October 2, 2025 • 56 mins
The world is far more peculiar than most of us dare to admit. Somewhere between a demolition derby and a wrestling ring, between the crackle of VHS tapes and the shriek of late-night public access, lies a man who has turned mayhem into meaning. On today’s episode, we welcome the unparalleled and unfiltered Mad Man Pondo, a professional wrestler and author whose life has been a whirlwind of body slams, topless TV hosts, and late-night green room oddities. With a voice still rough from last night's match, he guides us into a tale of chaos, tenacity, and triumph.Mad Man Pondo—real name Kevin Canady—is not merely a character in the ring. He is a living mosaic of outrageous stories and unshakable spirit.
Raised in a reserved household, he found himself drawn to the fever-pitched passion of pro wrestling his grandparents once yelled at on their living room TV. That early spark lit a fire, and he never let it go out. As he says in this episode, “My mom still has the paper I filled out in grade school that said I wanted to be a professional wrestler.” That dream, written in crayon, would become a 30-year odyssey through blood, barbed wire, and blinding spotlights.The journey to the ring was not paved with ease. Pondo describes the brutal, often humiliating, early days of wrestling school—the beatings, the busted lips, the sheer will required to prove he belonged. He tells of how many walked away, unwilling to endure it, while he pressed on. That kind of devotion would become his defining trait. When the legendary Abdullah the Butcher told him he had the talent to wrestle in Japan, Pondo drove through the night, edited his best matches on two old VCRs, and mailed the tape by sunrise. The result? Forty-three trips to the Land of the Rising Sun.But Pondo’s life wasn’t confined to the ring. Ever curious, ever mischievous, he created “Skull Talk,” a public access show featuring wrestling commentary and, yes, topless women sitting on his lap.
Equal parts performance art and rebellion, the show sandwiched between two church broadcasts caused outrage and fandom in equal measure. “One preacher would send me scripture every week,” he laughs. “But I knew he watched every episode.” This was Pondo in his purest form—pushing boundaries, dancing at the edge of decency, and always keeping his audience on their toes.What’s perhaps most impressive is his ability to weave these escapades into something strangely noble. Whether talking about riding shotgun in a demolition derby car painted with horror icons or booking outrageous guests for the Jerry Springer Show, there’s a heart beneath the madness. His creation of “Girl Fight,” an all-women’s wrestling promotion, is a testament to his desire to give others a platform, to share the stage, to pass the torch. He’s not just fighting for himself anymore—he’s built a ring where others can rise too.
And then there’s the book, Memoirs of a Mad Man, a wild ride through his memories, filled with stories that make you laugh, cringe, and occasionally tear up. One story he held secret for decades—a deeply personal moment with wrestling legend Junkyard Dog—was finally shared in its pages. “I thought, you know what, let’s put this in there,” he says. “It was time.” In telling that story, and many others, he transformed scars into stories and chaos into legacy.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.
Raised in a reserved household, he found himself drawn to the fever-pitched passion of pro wrestling his grandparents once yelled at on their living room TV. That early spark lit a fire, and he never let it go out. As he says in this episode, “My mom still has the paper I filled out in grade school that said I wanted to be a professional wrestler.” That dream, written in crayon, would become a 30-year odyssey through blood, barbed wire, and blinding spotlights.The journey to the ring was not paved with ease. Pondo describes the brutal, often humiliating, early days of wrestling school—the beatings, the busted lips, the sheer will required to prove he belonged. He tells of how many walked away, unwilling to endure it, while he pressed on. That kind of devotion would become his defining trait. When the legendary Abdullah the Butcher told him he had the talent to wrestle in Japan, Pondo drove through the night, edited his best matches on two old VCRs, and mailed the tape by sunrise. The result? Forty-three trips to the Land of the Rising Sun.But Pondo’s life wasn’t confined to the ring. Ever curious, ever mischievous, he created “Skull Talk,” a public access show featuring wrestling commentary and, yes, topless women sitting on his lap.
Equal parts performance art and rebellion, the show sandwiched between two church broadcasts caused outrage and fandom in equal measure. “One preacher would send me scripture every week,” he laughs. “But I knew he watched every episode.” This was Pondo in his purest form—pushing boundaries, dancing at the edge of decency, and always keeping his audience on their toes.What’s perhaps most impressive is his ability to weave these escapades into something strangely noble. Whether talking about riding shotgun in a demolition derby car painted with horror icons or booking outrageous guests for the Jerry Springer Show, there’s a heart beneath the madness. His creation of “Girl Fight,” an all-women’s wrestling promotion, is a testament to his desire to give others a platform, to share the stage, to pass the torch. He’s not just fighting for himself anymore—he’s built a ring where others can rise too.
And then there’s the book, Memoirs of a Mad Man, a wild ride through his memories, filled with stories that make you laugh, cringe, and occasionally tear up. One story he held secret for decades—a deeply personal moment with wrestling legend Junkyard Dog—was finally shared in its pages. “I thought, you know what, let’s put this in there,” he says. “It was time.” In telling that story, and many others, he transformed scars into stories and chaos into legacy.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the IFAH podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to
ifahpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, Episode number four thirty nine.
Your dream doesn't have an expiration date, Take a deep
breath and try again. KT Whitten broadcasting from a dark,
windowless room in Hollywood when we really should be working
on that next draft.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It's the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, showing you the craft and
business of screenwriting while teaching you how to make your
screenplay bulletproof.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
And here's your host, Alex Ferrari. Welcome, Welcome to another
episode of the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I am your.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Humble host Alex Ferrari. Now, today's show is sponsored by
Bulletproof Script Coverage.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Unlike other script coverage services, Bulletproof Script Coverage actually focuses
on the kind of project you are in the goals
of the project you are, so we actually break it
down by three categories micro budget, indie film, market, and
studio film. There's no reason to get coverage from a
reader that's used to reading tempole movies when your movie
is going to be done for one hundred thousand dollars
(01:13):
and we wanted to focus on that. At Bulletproof script coverage,
our readers have worked with Marvel Studios, CIA, wm E, NBC, HBO, Disney,
Scott Free, Warner Brothers, The Blacklist, and many many more.
So if you need your screenplay or TV script covered
by professional readers, head on over to covermiscreenplay dot Com.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Enjoy today's episode.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
With guest host Dave Bullis.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Loot further Ado this week's episode as a guest who
is a pro wrestler, TV personality and author of the
new book Memoirs with Madman, which covers his entire thirty
year career. Just you know, it's not just a wrestling book,
and he's going to touch on that as well in
this episode. You know, we're going to chat all about
becoming an agent for the Jerry Spear Show, creating this
(02:00):
public access TV show, participating in a demolition derby, and
just you know, generally fun, crazy stories. And I honestly,
this is a guy I've been trying to get on
for a while and then when I saw he came
out with this book, I I just finally I was
able to get him to come on and finally he
agreed to and said yes to come on with guests.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Mad Man Pondo.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
I tank you man, give him for giving me time
to talk about the book and whatever else want to
talk about, and uh I'm ready to around what you are.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
And you know, Pondo, it's it's funny because you and
I have actually met way way back in the CCW days.
I was actually, uh, I was you know, I used
to go to all those shows back then, and uh,
I have a picture somewhere in my room. I have
a picture of us and it's you, myself and Bridge
at the Midget and it was and it was just
(02:54):
it was hilarious because uh, I always use that photo
and I showed it. I used to show it to
people and people were like, it just looks like a story.
That's an interesting story behind because Bridget has a bottle
of wine with her, and it's just it's just it's
just funny because you know, it looks like there's such
an interesting story behind it. And I was like, well,
let me tell you about Pondo and then I'll tell
you about Bridget and then you know, I'm not that interesting,
(03:15):
but you know, at least at least you guys are interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
There's a bunch of stries behind that. There's actually a
few of them in the book. But uh, yeah, Bridget's
real cool. Uh we still talk today, and you know,
I get hitting the head a lot. I can't even
remember her having a wine bottle or taking a picture,
but yeah, uh maybe put that on my Facebook sometime,
(03:39):
that picture.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Yeah, I will do, Pondo. I'll off to find it.
I've been I It got kind of lost in the
shuffle with all my other stuff as I've moved. But
I'm gonna find that again and I'll post that. But
you're just to just to get started, Pondo. You know,
I wanted to ask you how you actually got started,
you know, doing all this, all the wrestling and in
the movies, so, you know, just to get started. You know,
(04:02):
how did you get involved with wrestling? Did you watch
all of wrestling growing up?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Man? Did? I? This was all in the book, but
I'll go ahead and I tell you. But so at
a very young age, I always realized my family is
very reserved and you know, not like super religious, but
just never wanted to be the center of attention. And
(04:28):
me and my brother would always go to family dinners
on Sunday at my great grandma and grandpa's house, and everything,
you know, was pretty calm and and but the cool
thing was when Evan's the Hill Wrestling Channel seven uh
would come on out of Memphis, Tennessee. Jery Kingwaller and
(04:52):
Bill Dundee and all them guys. My great grandma and
grandpa would lose their nuts, like, you know, talking about
dirty motherfuckers, and you know, and me and my brother,
we were just blown back that my great grandma and
grandpa was talking like this. But it made me an
instant of fan of professional wrestling, just a good time
(05:15):
that I would have looked in to them. So at
an early age, I told my mom and my dad
that that's what I was going to do. I was
going to be a professional wrestler. And my mom to
this day still has a paper from my school. Grade
school said draw a picture of what you want to
(05:35):
be when you grow up, and kids were drawing police
officers and doctors and you know, kiss ass. Kids was
drawing teacher as well. Mine had a rig with two
stick people wrestling, you know, get ready to wrestle each other.
And that's what I put. I want to be a
professional wrestler. So my mom still has that paper today
(06:00):
and over the years that's what she would hear. I
want to be a professional hold of the truck.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
So then it, you know, I was okay, So I'll
give you this scenario.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I lived in Florida, Illinois. An hour and a half
to the west was Saint Louis, Missouri, which had wrestling
at the Chase. An hour to the south was Carmi, Illinois, Harrisburg, Illinois,
and Infield, Illinois, and that had Edgelo Paco's i c W.
An hour and a half to the east was awas Ville,
(06:33):
Indiana that had c W A which started in the
US W A Jerry K. Mawler, Bill Dundee. Five hours
to the north was Chicago that just had everything you know,
a W, A, ww S and w c W would
Windy City and all these companies. And uh, there was
(06:57):
a guy named moy West Junior and islaman you did
good in school, he would take you, you know to
these wrestling shows. So I've been going to live wrestling
shows the childhood. And then excuse me, and then it.
I was friends with a college teacher named Milton Smith,
(07:21):
and he called me on the phone one time and
said Hey, I'm a professional wrestler in my class, and
I said, please get the guy's telephone number. He got
it to me and he said, are you trying to
get tickets out of the guy? And I said, no,
this is my chaff. I'm going to call this guy
and become a professional wrestler. The guy's name was Terry
(07:41):
Runyan and he was in a team called the SINSATIONO
Hill Bullies. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. I wrestled last
night and I was healed. I yelled and found my
crowth doll scratchy. But so I called Terry rugging and
started school that very next week with a guy named
(08:02):
Blud Chapman out of only Illinois. Both those guys are
passed away now, but they were both the two that
gave me a chance and professional wrestling. And you know,
it's not just on my account, but everybody that was
in that class says that I'm the one that you know,
(08:24):
I'm the only one that went far out of Bud
Chapman school, which makes me feel pretty good. But that's
where it started. It wasn't ourcore, it was just basic wrestler.
Bit So after I learned as much as I could
out of blud Chapman, Chris Here, Chris Champion who just
passed away. Also, I started going down to wrestle for him,
(08:50):
and then Bill Dundee at its furniture story in a
with Thevilla, I started wrestling for him, and things just
took off, and then I met Ian Rotten and Retarded.
We're landing and stuff and here I am today, And.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
No worries Bondo about your voice. By the way, my
I'm actually sick right now. So if I said a
little a little bad or you hear me, you know,
hacking or something that that's what that's what what's wrong
with me? But uh, well, you know you mentioned you know,
wrestling school uh, and how you had to get connected,
and you know, do you look around today and you
see all these different wrestling schools?
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I mean, do you ever, I mean, do you ever
think to yourself, like, my god, it's kind of the
the the ease of a sort of access is so
much easier now because you know they're they're publicly you know,
mentioned these schools now, like you know what I mean,
Like they're positive promoted and then they're all over the place.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Now, well, I will say this, but when I got
into wrestling, thanks were so much rougher. Like I hear
kids today, get trade and not what job or you know,
don't pick me up bodies slightly.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Just ridiculous stuff that I hear today. But the thing
about it is when I got into wrestling, then we
got me and my best friend Leslie Thompson, which you
know we always called Flick. It was pondode Flick. Week
after week after week, tried to show these guys that
(10:29):
this is what we wanted to be. You know, we'd
go home with black eyes, bust the lips. These guys
didn't give too much care about our welfare. And uh,
finally Flick told me, he's like, man, I'm not paying
to go down there and just get my ass kicked.
A week after week, I'm like, well it's gonna pay
off Sunday, trust me. Well he quit. I kept going
(10:54):
and now I'm the only one. There was two of
us where I got a small break. Now I'm the
only one. So for about another three weeks it was
pretty bad. But Friday for more students came and things
got easier. On me because I wasn't the new guy anymore.
Plus I'm kind of funny, so everybody kind of liked me,
(11:16):
you know, So everything fell into place for me as
a school. But you know, I don't hate on how
many RESTful schools there are, because the thing about it is,
say there's ten wrestled schools in the area, there's gonna
(11:37):
be one to two stars that go far out of
those schools. So yo, who knows if if they Joey Riot,
who's pretty huge though, if he didn't go to one
of those one out of kids schools, would he be
a star today? So you know those one kid at schools,
(12:00):
just like me, I branched out, kept going and you know,
I'm not a star, but whatever you think about me
is what I am. But uh, you know you got
to have schools for future stars. And uh, since we're
on the subject, I also say, you know, it's just
like what you said, Okay, so uh always make sure
(12:26):
the school that you go to can can help you
get a little farther, you know, uh, the real honor school. Uh,
but Thatcher School to TONI as a school, you know
guys like that that could get you just a little
farther to help you get your name out there. Billy
(12:50):
Bob's school or John Smith School that he just bought
a ring and put up in a barn. And and
you know all dressers have tennis shoes. Maybe not the
best choice. Always make sure the school we go to
have a little little bit of rep to it where
you could go a little farther.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Yeah, yeah, you know that's good advice, pondocs. I. You know,
I even saw that. You know, Gangrel has a school now,
and Moore and Ricky Morton has a school now, so
I figure, yeah, I figure both most most wrestling fans
have heard of either one of those.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Guys, right, But Teachi has a school out of California.
You know, there there's guys that I mean, don't I'm
not fad. That's about every school that people don't know about.
But uh, you know, just make sure whoever owns the
school that they care about the other wrestlers, not just
(13:47):
the guy who says, hey, make sure your dudes are
paying and as everybody else go in and and train you,
you know, always make sure it's somebody who cares about you.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, yeah, that's that's true too. He and you got
to make sure that you know, you're not just a
dollar sign, right, You're actually they're they're they're actually there
to make sure to see you develop and succeed and
and you know, it's not just kind of like, hey,
you know, give me your money and now go fuck.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Off, right exactly?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know, pond of one of the stories that uh
I can't remember that it's in the book, but I
remember hearing this. You tell the story on on Hanibal's
podcast where you know you wanted to you had the
opportunity to go to Japan to wrestle, and you had
to drive all the way home to make a tape.
I think that I love that story because that just
(14:39):
shows you, you know, determination, and I love stories like
that because it's kind of like, you know, what are
you willing to do or how are you willing to
pay your dues to sort of follow your dreams? So
if you if you don't mind, you know, would you
mind retelling that story just for those listening.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I was wrestling uh Abdullah the Butcher in Overland, Missouri,
and uh I believe I was leaving a legal I
believe I was living in either Floria, Illinois or Louisgo
Kentucky man, I get I swear my brains are beat
out and I forget things so much. But uh, I'm
(15:15):
doing with a butcher. After I got we got done.
Wrestling was really happy with that match, and he said, kid,
you got it. You know you need you need to
go to Japan. And when he said that, I was
a flabbergat of extriptment. So he said, uh, I'll tell
you what. I'm going to Japan in four days, so
(15:38):
if you could get me a videotape by the time
I come back. When I go back to Japan, I
will take your video tape and see what I can't
do for you. I didn't let that slide then, you know,
I was so excited I couldn't sleep anyway. So from
my little Missouri, I drove straight home, got my two
BC hours together, put the cables in, stayed up all night,
(16:04):
make this video tape, and was at the post office
when it opened. I think I rerapped it him on
a Friday, so it was it was going to be
open from nine to noon. The post office going to
be open from nine to noon on Saturday. Went to
the post office overnighted. I remember back then it wasn't
(16:28):
as bad as what it is now. I think it
was like twenty four bucks or something like that. Overnighted
this video tape to Abdullah's restaurant, and then three within
three days, he called me on the phone todayn Champ.
You really want to go to Japan, don't you? And
I said, yes, Sir, I do. He took the video
tape that time, and the next time he went, I
(16:48):
was going too. So not only was he down in
the tree, but he also realized the determination that you
know that that was my dream, never WWE, WC, none
of the big companies. My dream was I wanted to
go to Japan and wrestle it. Forty three trip there,
I'm back. I believe I exceeded my dream pretty hard.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Yeah, And it also shows again you know what I was,
you know, just saying before, you know, it really just
shows you were willing to just do whatever it took,
because you know, other people what it may have just been, like, well, shit,
I don't have anything ready. Do I really want to
drive all the way back then have to edit a
tape together and then send it out, you know what
I mean? Like, so you actually just you know, just
drove back and it was like wasn't even thought. It
(17:33):
was like I had another option. I guess I just
got to do this.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
All the way home, I was thinking of what matches
to put on this on this videotape. So if that
tells you how determined I was. But you know, like
I remember, and I had it for the longest time,
and I don't anymore. I've been divorced to broke up
with chicks so much that or they broke up with
(17:58):
me hard. But stuff skip left hied. But I had
the napkin that had the matches that I wanted to
put on it and the uh, the listing of of
how I wanted to do it. So yeah, the minute
he said that, that's all I could think of was hell, yeah,
(18:19):
I can't wait to get hold and make this tape.
And another funny thing, Yeah, when Hannibal, when I was
on his podcast, uh, he asked me. He was like, so,
how'd you get in the pan? And I was like, man,
I was hoping you wouldn't after this, but Abdullah got
me over there. But it wasn't very comfortable, was what
(18:42):
I thought it was. But yeah, he really didn't even
act like it phasedn't And and so they're that story.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
So when when you finally were able to go to Japan,
I mean that was your dream. So that first you know,
that first tour, that first day that you kind of
set foot on Japanese soil. You know what, what did
that feel like?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Bondo?
Speaker 6 (19:04):
Well, uh, of course this was before cell phone, but uh,
there was a thing at the airport that they had
Welcome to Japan.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I just sat there and I looked at it for
a minute, and then so people walk aby. I had
to take my picture, you know. Of course it wasn't
a digital picture. It was a This was before uh
anything modern, so it was just one of those little
disposable cameras. But uh, I cookite four or five pictures
(19:39):
in front of the side that said welcome pad because
I had made it. You know. That was the trieve.
But there I was. I had three dreams growing up.
I wanted to be in a demolish near be. I
wanted to marry an ation chick. I want to wrestle
with Japan And I pretty well exceeded all three.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Will be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So uh, and so you actually did end up getting
into a demolition derby.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I sure did. Uh, my car was decked out in
horror movies like I had Jason Leatherface, Freddie Michael Byers,
tall Man Jack Nicholson from The Shinty. I mean my
car worked looked like uh, sort put out in a
comic book when I was dead. But yeah, my buddy
(20:37):
Sam de Lady and Robert Dulady knew how bad I
wanted to be the Deubliicic Derby. They they sowed me
a car for two hundred bucks, help me put it together.
And yet I got to a deblisic therby.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
So so did you end up? Did you end up winning?
Speaker 3 (20:55):
No? Not a lot. Maybe maybe I didn't understand that
you're not supposed to hit people hard and save your car.
And there was a guy who was kind of sand
bag and lighter up right around the entrance to where
he wouldn't get pushed up on a log. So I
(21:15):
went from one end of the of the track to
the other hit this guy. And when I did it
not my accelerator off. It was like it was laid
down on the floor. And after that I knew I
was done.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
See see, I would have made that same mistake pond,
though I would always say to the idea is just
reconiment stuff as possible, right, So yeah, I mean, hey,
you know that. That's awesome. Man, You're able to at
least do that and again and by the way, that's
a really cool idea for a car.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
By the way, it was so cool. And of course
my number was prout of the thirteen.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Wait was so final? Thirteen was the name of the car.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Yet nice number, burnt team.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
That's that's really cool man. Uh, would you ever do
another demolition derby? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Act? Uh? There is a tag team called the Nursey
Brothers out of uh they're they're out of Strictly Faded
Pro Wrestling in Crosshill, ILLINOI and the they demolished derby
where you can have a rider with you. And one
of them asked me if I wanted to ride with
the delic Derby and I said, hell, yeah, I'm there
(22:30):
till January. I'm not going to be driving, but I
will be in another demolition derby.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
That's cool. So you're gonna be kind of like, uh,
you can actually give him advice too. You might tell
him my gage, Look, don't don't just smash, don't drive
across the track full speed and smash into somebody.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
I think he's done a few, so I think, you know,
he got it. But that was my first pinoing one
and I didn't have it at all again.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
But I would have made that same mistake, right. Uh So, buddy,
you know, as you you know, continue, you know your career,
you know you're you're doing, you know, wrestling and all
the independence you got a you actually started your own
public access show. And this is really cool because you know,
I I again, you know, I've heard the story before
(23:17):
and I read it in your book, but you were
able to start your own public access show called skull
Talk TV. And you know it's so interesting. So could
you tell everybody you know, you know how you got
able to how are you able to start the show?
