The Firebird
He’ll leave the ring in glory, and leave ash in the mouths of his opponents. Kelvin Stevenson aka. ‘Firebird’ has been wrestling for the last three years, and now having graduated Northumbria University focuses a large amount of his free time in making the big time in the North East.
Previously being the president of the Northumbria Wrestling Society Kelvin has thoroughly integrated himself into the wrestling community, and also has a good understanding international wrestling. Looking up to the likes of Japanese champion Okada, Kelvin has fully engaged with the technical side of wrestling, and tries to replicate this in every one of his matches. However, as he admits he doesn’t see himself as just another Randy Orton or John Cena, instead he takes inspiration from the likes of the Undertaker from the American WWE.
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“I have always seen wrestlers bigger than life”.
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Kelvin Stevenson changes into the Firebird for every one of his matches. It takes just under an hour to paint the flames of his back in preparation for the event, but this is not the only ritual that he undertakes before every match.
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“I just like to stand in the ring for 5 minutes and envision what the audience is gonna be like, think about the venue, think about where I am in the show, what I need to do, how I can the best outta myself”.
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Mostly much of the Firebird's moment of tranquillity before the match is to avoid harm by concentrating solely on what’s going on with the match, and the opponent’s moves. With a family as supportive as his own, this makes entire sense, because while they fully support his wrestling lifestyle he knows they worry every time he goes in the ring. This is understandable as Kelvin had recently taken a bad sprain to his knee, something that he had been aware of for quite some time, but due to the nature of the sport had to carry on with until the end of the match.
The Firebird shrugs this off though, as he understands wrestling “It’s a dangerous business you don’t always have 100% control.” The young wrestler’s energy of the sport is reflective of the vitality of wrestlers all over the North East. Kelvin praises this new surge, because of the growing interest in the sport, and the tight communities that have started to create rigid foundations in the North.