Ain't nothin' gonna to break my Stride

Sold out crowd
Stride Pro Wrestling 

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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This isn't a blog about the 80s hit Break My Stride. Instead a moment to congratulate the men and women who are a part of Stride Pro Wrestling. Since starting in March of this year the indy wrestling company has seen steady growth.

The show over the weekend Hot August Night was held in the new home from Stride Pro Wrestling and also saw an attendance record. More than 200 fans crowded into the CMA Dojo in the Illinois Star Centre Mall in Marion, Illinois. It was exciting to see so many new fans coming out to support independent wrestling.

Stride Pro Wrestling trainees

The young talent training at the Stride Pro Wrestling school have done an amazing job learning the craft. They are also there to help set up and clean up after each month's show. Some of the trainees are starting to get some time to get in the ring at shows. The future looks bright! 

Having homegrown talent and established wrestlers from different parts of the region perform each month is the perfect tag team for success. Thank you to the fans who have supported Stride Pro Wrestling. Thank you to the men and women who get in the ring each month to perform for the fans. It's an exciting time to be a fan of independent wrestling in this region.

WWE Superstars you didn't know were Olympic athletes

An Olympian
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Angle at the 96 games

Many times people hear professional wrestling and automatically think FAKE and discount the men and women who work hard to train and perform year round. Some Superstars come from very decorated amateur sports backgrounds. We all know Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, Ken Patera and the newly drafted Chad Gable competed in the Olympics. But here are a few more that I (and maybe even you) didn't know were part of the games. By the way, Angle is the gold medalist to have wrestled in WWE.

Allen Coage aka Bad News Brown

Bad News Brown competed in judo in the 1976 games. He represented the USA and won the bronze medal that year. Brown went on to a great career in the squared circle, spending much of his time in Japan and Stampede in Canada. I best remember him in WWF in the late 80s, winning the WrestleMania IV battle royal and feuding with Bret Hart. He had a series of matches against WWF champion Randy Savage and battled Hulk Hogan too. Other big feuds including "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Brown retired in 1999 and died in 2007.  

Danny Hodge

Danny Hodge wrestled at the 1952 Olympics, finishing fifth and four years later won the silver medal. Technically Hodge never competed in WWE, but has been on a couple of episodes of Monday Night Raw in the past. His professional career was over before I started watching wrestling, but from the stories I've heard from others, Hodge was truly a great in the business.

Mad Dog on the Olympic list
Courtesy: WWE

Mad Dog Vachon also wrestled in the Olympics. In 1948 he represented Canada in the games. He won his first round match in less than a minute, but later lost to the eventual bronze medal winner. Vachon went on to become part of the infamous Vachon family in wrestling and is the uncle of Luna Vachon. He  retired a few years after I started watching wrestling, but I remember him being part of the AWA at that time. We were on hand for his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2010. Mad Dog died a few years later at the age of 84.

Doing research for this piece busted a wrestling myth I long believed. The Iron Sheik apparently never competed in the Olympics. Good luck to all our Olympic athletes. Maybe one day we'll see some of the men and women competing right now in the squared circle too.

Bye-bye Big Guy

Ryback
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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After months of speculation, it looks like WWE and Ryback have officially parted ways. Ryback posted a video earlier on his Instagram page.

"The big guy Ryback would like to wish the WWE the best of luck in their future endeavours. From this point forward myself and the WWE will no longer be conducting business together. I would personally like to say thank you to all the WWE performers whom I've had the pleasure of being in the ring with," said Ryback.

The Big Guy plans to launch a new website Feed Me More on Monday, August 8. Ryback has a clothing line, motivational book and nutritional supplements. He also says he'll continue wrestling (no word where).

Jay Hatton vs. Ryback at Extreme Rules 2012
Courtesy: WWE

WWE screwed up with the Ryback experiment years ago. The early push was great, but then throwing him almost immediately from squash matches to the world title picture was a mistake. Ryback got the Goldberg comparison and with good reason. Their pushes were similar in the early phases and you can't deny appearances of both Superstars was almost identical. By the way my favorite Ryback match is the one where he battled my buddy "Jay" Hatton.