And you know how what what the theme whole you know,
theme and format of the show was well.
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Uh, I was wordered for iw A mets South and uh,
an older gentleman like I don't think, I don't even
think I thought about another show. But an older gentleman
was coming over and telling me he he really liked my.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Stuff, you know that I was a good character. And
he started telling me that this wrestling should be on
TV here in Louisville. For he said, there's a there's
a company called not Cannyburg what they was called. Excuse me,
(24:12):
We'll get a drink liquid and uh, you know they're
they're wrestling horrible. He said, uh, you know, you guys
should try and do something on public access. I told him,
I said, well, Ian tells these DVDs, I'm pretty sure
(24:34):
he's not want to get them away free on a
public access show. So he said, you know, I try
to watch public access as much as I can. But
one of the biggest problems with it they could do
whatever they want on public access. And I was like, really,
He was like, yeah, they could cuss and they can
(24:57):
say as much as the airport on there. I was like,
I'm a palled. And then next day he said, and
you know what else they could do. They could have
nudity on there. And I was like, no kidding, and
I just act like I was so disgusted. But by
the next week or two, I had a public access
show on there just by the guy tell me what
(25:20):
I could have couldn't do. But it was called call Talk.
It was one of the best and worst ideas I
ever had. I I was a big Cape trader back
of the day, but I still had a whole bunch
of those video tapes. And what I did was I
it would put together. I had two d rs. I
(25:40):
would edit everything myself and I would have topless or
naked girl sitting on my lap and I would introduce
different wrestling matches and then we would play them and
it was just a high hour show. But you know,
i'd have like old matches from Florida with Jimmy del Rey.
(26:04):
I do believe I had a I don't remember what
the matches was. But the cool thing was I had
the naked chicks on my lap for no apparent reason,
just that there was naked chicks setting on my lap. Now,
one of the rules, well not one, but there was
a few rules. You couldn't advertise anything, you couldn't show penis,
(26:29):
which I wouldn't anyway, and you couldn't show penetration. Well
this was back when web tv. Do you remember web TV? Yeah, yeah,
I had a web TV. Well you could put your
email address up the bottom there, so I put my
web TV address, which would really aggravate everybody. Was man
(26:52):
Man Pondo in the house, which was long enough, and
then you had to put at WebTV dot com, so
everybody it was best. I had to write out that
whole thing man Pondo in the house, so that was
at the bottom, which my every episode, my inbox would
(27:15):
just be full fifty to fifty fifty percent of people, Oh,
I love this show. This was so funny, what a
great idea. The other fifty was all hate and I
take the public aye fist show. I think they was
having a real fun with either me or the other shows.
(27:39):
But I was in the middle of two religious church shows.
That would be a religious church show Naked Chicks up
Our Lap, and then another religious church show, and this
one preacher. Every episode would just you know, right this
he put I'm sure on my in my inbox and
(28:03):
you know, tell me how that I was going to
hell after Yeah, was just all this stuff.
Speaker 8 (28:09):
So, uh, finally it got down to being a little
bored of it, and I had a girl, uh.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Use a vibrator on herself and that was considered penetration.
So they called me on the phone and said, I'm sorry,
we're not going to be able to play your TV
show anymore, which because I was kind of bored because
the girls were such a problem. You know what, what
(28:41):
you think could take ten fifteen minutes was taking hours
because the girls had to pee or you know, they
wanted to check their makeup, all this shit. So I
really just let it go. And that was after I
believe seventeen episodes and uh, finally that I've traded, maybe
a month month and a half, that the Public Acts
(29:04):
people called me back and that we was wondering if
you could keep on doing those shows because people was
ordering cable just to watch your shows. And by then
I was done with it. I said, no, I'm not interested,
thank you. But it was a good feeling knowing that
that many people watched it or talked about it to
the Public Access show that they would call me and
(29:27):
asked me to come back.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Yeah, I imagine because they weren't really going to pay anyway,
so you're probably you know, it was kind of like
a you know, really a no.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Brainer for you, right right exactly.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
So you know, Patty, you mentioned the girls, You know,
how would you approach girls here to come on to
come on skull Talk.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Power Doom was running a company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and
there was only strippers around.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
So that before it started, first the strippers from his shows,
and then every episode I would put on web TV,
Hey if you'd like to appear, if you're a hot
chick and you'd like to appear on Illo Cactus on
my show, please email me. Well, then the email started
(30:30):
coming in and out of every ten girls, you might
get one or two. But that looked good enough for me,
you know, because it was coming to my house and
you know, we would put up a backdrop and and
film them. But uh, like I said, it was just
(30:51):
like one would say, oh yeah, go into this, and
then you know you're waiting on a one hour or
two hours bomb and you're like, all right, she's not coming.
But when those ones that did show up, you'd be
excited about it. You're like, all right, we got another
episode two, and like I said, two or three hours
into them just being divas, it was just oh rock
(31:15):
at the end of the night. So yeah, I was
ready for it to stop, but couldn't stop because one
I was just I was so into the TV show
because I would go to Wrestless shows and people would
say man, I saw that Call Talk episode. It was
still awesome. And two, I couldn't let these religious guys
(31:38):
beat me. But uh, there was even a point where
I took my own video tape to the public access
station and as I was walking in, the guy that
had a religious show on before mine was walking out,
and we didn't say nothing to each other, but he
stared at me all the way in, and I stared
(31:59):
at him all the way you know.
Speaker 9 (32:01):
So yeah, I mean it was time board stop. And
when they called this if I would continue out, I
had already taking a break from it and didn't add
the headaches and the problems with.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It, And I was like, nah, I'm not interested.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, especially when you're doing it for love of the game, right.
Because I had a friend of mine who was a
He used to do photography, and every so often, like
you know, he did professional photography, you know, he did
different models and stuff. So every so often, you know,
you know, friends of his, you know, would say, hey,
I want to come in and would you give me
a you know, a discount on something. So he would
(32:38):
generally just say, hey, look, we've known each other for
a while. If you come in on a Sunday, at
like you know, I don't know, like noon or whatever
or ten am. He's like, I'll just I'll give you
a whole session for free, because you know, I'm not
going to nickel and dime you. And you know, they
would say, oh, thank you, I'm so I can't wait,
and he would drive to his studio and he would
wait and wait, and they would be like an hour
(32:59):
or two hours late, three hours late, and finally he
would just be like, you know, we're texting him, and
then they would get there and we don't know what
to where should we not do this, blah blah blah,
And finally he just goes, I'm not doing this for
for for anybody anymore. He's like, they have to pay
me now to do this, just because it became so
it became a beast onto itself.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Right exactly. You wouldn't think it would You think it
would just be something stowes comebody coming in, sitting on
my lap. You know, they don't have to talk, they
don't have to do nothing, they just have to show
their kid. But that was just such a chore for
time after time, and you're just like, I'm sick of this. Yeah,
(33:41):
well there's really saying something one of the guys is my,
I'm sick of these titties. Get to that out of here.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Yeah, that should be a quote from you, Pondo, I'm
sick of these titties. Get him at me.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
You know Pondo in your book. By the way, I
have to ask, uh, there was a you said on
the public Access there was a you turn it on
one day and there was a show called.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
I Eat Poop.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yes, that was the that was the wasn't an old
guy told me about the shows? I started, Uh, I
started watching the public hatset to see what the guy
was talking about, and that was one of the shows,
I Eat Poop.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
So is he? I guess this is a dumb question
on my part. Is it Is it exactly what it
sounds like or is it different?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
No, it was just four or five guys doing their
best at like Saturday Night Live skits but failing horribly.
But you know, they they would trade the fuck word,
and you know, they would have a girls with small
outfit on but not totally nude, and and I didn't
(34:49):
you know, it was just funny that there was a
show on called I Eat Poop. And of course they
would come, so, uh, people would like it. But then
when Call Talk come on and there's actual naked girl
and you know, not just Pitt, there's vaginas and and
you know, I'm fucked this and sucked that, and I
(35:09):
don't know, I guess it just people was more amazed
about that and tuning in. I don't even cake, you
had to be a rep if they had to watch
my TV show. It was just so a shock value
that it was on TV that people would tune in.
But they're religious guys. Man. They would talk about how
(35:30):
parable it was that they would watch every episode and
write me, so, you know, it's just just.
Speaker 8 (35:39):
No.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
I was gonna say their closet fans.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Pondo exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
It kind of reminds me a few years ago Howard
Stern uh used to direct people to the what is
it like the Parents Watch Group because basically this parents
Watch Group, Well, on their website, they they had a
they had a collecttion of all the worst things on
the Internet. I was like, oh my god, look at this.
This is awful. We got a boycott this or oh
(36:06):
my god, look at this. Well it accidentally became this
like hub now for all of this like awful stuff
that people could like, Oh, if you wanted something bad,
go to the people in charge of you know, of
of of decency a quote unquote. And it was like
it was just this big collection of stuff and then
they had to like they had they started to realize
all these people were coming to their site, and it
(36:27):
was like it was made it even easier to access
all the stuff.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
I do the same thing with there's a there's a website.
It's called bad numbers dot com. And what bad numbers
dot com is. It's a website that will put numbers
that people have called their number their number and uh,
(36:54):
you know, it's like the Microsoft scammers or the FBI
back to rest you if you don't give us this
money scammers. And the reason the web trite was made
was so you don't call these telephone numbers. And I figured,
if scammers are out to waste our time, we need
to waste as much as that time as well. So
(37:14):
I'll go to that side. I'll find a bad number,
and I'll get a bunch of friends around and I'll
start fucking with these cameras. So kind of like the
same what you just said with the with the Howard
stern one.
Speaker 4 (37:27):
You know that that seems like that would be a
pretty funny you know TV show podcast Bondo.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I here you maybe I'll i'll I'll try to do that.
Speaker 4 (37:36):
And if you do that, just just remember your old
pal Dave.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
I'll do it.
Speaker 7 (37:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
It was a buddy after you know, you did skull
Talk TV.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You know you ended up becoming a producer for the
Jerry Spur Show.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
I wouldn't call me a producer. I would call me
a hired hand. I mean I was just getting them
guests and and you know, they was giving me a check,
so and all I had to do was call in
and and of course all my friends or show offs
just like me and was ready to go. So it
(38:12):
was it was a win win situation for everybody.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
So so how did they go about contacting you to
come on the show and to sort of be the
hard hand for them.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
Well, my buddy a Craft cut on the Cherry's Free
Your Show and they asked him do you know any
crazy people? And of course he showed them my videos
and I was on the show twice and finally they asked, hey,
do you know any crazy You know crazy people yourself?
And I said I'm a wrestler. I know all types
(38:43):
are crazy people. So I just started getting wrestlers or
faiths and putting them on the show. And that's thing.
I know. I got eight hundred dollars checks, six hundred
dollars checks, and I was like, well this was easy.
But just like the sculped Off show, after a while,
just you know, got so pouring because they wanted you
(39:04):
on call twenty four hours. If they needed somebody at two, three,
four in the morning, they would call you and say, hey,
we need this. Well who the hell you got to
get it to at three or four in the morning.
