EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Simon Platt

I was delighted to have the chance to speak to Simon Platt who currently is the promoter of The Wrestling Association of Rugby.

He is also an experienced wrestler having performed in his first show at the tender age of 15 and wrestles under the name of The Bird of Prey Falcon.

Platt, 22, now runs a wrestling school with his brothers which currently has over 25 students. It is a non-profit business with all the money collected being spent on training equipment.

From speaking with him I could tell that wrestling is his absolute passion whether it was performing in a show or training his students.

Here are a few questions I asked him.

What is the best thing about wrestling?

For me its always been the rush of performing in front of children who maybe do not 100 percent believe that what they are seeing is real, but they get so sucked in to the good guy bad guy pantomine style that they really show their emotions towards each wrestler. Its a great feeling to be centre of attention and to have each member of the audience in the palm of your hands especially when your out there doing what you love.

As a promoter what do you look for in a wrestler?

Unlike many promoters I won't refuse to put workers on if they don't look like monsters. I can appreciate though why the size of a wrestler is important as you want crowds to look up in awe at these giants. However I'm much more about convincing the crowd you're a wrestler because of how you look in the ring in terms of how slick you can work a match.

When you are performing what type of character do you play?

I wrestle for 4 promotions other than my own and perform as a heel. At WAR however I have recently turned face which is something a bit different. I've always worked under the name of The Bird of Prey Falcon which was picked for me nine years ago. I was given the option of choosing two names with the other being Ginger Platt so I think I made the right choice!

Do you prefer being a face or a heel?

I prefer being a heel as I like the feeling of getting a hostile reception which should set up a really positive reaction from the crowd for the next wrestler coming out. If I play my part well it doesn't matter who is coming out next, he will get cheered. Even if the person isn't overly charismatic, the fact he is coming out and standing up to me should instantly make him popular. I don't think about trying to get more heat than the other heel wrestlers, I'm simply playing my part for the good of the show and doing it to the best of my ability.


Did you find it hard to take bumps (e.g. being slammed on your back) when you first started out?

To be honest I got used to taking bumps pretty quickly. Although having run a training school for 6 or 7 years now, it seems there aren't many people who have a natural ability to do something the body doesn't feel is right. It's difficult to get into that sort of rhythm but I think focus is the key to getting over the pain. When I was wrestling regularly every time I took a bump I would concentrate so hard on making it look crisp that I forgot about everything else. I'm very nit picky with things like that and I still see a lot of faults in my work so I'm always looking to improve.

Listen to the full interview below.

http://mjweatherup.podomatic.com/player/web/2009-03-21T08_43_43-07_00