by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Heavy Maxx Fury, aka Max Rendinella

Age: 23

Occupation: Wrestler

Bio: This spunky St-Michel tyke has been working the local wrestling circuit for the past five years and has been fanatical about pro-wrestling since childhood. Standing at an intimidating 5 foot 3 and weighing in at 150 pounds, Maxx may not be the biggest guy on the circuit, but is a sixth class Shaolin kung fu instructor who delivers his karate chops with a Grasshopper-like ferociousness. Thrilling his fans at bars, community centres and church basements throughout Quebec and Ontario, Maxx has just started wrestling for CWE, the newest and baddest wrestling promoters in town. He drives a 1991 Honda Civic.

His gimmick: "Well, I’m the shortest guy around and when I go into the ring I do ‘my flex’ - this thing where I flex my arms in a way that makes them look twice the size of my body. And when I play ‘heel’ - the bad guy - I go in as a little guy and I’m arrogant, acting like I’m bigger than everybody. And I cheat."

Something he used to do as a teen: Chase pro-wrestlers around groupie-style. "I used to wait around for them backstage, follow them to their hotels, anything to just talk to them, shake their hand. I met a lot of wrestlers back then."

Did any wrestler ever invite him up to his hotel room to introduce him to a new sport called "bum-wrestling"? "No, it was nothing perverted, man."

Has he ever been slated to lose and decided in the middle of the bout, "No way, fuck that, I’m gonna kick some ass"? "Yeah, it’s happened where I’ve lost my cool and taken my frustration out on my opponent, when I should have taken it out on the promoter. But it’s not very professional. I’ve got a reputation with some promoters as being a bit of a shooter, a guy who will let a match turn into a real fight."

Is there anyone, anywhere, over the age of nine who believes that wrestling is "real"? "Yeah, you get nutcases who come up to you after matches who think it’s real all the time. I dunno, man, it’s so weird. I usually just go along with it."

Has he ever been tempted to pass wind when he’s had an opponent in a leg grip scissor hold? Never.

Are there many wrestling groupies? Absolutely.

Is the wrestling groupie who still has all her teeth and weighs under 150 pounds a rare thing? "It depends on the town. In the small towns they may be missing a tooth but in the cities there are some pretty good-looking girls."

Last book read: Entering the Stream: An Introduction to Buddha and His Teachings, edited by Samuel Bercholz and Sherab Chödzin Kohn.

Musical preferences: Pulse Ultra, Pipedream X.

One recent film he liked: American Wedding.

His next big bout: This Saturday, August 30, at Bar Unison, at 9 p.m., taking on his arch-rival Triple X Sexxxy Eddy. Go to www.cwewrestling.ca for more details.

Words of wisdom: "Fear no one and respect everyone."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca