As the first of my series of interviews with members of the Second Life
Wrestling Community, I sat down with Derrick Zane, owner and co-founder
of the SL Professional Wrestling promotion OEW, standing for Over the
Edge Wrestling, as well as a co-founder of the promotions Intense
Wrestling, United Honor Wrestling and the creator and member of the
governing board for the Virtual World Wrestling Alliance.
Derrick
invited me to his home, and while we sat on his front porch, he shared
with me about the Community in which he resides in Second Life...
"Thank
you for your time today and I must say, that seems to be quite a lot of
responsibility and time spent devoted to the world of wrestling in
Second Life!"
Derrick nods slowly, "Yes, but if something is worth your efforts in pursuing, then its worth the headaches that come with it."
Smiling
at his answer, "I completely understand". Looking at my list of
questions, I pick the first one on my list, "Before we get into the
fascinating world of SL Wrestling, please tell our readers, in your
words - who is Derrick Zane?"
"Who
is Derrick Zane? There is no one simple answer to that question. There
is the on screen persona of Derrick Zane, both the heel, or villain to
the laymen, who is at his most distilled concept an obnoxious, rich
bully... kind of like the jock in high school who you wanted to see fail
and yet always seemed to get more and more successful as time went by.
The good guy Derrick, or Face is perhaps a little closer to who I am, a
more mellow, relaxed person, who ultimately wants to see people achieve
and feel good about themselves at the end of the day. If were asking
about the me behind the scenes... *shrugs* I'm not sure is a simple
answer will suffice, I suppose I'm a person who wants ultimately to be
well thought of at the end of the day, but I like to think that I'm
savvy enough to know its not always going to be that way."
Nodding, "Good response Derrick, well thought out and insightful"
"I try to be a realist in most everything I do."
As
the SL Newser reaches the broad SL Community, I decided to delve a
little deeper into the wrestling terms that Derrick just mentioned, as
some readers would be familiar with them, while others wouldn't.
"You
mention the terms 'Heel' and 'Face'. Can you explain what those are and
perhaps give examples of who such people may be in the RL Wrestling
world, people that our readers may be able to associate with?"
"Professional
wrestling at its most basic core is a passion play, good struggling
with evil, or at the very least decent people dealing with jerks, not
unlike real life it's self. The face is the hero of the story, he is the
one who is usually a good looking guy or girl, great smile, excellent
physique, gifted as an athlete, were in the heel, or bad guy is usually
as opposite the face as you can get, usually ugly, often times hairy,
not always a great athlete, but always willing to bend if not outright
break the rules to win and get ahead. Sort of like the person who cuts
in-front of you in line, you want to give that person a good thumping,
but social norms frown on that, so in wrestling you have the ability to
live vicariously through the face and heel interaction of the match"
"Many
real life workers tend to work both sides of that coin, but currently a
face that many would know is John Cena of WWE, and a heel would be
Kane, the differences are clear, Cena is a good looking guy, has a great
smile, excellent work ethic, while Kane is huge and wears a fright
mask"
I
nod, "Definitely agree with you on those ones. John Cena is a huge role
model for kids these days and Kane, is well, he is damn scary! So, in
terms of SL Wrestling, who would be your top Face and top Heel of today?
(Listen up readers, these could be the guys to keep an eye on!)
"That ultimately depends on what promotion your looking at. Most
performers today are more interested in being heels, I suppose its due
to their feeling like more of a bad ass, or what not, forgetting that
wrestling is not a reflection of who they are actually themselves, its a
performance. But if I had to say who was in my opinion the most
prevalent face in SL Pro Wrestling I would say Drewski Hoxley tends to
be the guy who is always white meat to me. As for heels, you got, as I
said a lot to choose from, but one guy who comes to mind is Bryce
Lexenstar, when he gets motivated he can be damn good at getting a
reaction and provoking emotions out of the crowd"
"Another two top names, I can't disagree with you on those two at all. There are plenty of people who might, but I won't!"
Looking
down my interview questions, my eyes are fixed on this one and I look
at Derrick curiously, "Moving back to yourself Derrick, what and/or who
made you decide to get into SL Wrestling?"
