The Buck Chyld
Interview by Jamie Dobson aka Springfield
From Baltimore MD
Born January 24th
6ft, 220 lbs
What made you decide on a wrestling career?
I come from a very rough background. I’m doing this to teach my brothers and sisters that we can make it; we don’t have to stand on street corners. To get up out of the ghetto and show the people around me they can do something with their lives.
How many years have you been at it?
8 years
What’s the story of how your ring name came to be?
When I was growing up in Baltimore, I grew up in a bad neighborhood; a really bad neighborhood. For a good majority of my teenage years I lived with my best friends, more like brothers. Predominantly black neighborhood, back then at 15-16 years old I had always been this crazy, outgoing, loudest life of the party. One of my brothers, he was 20 at the time, looked at me and said you are wild, buck wild! It came to stick; people would see me and say there is that buck wild child. When I was just getting in the business at 20, I said to myself, I am the buck wild child… I took out the wild part and there you have it.
What is your finisher – how did you come up with it or who inspired it?
My finisher is called ‘drop it like it’s hot’. It’s a top rope bulldog.
Are there any colors of gear you refuse to wear?
Not really, the only two colors would make a man say ‘hell no’ is purple and pink; I’ m a Ravens fan so purple is cool and Kanye West wears pink so it’s cool.
Over the years is there any gear you wish you had left in the closet?
Everything I do is me so I don’t get influenced or allow that to happen. I’ve never made bad decisions at that time, some may be outdated now…so no.
What is your most memorable in ring moment?
There’s been a lot, I always know with Jesse Neal I’ll have a lot of fun but I’ll feel like crap the next day, we will beat the shit out of each other. He is one of my good friends, but we go at it in the ring full force. I took a DDT from Jake the Snake, also took a Flying Burrito from Tito Santana. The list goes on and on, there are so many I can’t pinpoint all of the great moments being a part of this business.
Is there one thing on your personal side you want your fans to know?
I am huge into old school hip hop music, and love Football as much as wrestling. So smash mouth Ravens football, xbox360 and horror movies. That’s me
What has been your most memorable fan interaction?
My #1 Best: I worked for MCW back in Maryland, they did really well crowd draws and DVD sales. I worked a show to benefit the fraternal order of police in MD. My mother, who has never been interested in wrestling in her life and maybe been to five of my matches, went to this match with a couple friends from her work. Also on this card was Billy Gunn and Road Dogg Jesse James the New Age Outlaws, Joey Mercury, Rhino, etc… I went out had my match and was signing autographs at intermission and my mother walks up to me and asks how much my 8x10s were because she was outside with her girlfriends and lady overheard my mom talking about my match; she was like Buck Chyld is your son? My mom said yes, the lady goes on to tell my mom that she is a single mom and her son had watched DVD’s of me over at his buddies house. This was their first Indy show, won free tickets, and was more jacked up about me than anyone else there. Come to find out they were from a bad situation, no dad around, extremely poor and her 12yr old kid just loved me. My mom said so how much for a picture; I was like picture, no charge, Bring him back here! I met him and we had a 20 minute conversation with this kid about matches I had two years ago. So I talked to the promoter and said put two tickets back for every show and leave them for him and his mom, take it out of my pay money. They came to each match after that. His mom would just cry while the son would talk to me at each show for 30- 40 minutes seeing him so happy. To be able to give this kid some happiness, that is the reason why myself and 90% of the boys in the locker room do what we do…
Who has been your toughest opponent to date and would you face him again?
Tito Santana tied with Jake the Snake
If you could go back in time – what message would you tell a younger version of you?
I would probably tell myself to get in the business earlier. I see guys like Joey Mercury who I knew on a personal level, training by 14, then on World Wrestling Entertainment before he was 30 years old… I would have got in earlier. It is just something, for one, I don’t want this feeling to end; every extra year is great, wish I would have pushed myself to a higher limit younger.
Is there a ritual you do before matches or a lucky charm you bring to the ring?
This all happens as I am walking towards the curtain the few minutes before I go out… It goes back to Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens Linebacker; I listen to Phil Collins ‘In the Air Tonight’ on my iPod. I do this because Ray Lewis on the way to the stadium every game listens to that on the way, it pumps him up. It’s not so much the song that gets me jacked as it is a feeling an intensity. Ray has that and the song brings it out. Right after I listen to that I listen to Jay-Z ‘Run this town’ I tell myself in my mind over and over “I’m a bad S.O.B.”. I’m building with Phil, then I turn my hip hop on for that ‘I’m gonna do it, I’m not going to stop, go out there and just get it.’ I’m giving it my all if there are ten or 2,000 fans, I’m going to bust my ass, I’m going to run it, then my entrance music hits and I’m ready. My entrance music is Eminem ‘Not afraid’, I used to always have a Jay-Z song, but Bubba told me with my character, it would stand out so much more if I came out to Eminem, then people would get it. I’m not into Eminem but I like his album ‘Recover’. I picked ‘Not Afraid’ because I take a stand. I’m not afraid to pack up and move 900 miles away and work 7 days a week – I’m making a statement.
