Marcus Pitts: Thank you for taking this time to conduct this interview.
SnowMan: Thanks for having me. It should be fun. I have conducted interviews with everyone from Lobsterman to Ginger Lynn, but I rarely sit on this side of the microphone.
MP: Can you tell me a little about the history of the SnowMan?
SM: The character named the “Snowman” started in 1996, and it has been played by a couple guys over the years. I think of it as something like James Bond, in regards to the fact that several people have played the part. We all put on the afro and the dark sunglasses, and we all bring our own personalities to the character. Back in the late 90s, the Squad experienced great success by bringing funky music and video to the Internet. The site got really popular. ICP has Juggalos, and the SnowMan has the Afro-Squad. The original characters were Snowman and Crazyman. I have morphed the name a bit to “SnowMan Jones.”
MP: Who were the main influences when you were growing up to get you interested in professional wrestling?
SM: I used to watch a lot of WWF TV, so it was an interest of mine, and by the 90s I started watching as much wrestling as I could find on TV.
MP: Do you try to separate wrestling from the Afro-Squad?
SM: I certainly try, but over the years they have meshed together. In some areas of the country, the SnowMan is known more for wrestling than traditional Afro-Squad “fight the Man” antics.
MP: Were you involved with any other sports while growing up?
SM: I was always very athletic. In high school I did baseball, basketball, track and cross country. Later on I did tennis, racquetball, flickerball, golf, a couple years of unarmed combat, soccer, football, etc. There aren’t many sports that I haven’t done for at least six months. At one point, my father was a professional boxing trainer, so I have picked up a thing or two from him too.
MP: You seem to be over where ever you do appear. What do you contribute to all of your popularity?
SM: I think people just like to wear afros and feel included. It is a big “Army.” I couldn’t even start to count all the members we’ve had. We’ve been on national TV in the U.S. and Australia, we’ve been in magazines like Maxim and Pro Wrestling Illustrated, we’ve had fan clubs, we’ve sold shirts and bumper stickers, but most importantly we’ve made a lot of friends. Over the past few years, I’ve shifted from making new Afro-Squad content to making content to help indy wrestlers establish their names. I average over an hour a day editing video and photos to promote indy wrestlers. I really don’t care to promote my name anymore. I just want to get these guys over, and I admit I like making new friends.
MP: Are you amazed at how popular that Afro-Squad.com has become in the last couple of years?
SM: The Squad has been popular for years now. People were downloading our videos before there was a Youtube. I am actually more surprised by the quick success of http://www.wrestling911.com. We have so many cool people on there. It is amazing.
MP: You have been a big proponent of FCW since it first started. How has it changed since then and is it for the better or worse for the WWE?
SM: FCW was very interesting for me because I got to meet a lot of cool people by going to the events. The BSM, Cupcake, Nick Major, the families of every up and coming WWE wrestler from that era, and many more. Dusty Rhodes has an Afro-Squad shirt, and John Cena borrowed my afro for a TV taping. As a wrestling fan, that’s kind of cool. I know that the quality of the wrestling isn’t the same as RoH, but for a long time wrestling fan, it was very cool to sit next to one of the Harts or Anoai’s for three hours and talk. To this day, I can turn of WWE TV and recognize Sheamus’ girlfriend in the audience or laugh about stories I shared with Diana Hart. It was a very cool experience for me as a fan. I learned a lot from going to FCW.
MP: Who do you think has the best chance of making the “Fed” from the current talent roster?
SM: I haven’t been going to FCW as much lately because a lot of the people I know have moved on. Michael Tarver is one of the last guys from that original group of people I watched. Jackson Andrews has a lot of potential as an athletic seven footer. He is chiseled, and seems to be the kind of guy that Vince wants. April Lee is such a sweet girl, and I think she can really move in the ring. Savanna is a very talented wrestler, so I hope she gets a chance to work. Abraham Washington has more natural talent than almost anyone on the microphone. If he gets the right gimmick and a bit of luck, he’ll do very well.
MP: In a fans perspective, what is wrong with mainstream wrestling today and why has it lost some of its appeal?
SM: Everyone has their own opinion. It just isn’t cool to like wrestling right now. It is looked down upon by the average person. There was a time where wearing a 3:16 or nWo shirt was cool. Right now, it just doesn’t have that feel.
MP: You are also a fan of WXW. You actually stood behind Afa Anoi during the slight controversy of having exclusive champions. Do you still see this as a good move or do you think it has hurt WXW?
SM: Let me address two aspects. One is that Jordi Scrubbings was really the vocal supporter, so I want to make sure you don’t confuse his support and mine. The second is that I think Afa acted like a professional by not addressing the issue publicly. Calling him names on a message board is childish and only made the wrestling community look bad.
MP: What promotions do you feel are the better promotions in the area right now and why?