"In
the real world I am a professional wrestler, I was trained by Andre
Verdune and Carange out here in the So Cal independent sceen, however I
got my start rather late in life, and as I said, I try very hard to be
realistic with myself, as such I knew that I would not be getting a call
from Orlando or New York any time soon, so for me the fact of learning
the business was the reward, when I first discovered SL, like many I
floated about, seeing what was available, not really finding anything
that captured my attention. I was vaguely aware of wrestling here in SL
for a while, however I was of the assumption that it was more of a
twitch hug kind of combat thing, till I watched a couple shows put on by
VWE or by what they called themselves before they switched their brand
name to VWE. Once I saw that it was in fact built along the lines of the
business, I finally found something that had hooked me in SL enough to
stick around."
"I
see, very interesting. Sometimes it helps to have a passion for
something in the outside world and continue it in this virtual world,
especially for something as psychical as wrestling."
"Everyone should be passionate about something, otherwise, whats the point in living?"
"True,
true. Passion leads us to find out more about ourselves too. So in
saying that, do you have anyone or anything that inspires or motivates
you in SL Wrestling? Even if it is just you..."
Derrick
ponders for a moment, "There are a number of people in what we call the
community who inspire me, for a number of reasons. Two names that come
to mind for sheer tenacity are Maven Gothly and Glen Dundren, they are
two fellows who haven't exactly made the best of names for-themselves
and they would be the first to admit that a lot of it is due to their
own actions, yet for all the times they get their teeth kicked in by the
community, the keep coming back because they want to see wrestling in
SL improve, they want it to thrive and they want it to grow. Another two
names are both ladies, who inspire me, the first is Nina Prater, my
first ever student of wrestling, who has gone on to have one of the most
shinning carries in SL that I am aware of, well respected for her work
ethic and her desire to always get better, and one who has just started
out but shows herself to be a natural is Phara Akula, I foresee great
things for her as well. I am inspired by the love that many in our
little sub section of SL who have the desire to do this, and want to do
it well."
"I've actually been able to get to know and see all of the above wrestle
and I think you have picked some truly unique characters there Derrick.
SL wrestling has been around for a number of years, however, not
everyone has heard of it, so, to someone who has never heard of SL
Wrestling (and lets face it, there are a lot of people) - how would you
describe it?"
"Like
any sub culture here in SL, it has its benefits and detractions. It has
its collection of truly great people and just as worthless individuals
in equal amount. Ultimately its a form of live entertainment that
nothing else in SL can offer in the same way. When you go to a concert,
you can say things to the band, or the DJ, and to some degree you will
get a response, but how often will you get a performer go out of their
way to interact with you? For thous wanting to see something different,
come and watch, enjoy yourselves, and feel free to type out what you
think of the faces and heels. For them that want to get involved,
understand, its not a simple thing, you will need to be trained in the
use of the systems that we use, you will need to be trained to apply the
psychology of a fight, telling the story of that fight, and is not
something you just up and do, it costs a considerable amount of your
time, but like many things, you get back what you put in, and if your
willing to put enough of your time into becoming great, the rewards are
tremendous, but only if your willing to earn it."
And
you will find all the information relevant to how you get involved with
SL Wrestling, either as a spectator or a participant, at the end of
this interview. Of course, feel free to IM Derrick Zane in SL or on
Facebook for more information as well.
"So
undoubtedly, the world of SL Wrestling consumes much of your time, but
besides Wrestling, what other interests do you have in SL?"
"When
I have the free time, I indulge in Role Playing at a few sims, I enjoy
the creative process of story telling, so I don't stay at any one
particular place. I also enjoy music, but I'm not exactly into the club
scene, though I will visit a few from time to time. Mostly I just like
to explore the creations that people come up with."
I
decide to delve deeper, to find out the other side of Derrick Zane,
"When you say role play, can you be more specific? You say you enjoy
music, what about the live music scene? Have you ever checked out any
places in regards to that?"
"Locations I RP at include the Crack Den, Dead End, Aftermath DC Comics
style RP. I have not yet had a chance to catch a live music show,
usually I'm busy with making ring gear for someone, or peeping an
upcoming show."
"Sounds like you need to get out more Derrick! There is a whole world of SL out there, just waiting to be seen!"
"Sure, but then again, wrestling gear does not make its self.", he says, ever the professional.
I
laugh, "Ok, I get it, I get it. Back to your world inside the wrestling
ring, this is something the readers won't know, but I do happen to know
a little about, but your characters that you play - you have many, can
you tell us a little about them?"
