Breaking The Walls Down - LoP's Exclusive Interview With Tough Enough 2's Hawk Younkins Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 at 8:25 PM EST
Breaking The Walls Down
Hello and welcome back to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. This edition of Breaking The Walls Down is a special edition. I have had the opportunity to interview Hawk Younkins of Tough Enough 2. Hawk and I have been exchanging e-mails and he suggested an interview. I was humbled by this and graciously accepted. What follows is a rough transcription of the telephone conversation we had. I had no way to record the conversation, so I took notes and quotes when possible. Hawks answers below reflect the notes that I took. What you will see below are the questions I asked him, in the order I asked them.
I would like to say first and foremost that Hawk Younkins is not the brash, dumb jock, who often times appeared crazy on TV. While it is true we only spoke for two hours, in those two hours I could see a side of him that was never shown on Tough Enough 2. He is quite the opposite person that was portrayed on that show. What follows below is our conversation. For those looking to contact Hawk, he can be reached at hawkamania88@aol.com. You can also visit his website (which will be redesigned soon): www.hawkamania.com. As can be expected, there will be no Bits and Pieces this week as the interview will take up this column.
Tough Enough 2’s Hawk Younkins: From A Different Angle
1. What has been going on in the life of Hawk since Tough Enough 2? Do you have the typical 9-5 job or do you wrestle and act exclusively?
Hawk:
He has been touring the country on the independent scene. As far as acting, he auditioned for X-Men 2 and got the part. The movie filmed in Vancouver which then made them change their mind and go with a Canadian kid then was listed at six foot eight (as opposed to Hawk who is listed at six foot four. After Tough Enough 2 he continued his training under Rick Bassman and called MTV looking for an agent. He did get an agent and went out to LA to train to be an actor. He used his skills from majoring in Theatre in college to help him in acting. He wants everyone to know that he did not go on Tough Enough 2 to become famous. He would have gone on Tough Enough 2 without any cameras because of his love for professional wrestling.
He grew up watching professional wrestling and lived The Monday Night Wars. As a teenager he fell out of love for wrestling, however. He respected it, but he focused on sports, academics, and women. He can remember after practice on Monday nights all the guys would get together and watch either WCW Nitro or WWF RAW or both because of a split screen TV.
He played ice hockey and football at the University of Idaho; however, his career was cut short by concussions, broken bones, and various other injuries. He believed that sports were no longer any fun in college; it was more of a business. He believed he had the skills to play outside linebacker or fullback in the NFL. When that didn’t work out he transferred to the University of South Florida. He joined an amateur wrestler club (Greco Roman Wrestling). A friend suggested he try out for Tough Enough II. At this point he had lost touch with professional wrestling and didn’t know what was going on in the world of professional wrestling. He and some friends recorded their promos on a roof during a hurricane for Tough Enough 2. He received a call and that led to his trip to Las Vegas.
He wrestles the independent scene and acts exclusively; however, lately he has taken a break from wrestling to focus on acting. He will be returning to the professional wrestling scene very soon, though.
2. Are you wrestling today? If so, where?
Hawk:
He has wrestled in the past for IPW, UPW, Wrestling Guerilla, TWF, NWA Florida, WCWA. APW, and EWF
He is taking a leave of absence at the moment and focusing on his acting career. He did tryout for the NWA-TNA. He went through the meat grinder because they didn’t really like him due to his past. He earned their respect through hard work and never giving up.
3. Do you feel that Tough Enough 2 has helped or hindered you in the eyes of some promoters?
Hawk:
It’s put more value behind his name as he received his 15 minutes of fame immediately after Tough Enough 2. Whatever preconceptions or dislikes that a promoter or wrestler has for him disappears after five minutes talking to him. The preconceived notion of being a Tough Enough 2 brat is a tough one to beat. Some wrestlers are angry because they did not get such a grand opportunity. Through hard work and respect, he earned their respect over time. Whenever he tries to get a booking he is assaulted with questions to test his knowledge and his respect for the business. He would love to train at OVW and continue to expand his knowledge. Ring psychology is huge and he would love to expand his knowledge. He knows he can work a good match, but anyone who has wrestled longer than himself, he automatically defaults to their expertise to call their match (which is simply out of respect). If he wrestles in the ring with someone younger than he (experience wise) he can call the match competently.
