By Daniel V. St. Germaine
“I enjoy cheating in my matches sometimes,” says RJ Skinner, “people always want to play strong and brave – I like to play the ass-hole.” Skinner is a wrestler-actor-musician and a self-proclaimed Superstar. His alter-ego RJ City is well known in the wrestling community for his show-stealing antics and piano interludes. Equally appealing to hard core wrestling fans and their mothers – RJ Skinner might actually be a bona-fide Superstar soon enough. He recently played the Wolfman in the upcoming indie flick Monster Brawl, and can be seen in the YTV series Splatalot. His star is on the rise. A classically trained actor with more than ten years of acting experience to his name, Skinner is a little different from the other wrestlers in the CWE (Canadian Wrestling Elite). He is part of a new generation of wrestlers that is trying to bring something new to the scene – some humour, some mischief, and a bit of style.
Daniel St. Germaine: How would you describe your personal style?
RJ Skinner: It seems to be a mish-mash most of the time. Sometimes I put on clothes and look in the mirror and I say “Why? Why did I think that when I looked at this in the closet it would look good on me?”. I have a very odd shaped body.
DS: Really?
RS: Yes, I have very large feet. There are only a certain number of things I can wear.
DS: Because of your feet?
RS: Yes, and I have big shoulders and a small waist. Shirts tend to hang off of the shoulders and make me look fat. These are the things that concern me. But seriously, I would say my style is simple – a clean t-shirt and some jeans. If its clean I'm happy. If its clean and somewhat colourful I'm thrilled.
DS: Is the way you dress important to you?
RS: Yeah, its important. Its not crucial. But I feel
like a moron when I put on horrible clothes and have to go out knowing I look like a moron. Sometimes I'm out for a while and then I realize how ridiculous I look. This doesn't bother me as much.
DS: Is the way other people dress important to you?
RS: Yes. Definitely. There was this professor at school who always wore dress shirts with sleeves that were too long. I couldn't take this guy seriously. I'd look at him and think “I can't respect you. Your sleeves are too long. Go to Moore's, go the The Bay for Godsake.” He looked like a four year old with a beard and a weight problem.
DS: What do you hope to say to other people with the way that you present yourself?
RS: That I'm clean and that I don't smell. And that I'm not a psychopath or a sociopath. Those are the things that I'm not. That's what I like to say with my clothing. I may not be a fantastic person, but I'm not insane.
DS: Do you look to others for inspiration, or does your style only come from within?
RS: I definitely look to others, but it really is a mixture of everything I see. It comes from within as well, but I take little things that I like from everyone and I mix them up and it comes out all facacta but it usually seems to work. So far.
DS: Is there a typical style for wrestlers inside or out of the ring?
RS: There used to be a really bad 80's style that we cant seem to shake off. With zubaz -
DS: What are “zubaz”?
RS: They're kind of like pyjama pants that people used to work out in. They have these awful patterns on them. The style used to be zubaz, fanny packs, Doc Martins and spaghetti strap tank tops with mullets. Also, those weightlifting sweatshirts that have really wide necks. These were the things that were very much in style when wrestling was most popular. Then in the 90's it was all jean shorts and black t shirts with angry, violent writing on them. So they're not really very astute when it comes to whats in fashion, these wrestlers. So, I'm trying to get away from that. I'm trying to dress slightly more like an actual human being. People still wear the zubaz and the Doc Martins, and they think that because they're wearing this they're automatically a wrestler. They're these odd little social accessories that people think makes you a member of this group. But I think it really just makes you look like a fool most of the time.
DS: Are there any wrestlers whose style you admire?
RS: Randy Savage had a different outfit any time anyone ever saw him. This guy had over three hundred different robes. The outfits this guy had were amazing. All these different patterns and colours and stripes. It was phenomenal. It was him. Only he could wear it. He was the only guy who was really unique and it was really, like, “Wow”. Not that it was good style at all, it was horrible actually. He used to wear these outfits all the time, even outdoors. It was crazy, but it was him and if you saw him from behind you knew it was him and it couldn't be anyone else.
DS: How do you choose what to wear in the ring?
RS: Its weird. It seems like the less clothes you wear the more seriously you're taken. If you have a t-shirt on you're kind of looked down upon like the fat kid who wont take off his t-shirt in the pool. Its about bravado, its about your body. Wrestling's not about hiding, so wearing something like a t-shirt is kind of ludicrous. If you're fat you have to just go with the fat. You have to embrace the fat.