Turning him heel and feuding with John Cena and then stumbling down the card was also a mistake. Ryback had the potential to be a huge breakout star. I even had hope for he and Curtis Axel as a tag team and becoming "Paul Heyman guys." It's hard for me to believe I'm actually saying this, as I could not stand Skip Sheffield during the first season of NXT. Even as the Ryback character he was never my favorite, but I do respect the man and what he's done.

Ryback
Courtesy: WWE

Part of my attitude change comes after hearing Ryback on the Steve Austin podcast. During the interview he sounded confident, but humble. It seems he got caught in the wheel of doom and was lost in the shuffle. I remained optimistic he'd redeem himself after returning face and winning the Intercontinental title. He just never had a good chance. Fans loved him, at least the kids did. Chalk this up to another missed opportunity by WWE. 

Forget about Al, there's a different gore entering politics

Terrance "Rhyno" Gerin
Courtesy: @Rhyno313 on Twitter

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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This has nothing to do with former Vice President Al Gore or anyone in his family. Instead it's about a wrestler who's finishing maneuver is called the Gore. Of course I'm talking about Rhyno.

Rhyno on NXT
Courtesy: WWE

The WWE Superstar and former ECW champion has recently been brought back to the main roster and is on SmackDown Live. Next week he'll face Heath Slater. But in November he may have a bigger challenge on his hands. Rhyno, real name Terrance Gerin, won the Republican primary in Michigan for the 15th House District Seat. It's unlikely Rhyno gored his opponents, Paul Sophiea and Richard Johnson, but he did win the race with 38% of the vote.

He'll go on to the general election in November and face democrat Abdullah Hammoud. Gerin said, "I understand some people might be hesitant thinking it's a gimmick, but my friends and family know my love for this country, my passion for politics and my love for helping people out. If elected, that becomes my number one priority." 

Courtesy: WWE

Rhyno was actually at SmackDown Live in Nashville, Tennessee while people in his community were casting their ballots. He was in a brief segment with Slater and Daniel Bryan, taking out the loud mouthed Slater with a gore. The CBS affiliate in Detroit has more on Gerin's plans for the statehouse here.

I recently wrote another blog about Wrestling with politics looking at WWE Hall of Famer (celebrity wing) Donald Trump's bid for President of the United States and other wrestlers who have attempted to or have successfully entered the world of politics.

Happy birthday Holiday World

2016 with my parents, niece & nephew

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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August 3 marks the 70th birthday for one of my family's favorite places to visit: Holiday World and Splashin' Safari. We first found this awesome theme park in 2002, while living in West Lafayette, Indiana. Back then our oldest was two and a half and our second born was the baby, not even one yet. We made the nearly four hour trek to Santa Claus, Indiana and spent the night at the nearby Santa's Lodge.

Outside Santa's Lodge
2003

The first few years we visited, we'd spend the night at either the lodge or set up a tent and stay at Lake Rudolph Campground. Even though we don't make it to Holiday World every year, we've definitely been more times than not over the last 14 years. Now it's just a two-and-a-half hour drive away so it's a great day trip. 

If you've never been, there are plenty of reasons to visit. I love the holiday themes throughout the park. Christmas, July 4th, Halloween and Thanksgiving are all represented. There's free sun screen which is beneficial especially at the water park on-site (Splashin' Safari). Parking and soft drinks are free and the food prices aren't terrible. The park is always clean and the staff is very kind and caring as we experienced first hand during our most recent trip. In a nutshell, I (we) love going to Holiday World.

The folks at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari put together a celebratory video and included many pictures of people visiting through the decades. Our family made the cut at around 27 seconds into the video.

Here are a few more pics of the Hunsperger visits to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari through the years.

2009

2008

2008

2007

Camp Rudolph in 2005

2005

Cousins in 2003

Father's Day 2011

First visit in 2002 and again in 2012

2015

2008

Find your influencers

My influencers: Jeff & Mandy Rose, Emily Eddington & Tom Harness

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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My wife, children and parents are among the biggest influencers in my life. I wouldn't be the man I am today without all six of them. I strive to be a better person every day thanks to their support, understanding and influence. I love them all and know they're value in my life. There are other influencers who have made a huge difference in Kevin Hunsperger, the blogger.

