Journal 8
by Tony Kozina on 1999-12-22

Hi-diddly-ho! Well sir, after enjoying a pinch of time off the phone is starting to ring again, and i'm excited about the new year and the things to come. In November I took a daytime job that will work around the wrestling, so this month, since there is very little wrestling, i've been working like a dog. If there's a lesson to be learned here it is that I need to continue improving so that I can wrestle more so I DON'T have to work a daytime job.

I get a few emails from fans wondering how I, as an independent wrestler make ends meet. Let me tell you that its not that easy. Finding a job that will work around an unpredictable wrestling schedule is very hard to find. But being that I broke into wrestling at a later age than most, I have a halfway decent work resume with experience in a variety of tasks, which has made it a bit easier to find a flexable job. I know many young wrestlers who still live at home with family because they simply can't find work to fit the their schedule. The other side of the sword is that I know some very talented wrestlers who have to pick and choose their wrestling dates because they have a good job that they can't leave because they have a family to support. Their full-time job also prohibits them from travelling to other places to wrestle. Other places that would book them in a heartbeat, and where the doors of opportunity could swing wide open for them. This is a hard business to break into, and there are many questions to ask yourself. When you first break in, you may wrestle only one to three times per month, and a full-time job can certainly be kept while you pick up your experience in the ring. There comes a point however when opportunities may arise, and in this business the opportunity is experience, and exposure, not necesarily financial. In fact your opportunity may end up costing you alot of money!!! Now you have a serious decision to make, and you find yourself at one of the many crossroads in this business. I was blessed enough to find myself in a position early this year where I had enough bookings to make even holding a part-time job impossible at times. It was good in that I was getting out, wrestling different places, gaining some very valuable experience, and starting to make a tiny little name for myself. It wasn't so good for the ol' bank account which at times became "what bank account?" To survive on the road you need to be very conscious of your funds, and you learn to be quite thrifty. OK enough of that. Hold on while I step down from my soapbox... Anyways, Christmas is fast approaching, and New Years is right after that.

I am at SEVERE crossroads friends. Since the mid-90's I have wanted to see KISS play for new years 2000, and wouldn't you know they're playing in Vancouver, BC. Its like those damn game shows... What should he do ladies and gentlemen? Should he follow a debt free route to local new years fun with family and friends, some of who he hasn't seen in months, or should he dig a trench under his bank account, stuff it w/ dynamite and blast it into oblivion, breaking in the new millenium with the greatest Rock-n-Roll band to ever grace God's kingdom. Added to the pot is the rumor that AC/DC may open the show, and that my friends will be far too much for even me to take.