David Chappell presents

UP CLOSE

with JIMMY “BOOGIE WOOGIE MAN” VALIANT


 




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New photo of Boogie wearing his WWE Hall of Fame ring!

 

 

 

Talk about perpetual motion! Fans of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the early and mid 1980s who remember the bundle of energy named Jimmy Valiant will be happy to know that the “Boogie Man” hasn’t slowed down a bit. Whether he’s putting new pieces of wrestling memorabilia up in his amazing Hall of Fame wrestling museum, tweaking his Sunday show at Boogie’s Wrestling Camp, or arranging for an upcoming personal appearance, the Boogie Man is non-stop action.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting with Boogie, his lovely wife Angel and their prize pooch Roxie, at their beautiful Shawsville, Virginia home…which is also home to Boogie’s Wrestling Camp (BWC) and Hall of Fame Museum. And now, without further ado, it’s time to get up close with Jimmy Valiant!

David Chappell
September 2008


 

David Chappell: Thanks Boogie for inviting me to BWC! I’ve always wanted to come up here!

 

Jimmy “Boogie” Valiant: First, Dave, I want to thank you for coming brother. And thanks to Dick Bourne, too. Again, man, every time I talk to anybody, they say the greatest wrestling website out there is the Mid-Atlantic Gateway!

 

Chappell: You’re way too kind!

 

Boogie: Aw brother, you guys do a great job with it. And I just take my hat off to you.

 

Chappell: Wow…thanks again! Dick and I really enjoy it.

 

Boogie: I know it gets more hits than anything! Probably up there with WWE, man!

 

Chappell: (laughs) Dick keeps tracks of some of those stats! But I hope you’re right, because we want a lot of people to read this, and discover what a great operation you have up here at BWC!

 

Boogie: God bless ya’ll!

 

Chappell: Tell everyone a little bit about what you have going on at BWC.

 

Boogie: Yes, yes…this is going on our 17th year here at Boogie’s Wrestling Camp and Hall of Fame Museum. My wife Angel and myself broke ground here in September of 1992, and our first graduating class was in September of 1993.

 

September 14th, will be our sixteenth graduating class!

 

Chappell: How time flies!

 

Boogie: We’re really proud of this, and it’s something we put together ourselves. You know, people came all throughout my career asking me, ‘How do you get into professional wrestling…how do you do this?’

 

Chappell: Yep, I bet you’ve gotten hit with that question a time or two!

 

Boogie: When I started out, Dave, it was a very close knit fraternity of wrestlers. It was almost impossible to get in.

 

The only way you could get in was if one of the pros, the old-timers, would bring you in. And introduce you, and then they would accept you and take you under their wing. They’d accept you if you weren’t a wise-guy, you know!

 

Chappell: Being a wise-guy wouldn’t get you too far, I wouldn’t think…

 

Boogie: If you were a hard guy and, you know, real cocky, that didn’t go over. Hey, be cocky in the ring when you go out there…but not cocky when you’re in the dressing room and believing your own publicity!

 

But if they accepted you brother, then they brought you in…you were in. But if they didn’t, believe me brother, you wouldn’t have a chance!

 

Chappell: I believe it!

 

Boogie: Because for one thing the old-timers, brother, they had the cauliflower ears and the twenty inch necks, and man, they’d actually hurt you!

 

Chappell: Stretching the newbies!

 

Boogie: They’d break your arm; break your leg; break your neck. Man, you know, you would leave our business running out the door with your tail between your legs…

 

Chappell: You were either broken in…or left broken!

 

Boogie: You bet! Either broke in, or you were gonna be broken, right! If you didn’t make it, you were gonna be running with your tail between your legs like a scalded dog!

 

Chappell: So, against that backdrop, you and Angel started BWC…

 

Boogie: Yes, Angel and I started this for the kids, because I had a great career over forty years. I wrestled over 10,000 matches, drove four million miles over U.S. highways getting to the matches.

 

So, man, now I’m here…and all I want to be is a goodwill ambassador for professional wrestling. Helping my kids live out their dreams! Making their dreams come true…and you can make it happen right here at BWC!

 

Chappell: You sure had a storybook career, Boogie…

 

Boogie: I’m here for the kids…everything is for the kids. I call them kids, but I’ve got guys starting out thirty, forty, fifty years old wanting to do something in our business!

 

Chappell: Your kids are all ages!

 

Boogie: Hey, if it’s a referee, announcer, timekeeper, put up the ring, take the jackets back, valet, manager and of course a wrestler…you can learn everything right here at BWC.

 

Chappell: Tell us about the BWC facilities…they’re very impressive!

 

Boogie: We have a number of different buildings as you can see Dave. We have the Hall of Fame, the Auto Museum and it’s all right here. We’ve done this, as something to give back to professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has been so good to me, Dave. Angel and I put this together. It’s my dream, our dream, together to do this…not only for the kids that want to break in and train and be in the professional wrestling business, but for FANS, all over the world!

 

Chappell: This is really a must see for any professional wrestling fan, that’s for sure!

 

Boogie: We’re only open on Sundays, 52 Sundays a year from 12 noon to 4:00. We’re only open at that time. The big gates open then.

 

I want to invite everyone on your site, who is reading this now, to come and be our guest. And the good part about this, Dave, is when you come Sunday as a fan, you have full access to every building.

 

Chappell: And there are LOTS of buildings.

 

Boogie: You can come in and enjoy everything the whole day, and watch the kids train. We have matches you can see. And the good part about this…it’s free!

 

Chappell: Sure as heck can’t beat that price!

 

Boogie: Everything’s free! So you come to Boogie’s Wrestling Camp/Hall of Fame Museum any Sunday…

 

Chappell: And you’re very easy to find. Exit 118 off Interstate 81 in Virginia towards Shawsville. About 8 miles to Alleghany Springs Road…hang a right and go six miles. The Camp is on the left. Those directions good?

 

Boogie: Oh yes, brother. Please come, be our guest, and it won’t cost you a dime. Spend the day with us!

 

Chappell: If someone wants to be trained by the legendary Jimmy Valiant, what’s the process?

 

Boogie: Okay, you just show up, and we’ll give you a tryout. And if you like it, then you can join. You can go to www.jimmyvaliant.com or you can email me at boogie@usit.net. And you can find me on MySpace at www.myspace.com/boogiemanjimmyvaliant.

 

Everything is at www.jimmyvaliant.com including a map, and Dave you used that, and had no problem getting here, right?

 

Chappell: No problems at all!

 

Boogie: So…please everybody come, and be part of this!

 

THE HALL OF FAME MUSEUM: CONTINUED IN PART 2


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