Going Down Different ‘Rhodes’
Ricky didn’t want to be original. He wanted to be a carbon copy of something that was already working. And that was the problem.
A successful high school athlete in Wisconsin, the stocky kid grew up a fan of professional wrestling and dreamed of getting in the ring himself. With a dogged determination, he worked his way into a spot training with the legendary Verne Gagne, an Olympic wrestler turned pro star and promoter.
Gagne’s wrestling camp was brutal. Ricky, now a powerful 300 pounds, performed endless cardiovascular exercises alongside his fellow trainees in Gagne’s barn during the brutal Minnesota winter. He eventually made his debut, wrestling his opponent to a ten-minute draw. The boyhood dream had come true.
Ricky had another dream. An American Dream, if you will. And as always, he was determined to make that dream a reality,
Another American Dream
Ricky’s professional wrestling idol was a man going by the name “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. A rotund, bleached-blonde Texan with a lisp and a soulful cadence to his speech, Rhodes was a superstar. His incredible charisma and fan support made him a success in every territory in which he performed. His interviews were his stock in trade. Calling himself the “son of a plumber,” he played up his Everyman status and the fans embraced him as one of their own.
Ricky wanted more than to cheer for Dusty. He wanted to be Dusty. And as always, the goal-oriented powerhouse had a plan on how to do it.
Getting the actual facts of pro wrestling history is tricky, because so much of the business is built on deceit and subterfuge. Telling a story that sells tickets is more important to those inside the business than telling the truth. So depending on who is telling it, Ricky approached either Gagne or Rhodes himself with his idea for a character he wanted to portray in the ring.
“I want to be ‘Ramblin’ Ricky Rhodes, and I’ll be Dusty’s brother.” (Or cousin, depending on who is telling the story.)
Nobody outside of Ricky thought this was a good idea.
“No! Make your own name,” Rhodes told him. “Be your own self. Make something of yourself in your own likeness.” Rhodes could see that being an original was the only way for the rookie to stand out.
Ricky tried anyway. He dressed in flashy shirts, silk pants and a newsboy hat. He wore goggle sunglasses. He swiveled his hips and danced in place as he did his interviews on television. He tried as hard as he could to be his version of Dusty.
It didn’t work. His thick Minnesota accent didn’t have the same feel as Dusty’s Texas drawl. He didn’t have the funky, soulful moves. He looked exactly like someone pretending to be someone else. In a business full of unique characters, Ricky was bad imitation.
It took a disaster for Ricky to embrace who he really was.
Blazing His Own Trail
On a fall day in North Carolina, Ricky was in a plane crash that killed the pilot and paralyzed another wrestler. Ricky’s back was broken in three places, and at the age of 26, was told he would never wrestle again.
Refusing to accept the dire prognosis, Ricky went on a rigorous physical therapy schedule that had him returning to the ring just three months later.
The injury forced him to make changes to his wrestling style. Whereas previously he was a power brawler, Ricky became more of a pure grappler. It also forced him to rethink his ring persona, and ditch the Dusty Rhodes imitation. Instead of a well-travelled road, Ricky finally chose to blaze his own trail.
It was a decision that changed wrestling history.
Rise of The Nature Boy
Ricky was the adopted son of a doctor, and had been raised in relative privilege. He played into the persona of a wealthy playboy, wearing expensive suits and flaunting his riches. Adopting the nickname of former world champion Buddy Rogers - and using an alternate spelling of his real last name (Fliehr), Ricky became “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
The man who wanted to be “Ramblin’” Ricky Rhodes had found his true voice, and took the wrestling world by storm. Instead of a poor imitation of Dusty Rhodes, he became Rhodes’ greatest rival. Over the course of a legendary career, Flair captured the World Heavyweight Championship a record sixteen times.
Finding Your Voice
To stand out in a crowded marketplace, your brand must be authentic. The message you convey to your customers must align with the reality of your offering. In short: be who you say you are.
Authenticity allows you to keep the promise your brand makes, because you don’t have to figure out what story you are trying to tell. And customers don’t have to figure out if you are the real deal. Authenticity in your social media posts, your advertising, and your customer service resonates in a way that a carefully crafted image cannot.
Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban has said, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” In his 16 years at Alabama, he developed a team culture around intensity, hard work and walking the talk that led to six college football national championships. That culture permeated everything about the team, from their practices and their style of play, to their branding and the gameday experience. The entirety of the Alabama football experience spoke with one voice – Saban’s voice.
When you examine your brand voice, do you see authenticity, or an attempt to play a role? Depending on your answer, a thorough examination of how reality lines up with the story you are attempting to tell may be in order.
If your social media posts convey a youthful energy online, will you have that same energy when you meet your customers face to face? Are you touting your great customer service? Make sure that when a customer reaches out, they get a response in a timely manner.
The level of authenticity it takes to create a main event brand doesn’t just happen. It comes from a close examination of the core values of your business, and how you want to communicate those to the world. A guided conversation about those values and how they translate into your actions, your messaging and how you go to market can help you cut through an artificially created image and become truly authentic.
The best way to figure out what your customers want, is to examine and emphasize who you truly are. Because the story you tell best is always your story.
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