WF: Hello Jimmy, we hope you are alright?
JG: I’m more than alright Man, I’m super good. I just had a wonderful night with my girlfriend, but we are here to talk about wrestling so let’s go ! 😉
WF: Getting to know you, well your gimmick, one easily gets confused. You are from the Netherlands, a French and trained in the USA. – Enlighten us, it that correct?
JG: And half Canadian haha, yes I admit it’s quite confusing. I’m born in Paris, France. I’ve been trained in USA and since one year, I’ve lived in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
WF: When did the *wrestlingfever* catch you? – Who or what fascinated you?
JG: Man, I remember exactly that moment. I was around 10 years old, I couldn’t sleep and I was zapping on TV until I found a WCW event. I didn’t know what It was, I only knew that it was awesome !
At that time it was only 45 min of wrestling per week on French TV, and it was on Saturday at 6am, but trust me, from that day on, I never missed a show.
WF: Did or do you have idols/role models?
JG: Of course, I was a huge fan of Sting (like half of the current wrestlers haha). For now I really appreciate the matches of Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins or Austin Aries.
I appreciate their style, their energy and their intensity in the ring. They have an excellent psychology and I really like their actions outside of the ring as well.
WF: You named the 3D Wrestling Academy as your training school, did you actually get the chance to work with one or both of them (Bubba & D-Von) or other trainers? How long were you there?
JG: Of course I did, and I can tell you that those guys know what to do in the ring, and how to do it !
I’ve been training with them during 6 months, 5 days/week, sometimes for 6 or 7 hours of very hard drills, that was really tough Man. But, I got some nice skills from them, especially in psychology.
WF: How long did it take you until your first public wresting match? How do you remember THAT first fight?
JG: Wahoooo of course I remember! I was behind the entrance curtain, listening my music, shitting my pants and thinking that I could either go in the ring or run away haha. But when I came for the first time in the arena, I felt the energy and the intensity that is impossible to describe, and I still feel it at every match. This feeling is actually my principal reason to be a wrestler.
I did my first match after only 1 year of training, that’s pretty quick, but I was already black belt of Judo, it helps quite a little…
WF: Did Bubby and D-Von see the match – how was their feedback?
JG: Bubba and D-Von aren’t my first trainers. Before to be in the Team 3D I’ve been training in France, England and Canada.
But after every matches that Bubba and D-Von saw, I got an excellent feedback that sounds something like „OMG what was that shit, that was super bad, you should do this like that, that move was bad, ok let’s go to drink some beers at Hooters“. They complimented me only one time in 6 months, just before I left, they said „Frenchie, you did an amazing job in here, we’re proud of you“ . They always focus on the bad points to make you perfect, that’s what I call training.
WF: You have an athletic figure, which sports did you do before (or besides) your wrestling career?
JG: I started Judo when I was 8 years old, I practiced it almost 12 years until I became black belt 2nd dan. At that time my Wrestling career really started to grow up and I didn’t have time anymore for both, so I took a look about how many girls was at the Judo competitions and at the Wrestling event and I made my choice, haha.
WF: How often do you work out? Do you follow a specific diet?
JG: I try to work out 4 days / week. 5 days if it’s a week when I don’t have a match. I work on my muscles of course, but I always dedicate one of those days to my cardio training, cardio is very important in Wrestling. If you don’t work it correctly, you will never be able to party all night long and make a great match the next day.
My diet is super strict Man, no McDonalds or pizza for me, never. My plate always looks super sad, with grilled meat and green vegetables. And proteins, a lot, that’s the deal Man. It’s super disgusting, but when you are all weekend in underwear in front of hundreds of people, you’re better look good. And not that my girlfriend is complaining either, haha.
WF: Your girlfriend also is in the wrestling business, what role does wrestling still play in your private life, are you still a *fan*?
JG: Of course I’m still a wrestling fan. It’s very important to keep a eye on the business, I need to know what kind of wrestling the fans want to see today, if you take a look 10 years ago Wrestling was totally different. Wrestling is a inspiration, you need to watch it if you want to evolve and to become better.
It’s amazing to have a girlfriend who’s also a wrestler. She understands when I need to leave a full weekend for a match, sometimes we can do the trip together and enjoy very great places. Like the time when we got booked in Thailand or in Carribean’s last year. Wrestling is a passion, and to share it with Sara Elektra makes me love her even more.
Also we can practice together, a very particular kind of wrestling, but come on, let’s stay focused Man !!
WF: In 2015 you were at NEW for the first time, how different is wrestling in Germany compared to France – do you feel a *Boom*?
JG: Well, when Juvenile X German-suplexed me from the top rope, yes I feld quite a *Boom*!
The style in NEW is insane,Man, it’s the perfect combination between professionalism and fun ! I saw guys jumping on a table from the 1st floor, I took part in a lumberjack match, fighting against everybody with a hockey stick… Every moment that I’ve had in NEW, in or out of the ring, has been awesome. I have the impression that I’m in WCW with big, muscular guys. Great wrestling and crazy moments, I love that !
WF: You have a lot of tattoos, do they have a story? – Would you like to share one?
JG: I’m a purist about tattoos, so they all have a huge story yes.
I’m gonna tell you the story of my tiger. It was a time of changes in my life, I just came back from USA, I started to have a lot of bookings all around Europe and I got a message from WWE inviting me to a Try Out in London. At that moment I was „hey, it’s time to decide what kind of Man I’m gonna be. Am I gonna be a looser or a winner, am I gonna be a follower or a leader, am I gonna be… Oh fuck that, I’m gonna be who I am, a fucking tiger who doesn’t care about what people are thinking because he can kill them all with one scratch !
WF: Something our readers like are road stories. Do you have a weird or funny road story which you would like to share?
JG: OMG I have a lot of them, but I’m not sure if I really should share one with you. That one is quite „ok“. I was with Gianni Leone, an Italian wrestler, we just had a show and it was the National Day in France. We were invited to a custom contest party and we decided to disguise in „gay frenchies“. At 3am, we were ready to go home when the organisator came to us and declared, that we won the costume contest, and that guy offered to the 2 most drunk guys of Paris 3L of champagne. It’s at that moment that it went bad. We have been in all the bars of the street (we are not welcome anymore in those bars…) and finally some guys came to bother us because of our costumes. Legally, I can’t say too much, but at the end we were playing bowling with the body of those guys, with the bikes that were parked there. We left, letting the champagne bottle to one of those guys, in a very inconvenient place… (I’m really not proud of that)
WF: What do you wish for the future?
JG: I’m invited to a WWE Try Out next year in London Man, so now you know what I wish.
That and a lot of great matches, a lot of great after-show parties, a lot of great moments with my amazing girlfriend and wonderfull guys that I meet in the locker rooms. And especially a lot of amazing moments that I can’t talk about !
WF: We wish you all the best and thank you very much for your time and commitment.
JG: Thanks for the interview, and thanks to the fans who take time to read it and who come to the events. It’s a lot of wonderfull wrestlers in Europe, especially in Germany. Never hesitate to come watch a show, you’ll spend a wonderfull time, I guarantee !