DS: So if you're fat, what do you do?
RS: If you're fat you have to take your shirt off and just be fat. Be the fat guy. Wrestling's all about characters and stereotypes and large personalities. So, I used to have tights but I don't wear the tights anymore. Then I went to shorts. And now I wear the standard trunks – the briefs. And that's really when people start taking you seriously. They say, “He's wearing the briefs, he must be serious.”
DS: Who makes your boots?
RS: My boots are made by a gentleman in Kingston. He makes boots for war re-enactments as well. He took thirty different measurements of my feet and legs because they go all the way up to my knees. They're patent leather and the laces are parachute strings. They're really well made and they seem to work really well for beating people up in. I've worked the heck out of those boots. They were like $350 but they were worth it.
DS: What about your tights?
RS: There's a lady in Oshawa who has a place called Seductions. She makes outfits for synchronized swimmers and fitness models. I go to her about once a year and we discuss my outfits and what I want to wear. Then she makes them all by hand herself. Its fabulous.
DS: What's your grooming regimen like?
RS: A lot of shaving. I guess because we're sweating a lot and rubbing up against each other body hair isn't exactly kosher. Its an industry standard basically. Unless of course, you're the “hairy guy” and that's your thing, the expectation is to shave pretty much everything.
DS: Everything?
RS: Yeah everything. Your legs have to be pretty much totally clean, same with your underarms, chest and stomach. The whole package.
DS: The whole package?
RS: Yeah there too. I don't know why exactly. I feel like there's a Greco-Roman ancestry to the practice. I just think it looks nice. It keeps me feeling clean. I look to go out with capris on and have smooth legs. I feel like I'm in control.
DS: Does your alter-ego “RJ City” have a different style than you?
RS: Definitely. I mean, its not totally different. Its not like I'm playing an 80-year old Russian guy. Its still a part of me and it comes from my personality. But its not necessarily who I am. He's a very loud, confident, and outrageous character. Then there's also this other level of the character, where things don't go his way and he's totally paranoid, and desperate, and pathetic, and mean, and mischevious, and evil, and everything that's horrible. Which is nice. I enjoy cheating in my matches sometimes. I think its fun. People always want to play strong and brave – I like to play the asshole.
DS: How does that all come out in how “he” dresses? Or does it?
RS: Its all usually very simple. In wrestling we wear our bodies. So, my body is as much a part of my outfit as my actual clothing. Coming back to the “Fat Guy”, that fat would be a part of his outfit. It all comes together with the way I hold myself – my hair, my face, and my actions in conjunction with my actual outfit.
DS: Do you hope to inspire others with your sense of style?
RS: Its weird. I feel like I inspire people in an “opposite way”. They appreciate that I am the asshole who is cheap and horrible and ruins everything. They like that I'm a jerk. They kind of enjoy that. The are these groups of twenty to thirty guys that come to my matches and they wear t-shirts with my picture on them. They think its kind of cool to be that much of an asshole.
DS: Have your recent successes changed the way you dress?
RS: Yes. I'm very bad at dressing like an adult. Sometimes I put things on and I think, “What the hell, you're not ready for this. What is this, Chaps?” And then its on me and I think what were you thinking thirty seconds ago? So I take it off and put on something that feels more like me. I feel like the more ridiculous I dress when I'm wrestling the more I want to wear something simple when I'm not. I feel like, alright, I already dressed liked a moron once this weekend, now I'm going on a date, maybe I could just wear a pair of jeans. Now that I'm actually winning titles, I think it would be a good idea to dress a little nicer. I remember when I was a kid and I would see wrestlers at LaGuardia Airport and they'd be wearing a suit and buying a Wall Street Journal. Seeing that was almost as cool as getting their autograph.
DS: Because they were out of character?
RS: They were never out of character those guys. It was amazing because they were still the guy you saw in the ring, but wearing a suit. A regular guy wearing a suit is nice, but no big deal. These guys were monsters in three-pieces.
DS: Do you have any tips for success that you could share with others?
RS: I would never say, “Here is what you do”. I would just say “Do”. Just go and do. If you're sitting around thinking about it you should just get up and do it. If you sit around and think all the time you'll never get anything done. That's my motto.
DS: That's a good motto.
RS: I just made it up.
DS: I figured.