4. You are pursuing an acting career, but you still actively seek out bookings for professional wrestling. Do you envision yourself being able to ascertain a level of greatness in both realms or, if given the opportunity to make it as a superstar in only one profession, which venue would you choose, acting or wrestling and why?
Hawk:
He would love to pursue both and loves them both equally, but differently (due to different reasons). He sees so much in The Rock because of what he can do in and out of the ring. He notes that a lot of people hold it against The Rock because he is choosing acting over wrestling. Can you blame The Rock for doing this? The Rock gets a lot of money in only three months of filming and it is easier on the body than the grind of wrestling professionally in a federation like The WWE.
He doesn’t compare acting to wrestling because they are two different things entirely. He compares wrestling to a live theatre show. There are no retakes.
He would choose acting because you can make more money and have a longer career (if you are good). It’s easier on your body. If you are lucky in professional wrestling, you can make it until you are 50. In acting you can go on for most of your life (if you are good). He loves wrestling and he respects it. He loves the psychology and the showmanship. It doesn’t matter if it’s in front of 10 people or 10,000 people. It is the psychology of the work that he loves. He loves the rush coming down the ramp and everything involved in the ring. He feels he belongs in the business. He doesn’t want to choose the difference between the two. Acting provides a longer career path, as opposed to wrestling. He also feels that outside business ventures are greater than acting.
Independent wrestlers work so hard to wrestle and make a little bit of money. Wrestlers kill themselves and they have chips on their shoulders when it comes to guys like The Rock. The Rock faces a lot of the same things that he does in wrestling. Actors look at The Rock with disgust because he didn’t pay his dues.
He knows he’s not financially secure yet. It is a lot of work and you have to keep moving on. Wrestling provides multiple outlets for you to go to. Acting only provides two places: Hollywood or Broadway. He likens the way actors treat The Rock as how wrestlers think of David Arquette. He has met David Arquette for a brief moment and he thinks he is a nice guy.
He supports The Rock because he was able to use his skills and advance off of them. He’s met The Rock several times and hopes he goes on to be the next Arnold.
5. MTV, in order to garner viewers for Tough Enough 2, cast contestants into certain roles, whether the contestant realized it or not. You were portrayed as the stereotypical dumb jock, who often times looked unprofessional and out of place, but there was something about you that each and every viewer could relate to, which is why you were the favorite in many viewers’ minds. What do you have to say about how MTV treated you (referring to the whole crying incident which is documented quite well on your website) as a whole?
Hawk:
It’s true, everybody plays the role and he respects everyone on Tough Enough 2. Jake was the dumb jock. He was the crazy guy. People need to be more intelligent about reality TV. They show you what they want to show you. It’s an unscripted show, but they still show you what they want to. They capture your dumb moment (everybody has them) and show it. This is the same for all reality TV series. He has a high IQ (172), but when he slipped up on Tough Enough 2, he was immediately cast as the crazy guy.
He laughs about the crying incident. He was told he would have to go home because he failed a drug test. MTV told him that he had Hepatitis B. That’s why he ripped up his homework, due to being told to pack his bags. MTV then told him there was a mistake and that he didn’t have Hepatitis B. MTV also told him they wouldn’t tell Big he tore up his homework. He was upset about being told he had to go home because he had Hepatitis B and asks why would you do the homework if you knew you were going home right away. After he found out he was clean, he and some other Tough Enough 2 cast mates went to Kinko’s and copied the homework. To quote Hawk, “Reality TV is bullshit and everything is twisted”. They made him out to be a crazy individual that was out of his mind. The more you defend yourself the more you look guilty. He wants to let it die, eventually people will move on. All reality TV shows are like this. They can twist the camera and screw you around. Hawk states that “without a doubt he was the most intelligent guy in the house and the nicest”.
“They didn’t show a lot of stuff” in reference to the things he did. They showed what was beneficial for their TV show. Everyone had a role. MTV can also turn around and say, “Hey we made you famous”.
“98 out of 100 people he meets tell him how much they love him, but there are those 2 people who say that he sucks, he’s a crybaby, and they can kick ass.” “E-mail him and ask him what it’s all about. He wants to educate people on reality TV. Like on Tough Enough 2, they edit your answers to match their question.
MTV: Is she a bitch? Hawk: No, but sometimes she can have her moments. MTV: But you have to say an answer Hawk. Hawk: Well, she has her moments, but I guess she can be a bitch, but. . .