So but they was a demanding you know. And then
when you said, well I don't know what I want
to get, well, yeah, we've been paying you, we've been
doing you know it. If it came bullshit and I
(39:25):
didn't want to do it no more, so I stopped. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
I can imagine getting called two or three in the
morning and just being look, ay, Bondo, we need a uh,
you know, a couple to come on the show or whatever,
and you're like, well, how am I supposed to get
that right now? It's you know, it's three o'clock in
the morning, and you know there made they made a
halfway across the country exactly. Yeah, so you don't pond it.
What were some of the you know, some of the
crazy people you met while while doing Springs. I knew
(39:53):
in the book you mentioned that you met Butterbean.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
Yeah, butter Bean, Rod Jeremy was there for one and
one of the Backstreet Boys. I don't listen to him,
so I don't remember who it was, but he was
just there towards I guess they was doing a concert
somewhere in the area and he was at the show
to watch, not to be on the show. But I
(40:28):
got to meet him, and you know, I mean and
plus if you when you would go to the circus,
it wasn't the circus that would draw me in. It
was the small freak show before the circus, Jerry Springer
show from the green Room. The green Room was its
(40:49):
own free show that I just loved, and they would
fly me in to hang out with, you know, the
people that I was getting on the show. So I
was able to go to Greenroom, the Greenroom, the green Room,
and man, I'm killing you there was some. There was
some strange ones, some hot ones, some ugly ones, some
(41:11):
misshaped ones. I mean that Jerry's Fear of green rooms
was a free show all of itself, and it would
draw me in.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
So you mentioned, you know, I actually I mentioned Butterbean,
you know. So was he was he there to be
a guest on the show?
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Yeah, but uh, he was in the back with us first,
he was like waiting in line. I guess his manager
had called the Spring of show and said, hey, Butterbean
will be interested in coming in. So of course I
put him on the front row. And and uh, ironically
that was Uh. I got all the guests for that
(41:49):
show except too, and uh two of the guests that
I got wash was the Bump and Uglies, and my
buddy Bubba was like Jacklein Butterbean to get up on
stage and fight him. So uh, you know, just it
was yeah, Butterbean and Ron Jammy. I don't remember why
(42:11):
he was there. He was on the show though, because
I do believe I don't remember, but you know, just
any any little perk that you got, and of course
I would, I would. I got to hang out with
Jerry Eyber once in a while, Steve didn't really care
for me, so I didn't really get to hang out
with Steve all that much. But Jerry Spring was a
(42:31):
really nut guy, and you know, he would talk to
us and stuff, and he would go from green room
to green room and welcome everybody there. So I got
to meet him a lot, you know, be in all
these green rooms, and it was a fun experience. But
when it's time to go, it's time to go, you know.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
Yeah, I definitely know what you mean. You know, just
to sort of follow with Butterbean, you mentioned him fighting,
you know, or somebody challenging him to fight him on stage.
Do you remember but being fought in the bral for
All in in WF I do?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (43:04):
What do you What are your thoughts on that whole
brawl for All thing?
Speaker 3 (43:07):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Yeah, I mean it just you know, I remember when
when Butterbean knocked out Bart Gunn in like twenty seconds.
But what did you think about that whole competition? You
know that was actually legit?
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Ah, I mean of course I was. I couldn't take
my off for it. But I'll tell you a funny story.
Do you remember Bart Gunn won one of those I know,
I know he got to be down by Butterbeat and
I don't remember the situation, but bart Gunn won one
of those brawl for it All and he brought the
(43:37):
trophy to is w A MIT South and he said
he would get it when he when he came back,
and he never came back. So the original trophy was
sitting in the locker room of iw A MIT South
for I bet a whole year. But it was the
original trophy from Bralford, you know, big tall fan about
(44:02):
I bet it came up to my shoulder and you
would think somebody who won that trophe he would want
it back, but it was just there for some reason.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
Did he did it to whatever happened to.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
It, you know, I don't know, but he and probably
solold it on eBay for something I don't know. But
it was there for I remember a long time.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, it would have been kind of funny if you
had taken it. I mean, like you're there, you're the
brawl Fall champion, you know.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
Nah, I'm not. I'm not. That'd be like a target
on my forehead, faced up my cat. I ain't having
them there pack the shit out of me.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
No, I'm just kidding, Pondo, I mean plus you're such
an awesome guy. I can't imagine, like I do remember,
I do remember the brawl from when bart Gunn beat
Doctor Death. That was kind of that was kind of
an upset, but I'm yeah, I mean and they thought
Doctor Death was gonna win the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Do you remember that, I do. Yeah, it was pumping
it up. I don't even think buck Gunn had a promo.
It was doctor Nettune promos all to the thing and
that thing, you know, bark Gunn, you know, just knocked
him out.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
Yeah, and then uh, and then they had him had
him fight Butterbean, and I mean, I mean that that
was I mean, I mean Butterbean. You know, he he's
I don't know how you would classify Butterbean if he's
like an amateur or a professional or somewhere in between.
But I mean that guy, I mean, he was a
legit fighter regardless when when I saw it, I actually
saw that that fight, and when I saw that, I
(45:39):
and you know, within the first couple of seconds, but
be knock bart gun down and then I think a
couple of seconds later he he just gave him that
right hook, and I mean he dropped bart gun and uh,
I think bart guns like kind of left after that, right,
I can't remember, but.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
I think that was his demise. I think when he
lost that that was more or less pick it out.
Speaker 4 (46:02):
Yeah, and then and then but yeah, you know, just
to kind of tie this all in, I'm surprised he actually,
you know, left that trophy there in the locker room.
Did do you think maybe do you think maybe he
just forgot that where he left it, or just.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
Thinking you have two ships about it, wanted it two?
Speaker 4 (46:17):
Yeah, yeah, that that that's true. But yeah, now I
guess it's kind of lost or it was sold somewhere
on eBay. But uh, you know that that that's interesting
as hell.
Speaker 8 (46:26):
Man.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
Uh but you know, just to you know, just to
continue along, you know, I just want to say, Pondo,
you know, I read your book from cover to cover,
uh I, And when I heard it was coming out,
I was really excited because again, I followed your career
for a while when I when I used to watch wrestling.
I haven't watched wrestling since probably two thousand and four
or five, right right when I graduated high school. And
(46:47):
I just kind of I just got kind of kind
of got out of it. But but you know, your
your book Memoirs of a of a Madman. It's sitting
right in here next to me. I have some I
actually marked up some pages, so I I, you know,
had some things. You know. I was like, oh, I
better ask about this. I want to ask him more
about this. But uh, you know, where did you start
to you know, want you know, uh get you a
(47:07):
sort of get the impetus to write your own book.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
There was John Coffer wrote another book called Revel and
he had asked me. I don't even remember what the
question he asked me, but I had a couple of
paragraphs in that book, and people kept asking John Coff, Hey,
if mad Man Ponder wrote a couple of paragraphs, you
(47:32):
should do a book on him and be really funny
and entertaining. So John Copston kept asking me, you know, hey,
I want to do a book on you. Are you interested?
And you know, to me, I don't know if it's
the humbleness in me or just the the fright of
of nobody giving a ship, but you know I was,
(47:54):
I was really on the fence about that. I don't know,
you know, I don't know about in a book because
I didn't want a book written about me and then
walking in like the dollar Tree and it's it's even
half off at the Dollar Tree, you know, just some
shit like that. But finally people started coming to me
(48:17):
and saying, hey, you should, you should write a book,
you know, and they didn't even know that John Cocker
was making me the the proposition. So when I started thinking,
you know, maybe maybe people would read my book. So
I went to John College and I said, all right,
let's do it. Let's write this Van Man Pondo book.
And when I finally did agree to do the book,
(48:39):
he was also working on doctor G. David Schultz's book,
which is also available, and so it took longer to
get the book written because he would he was really
focusing then on that and there was a lot of
stuff he had to go over. But on his free
time we would meet at Denny's or his house and
(49:01):
and work on my book. And then finally when he
was Dell a doctor D've, we just focused in on it,
got it done and there it is a in front
of you. But uh, I just want everybody to know that, yes,
I'm a wrestler, but this book isn't all about my
wrestling career. Right. I put things that I necked up
(49:23):
in my life, funny things that I did on the road.
I believe there there is a whole conversation with a
Nigerian scammer in there. There's I made it in a
comic book that's in there. It's full of pictures that
a few that I've taken over the years. I mean,
(49:45):
there's so much, so much in this book. And when
John after it came out, John Cosper wrote me, he said, hey,
you know the number one reppling auto biography on Amazon.
I was like, holy shit, are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (50:01):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
So uh, it showed me that people did really want
to hear what I had to say. But uh, in reality,
I was just the newest book. And then shins k
wrote his and then you know that number one foot
got the shit kicked out of it. But I was
a number one something on Amazon, which is a pretty
big thing for me. So, like I said, you should
(50:32):
get this book on Amazon dot com, or you can
contact John Cobsberg get your own autograph copy at e
sleepwrethl dot com.
Speaker 4 (50:42):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna link to everything uh pano
and I just talked about there in the show notes everybody,
Uh po. I just want to ask you real quick,
what is your favorite story from the book.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
I don't know if it's my favorite story, but you
read the book, you saw that I held onto a
story and never told anybody. And then finally when I
was writing the book, I was like, you know what,
let's put this in there. And it was the junk
Yard dog story. Did you did you like that story? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (51:18):
I did?
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Actually that was that was the one that was the
story that I held onto or my twenty nine years
of resting, and I was like, you know what, fuck it,
let's put it in there. And so what's that run
up for everybody? What the Junkyard dog story is? But uh,
that was probably my favorite one that I put in
(51:39):
the book.
Speaker 4 (51:41):
Yeah, yeah, we won't ruin the story. But I have
two favorite stories in the book. One is the Abdullah
Butcher story and and the other one is the is
the Joe la Duke story.
Speaker 3 (51:54):
Yeah, both those about those are I get asked a
lot about that Joe story.
Speaker 4 (52:02):
Good because I think that's hilarious because I can just
see something like that, like, you know what We'll call
it an unfortunate series of events happening.
Speaker 3 (52:10):
We just keep getting worse and worse and you can't
at the wrong time.
Speaker 4 (52:18):
Yeah, it's just like whatever could have went wrong in
that story went wrong for for you, Pond, like even
from the get go, from the get go, it was
it was. It was bad.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
It was real bad. But he made me a star
at my school, so.
Speaker 4 (52:33):
Fail that, you know, Yeah, it's it all, It all
worked out in the end.
Speaker 6 (52:39):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (52:39):
So you Upando, We've been talking for about, you know,
roughly fifteen minutes now, So just in closing, is there
anything you you sort of want to say to put
a period at the end of this whole conversation.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
Well, we didn't. We didn't cap on it. But I've
started my own all girls reftling company. It's called girl
Fight Reffling. He go to Facebook and search girl Fight.