Jeff Rose & Kevin Hunsperger

This blog as you know it wouldn't exist without Jeff Rose. Jeff is a friend who encouraged me to find my blogging niche and suggested I start writing about wrestling. So September 3, 2010 My 1-2-3 Cents was born. I've looked to Jeff and his wife Mandy for insight and advice in the world of blogging. The two of them are the most phenomenal bloggers I know. Mandy's House of Rose blog has a staggering number of readers, covering everything from design, parenting issues and marriage advice. Jeff's Good Financial Cents blog includes valuable information on your financial health. He's studied how to be a great blogger and has shared that information with others. Jeff has an awesome series of video podcasts up on iTunes now. Jeff and Mandy are not just great bloggers, they're wonderful people. Thank you both for your advice through the years.

Kevin Hunsperger & Emily Eddington spreading Christmas cheer

Shortly after I started the My 1-2-3 Cents blog, I added a supplemental YouTube channel. I have my friend and former coworker Emily Eddington to thank for that. She started her Beauty Broadcast channel in the early days of YouTube and has grown it into a much loved and well-respected channel. (She has a blog by the same name too.) Her content is so popular, Emily was asked by YouTube to create more channels. She shares her thoughts on all things beauty related, but also gives viewers a glimpse into her family life (which is growing). Emily encouraged me to get started with the wrestling vlogs six years ago and answered a ton of questions when I was getting started. She's one of the most sincere and kind people I've ever known. What you see on camera is what you get in real life. Thanks "Eddi" for helping me navigate the sometimes confusing ways of blogging and YouTube.

Tom Harness & Kevin Hunsperger being Smurfy on Craftbeericans

My final influencer is my buddy Tom Harness. We met via social media and mutual friends several years ago. Tom leads a team of budding young stars at Harness Digital Marketing and are making a difference here in southern Illinois and beyond. We have even developed a professional relationship as a result. But Tom was an early supporter of My 1-2-3 Cents, once meeting me for lunch and helping revamp the look of this website. He's always there to share, like, retweet and favorite the content I post. We're also working on another joint venture with the Craftbeericans. Stay tuned, we're just getting started there. Tom's friendship and leadership have been invaluable to me.

I am forever grateful to these people not just for being influencers, but for being friends too. I value my relationship with each and thank them all for their support, advice and positive outlook through the years. My wish is that everyone out there finds at least one person to influence them along the way to strive to do better.

Eff it, I'm on vacation

Funnel cake! Yummy

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Last week I took a much needed break from work and in the process a break from the healthier eating habits. I take full responsibility for the choices I made, I don't blame anyone but myself and that "eff it, I'm on vacation" mindset that had taken over.

The crazinesses started with eating the better half of a funnel cake with my better half at Holiday World. Then we went to a barbecue where I had not one, but two meals; which included pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad and chocolate chip cookies. I chased those meals with a few craft beers too. Every morning I had at least one cup of coffee with chocolate flavored creamer. I ate Cocoa Pebbles, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and bowls of ice cream too.

Each time I filled the bowl, I told myself "I'm on vacation." Plus I was still exercising, getting in a run each day as part of the run streak. I had also started week four of the Tarzan Challenge. I paid for my gluttony by gaining a couple of pounds, but there is a silver lining. I'm still below what I started off 2016 at (by about five pounds).

My morning coffee, no cream no sugar

So as I've written about before, it's time to refocus. I went back to work this morning and drank my plain black coffee, no creamer nor sweetener. Breakfast was an egg and a sweet potato. Lunch was a green smoothie with spinach, banana, berries and a scoop of protein powder. Water has been plentiful. Snacks have been nuts and fresh produce. It's only day one of a new month, but I'm back on course and still determined to find those abs (or at least get a glimpse of them).

If you've had a rough time recently, join me in reclaiming a more nutritious diet. There will be time for the sweets and junk food (in moderation) down the road. Now is the time to cleanse.  Good luck friends. We can do it.