They cut that out “but” part out. He talks to Danny, Kenny, Pete, Annie, Linda, and Matt. “We all get along very well and there is a lot of love.” He made fun of everyone as much as they made fun of him.
“Kenny did not continually drink non-stop and chase girls non-stop, but they show you what they want to show you. Please realize there is probably more than what they are showing you. It’s all about publicity. The audience makes you a superstar. If they don’t know you or they don’t care about you, you’re nothing. You’re flipping burgers at McDonald’s.” That’s probably why he’s done reality TV (except Tough Enough 2) because of the name recognition.
6. What are your thoughts about Tough Enough not being on MTV’s schedule anymore?
Hawk:
It’s a contract dispute between MTV and WWE. He doesn’t know the specifics about it, so he can’t really comment about it. He feels it’s very different on the WWE. They’re not showing their training. He would have tried out for the Tough Enough that is running now if he hadn’t tried out for the first one, and that would have been fine by him (in reference to the lack of cameras).
7. You had revealed you were asked to audition for a part in X-Men 2. What role did you audition for?
Hawk:
He auditioned for the role of Colossus. He will be playing a lead role in Dead Reckoning. “It comes out next year from Lion Gate. It’s a Predator meets Dusk From Dawn. It has plenty of action and they are done filming in LA. They are taking a holiday break and I will be filming next in India and Fiji.” He is happy to put Tough Enough in the past. It is his hope that this movie helps people recognize him in a better light.
8. Wrestlers from past Tough Enough television shows have gone on to wrestle in the independent scene. Greg, from Tough Enough 1, has wrestled in the promotion CZW which is featured on the east coast. Do you have any plans to wrestle in a prominent independent promotion to be noticed by The WWE?
Hawk:
His wrestling booker and he have begun talking to Ring of Honor, IWA in Puerto Rico, IPW in Europe, New Japan, and Windy City Wrestling. He has gone full-time with acting currently, however. He is also kickboxing and has tried out for K-1. He enjoys kickboxing very much. Working the independent scene let him have the time to act. He believes that is why Jeff Hardy is in the NWA-TNA “because he has time to do the things he wants to do”. “The WWE consumes you. You are always very busy.”
He and Kenny from TE2 are writing a screenplay about what it’s like on the independent scene and it would be rated “R”. They have talked to producers about it and it has become evident that the producers only think of the WWE only. They want to tach a worldwide audience about the independent scene, while still protecting some kayfabe areas. It’s called “The Square Circle” and it has been copyrighted. Both Kenny and Hawk have written themselves in as the main leads and it is like “Rocky”. It will have a dramatic ending. It will be as far from “Ready to Rumble” as you can get. There will be a lot of laughter, but it will be rated “R” and it should make you leave the theatre saying, “Oh my God, I didn’t see that coming”. He wants it to be a topic of discussion because of what the movie is about.
9. You’ve been very vocal with your desire to wrestle in The WWE. What do you have to offer to us, the fan, and The WWE, as a company, that would make you stick out above other talent seeking the same thing?
Hawk:
He has the look and the height at six foot four. He’ll let that up to the people that are making the decision, though if he has the look or not. He is very athletic and he’s not injury prone. In addition, he knows the psychology of professional wrestling. However, he knows he can always get better, though. He knows he can put on a good match that will make the fans jump out of their seats, in addition to knowing he can work the microphone (which he knows can help him).
10. What are your thoughts about wrestling over seas in Europe, Japan, or Australia?
Hawk:
He wishes that there are more independents in North America, South America, and Africa. He and his booker have been in contact with several overseas promotions and he is not opposed to wrestling overseas.
11. How would you define your relationship with Al Snow?
Hawk:
Al Snow is about as easy to get a hold of as George Bush. He likes Al, he thinks he’s a great person, but it’s a business. It was a very rude awakening about what the business was like and it began with taking a bump. There was also the one moment they realized it was a stupid show, which was right after the reunion show. They filmed the reunion show 15 hours after Jackie and Linda won Tough Enough 2. After the final moment of ”O.K. goodbye folks. . . there wasn’t a good cast party or anything like that. Everybody quickly left and went about their business. Kenny, Pete, and he thought, ‘What the hell’.” They were surprised by that, no hugs or goodbyes and it “pissed him off”. In that moment he realized the whole show was a load of crap. It hurt the way everybody walked off. It makes you think of the business differently.