SM: Every promotion brings its own feel. Vintage’s WrestleBrawl and the Fusion event I saw in Temple Terrace were two of the biggest shows that I have seen in the past year. They both had a lot of star power. I have been to about ten different promotions in the past year or so. I have had a good time at almost all of them.
MP: You recently did the Pro Wrestling eKlipse project and I would like to say that you did a very fine job of putting it together.
SM: Thanks Pitt. It was fun to see if I could do a project like that.
MP: What influenced you to make the PWe project?
SM: I had a lot of PWe footage that I wanted to put online, and I had enough knowledge about the company where I thought I could do it justice. I put a lot of hours into that. Everyone had an opinion about PWe, and everyone had an opinion about the documentary.
MP: What do you consider was the downfall of Pro Wrestling eKlipse?
SM: It is a simple answer. The venue closed. That’s why they stopped running shows. The leadership in that promotion (including the workers) all tried to make something big. They worked hard, and they learned a lot from the process.
MP: Do you have any ideas for projects such as this in the near future?
SM: Every week somebody comes to me with new ideas. Sinn Bodhi wants a Dynamite Death Monkey project. People have asked about an ASW, ACW, SCW, and others. I have been wanting to do one about the city of Detroit, and I even did a mini one about Ybor city. Who knows what the future holds?
MP: You have had much success with Wrestling911. What made you consider making another forum when there was so many at the time of its conception?
SM: That’s a good question. I wanted to have a place to showcase the content I made about wrestlers in Florida, and I originally started posting on Florida Indies. I had a lot of videos and pictures, and I liked to talk about Gulf Coast wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. The viewers on Indies didn’t seem to show much interest in those topics, so I created Wrestling911 as a vehicle to post those videos and pics. That’s probably what started the site.
MP: I consider your forum as probably the best in the area right now. Why is your forum having all of this popularity?
SM: It has been a team effort. I have had help from the management at ASW, PWe, ACW, and across the wrestling spectrum. I asked my friends (like Cupcake, Jeff, Gargoyle, Classic Girl, and others) to assist. I have trolled other non-wrestling boards for ideas, and asked people to do things like rankings and “thumbs up.” I thought it was a coup when we got Vale on the board. The Don, Seth, 19, Mr.100, and Neil do a great job keeping things moving.
MP: I have to ask you, what influenced you to go to wrestling matches wearing a wig?
SM: I started wearing it to wrestling when I was in the ring as a personality. I really don’t like wearing the afro as a fan to sporting events, unless I am in a big group. I have done it at the request of friends and I have had fun, but that is more of my in-ring gimmick. I wore it to Pro Wrestling eKlipse and Florida Championship Wresting, but I normally prefer not to wear the afro when I am in the crowd. You may have also seen Afro-Squad members (like Jordi Scrubbings, the Rated R Afro Star, Classic Girl, and the Cowbell Kid) represent the Squad in the crowd. People sometimes confuse us, but it is all in good fun. They have a lot of fun with it.
MP: Some people say that you try to get over more than you should at wrestling events. What do you have to say to these individuals?
SM: There a bunch of ways to answer that. First, I think that anyone who says that about me MAY be confusing me for other Afro-Squad members. I only say that because a lot of people come to me and say, “I can’t believe you yelled that,” and I wasn’t even at the show. The Squad has some very zealous members, which most people like and some don’t. I am probably not the most outspoken person in the bunch. Look at the last 50 videos I posted on http://www.youtube.com/911wrestling. I bet I have posted dozens of hours of wrestling content, promoting events and individual wrestlers, but you probably only see my face on camera for a total of about 2 minutes. I really don’t want to be known for wrestling. I’d rather be known as the guy who helped others out.
Second, I think if people are intentionally saying that about me, then it is just them being childish. If I promote 49 guys, the 50th guy will complain that I am not promoting him. People sometimes act childish. I just try to help out where I can. I do promote http://www.Wrestling911.com though. I think of it as a vehicle to promote independent wrestling. So if that is their complaint, then maybe they have a valid point.
MP: It seems like you have quite a collection of lovely women that write on your forum…..
SM: Yeah. I keep inviting new cuties to the board. Some stick around, and some don’t. We have a few hot readers that don’t post, but they are out there too.
MP: What can we look forward from the Afro Squad and Wrestling 911?
SM: I don’t know. We have http://www.afro-squad.com/blog, which is coming along nicely. I’ve been doing more reffing and announcing lately, which is new.
MP: I would like to thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I wish you and your forum much success.
SM: Thanks homie. You are one cool cat. How about you take a moment and promote what you are up to lately?
Snowman Jones is one of the most talented individuals that we have on the Florida scene. I truly wish him much success in everything he does.
Marcus Pitts
Correspondent
