Andrew “Shark” Carter returns with another of his Shark Tales where today we head off to Calgary for Shark’s first few days and his meet with his future trainer. None other than the man, the myth, the legend…Lance Storm!
Money is saved, Fitness up, Doctors have signed off on a health release which means, It’s time to pack and officially move to Calgary to begin my Pro-Wrestling journey.
It’s a whirlwind of emotions as its the first time in my life I would be moving out of home, traveling overseas alone and being a responsible adult haha. The flight from Perth to Calgary is a long one. Two stop-overs before reaching the final destination. First, it was an eight-hour flight to Hong Kong, eleven and a half hours to Vancouver then FINALLY an hour and a half to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Total travel time including all the stopovers, customs and general waiting for the next flights equaled close to thirty-one hours.
While the trip was long and exhausting, I had to be on my A-Game upon arrival as I was getting picked up at the airport by Lance Storm. Lance Storm a former WWE, WCW, ECW Superstar, one of the best in-ring workers I’ve seen, but most importantly .. now my trainer.
In 2020 meeting Colleagues, Legends and other personalities involved in the wrestling business is just another day but you gotta remember at this point in time for a young kid who has never met a wrestler in person before this was a big deal. I collected my bags from the carousel and headed towards the exits to look for Lance. It wasn’t a hard find. I simply had to look for the most jacked person at the airport with the classic wrestling “Cap on, face looking down” away from everyone. There he was.. Mixed with a mark out moment but be cool because you are a professional now or will be soon, I approached Lance to introduce my self and head to my new house.
On TV Lance portrays a serious, no-nonsense ass-kicker. But in real life… well… he was exactly the same as you saw him on TV. He wasn’t a talker. At least to people he didn’t know. I’m trying to make small talk and crack some jokes to make him smile but there was no cracking this unit. I knew that until I earn his respect this was the Lance I was going to get. But I understood the process and was excited to show him I was coach-able, eager to learn and carry his name with pride.
The international students could rent a room at one of Lances’ properties. I was the first one to arrive and Lance would take me through the house and most importantly the rules. Once I dropped my stuff off, Lance said he was going to the gym and if I wanted to join him for a session.
Naturally, I wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity. I learned a lot about gym work and got to bond with Lance during the workout. I was in awe watching and knew I made the right move by coming to this school. It was interesting watching numerous former students come in and work out and say hi. The former students were doing really well in the Calgary scene so it was cool to meet them and share some of their stories and things to prepare for before training.
Lance dropped me back at the house after the workout and I was going to explore the area. The house was located right next to a really nice park and a small shopping complex that had the essentials you needed such as a grocery store, bank, barber, etc. I did my first shop and my first night in Calgary was in the books.
Over the next couple of days, other students would start to join. Growing the numbers in the house until it was full. The days went quicker and quicker until day one was approaching.
The weather was perfect, I caught the end of the snow and the warmer weather arrived in no time. The plan mostly for our time in Calgary looked a little something like this. Monday to Friday was wrestling training took most of our morning to about 1 pm. Post-training we would go grab lunch then hit the gym. By the time we finished catching the trains and buses back, it was time for dinner then to do it all over again. The Weekends where our time to travel and explore. We ended up putting some money together and purchased a cheap car so we could explore. Calgary has so many options for entertainment and we didn’t have any trouble finding activities. The timing was perfect and we got to visit the Calgary Stampede when it was in town. Visit cowboy bars, shopping malls, and amusement parks. (Pics included below)
Calgary was absolutely beautiful and a breathtaking place to live. But it’s not all fun and games. Training is intense and stepping up every day. Next blog I will be going over some of the stuff we did. The Independent shows in between and a couple of other little easter eggs.
Now that’s not just the coolest, that’s not just the best. That’s my first blog about the start of my life in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
