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Latin Thunder Talks About His Trainer, Skandar Akbar

Posted: Jan 22nd 2016 By: Latin Thunder

When I began the process of writing my book I knew it would stir up some memories. And without a doubt my memories and appreciation for my trainer Skandar Akbar have only grown over the years.
Skandar was someone young wrestlers should study. He struggled to get into the business at a time when it was enormously challenging to break into. Despite having a family member, The Great Mephisto, involved in wrestling, Ak had to find wrestlers willing to take the time to work out with him.
Yet he kept moving forward. He didn't quit. His first match resulted in him getting his nose broken with blood pouring out rapidly. The veteran he was in the ring with wasn't too certain about this new massive young kid having his first match. So he nailed Skandar in the nose while a young Bill Watts refereed the match.

After that initial bout he struggled to get booked. So he went to Tennessee where a young wrestler knew he could find a lot of work.... for small pay. But you could work. And learn. "It was the blind leading the blind" he said. Occasionally he'd get a chance to work with a veteran but for the most part it was a locker room with its share of green talent. When he returned to Texas he developed the name Skandar Akbar with the help of a few people. It means Alexandar The Great in Arabic.

And his in ring career took off. I loved hearing the stories of the old days. I can remember him talking about how Jim Crockett Sr was the first promoter to run Thanksgiving night. After seeing the success he had it would become a yearly tradition in most of the territories. Ak talked about how he often worked twice on Thanksgiving, earning incredible money for those times. Skandar loved great workers. I think thats why he tried to help our in ring trainer Alex Pourteau get booked in Puerto Rico and other areas. He told Alex one night when we were learning arm drags, "you know who threw a great arm drag? GORGEOUS george! he wasnt just a gimmick, he could WRESTLE!"

I talked with Alex Pourteau the former WWE competitor known as "The Pug" recently over the phone and he shared some memories of how Skandar Akbar helped him. After finding the courage and nerve to approach Skandar after a card one night he asked Ak if he could show him a video of his work. From his 77 Ford pickup he unloaded a TV and VCR right on the spot to show him a recording of a match.Mr. Akbar liked what he saw and could see some promise in this young Louisiana native. "He brought me to Texas. I had my first match with "Cowboy" Tony Faulk. I got to wrestle Chris Adams, Tommy Rogers, Al Perez. I was young and knew how to work, I was proud of that."

Pretty soon thanks to Skandars mentorship and help Alex was accelerating his learning curve as a wrestler. "I was riding in the car with Ak and Bronco Lubich. I was riding with Micheal Hayes. A lot of guys wanted the spot I got, being Aks guy had a lot to do with it." I got to ask Alex something I had always wondered about. Was he paid to help train guys in Skandars school? How did he end up as his trainer? His answer was revealing in his attitude and why he was given so many opportunities as a young hungry wrestler. "I was never paid a dime. Ak was very good to me. I had a lot of free time, here was finally a chance to pay Skandar back for all he did for me. Plus I loved the business. Every opportunity to get in the ring I took." Pourteau laughed as he told me the story of Skandar getting him a spot on the island of Puerto Rico. Ak was booking Puerto Rico for a time for Carlos Colon and called Alex up. "He told me, 'Alex I might have something here for you.' " The young small town guy Alex asked Ak "what interstate do I take out of Miami for that?" "I had two years working in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico you worked five nights a week with different finishes." It was no wonder despite just being a few years older then me when I met Alex in Texas he was light years away from the worker I could ever be. I remember him working out with us once and Global wrestler "Sweet Daddy" Falcone was watching with a friend of his. After a flurry of spots Falcone said, "thats why Alex has the strap!" At the time Alex was the Global Light Heavyweight Champion.

Skandars career was more then just World Class battling the Von Erichs and Mid South where teamed with the great danny Hodge before turning on him and drawing money as his hated rival. He also spent time in Atlanta Georgia holding the tag team titles before heading north to the WWWF for Vince McMahon Sr. There he was expecting a series of matches against fellow strongman and HOF legend Bruno Sammartino. But when fellow Texan Stan Hansen injured Bruno his big money series with Bruno was put aside. He wasn't bitter though. In his ROH shoot he said, "They put me against Putski in all the small towns. I made more money then ever!" He would give his notice after a lengthy run and was told he was welcome back anytime. After a time in Australia as the Heavyweight Champion there he came back to his favorite promotion Mid South. Soon after he began his managing and phased out his time in the ring.

His time after the huge crowds and glory days in the 80's is when I thought Skandar showed his true love for wrestling. He didn't pack up and leave. He didn't move on to another profession. He stuck around during the lean years of Texas wrestling. He was a helping hand for Jerry Jarret after he bought the Dallas office both as a talent and helping with booking ideas and advice on which talent could be depended on. Every reboot at the Sportatorium and office over the decades included Skandar either formally or informally.