It'll be the first starting that pops up. And uh,
you know, it's a platform for newer girls to network
(53:11):
and get to work with the vet girls. So I'm
pretty proud of it. And we have another one we've
been Uh we did one called Midnight girl Fight. Would
you pretty good for it? So the night before Thanksgiving,
we're going to have another midnight girl Fight and what
that is. We started eleven fifty nine because if I
(53:32):
started it at midnight, oh my god, you can't believe
how many people thought a Friday show was going to
be on a Saturday. You know. It was just a
big headache. So I changed the flyer and uh, it
starts on eleven fifty nine on Wednesday. And it's just
a good time, you know. I mean, people will come
out at midnight and it's still really loud and they're
(53:55):
all having a good time. But uh, you know, pick
up a girl Fight DVD or whatever and see what
we're all about. But girl Fight, that's my my all
girls wrestling jumpany.
Speaker 4 (54:12):
Yeah, and I'll make sure to link to that in
this show.
Speaker 3 (54:14):
Notes.
Speaker 4 (54:14):
Is there any social media sites that people can find
you at?
Speaker 3 (54:17):
Pondo? Uh? You know, I'm real terrible about that shit.
But my name is Kevin Kennedy C A N A
D Y. And I'm on Facebook and I do have
an Instagram and a Twitter, but I don't know. For
the longest time on Twitter, I was writing people and
they wasn't write me back, and I'm like, what an Asshold,
(54:38):
But I didn't know you had to put at at
the beginning of of who you're trying to write though,
I was the apt though. But anyway, Facebook is probably
the easiest one, and that's Kevin Kennedy C A N
A D Y. I think just a picture of me
and al Vira, Yeah, me and al Vira is my
(54:58):
profile pick.
Speaker 4 (54:59):
Right now, and and I'll link that in the show notes.
By the way, I think, Pondo, I think you're at
your friends cap because I actually sent you a firm
request and it just said I think you were at
your limit.
Speaker 3 (55:12):
Oh real, Well I'll delete some people. I don't do it.
Speaker 4 (55:15):
Shit. Yeah, thank you you make just make some room
for me, bet uh may Man, Pondo, I'm gonna say
thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (55:26):
Then, oh, thank you for giving me the time. Man,
like you can't wrestle enough to keep on living out
can you die? So things like this help my name
stay out there. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (55:39):
I want to thank Dave so much for doing such
a great job on this episode. If you want to
get links to anything we spoke about in this episode,
head over to the show notes at Bulletproof Screenwriting dot tv.
Forward slash for thirty nine. Thank you so much for
listening to guys. As always, keep on writing no matter what.
I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (55:55):
Thanks for listening to the Bulletproof Screenwriting podcast at Bulletproof
screenwrit He dot.
Speaker 1 (56:00):
T v
Speaker 8 (56:05):
Mm hmm
You are listening to the IFAH podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to
ifahpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, Episode number four thirty nine.
Your dream doesn't have an expiration date, Take a deep
breath and try again. KT Whitten broadcasting from a dark,
windowless room in Hollywood when we really should be working
on that next draft.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It's the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, showing you the craft and
business of screenwriting while teaching you how to make your
screenplay bulletproof.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
And here's your host, Alex Ferrari. Welcome, Welcome to another
episode of the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I am your.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Humble host Alex Ferrari. Now, today's show is sponsored by
Bulletproof Script Coverage.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Unlike other script coverage services, Bulletproof Script Coverage actually focuses
on the kind of project you are in the goals
of the project you are, so we actually break it
down by three categories micro budget, indie film, market, and
studio film. There's no reason to get coverage from a
reader that's used to reading tempole movies when your movie
is going to be done for one hundred thousand dollars
(01:13):
and we wanted to focus on that. At Bulletproof script coverage,
our readers have worked with Marvel Studios, CIA, wm E, NBC, HBO, Disney,
Scott Free, Warner Brothers, The Blacklist, and many many more.
So if you need your screenplay or TV script covered
by professional readers, head on over to covermiscreenplay dot Com.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Enjoy today's episode.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
With guest host Dave Bullis.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Loot further Ado this week's episode as a guest who
is a pro wrestler, TV personality and author of the
new book Memoirs with Madman, which covers his entire thirty
year career. Just you know, it's not just a wrestling book,
and he's going to touch on that as well in
this episode. You know, we're going to chat all about
becoming an agent for the Jerry Spear Show, creating this
(02:00):
public access TV show, participating in a demolition derby, and
just you know, generally fun, crazy stories. And I honestly,
this is a guy I've been trying to get on
for a while and then when I saw he came
out with this book, I I just finally I was
able to get him to come on and finally he
agreed to and said yes to come on with guests.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Mad Man Pondo.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
I tank you man, give him for giving me time
to talk about the book and whatever else want to
talk about, and uh I'm ready to around what you are.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
And you know, Pondo, it's it's funny because you and
I have actually met way way back in the CCW days.
I was actually, uh, I was you know, I used
to go to all those shows back then, and uh,
I have a picture somewhere in my room. I have
a picture of us and it's you, myself and Bridge
at the Midget and it was and it was just
(02:54):
it was hilarious because uh, I always use that photo
and I showed it. I used to show it to
people and people were like, it just looks like a story.
That's an interesting story behind because Bridget has a bottle
of wine with her, and it's just it's just it's
just funny because you know, it looks like there's such
an interesting story behind it. And I was like, well,
let me tell you about Pondo and then I'll tell
you about Bridget and then you know, I'm not that interesting,
(03:15):
but you know, at least at least you guys are interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
There's a bunch of stries behind that. There's actually a
few of them in the book. But uh, yeah, Bridget's
real cool. Uh we still talk today, and you know,
I get hitting the head a lot. I can't even
remember her having a wine bottle or taking a picture,
but yeah, uh maybe put that on my Facebook sometime,
(03:39):
that picture.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Yeah, I will do, Pondo. I'll off to find it.
I've been I It got kind of lost in the
shuffle with all my other stuff as I've moved. But
I'm gonna find that again and I'll post that. But
you're just to just to get started, Pondo. You know,
I wanted to ask you how you actually got started,
you know, doing all this, all the wrestling and in
the movies, so, you know, just to get started. You know,
(04:02):
how did you get involved with wrestling? Did you watch
all of wrestling growing up?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Man? Did? I? This was all in the book, but
I'll go ahead and I tell you. But so at
a very young age, I always realized my family is
very reserved and you know, not like super religious, but
just never wanted to be the center of attention. And
(04:28):
me and my brother would always go to family dinners
on Sunday at my great grandma and grandpa's house, and everything,
you know, was pretty calm and and but the cool
thing was when Evan's the Hill Wrestling Channel seven uh
would come on out of Memphis, Tennessee. Jery Kingwaller and
(04:52):
Bill Dundee and all them guys. My great grandma and
grandpa would lose their nuts, like, you know, talking about
dirty motherfuckers, and you know, and me and my brother,
we were just blown back that my great grandma and
grandpa was talking like this. But it made me an
instant of fan of professional wrestling, just a good time
(05:15):
that I would have looked in to them. So at
an early age, I told my mom and my dad
that that's what I was going to do. I was
going to be a professional wrestler. And my mom to
this day still has a paper from my school. Grade
school said draw a picture of what you want to
(05:35):
be when you grow up, and kids were drawing police
officers and doctors and you know, kiss ass. Kids was
drawing teacher as well. Mine had a rig with two
stick people wrestling, you know, get ready to wrestle each other.
And that's what I put. I want to be a
professional wrestler. So my mom still has that paper today
(06:00):
and over the years that's what she would hear. I
want to be a professional hold of the truck.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
So then it, you know, I was okay, So I'll
give you this scenario.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I lived in Florida, Illinois. An hour and a half
to the west was Saint Louis, Missouri, which had wrestling
at the Chase. An hour to the south was Carmi, Illinois, Harrisburg, Illinois,
and Infield, Illinois, and that had Edgelo Paco's i c W.
An hour and a half to the east was awas Ville,
(06:33):
Indiana that had c W A which started in the
US W A Jerry K. Mawler, Bill Dundee. Five hours
to the north was Chicago that just had everything you know,
a W, A, ww S and w c W would
Windy City and all these companies. And uh, there was
(06:57):
a guy named moy West Junior and islaman you did
good in school, he would take you, you know to
these wrestling shows. So I've been going to live wrestling
shows the childhood. And then excuse me, and then it.
I was friends with a college teacher named Milton Smith,
(07:21):
and he called me on the phone one time and
said Hey, I'm a professional wrestler in my class, and
I said, please get the guy's telephone number. He got
it to me and he said, are you trying to
get tickets out of the guy? And I said, no,
this is my chaff. I'm going to call this guy
and become a professional wrestler. The guy's name was Terry
(07:41):
Runyan and he was in a team called the SINSATIONO
Hill Bullies. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. I wrestled last
night and I was healed. I yelled and found my
crowth doll scratchy. But so I called Terry rugging and
started school that very next week with a guy named
(08:02):
Blud Chapman out of only Illinois. Both those guys are
passed away now, but they were both the two that
gave me a chance and professional wrestling. And you know,
it's not just on my account, but everybody that was
in that class says that I'm the one that you know,
(08:24):
I'm the only one that went far out of Bud
Chapman school, which makes me feel pretty good. But that's
where it started. It wasn't ourcore, it was just basic wrestler.
Bit So after I learned as much as I could
out of blud Chapman, Chris Here, Chris Champion who just
passed away. Also, I started going down to wrestle for him,
(08:50):
and then Bill Dundee at its furniture story in a
with Thevilla, I started wrestling for him, and things just
took off, and then I met Ian Rotten and Retarded.
We're landing and stuff and here I am today, And.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
No worries Bondo about your voice. By the way, my
I'm actually sick right now. So if I said a
little a little bad or you hear me, you know,
hacking or something that that's what that's what what's wrong
with me? But uh, well, you know you mentioned you know,
wrestling school uh, and how you had to get connected,
and you know, do you look around today and you
see all these different wrestling schools?
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I mean, do you ever, I mean, do you ever
think to yourself, like, my god, it's kind of the
the the ease of a sort of access is so
much easier now because you know they're they're publicly you know,
mentioned these schools now, like you know what I mean,
Like they're positive promoted and then they're all over the place.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Now, well, I will say this, but when I got
into wrestling, thanks were so much rougher. Like I hear
kids today, get trade and not what job or you know,
don't pick me up bodies slightly.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Just ridiculous stuff that I hear today. But the thing
about it is when I got into wrestling, then we
got me and my best friend Leslie Thompson, which you
know we always called Flick. It was pondode Flick. Week
after week after week, tried to show these guys that
(10:29):
this is what we wanted to be. You know, we'd
go home with black eyes, bust the lips. These guys
didn't give too much care about our welfare. And uh,
finally Flick told me, he's like, man, I'm not paying
to go down there and just get my ass kicked.
A week after week, I'm like, well it's gonna pay
off Sunday, trust me. Well he quit. I kept going
(10:54):
and now I'm the only one. There was two of
us where I got a small break. Now I'm the
only one. So for about another three weeks it was
pretty bad. But Friday for more students came and things
got easier. On me because I wasn't the new guy anymore.
