physical
package that he hopes will attract the attention of prestigious promoters
throughout the wrestling nation. What many of his
classmates and newfound fans may not realize, however, is that the
intimidating 6’4” 260 pound rookie can also lay claim to being one
of the very first group of University students going way back to the
earliest days of UPW; training for five months alongside such UPW
classic names as Bad Boy Basil, Matt Hall, Predator and Aaron Baker;
that is until the then 16 year-old unfortunately failed to properly
execute a leapfrog over action actor and fellow student Andrew
Bryniarski, causing a severe sidelining ankle injury that forced the
young aspirant to rethink his very early entrée into the wrestling
world. “I knew that one
of the reasons that I might be having trouble in the ring was because
I was really overweight and out of shape and decided it was time to
focus getting myself into the proper condition to train here
effectively. I decided
that it was also very important to develop a unique look and that is
why I figured I should concentrate on that as well and not return to
classes till I was ready.” Realizing that his future was still very much ahead of him, Chris took his lifelong passion for sports entertainment, (he remembers first getting hooked while a young child on superstars like the Ultimate Warrior), and began fashioning a life style that would eventually lead him to adult career success. While not savoring his school time much, Chris was ultra serious about after-school hours; holding a variety of part-time jobs; only to head straight to the weights around 9 p.m. ; working out ferociously till past midnight. Such a routine has
continued today, with the youthful phenom spending each day at morning
Gold’s sessions; then heading home at lunch time to clean up and
cook his own nutritionally allowable dinner. (He says with amusement:
“I have eaten more chicken breasts in the past two years than most
people have all their lives”). After that it’s off to an afternoon
and early evening working at Venice’s Musclemag store as a sales
consultant and then finally either to a Ultimate U training session or
to his other job as a bouncer at a prestigious Hollywood
restaurant/club. Amazed upon his
return this past summer at the current vast array of talent now
filling UU’s squared circle, Mordetsky knows he has a lot of work
cut out for him to reach the lofty heights to which he currently
aspires. “Now that I
have my appearance looking a lot better, I am trying to better master
the basic ring moves,” he explains, and admits that he is “in
awe” of the accomplishments of fellow classmates like Sam Culver and
Little Nate. “Nate is
great to work with because he has his character so down and that makes
it easy for people like myself who still are learning.” And as for
Sam, “Well, he has been training only since March and I can’t
believe some of the incredible stuff he can do already.”
Evaluating the various teachers that he is exposed to during
his three or four weekly training sessions, Mordetsky reveals that Tom
Howard has been particularly helpful in the area of match storytelling
and he appreciates that “we are given the opportunity to step back
after our sessions to evaluate each other and the whether our
simulated matches have included the most effective ring psychology.”
He likes the Ballards for their quick-paced and varied approach and
Hardkore Kidd for his intense focus on cardio and drills. |
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Previous Students of the Month: |