I talked to legendary Texas referee James Beard when writing this and he had a lot of memories of Mr. Akbar. "Ak was one of those guys who the boys would go to for advice and to verify what they were doing or planned to do was the right thing. He was sort of a universal mentor for a lot of the wrestlers. For me and a few others, it was a much closer and more personal relationship. I spent as much time with Ak as with any single person in the business, traveling together, working behind the scenes and in every situation you can think of having to do with the business."

"He trained a good number of guys and gals at Doug?s Gym in Downtown Dallas, so he had a first-hand teaching situation with a number of young wrestlers. But, you look at the guys who came through World Class, USWA and Global that worked at the Sportatorium and pretty much every single one of them got some degree of assistance and advice from Ak. He did have a special relationship for some guys like Mick Foley, Gary Young, Black Bart, Rod Price, John Layfield and many others when they were starting out or fairly young in the business, but he was there for anyone who needed some guidance. He had a large number of guys who associated with him and even the ones you?d consider veterans would tell you they gained a lot of knowledge and received a great deal of guidance from Ak."
Though Skandar helped Beard proffesionaly James wanted me to understand that ultimately what was most important to him was the personal relationship that developed over the decades between them.
"To me, Ak was much more than a working associate. He was a close friend to me and my family and he was a sponsor and supporter when it was needed. There are a few guys I consider to have and have had a special relationship with in the business. Ak is at the top of that list."

I remember Skandar telling one student "I'm from the old school. You know Ted DiBiase? Well I helped him out once. Did a favor for him. See his dad did a favor for me when I was starting out." Hearing stories like that made you feel like you had a front row seat to the history of Texas wrestling. Yet despite wrestling being such a tough industry Skandar remained a sweet man with a kind heart. You hear it all the time. He knew how to build relationships and maintain them for decades.

His legacy lives with such luminaries as Stone cold Steve Austin, Booker T and Jim ross crediting him for mentoring them in their formative years in wrestling. When I had the honor of sitting next to Gerald briscoe and ross at the Waterloo Iowa HOF Briscoe spoke fondly of Skandar and how much he meant to him and Ross, two Oklahoma natives.

He was a gym rat to the end. I remember him thumbing through muscle magazines while we were stretching out and warming up for class. He always told people the best time to reach him was in the morning at his home while he was having his workout. His cousin Doug ran the gym where Ak had his wrestling academy at. Dougs Gym is a downtown Dallas landmark that still stands today. It sits right across the street where Jack Ruby shot Oswald days after the Kennedy assassination. The gym was as old school as Ak. No air conditioning and doing BUSINESS in Texas! I recal Ak telling me he prefered a gym with no air. "I like working up a sweat in the gym" he said.

Skandar was UNDERRATED as a booker as well. He was a student of wrestling PSYCHOLOGY. He booked the old Oklahoma territory for Leroy McGuirk in the 70's. He also was the booker of Global and Puerto Rico at times as well.

He always saved his money. When I met Mr. Akbar in 1994 he wasnt making much money in wrestling at that point but he wasnt struggling. He had long paid off his home and had plenty of money. Red bastien at the Sportatorium was talking with some other wrestlers in the locker room and they joked "Ak was the only guy who saved his money."

Hector Guerrero shared the same sentiment with me saying Ak always made good money, saved it and with his booking jobs had plenty of cash in his retirement.

James Beard made it clear though that while Skandar was very tight with his money he was not a mooch. he was still generous with his money in other ways. "It is true that Ak was pretty frugal and saved his money. In that way, he was not the typical guy who went through his career and ended up with nothing. But, he was not selfish at all. He took care of guys, including myself, particularly when it came to making sure he included those he liked in getting bookings, taking care of travel expenses, etc. I traveled with Ak thousands of miles. He always made sure we had a rental car and our trans taken care of. I never had to worry about that. Even when I was working a lot overseas, he would make sure when I got home, I had bookings to keep me busy and he protected my spot in the promotions that ran the Sportatorium. I never lost my position or status there and always had work to go to when home and I attribute a lot of that to Ak?s influence."

In his EXCELLENT shoot interview with ROH Skandar talked about imploring stars in the Mid South days to pay their taxes. He paid his taxes over the years and so in his retirement unlike so many wrestlers he COLLECTED Social Security.

After he passed away I read on JBL's Facebook page about the time the mild mannered Ak was finally pushed too far in his youth and he had to settle it physically. He broke the guys legs with a move he learned from a shooter in wrestling. Then he took the guy to the hospital himself.

That was Ak. A kind sweet guy who didnt like confrontation. But a tough guy who knew how to settle things physically if it came to that.

Thank you Mr. Akbar for the start into this great sport. Nobody loved it more then you.