Plus I'm kind of funny, so everybody kind of liked me,
(11:16):
you know, So everything fell into place for me as
a school. But you know, I don't hate on how
many RESTful schools there are, because the thing about it is,
say there's ten wrestled schools in the area, there's gonna
(11:37):
be one to two stars that go far out of
those schools. So yo, who knows if if they Joey Riot,
who's pretty huge though, if he didn't go to one
of those one out of kids schools, would he be
a star today? So you know those one kid at schools,
(12:00):
just like me, I branched out, kept going and you know,
I'm not a star, but whatever you think about me
is what I am. But uh, you know you got
to have schools for future stars. And uh, since we're
on the subject, I also say, you know, it's just
like what you said, Okay, so uh always make sure
(12:26):
the school that you go to can can help you
get a little farther, you know, uh, the real honor school. Uh,
but Thatcher School to TONI as a school, you know
guys like that that could get you just a little
farther to help you get your name out there. Billy
(12:50):
Bob's school or John Smith School that he just bought
a ring and put up in a barn. And and
you know all dressers have tennis shoes. Maybe not the
best choice. Always make sure the school we go to
have a little little bit of rep to it where
you could go a little farther.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Yeah, yeah, you know that's good advice, pondocs. I. You know,
I even saw that. You know, Gangrel has a school now,
and Moore and Ricky Morton has a school now, so
I figure, yeah, I figure both most most wrestling fans
have heard of either one of those.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Guys, right, But Teachi has a school out of California.
You know, there there's guys that I mean, don't I'm
not fad. That's about every school that people don't know about.
But uh, you know, just make sure whoever owns the
school that they care about the other wrestlers, not just
(13:47):
the guy who says, hey, make sure your dudes are
paying and as everybody else go in and and train you,
you know, always make sure it's somebody who cares about you.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, yeah, that's that's true too. He and you got
to make sure that you know, you're not just a
dollar sign, right, You're actually they're they're they're actually there
to make sure to see you develop and succeed and
and you know, it's not just kind of like, hey,
you know, give me your money and now go fuck.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Off, right exactly?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know, pond of one of the stories that uh
I can't remember that it's in the book, but I
remember hearing this. You tell the story on on Hanibal's
podcast where you know you wanted to you had the
opportunity to go to Japan to wrestle, and you had
to drive all the way home to make a tape.
I think that I love that story because that just
(14:39):
shows you, you know, determination, and I love stories like
that because it's kind of like, you know, what are
you willing to do or how are you willing to
pay your dues to sort of follow your dreams? So
if you if you don't mind, you know, would you
mind retelling that story just for those listening.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I was wrestling uh Abdullah the Butcher in Overland, Missouri,
and uh I believe I was leaving a legal I
believe I was living in either Floria, Illinois or Louisgo
Kentucky man, I get I swear my brains are beat
out and I forget things so much. But uh, I'm
(15:15):
doing with a butcher. After I got we got done.
Wrestling was really happy with that match, and he said, kid,
you got it. You know you need you need to
go to Japan. And when he said that, I was
a flabbergat of extriptment. So he said, uh, I'll tell
you what. I'm going to Japan in four days, so
(15:38):
if you could get me a videotape by the time
I come back. When I go back to Japan, I
will take your video tape and see what I can't
do for you. I didn't let that slide then, you know,
I was so excited I couldn't sleep anyway. So from
my little Missouri, I drove straight home, got my two
BC hours together, put the cables in, stayed up all night,
(16:04):
make this video tape, and was at the post office
when it opened. I think I rerapped it him on
a Friday, so it was it was going to be
open from nine to noon. The post office going to
be open from nine to noon on Saturday. Went to
the post office overnighted. I remember back then it wasn't
(16:28):
as bad as what it is now. I think it
was like twenty four bucks or something like that. Overnighted
this video tape to Abdullah's restaurant, and then three within
three days, he called me on the phone todayn Champ.
You really want to go to Japan, don't you? And
I said, yes, Sir, I do. He took the video
tape that time, and the next time he went, I
(16:48):
was going too. So not only was he down in
the tree, but he also realized the determination that you
know that that was my dream, never WWE, WC, none
of the big companies. My dream was I wanted to
go to Japan and wrestle it. Forty three trip there,
I'm back. I believe I exceeded my dream pretty hard.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Yeah, And it also shows again you know what I was,
you know, just saying before, you know, it really just
shows you were willing to just do whatever it took,
because you know, other people what it may have just been, like, well, shit,
I don't have anything ready. Do I really want to
drive all the way back then have to edit a
tape together and then send it out, you know what
I mean? Like, so you actually just you know, just
drove back and it was like wasn't even thought. It
(17:33):
was like I had another option. I guess I just
got to do this.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
All the way home, I was thinking of what matches
to put on this on this videotape. So if that
tells you how determined I was. But you know, like
I remember, and I had it for the longest time,
and I don't anymore. I've been divorced to broke up
with chicks so much that or they broke up with
(17:58):
me hard. But stuff skip left hied. But I had
the napkin that had the matches that I wanted to
put on it and the uh, the listing of of
how I wanted to do it. So yeah, the minute
he said that, that's all I could think of was hell, yeah,
(18:19):
I can't wait to get hold and make this tape.
And another funny thing, Yeah, when Hannibal, when I was
on his podcast, uh, he asked me. He was like, so,
how'd you get in the pan? And I was like, man,
I was hoping you wouldn't after this, but Abdullah got
me over there. But it wasn't very comfortable, was what
(18:42):
I thought it was. But yeah, he really didn't even
act like it phasedn't And and so they're that story.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
So when when you finally were able to go to Japan,
I mean that was your dream. So that first you know,
that first tour, that first day that you kind of
set foot on Japanese soil. You know what, what did
that feel like?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Bondo?
Speaker 6 (19:04):
Well, uh, of course this was before cell phone, but uh,
there was a thing at the airport that they had
Welcome to Japan.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I just sat there and I looked at it for
a minute, and then so people walk aby. I had
to take my picture, you know. Of course it wasn't
a digital picture. It was a This was before uh
anything modern, so it was just one of those little
disposable cameras. But uh, I cookite four or five pictures
(19:39):
in front of the side that said welcome pad because
I had made it. You know. That was the trieve.
But there I was. I had three dreams growing up.
I wanted to be in a demolish near be. I
wanted to marry an ation chick. I want to wrestle
with Japan And I pretty well exceeded all three.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Will be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So uh, and so you actually did end up getting
into a demolition derby.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I sure did. Uh, my car was decked out in
horror movies like I had Jason Leatherface, Freddie Michael Byers,
tall Man Jack Nicholson from The Shinty. I mean my
car worked looked like uh, sort put out in a
comic book when I was dead. But yeah, my buddy
(20:37):
Sam de Lady and Robert Dulady knew how bad I
wanted to be the Deubliicic Derby. They they sowed me
a car for two hundred bucks, help me put it together.
And yet I got to a deblisic therby.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
So so did you end up? Did you end up winning?
Speaker 3 (20:55):
No? Not a lot. Maybe maybe I didn't understand that
you're not supposed to hit people hard and save your car.
And there was a guy who was kind of sand
bag and lighter up right around the entrance to where
he wouldn't get pushed up on a log. So I
(21:15):
went from one end of the of the track to
the other hit this guy. And when I did it
not my accelerator off. It was like it was laid
down on the floor. And after that I knew I
was done.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
See see, I would have made that same mistake pond,
though I would always say to the idea is just
reconiment stuff as possible, right, So yeah, I mean, hey,
you know that. That's awesome. Man, You're able to at
least do that and again and by the way, that's
a really cool idea for a car.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
By the way, it was so cool. And of course
my number was prout of the thirteen.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Wait was so final? Thirteen was the name of the car.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Yet nice number, burnt team.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
That's that's really cool man. Uh, would you ever do
another demolition derby? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Act? Uh? There is a tag team called the Nursey
Brothers out of uh they're they're out of Strictly Faded
Pro Wrestling in Crosshill, ILLINOI and the they demolished derby
where you can have a rider with you. And one
of them asked me if I wanted to ride with
the delic Derby and I said, hell, yeah, I'm there
(22:30):
till January. I'm not going to be driving, but I
will be in another demolition derby.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
That's cool. So you're gonna be kind of like, uh,
you can actually give him advice too. You might tell
him my gage, Look, don't don't just smash, don't drive
across the track full speed and smash into somebody.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
I think he's done a few, so I think, you know,
he got it. But that was my first pinoing one
and I didn't have it at all again.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
But I would have made that same mistake, right. Uh So, buddy,
you know, as you you know, continue, you know your career,
you know you're you're doing, you know, wrestling and all
the independence you got a you actually started your own
public access show. And this is really cool because you know,
I I again, you know, I've heard the story before
(23:17):
and I read it in your book, but you were
able to start your own public access show called skull
Talk TV. And you know it's so interesting. So could
you tell everybody you know, you know how you got
able to how are you able to start the show?
And you know how what what the theme whole you know,
theme and format of the show was well.
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Uh, I was wordered for iw A mets South and uh,
an older gentleman like I don't think, I don't even
think I thought about another show. But an older gentleman
was coming over and telling me he he really liked my.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Stuff, you know that I was a good character. And
he started telling me that this wrestling should be on
TV here in Louisville. For he said, there's a there's
a company called not Cannyburg what they was called. Excuse me,
(24:12):
We'll get a drink liquid and uh, you know they're
they're wrestling horrible. He said, uh, you know, you guys
should try and do something on public access. I told him,
I said, well, Ian tells these DVDs, I'm pretty sure
(24:34):
he's not want to get them away free on a
public access show. So he said, you know, I try
to watch public access as much as I can. But
one of the biggest problems with it they could do
whatever they want on public access. And I was like, really,
He was like, yeah, they could cuss and they can
(24:57):
say as much as the airport on there. I was like,
I'm a palled. And then next day he said, and
you know what else they could do. They could have
nudity on there. And I was like, no kidding, and
I just act like I was so disgusted. But by
the next week or two, I had a public access
show on there just by the guy tell me what
(25:20):
I could have couldn't do. But it was called call Talk.
It was one of the best and worst ideas I
ever had. I I was a big Cape trader back
of the day, but I still had a whole bunch
of those video tapes. And what I did was I
it would put together. I had two d rs. I
(25:40):
would edit everything myself and I would have topless or
naked girl sitting on my lap and I would introduce
different wrestling matches and then we would play them and
it was just a high hour show. But you know,
i'd have like old matches from Florida with Jimmy del Rey.
(26:04):
I do believe I had a I don't remember what
the matches was. But the cool thing was I had
the naked chicks on my lap for no apparent reason,
just that there was naked chicks setting on my lap. Now,
one of the rules, well not one, but there was
a few rules. You couldn't advertise anything, you couldn't show penis,
(26:29):
which I wouldn't anyway, and you couldn't show penetration. Well
this was back when web tv. Do you remember web TV? Yeah, yeah,
I had a web TV. Well you could put your
email address up the bottom there, so I put my
web TV address, which would really aggravate everybody. Was man
(26:52):
Man Pondo in the house, which was long enough, and
then you had to put at WebTV dot com, so
everybody it was best. I had to write out that
whole thing man Pondo in the house, so that was
at the bottom, which my every episode, my inbox would
(27:15):
just be full fifty to fifty fifty percent of people, Oh,
I love this show. This was so funny, what a
great idea. The other fifty was all hate and I
take the public aye fist show. I think they was
having a real fun with either me or the other shows.