12. How would you define your relationship with Bob Holly?
Hawk:
He lost contact with Bob in the past months because of Hawk having his thing to do. He feels Bob saw something in him and then was a little harder on him because of that. He was like that to test him. Bob had faith in him and he wanted him to win. That’s why he pushed him to the limit. Bob said to call him anytime and any place. He’s a great guy. He would say the special bond wasn’t revealed until the end.
13. How would you define the state of professional wrestling?
Hawk:
Wrestling has gone through a lot due to the economy and it has affected them greatly. Forget the storylines, the general audience was cut in half when WCW and ECW was absorbed. There was no competition.
“Competition is definitely needed.” The fans don’t see the competition and that disinterests them. “Economy and the XFL has hurt the WWE. Wrestling has been hurt by reality TV. Reality TV captures everybody’s attention.” He doesn’t feel the writers are being lazy. If you take a football team and their division is weak, and a football team beats on their division, the best team isn’t playing their A game all the time.
He feels The WWE has only a few true versatile superstars. Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Trish Stratus. The Bruno Sammartinos, Hogans, Rocks, and Austins, come around once in a while.
”The WWE has a lot of new talent that aren’t established.” He feels cross promotion is key and the WWE should “get wrestlers on Jimmy Kimmel or The Tonight Show”.
He has “heard the rumors through the grapevine about bringing back ECW on Saturday night”. He feels that ECW wouldn’t be as successful as it once was. He feels The FCC would be a problem because of how they are tightening their rules.
He feels “getting top notch writers from the big shows such as 24, The Simpsons, etc. would greatly help The WWE”.
He feels letting the wrestlers be loose and do what they want on the microphone “will produce exciting interviews”. He loves JBL because of his character and it is more individualized because he is a self-made millionaire.
14. What are your thoughts on the recent steroid trouble in professional sports? How do you think this impacts professional wrestling?
Hawk:
There is the stigma that professional wrestlers take sterioids. He won’t lie, professional wrestlers take steroids. “Do you think Big Pappa Pump is all natural, yeah right!” But some guys are more gifted genetically. He feels that if you use drugs you should “be suspended for a year and go to rehab”. He thinks Bonds using steroids is ridiculous. He sees why some guys in professional sports would think of using it, but it must not be tolerated. He sees it could trickle down to high school if this is not taken seriously. Sports are fun, but this is why he washed his hands of sports.
Sports are fun but money has corrupted sports. There is no loyalty to teams or fans, it’s for the money. He feels that fame and money haves gotten in the way of honor in sports. To look at the wrestlers in the independent scene, “you know they do it because they love it”. They don’t make a lot of money, they do it because they love it. That is why he loves professional wrestling.
Another thing that Hawk mentions is that “When you are on the road 5 days during the week, it doesn’t leave that much time to work out”.
15. Let’s play the name game. I’ll say a name and you give me the first word or phrase that comes to mind about that person. Al Snow: Uncle Al Bob Holly: Tough Love Vince McMahon: The man behind the madness Jackie Gayada: Frakenhooter Linda Miles: She-man WWE: Better than nothing at all. WCW: What’s that again? NWA-TNA: David vs. Golilath Jasmine St. Claire: Dirty lying whore, that will rot in Hell (they’ve had problems in the past)
16. There have been plenty of serious neck injuries in professional wrestling (i.e. Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Rhyno, etc.). What are your thoughts on the rash of these injuries?
Hawk:
He is all for putting a little bit more into ring technology. He likens it to the new astroturf and helmets. Get new rings that can be loud and have bodyslams that echo throughout the arena but absorb 40% of the impact. He thinks they should invest money in ring design (meaning the McMahon’s).
Hawk also believes that to avoid injuries, house shows can be cut down (in terms of the number) and put something out on TV so there is more TV money. “Turn Saturday night into another major show.”
17. Today’s fan wants to see entertainment. However, many of those same fans want to see high-flying wrestling (i.e. Jeff Hardy). In addition, many of those same fans also want to see brutal, hardcore, smash-mouth, violent professional wrestling (i.e. ECW). Do you feel your style of wrestling can be molded to either of those styles?