Are there certain Indy Feds you would like to work with but haven’t had the opportunity?
I want to do it all and I don’t want to stop until I do it all. I want to work for the ones I haven’t worked for yet. I won’t stop until everyone knows my name. Every promotion I work for is a new set of faces and someone else to learn from, every experience is a test and a learning experience. I’m looking to better myself, challenge myself, and learn as much as I possibly can. No one knows everything in this business but everyone knows something. I want to soak up all I can, any work is a learning experience and that’s what I fuel off of.
Do you accept fan mail? Where should they address it?
I have exchanged emails with certain fans, but hit me up on facebook under Buck Chyld, or tweet me with a questions. I will try my hardest to reply to everyone. http://www.twitter.com/TheBuckChyld
Who has been your biggest inspiration in life?
The Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis; he thrives off of not only being the best but helping everyone else around him be the best. He is intense, his intensity is through the roof, but he is very knowledgeable and he isn’t stingy with it. He takes his knowledge and passes it around to everyone. He is big in to his fans and is all about what he does; that’s how I want to be and that’s how I feel with wrestling. Ray Lewis will have 4 to 5 team mates on an off day over to watch three hours worth of footage and break it down. That’s what I want – to make myself better. Ray Lewis is the best linebacker and will be going in the hall of fame; his ability to learn, share, and teach others what he knows and apply to what he does I want to mimic in the wrestling business.
Who has your biggest feud been with?
Jesse Neal – I can’t shake the dam guy – every time I turn around we have a feud going on somewhere.
Do you have suggestions to promote Indy wrestling or the business in general?
We need more people like you Jamie, Indy promotions are small budget and the money isn’t there for television ads, etc… You can tell when a fed sends an email or puts up 200 flyers. Everyone has so much going on, to have people like you that is willing to help the feds and the guys themselves and put this much into it – that’s the only thing I can say other than posters, flyers, Facebook and Twitter – we need more people like you – more websites like 911 and more snowmen.
If you had to do it all over – would you change anything?
The only thing I would change is that the second the 3D academy opened – I would have moved. I wouldn’t have waited three years wondering if it was the right thing to do. I would have just packed up and moved. To spend as much time as possible learning from Bubba and Devon, it is the most incredible experience in my life. Them passing down their knowledge, twenty plus time tag team champions, held titles in every major promotion, and they are extremely intelligent.
What effect has wrestling had on you and your life?
It has affected my life in many ways, and proved to me that whitey really can’t hold me down
Do you prefer Heel or Face – Have you been mainly one or the other?
I love to be a fan favorite, sometimes me and the fans just don’t see eye to eye.
How often or how difficult is your training routine?
It’s intense, every day of the week, if I’m not in the weight gym lifting I’m in the ring. There is never a break it’s a 365 day a year job. One of the most difficult things is after diner the waitress asks, ‘do you want dessert?’ Nope. A couple days a week I’m out the door at 5:30am back in door 10pm, then to bed. It is intense when you’re a student of Team 3D – I’ve never worked anywhere we have conditioning coaches and are there 5 days a week. It is the best place to be.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Sitting next to whoever is going to pay me the most money – on contract on Television.
Do you have a message to your peers?
I respect and thank them all because none of us would be anywhere without the others. It takes two people to have a match, anyone stepping in the ring to be my competitor, whether good reasons or bad, I respect and thank them. One of my peers that I have never worked with but have seen in action is Aaron Epic, I don’t really know Epic, but I feel he has determination and is a hard worker.
Do you have a message to upcoming new wrestlers?
My message to the young guys is don’t do this to be happy at a local level. A lot come into this and put their body through so much and families through so much but are satisfied to work for only one promotion once a month every month. If deep down inside you don’t have the balls or heart to push you to the farthest limit you possibly can; don’t put your body and family through it. Your local talent tag or cruiser champ is awesome- but if your ultimate goal is not to be on television making $ $ and being the best on television, and you don’t have the balls to push for that don’t do it to yourself or to your family. Why hurt yourself if you don’t have the desire to push forward? Vincent K. McMahon isn’t going to call you because you wrestled eight times this year in hacky sack NJ. I hate seeing that happen when they are just comfortable being here. Make it about making money not impressing high school buddies. Take as many chances as you can to become something. Your goal has to be being the best.
Is there one thing you want everyone to know or remember you for?
I want to be remembered for trying the best I could and taking the chances I needed to take; never skating through. My biggest fear in life is to be average. “Hi my name is Jack Smith and I work at blah law firm, I kiss my wife I go to work come home and go to bed” I never want that, I want everything I do to be better, not an average Jack Smith. I want to be remembered that guy that took chances, worked his ass off. That’s what I want to be remembered as.
~Special thanks to The Buck Chyld for taking the time to do this interview!~