(27:39):
But I was in the middle of two religious church shows.
That would be a religious church show Naked Chicks up
Our Lap, and then another religious church show, and this
one preacher. Every episode would just you know, right this
he put I'm sure on my in my inbox and
(28:03):
you know, tell me how that I was going to
hell after Yeah, was just all this stuff.
Speaker 8 (28:09):
So, uh, finally it got down to being a little
bored of it, and I had a girl, uh.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Use a vibrator on herself and that was considered penetration.
So they called me on the phone and said, I'm sorry,
we're not going to be able to play your TV
show anymore, which because I was kind of bored because
the girls were such a problem. You know what, what
(28:41):
you think could take ten fifteen minutes was taking hours
because the girls had to pee or you know, they
wanted to check their makeup, all this shit. So I
really just let it go. And that was after I
believe seventeen episodes and uh, finally that I've traded, maybe
a month month and a half, that the Public Acts
(29:04):
people called me back and that we was wondering if
you could keep on doing those shows because people was
ordering cable just to watch your shows. And by then
I was done with it. I said, no, I'm not interested,
thank you. But it was a good feeling knowing that
that many people watched it or talked about it to
the Public Access show that they would call me and
(29:27):
asked me to come back.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Yeah, I imagine because they weren't really going to pay anyway,
so you're probably you know, it was kind of like
a you know, really a no.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Brainer for you, right right exactly.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
So you know, Patty, you mentioned the girls, You know,
how would you approach girls here to come on to
come on skull Talk.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Power Doom was running a company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and
there was only strippers around.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
So that before it started, first the strippers from his shows,
and then every episode I would put on web TV,
Hey if you'd like to appear, if you're a hot
chick and you'd like to appear on Illo Cactus on
my show, please email me. Well, then the email started
(30:30):
coming in and out of every ten girls, you might
get one or two. But that looked good enough for me,
you know, because it was coming to my house and
you know, we would put up a backdrop and and
film them. But uh, like I said, it was just
(30:51):
like one would say, oh yeah, go into this, and
then you know you're waiting on a one hour or
two hours bomb and you're like, all right, she's not coming.
But when those ones that did show up, you'd be
excited about it. You're like, all right, we got another
episode two, and like I said, two or three hours
into them just being divas, it was just oh rock
(31:15):
at the end of the night. So yeah, I was
ready for it to stop, but couldn't stop because one
I was just I was so into the TV show
because I would go to Wrestless shows and people would
say man, I saw that Call Talk episode. It was
still awesome. And two, I couldn't let these religious guys
(31:38):
beat me. But uh, there was even a point where
I took my own video tape to the public access
station and as I was walking in, the guy that
had a religious show on before mine was walking out,
and we didn't say nothing to each other, but he
stared at me all the way in, and I stared
(31:59):
at him all the way you know.
Speaker 9 (32:01):
So yeah, I mean it was time board stop. And
when they called this if I would continue out, I
had already taking a break from it and didn't add
the headaches and the problems with.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It, And I was like, nah, I'm not interested.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, especially when you're doing it for love of the game, right.
Because I had a friend of mine who was a
He used to do photography, and every so often, like
you know, he did professional photography, you know, he did
different models and stuff. So every so often, you know,
you know, friends of his, you know, would say, hey,
I want to come in and would you give me
a you know, a discount on something. So he would
(32:38):
generally just say, hey, look, we've known each other for
a while. If you come in on a Sunday, at
like you know, I don't know, like noon or whatever
or ten am. He's like, I'll just I'll give you
a whole session for free, because you know, I'm not
going to nickel and dime you. And you know, they
would say, oh, thank you, I'm so I can't wait,
and he would drive to his studio and he would
wait and wait, and they would be like an hour
(32:59):
or two hours late, three hours late, and finally he
would just be like, you know, we're texting him, and
then they would get there and we don't know what
to where should we not do this, blah blah blah,
And finally he just goes, I'm not doing this for
for for anybody anymore. He's like, they have to pay
me now to do this, just because it became so
it became a beast onto itself.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Right exactly. You wouldn't think it would You think it
would just be something stowes comebody coming in, sitting on
my lap. You know, they don't have to talk, they
don't have to do nothing, they just have to show
their kid. But that was just such a chore for
time after time, and you're just like, I'm sick of this. Yeah,
(33:41):
well there's really saying something one of the guys is my,
I'm sick of these titties. Get to that out of here.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Yeah, that should be a quote from you, Pondo, I'm
sick of these titties. Get him at me.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
You know Pondo in your book. By the way, I
have to ask, uh, there was a you said on
the public Access there was a you turn it on
one day and there was a show called.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
I Eat Poop.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yes, that was the that was the wasn't an old
guy told me about the shows? I started, Uh, I
started watching the public hatset to see what the guy
was talking about, and that was one of the shows,
I Eat Poop.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
So is he? I guess this is a dumb question
on my part. Is it Is it exactly what it
sounds like or is it different?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
No, it was just four or five guys doing their
best at like Saturday Night Live skits but failing horribly.
But you know, they they would trade the fuck word,
and you know, they would have a girls with small
outfit on but not totally nude, and and I didn't
(34:49):
you know, it was just funny that there was a
show on called I Eat Poop. And of course they
would come, so, uh, people would like it. But then
when Call Talk come on and there's actual naked girl
and you know, not just Pitt, there's vaginas and and
you know, I'm fucked this and sucked that, and I
(35:09):
don't know, I guess it just people was more amazed
about that and tuning in. I don't even cake, you
had to be a rep if they had to watch
my TV show. It was just so a shock value
that it was on TV that people would tune in.
But they're religious guys. Man. They would talk about how
(35:30):
parable it was that they would watch every episode and
write me, so, you know, it's just just.
Speaker 8 (35:39):
No.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
I was gonna say their closet fans.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Pondo exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
It kind of reminds me a few years ago Howard
Stern uh used to direct people to the what is
it like the Parents Watch Group because basically this parents
Watch Group, Well, on their website, they they had a
they had a collecttion of all the worst things on
the Internet. I was like, oh my god, look at this.
This is awful. We got a boycott this or oh
(36:06):
my god, look at this. Well it accidentally became this
like hub now for all of this like awful stuff
that people could like, Oh, if you wanted something bad,
go to the people in charge of you know, of
of of decency a quote unquote. And it was like
it was just this big collection of stuff and then
they had to like they had they started to realize
all these people were coming to their site, and it
(36:27):
was like it was made it even easier to access
all the stuff.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
I do the same thing with there's a there's a website.
It's called bad numbers dot com. And what bad numbers
dot com is. It's a website that will put numbers
that people have called their number their number and uh,
(36:54):
you know, it's like the Microsoft scammers or the FBI
back to rest you if you don't give us this
money scammers. And the reason the web trite was made
was so you don't call these telephone numbers. And I figured,
if scammers are out to waste our time, we need
to waste as much as that time as well. So
(37:14):
I'll go to that side. I'll find a bad number,
and I'll get a bunch of friends around and I'll
start fucking with these cameras. So kind of like the
same what you just said with the with the Howard
stern one.
Speaker 4 (37:27):
You know that that seems like that would be a
pretty funny you know TV show podcast Bondo.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I here you maybe I'll i'll I'll try to do that.
Speaker 4 (37:36):
And if you do that, just just remember your old
pal Dave.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
I'll do it.
Speaker 7 (37:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
It was a buddy after you know, you did skull
Talk TV.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You know you ended up becoming a producer for the
Jerry Spur Show.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
I wouldn't call me a producer. I would call me
a hired hand. I mean I was just getting them
guests and and you know, they was giving me a check,
so and all I had to do was call in
and and of course all my friends or show offs
just like me and was ready to go. So it
(38:12):
was it was a win win situation for everybody.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
So so how did they go about contacting you to
come on the show and to sort of be the
hard hand for them.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
Well, my buddy a Craft cut on the Cherry's Free
Your Show and they asked him do you know any
crazy people? And of course he showed them my videos
and I was on the show twice and finally they asked, hey,
do you know any crazy You know crazy people yourself?
And I said I'm a wrestler. I know all types
(38:43):
are crazy people. So I just started getting wrestlers or
faiths and putting them on the show. And that's thing.
I know. I got eight hundred dollars checks, six hundred
dollars checks, and I was like, well this was easy.
But just like the sculped Off show, after a while,
just you know, got so pouring because they wanted you
(39:04):
on call twenty four hours. If they needed somebody at two, three,
four in the morning, they would call you and say, hey,
we need this. Well who the hell you got to
get it to at three or four in the morning.
So but they was a demanding you know. And then
when you said, well I don't know what I want
to get, well, yeah, we've been paying you, we've been
doing you know it. If it came bullshit and I
(39:25):
didn't want to do it no more, so I stopped. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
I can imagine getting called two or three in the
morning and just being look, ay, Bondo, we need a uh,
you know, a couple to come on the show or whatever,
and you're like, well, how am I supposed to get
that right now? It's you know, it's three o'clock in
the morning, and you know there made they made a
halfway across the country exactly. Yeah, so you don't pond it.
What were some of the you know, some of the
crazy people you met while while doing Springs. I knew
(39:53):
in the book you mentioned that you met Butterbean.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
Yeah, butter Bean, Rod Jeremy was there for one and
one of the Backstreet Boys. I don't listen to him,
so I don't remember who it was, but he was
just there towards I guess they was doing a concert
somewhere in the area and he was at the show
to watch, not to be on the show. But I
(40:28):
got to meet him, and you know, I mean and
plus if you when you would go to the circus,
it wasn't the circus that would draw me in. It
was the small freak show before the circus, Jerry Springer
show from the green Room. The green Room was its
(40:49):
own free show that I just loved, and they would
fly me in to hang out with, you know, the
people that I was getting on the show. So I
was able to go to Greenroom, the Greenroom, the green Room,
and man, I'm killing you there was some. There was
some strange ones, some hot ones, some ugly ones, some
(41:11):
misshaped ones. I mean that Jerry's Fear of green rooms
was a free show all of itself, and it would
draw me in.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
So you mentioned, you know, I actually I mentioned Butterbean,
you know. So was he was he there to be
a guest on the show?
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Yeah, but uh, he was in the back with us first,
he was like waiting in line. I guess his manager
had called the Spring of show and said, hey, Butterbean
will be interested in coming in. So of course I
put him on the front row. And and uh, ironically
that was Uh. I got all the guests for that
(41:49):
show except too, and uh two of the guests that
I got wash was the Bump and Uglies, and my
buddy Bubba was like Jacklein Butterbean to get up on
stage and fight him. So uh, you know, just it
was yeah, Butterbean and Ron Jammy. I don't remember why
(42:11):
he was there. He was on the show though, because
I do believe I don't remember, but you know, just
any any little perk that you got, and of course
I would, I would. I got to hang out with
Jerry Eyber once in a while, Steve didn't really care
for me, so I didn't really get to hang out
with Steve all that much. But Jerry Spring was a
(42:31):
really nut guy, and you know, he would talk to
us and stuff, and he would go from green room
to green room and welcome everybody there. So I got
to meet him a lot, you know, be in all
these green rooms, and it was a fun experience. But
when it's time to go, it's time to go, you know.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
Yeah, I definitely know what you mean. You know, just
to sort of follow with Butterbean, you mentioned him fighting,
you know, or somebody challenging him to fight him on stage.