"The
other persona's I portray? Well they exist to fill out shows and such,
filling in were gaps appear in the card. My alts are "The Boston
Crippler" Thommy Connolly who is styled along the lines of an old
wizened ring vet, "The Lonestar Kid" Stan Warbaum, "The Monster of
Metal" Thorvalder Valborg, "Marvelous" Mike Reign, Vladimir Poliatevska,
Maskara Azteca a lucha libre styled character, as well as a few female
alts used when other lady wrestlers can't make their matches, Aimi
Myanamotu, Helena Viertz, and Mary McConaught to name a few, as i figure
its better to step in and fill the gap and thus have a complete show
other then just let the crowd have less."
I grin at Derrick, "Are you sure that you have mentioned everyone there Derrick?"
"No,
there are others, but why give away all the secrets, leave something
for people to try and discover for themselves, sort of like an Easter
egg hunt."
"Hmm,
possibly an Easter Hunt with a touch of German influence perhaps?"
Charlotte Bombastic laughs, dropping a very obvious hint.
"Could
be, but that would be telling. *winks with a grin* and one of the most
important things I was taught about the business is to never leave all
your cards on the table. Always leave the crowd wanting a little more."
Charlotte Bombastic laughs again, "Well I think you know where I was going with that one...but moving on..."
"As
we are nearing the end of our interview, in regards to SL Wrestling,
where do you see it going? What is the next best thing to happen and
what would you personally, like to see?"
"I
see the future of SL Wrestling being one of gradual evolutionary
change. As the technology we use to put on our shows changes and
improves. so shall our presentations adapt to that change, differing
ideals, if granted a chance to be heard, can lead to bigger and better
things, provided that the culture of our community allow for such change
to take place, as to what I would like to see? I think ours could be a
successful, more conventional mainstream form of entertainment, as we
see websites like Hulu and Netflix challenge the more conventional forms
of video presentation, so to could we be a part of it, eventually some
one has to take the chance and just go for it."
"And what would you personally like to see?"
"An
SL pro wrestler talked about in the real world media, recognized for
their ability to connect with the audience. Will that ever happen? Who
knows, people once thought that such a thing as Second Life its self was
imposable, we wont know till we know."
"Interesting,
very interesting. Well, Derrick, thank you for your time today. Is
there anything else you would like to say to the SL Newser readers?"
"Sometimes
its worth taking a few lumps and bumps if its all in the name of
something you have a passion for. The greatest tragedy to me is not in
never having known something because you never got the chance, its in
never knowing something because you never took a chance."
Thank you to Derrick Zane for inviting me to his home and for his time
today. As mentioned during the interview, you can contact Derrick
in-world or via Facebook for more information. In-world, you can find
him at: The V.W.W.A. Asylum(Intense Wres, Bonaire85 (12, 207, 21).
Please ensure you tell him that the SL Newser sent you!
Charlotte Bombastic
As a digital artist from Japan Mikati studied classical
sculpture and drawing at an art university. Looking at the stage she created,
which is the largest in the Burn2 festival, it stands tall at 144 meters by 144
and it floats 25 meters off the ground. Mikati said the stage had to be off the
ground for the Burn 2 festival. So what she did was build propellers like an
airship from a studio ghibli movie. She also reduced the weight of all parts so
it floated easily. Studio Ghibli is the animation studio headed by Hayao
Miyazaki who made such flims as Spirited Away and Princess Monoke. Mitaki knew
about those films. The DJ Obi Galli played lots of electronic tunes old and new
for the party people at the Guru Guru stage. So long as I was dancing and talking
to Mikati, there was always a lot of avatars like myself enjoying the great
music and the graphical eye candy which Mitaki made.
She mentioned that Capcom made the Mega Man series and also Street Fighter 2 games. In her words, the video game movement created a
generation hooked on these types of games on the old Nintendo Entertainment System and the arcade revival from Capcom’s Street Fighter 2. That’s a
certainly a valid point. Even someone who barely played video games was influenced
by those video games one way or the other. I told Mitaki that I make shirts in Second Life based upon an old game I used to play on the Game Boy color.
Her artwork was also featured on her flicker page among
other photos. One picture which really stood out was a pink 8-bit explosion
which symbolized the nuclear bomb from the 1940’s that was dropped on Japan
near the end of World War 2. It was used for the Burn 2 in 2010 called the pop
atomic. In Mitaki’s words, it changed the Japanese culture forever and the 8-bit
console were powerful symbols of 20th century civilization. Or at
least what’s viewed by Japanese culture.