Hawk:
He would compare his style to The Rocks “it’s more showmanship”. He’s not against ECW style wrestling, but the one thing he will not do in the independent scene is allow anyone to hit him in the head with a chair (because of his concussions). In the WWE that would change because “the pay will be better”. It’s a part of the business, “but for $20 for an independent match, it’s not worth the health risk”. He will let them hit him on the back, chest, etc, with a chair, though. He also won’t do a barbed wire match or blade. He feels so many people today still have the perception of professional wrestling from the 80s, big hairy guys hitting each other. He feels that’s changed. He can do a lot of the high-flying stuff. He likes it and saves it for a here and there type thing.
18. One of the most influential persons (if not the most influential) in professional wrestling today is Triple H. Triple H has gone on the record and stated that he does not like what Tough Enough has done to professional wrestling. He has gone so far as to say it flat out exposes the business. What are your thoughts about this?
Hawk:
He agrees to a certain point. Reality TV is a huge craze. “Unlike the Internet, it will go away.” He is all for Tough Enough. He feels that Tough Enough now is a lot different. What they’ve done now isn’t that much about professional wrestling. They haven’t had a moonsault competition. He feels this Tough Enough hasn’t exposed the business.
He believes if you would have taken away the TV cameras, he still would have done Tough Enough. Four months before Tough Enough 2 had happened, his life hit rock bottom (not due to drugs or anything like that). Tough Enough 2 was his life-saver. The first quarter of his life had come to an end and a new chapter was beginning. Someone he new bought him The Rock’s autobiography. He then watched an independent promotion in Florida. He contacted a promoter and put together the money to begin his training. He was noticing a lot of parallels between The Rock’s life and his (his sports career ending for one at the same time in each other’s life). He feels “some of the contestants wanted to wrestle and he also feels some of them were on the show for fame”.
He knows that some aspects of the business were exposed and that has hurt professional wrestling. He feels that any black mark that Tough Enough caused, will be gone in a short while.
19. Many viewers of the Tough Enough 2 competition wonder why you dropped out of the competition. On your website www.hawkamania.com, you state that you left for reasons known only to God, your family, and you. Do you feel comfortable sharing with the world yet what those personal demons were? You have stated publicly that you do not drink, smoke or do drugs. What personal demons made you leave Tough Enough 2?
Hawk:
In one way he believes people have the right to know, but on the other hand it is his personal life. He’s heard the rumors, but they aren’t true. He doesn’t do drugs then, now or ever. He’s not a drinker. He came to a fork in the road in his life. His life crashed down on him before Tough Enough and he doesn’t want to give the specifics. Tough Enough was a very hard, painful way of crawling out of the gutter. It was his chance to start his life over again. He needed to take a step back and start over.
His last match was against Jake and “no one could work with Jake”, but he felt he put on a good match.
Hawk states that he wasn’t talking to himself on the show, he was thinking out loud and not going crazy. He did write a letter to The WWE and explained why he was leaving. He spoke with Kevin Dunn and J.R. and explained it to them and they understood.
What was bothering him is now gone. He’s happier and more confident than he’s ever been. Mentally, physically, and spiritually everything is clicking. Some people say he’s wasted the perfect opportunity, but he doesn’t think so. He’s about to play Alexander The Great at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena California. He will begin working on the play when he comes back from filming Dead Reckoning.
He’s meeting with NWA-TNA on 12/14/04 about coming in and being a regular. He loves being in the ring. He loves the fans and the audience. It’s a perfect blend of showmanship, athleticism, and skill. He will be back in the ring one way or another very soon. He proved he was tough enough at The NWA-TNA boot camp. A.J. Styles, Jerry Lynn, Trinity and many other NWA-TNA stars did anything they could do to try and break him. They wanted to prove something: “Hawk from Tough Enough wasn’t tough enough for NWA-TNA, are you?”. They didn’t succeed and he feels he did quite well. The wrestlers at the end told him he earned his respect.
He would definitely go to The NWA-TNA over The WWE. He has “a strong dislike for John ‘Big’”. He won’t comment on why there is a dislike, but there is a “strong dislike for him” and he wasn’t the only one on the Tough Enough crew to feel that way.
In closing, Hawk welcomes all comments, positive, negative, andquestions at hawkamania88@aol.com. Anyone interested in booking Hawk can contact Chris Yandekc for booking. Also, Hawk wants everyone to remember that, “There are always two sides to the story. Remember that about reality TV.”