Do you remember but being fought in the bral for
All in in WF I do?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (43:04):
What do you What are your thoughts on that whole
brawl for All thing?
Speaker 3 (43:07):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Yeah, I mean it just you know, I remember when
when Butterbean knocked out Bart Gunn in like twenty seconds.
But what did you think about that whole competition? You
know that was actually legit?
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Ah, I mean of course I was. I couldn't take
my off for it. But I'll tell you a funny story.
Do you remember Bart Gunn won one of those I know,
I know he got to be down by Butterbeat and
I don't remember the situation, but bart Gunn won one
of those brawl for it All and he brought the
(43:37):
trophy to is w A MIT South and he said
he would get it when he when he came back,
and he never came back. So the original trophy was
sitting in the locker room of iw A MIT South
for I bet a whole year. But it was the
original trophy from Bralford, you know, big tall fan about
(44:02):
I bet it came up to my shoulder and you
would think somebody who won that trophe he would want
it back, but it was just there for some reason.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
Did he did it to whatever happened to.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
It, you know, I don't know, but he and probably
solold it on eBay for something I don't know. But
it was there for I remember a long time.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, it would have been kind of funny if you
had taken it. I mean, like you're there, you're the
brawl Fall champion, you know.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
Nah, I'm not. I'm not. That'd be like a target
on my forehead, faced up my cat. I ain't having
them there pack the shit out of me.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
No, I'm just kidding, Pondo, I mean plus you're such
an awesome guy. I can't imagine, like I do remember,
I do remember the brawl from when bart Gunn beat
Doctor Death. That was kind of that was kind of
an upset, but I'm yeah, I mean and they thought
Doctor Death was gonna win the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Do you remember that, I do. Yeah, it was pumping
it up. I don't even think buck Gunn had a promo.
It was doctor Nettune promos all to the thing and
that thing, you know, bark Gunn, you know, just knocked
him out.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
Yeah, and then uh, and then they had him had
him fight Butterbean, and I mean, I mean that that
was I mean, I mean Butterbean. You know, he he's
I don't know how you would classify Butterbean if he's
like an amateur or a professional or somewhere in between.
But I mean that guy, I mean, he was a
legit fighter regardless when when I saw it, I actually
saw that that fight, and when I saw that, I
(45:39):
and you know, within the first couple of seconds, but
be knock bart gun down and then I think a
couple of seconds later he he just gave him that
right hook, and I mean he dropped bart gun and uh,
I think bart guns like kind of left after that, right,
I can't remember, but.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
I think that was his demise. I think when he
lost that that was more or less pick it out.
Speaker 4 (46:02):
Yeah, and then and then but yeah, you know, just
to kind of tie this all in, I'm surprised he actually,
you know, left that trophy there in the locker room.
Did do you think maybe do you think maybe he
just forgot that where he left it, or just.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
Thinking you have two ships about it, wanted it two?
Speaker 4 (46:17):
Yeah, yeah, that that that's true. But yeah, now I
guess it's kind of lost or it was sold somewhere
on eBay. But uh, you know that that that's interesting
as hell.
Speaker 8 (46:26):
Man.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
Uh but you know, just to you know, just to
continue along, you know, I just want to say, Pondo,
you know, I read your book from cover to cover,
uh I, And when I heard it was coming out,
I was really excited because again, I followed your career
for a while when I when I used to watch wrestling.
I haven't watched wrestling since probably two thousand and four
or five, right right when I graduated high school. And
(46:47):
I just kind of I just got kind of kind
of got out of it. But but you know, your
your book Memoirs of a of a Madman. It's sitting
right in here next to me. I have some I
actually marked up some pages, so I I, you know,
had some things. You know. I was like, oh, I
better ask about this. I want to ask him more
about this. But uh, you know, where did you start
to you know, want you know, uh get you a
(47:07):
sort of get the impetus to write your own book.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
There was John Coffer wrote another book called Revel and
he had asked me. I don't even remember what the
question he asked me, but I had a couple of
paragraphs in that book, and people kept asking John Coff, Hey,
if mad Man Ponder wrote a couple of paragraphs, you
(47:32):
should do a book on him and be really funny
and entertaining. So John Copston kept asking me, you know, hey,
I want to do a book on you. Are you interested?
And you know, to me, I don't know if it's
the humbleness in me or just the the fright of
of nobody giving a ship, but you know I was,
(47:54):
I was really on the fence about that. I don't know,
you know, I don't know about in a book because
I didn't want a book written about me and then
walking in like the dollar Tree and it's it's even
half off at the Dollar Tree, you know, just some
shit like that. But finally people started coming to me
(48:17):
and saying, hey, you should, you should write a book,
you know, and they didn't even know that John Cocker
was making me the the proposition. So when I started thinking,
you know, maybe maybe people would read my book. So
I went to John College and I said, all right,
let's do it. Let's write this Van Man Pondo book.
And when I finally did agree to do the book,
(48:39):
he was also working on doctor G. David Schultz's book,
which is also available, and so it took longer to
get the book written because he would he was really
focusing then on that and there was a lot of
stuff he had to go over. But on his free
time we would meet at Denny's or his house and
(49:01):
and work on my book. And then finally when he
was Dell a doctor D've, we just focused in on it,
got it done and there it is a in front
of you. But uh, I just want everybody to know that, yes,
I'm a wrestler, but this book isn't all about my
wrestling career. Right. I put things that I necked up
(49:23):
in my life, funny things that I did on the road.
I believe there there is a whole conversation with a
Nigerian scammer in there. There's I made it in a
comic book that's in there. It's full of pictures that
a few that I've taken over the years. I mean,
(49:45):
there's so much, so much in this book. And when
John after it came out, John Cosper wrote me, he said, hey,
you know the number one reppling auto biography on Amazon.
I was like, holy shit, are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (50:01):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
So uh, it showed me that people did really want
to hear what I had to say. But uh, in reality,
I was just the newest book. And then shins k
wrote his and then you know that number one foot
got the shit kicked out of it. But I was
a number one something on Amazon, which is a pretty
big thing for me. So, like I said, you should
(50:32):
get this book on Amazon dot com, or you can
contact John Cobsberg get your own autograph copy at e
sleepwrethl dot com.
Speaker 4 (50:42):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna link to everything uh pano
and I just talked about there in the show notes everybody,
Uh po. I just want to ask you real quick,
what is your favorite story from the book.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
I don't know if it's my favorite story, but you
read the book, you saw that I held onto a
story and never told anybody. And then finally when I
was writing the book, I was like, you know what,
let's put this in there. And it was the junk
Yard dog story. Did you did you like that story? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (51:18):
I did?
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Actually that was that was the one that was the
story that I held onto or my twenty nine years
of resting, and I was like, you know what, fuck it,
let's put it in there. And so what's that run
up for everybody? What the Junkyard dog story is? But uh,
that was probably my favorite one that I put in
(51:39):
the book.
Speaker 4 (51:41):
Yeah, yeah, we won't ruin the story. But I have
two favorite stories in the book. One is the Abdullah
Butcher story and and the other one is the is
the Joe la Duke story.
Speaker 3 (51:54):
Yeah, both those about those are I get asked a
lot about that Joe story.
Speaker 4 (52:02):
Good because I think that's hilarious because I can just
see something like that, like, you know what We'll call
it an unfortunate series of events happening.
Speaker 3 (52:10):
We just keep getting worse and worse and you can't
at the wrong time.
Speaker 4 (52:18):
Yeah, it's just like whatever could have went wrong in
that story went wrong for for you, Pond, like even
from the get go, from the get go, it was
it was. It was bad.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
It was real bad. But he made me a star
at my school, so.
Speaker 4 (52:33):
Fail that, you know, Yeah, it's it all, It all
worked out in the end.
Speaker 6 (52:39):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (52:39):
So you Upando, We've been talking for about, you know,
roughly fifteen minutes now, So just in closing, is there
anything you you sort of want to say to put
a period at the end of this whole conversation.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
Well, we didn't. We didn't cap on it. But I've
started my own all girls reftling company. It's called girl
Fight Reffling. He go to Facebook and search girl Fight.
It'll be the first starting that pops up. And uh,
you know, it's a platform for newer girls to network
(53:11):
and get to work with the vet girls. So I'm
pretty proud of it. And we have another one we've
been Uh we did one called Midnight girl Fight. Would
you pretty good for it? So the night before Thanksgiving,
we're going to have another midnight girl Fight and what
that is. We started eleven fifty nine because if I
(53:32):
started it at midnight, oh my god, you can't believe
how many people thought a Friday show was going to
be on a Saturday. You know. It was just a
big headache. So I changed the flyer and uh, it
starts on eleven fifty nine on Wednesday. And it's just
a good time, you know. I mean, people will come
out at midnight and it's still really loud and they're
(53:55):
all having a good time. But uh, you know, pick
up a girl Fight DVD or whatever and see what
we're all about. But girl Fight, that's my my all
girls wrestling jumpany.
Speaker 4 (54:12):
Yeah, and I'll make sure to link to that in
this show.
Speaker 3 (54:14):
Notes.
Speaker 4 (54:14):
Is there any social media sites that people can find
you at?
Speaker 3 (54:17):
Pondo? Uh? You know, I'm real terrible about that shit.
But my name is Kevin Kennedy C A N A
D Y. And I'm on Facebook and I do have
an Instagram and a Twitter, but I don't know. For
the longest time on Twitter, I was writing people and
they wasn't write me back, and I'm like, what an Asshold,
(54:38):
But I didn't know you had to put at at
the beginning of of who you're trying to write though,
I was the apt though. But anyway, Facebook is probably
the easiest one, and that's Kevin Kennedy C A N
A D Y. I think just a picture of me
and al Vira, Yeah, me and al Vira is my
(54:58):
profile pick.
Speaker 4 (54:59):
Right now, and and I'll link that in the show notes.
By the way, I think, Pondo, I think you're at
your friends cap because I actually sent you a firm
request and it just said I think you were at
your limit.
Speaker 3 (55:12):
Oh real, Well I'll delete some people. I don't do it.
Speaker 4 (55:15):
Shit. Yeah, thank you you make just make some room
for me, bet uh may Man, Pondo, I'm gonna say
thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (55:26):
Then, oh, thank you for giving me the time. Man,
like you can't wrestle enough to keep on living out
can you die? So things like this help my name
stay out there. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (55:39):
I want to thank Dave so much for doing such
a great job on this episode. If you want to
get links to anything we spoke about in this episode,
head over to the show notes at Bulletproof Screenwriting dot tv.
Forward slash for thirty nine. Thank you so much for
listening to guys. As always, keep on writing no matter what.
I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (55:55):
Thanks for listening to the Bulletproof Screenwriting podcast at Bulletproof
screenwrit He dot.
Speaker 1 (56:00):
T v
Speaker 8 (56:05):
Mm hmm
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.