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Warrior's Machete: The Warrior Logo Stands For Something

Posted: Dec 6th 2010 By: mikeiles

Hello, warriors.

Last night, I had to run into town to replace a blown out tire on one of my vehicles.
Where we live there are not a large amount of choices for goods and services so we frequent a handful of the same businesses. Some of the businesses and personnel know who I am. They have figured it out over time. Recognition isn?t always immediate, and it?s not anything I advertise or throw around. I try to remain anonymous. I like it that way. And the truth is, this is not hard to do today. I don?t have the TV exposure that would keep the public familiar with the Ultimate Warrior identity, and today I sure as hell don?t look like THAT Ultimate Warrior from WWF TV 20 years ago.

People?s memory of THAT guy and being unrecognized does often make for some great moments though. Moments that remind me of impressions that are unforgettable.

Like last night.

After my tire was replaced and my vehicle was ready to go, I was called up to the counter to pay the bill. It?s that time of year out here where it gets cold pretty quick once the sun goes down and I was wearing what I typically wear around my studio this time of the year ? some good and baggy rugged jeans, a hooded-sweatshirt with a bulky warm jacket thrown over that and my scuffed-up leather work boots. I was also wearing one of my sock caps with the embroidered Warrior America logo.

I get to the counter and the guy says, ?You look like you get in the gym pretty often.?

?Yes, I do,? I said. ?Everyday. I love to workout and exercise ? stay healthy and fit. Been at it for a lot of years.?

?That?s the Ultimate Warrior logo, isn?t it?,? he says.

?Yes, it is.?

?Now, that guy was one big son-of-a-bitch,? he said. Saying it in a manner like he was going to make damn sure I didn?t think I was as big a guy myself or anywhere near the level of THAT guy who was Ultimate Warrior.

?Yes, he was.?

?I loved him when he was around. Nobody like him since,? he said. ?I remember him more than all the others. He was huge. Exciting. Inspirational.?

?Yes, he was.? I finished writing my check.

?I?ll need to see your ID,? he said.

?Sure. Here you go.?

My driver?s license has my one name on it and a picture just as dated as the 20-year expiration date that came along with it when originally issued.

There was shock and surprise, and then, for the next half-hour, him acting the storyteller, I relived some of my greatest career moments. By the time he came out of his childhood senses, finished up my paperwork and I arrived back home, my dinner was cold and my baby girls were snuggled in bed waiting for me to read to them.

The logo. The Ultimate Warrior logo. There?s something about it. What exactly that thing is for others, I?ll leave it to them to explain. It?s obvious though that it still means something to quite a few people even after all these years. Apparently, it even means something to my greatest nemesis and the industry he and others claim I never had any impact on when they and he create things, things like an Immortal Championship belt.

I have to be honest. I can?t take credit for being the first one to have the idea that there is more than slight semblance to the Ultimate Warrior logo in the design. Frankly, I?ve been too busy at the business of living to pay any attention to the suicidal-for-profit and nonsense of the walking dead. But when my email box has, thus far, received over 500 emails from sane, clearheaded people telling me they think so, well, I have to give credit where credit is due. It?s their idea. Kooky? You can use, or not use, your own noggin to decide for yourself. You have to admit, though, the ?Immortal? tribute is very touching, and accurate. I?m glad that after all these years of denial and deception they are finally admitting it. Maybe Bollea really means it these days when he says he?s all about love, not hate.

The logo does, of course, mean something to me. It stands for something.

I remember that when I would prepare for performances and paint my face it was a sign to me that it was time to embody a standard that Ultimate Warrior fans expected. It didn?t matter if I was hungry, tired, aggravated or lacking confidence in myself. It didn?t matter if I?d had a shitty day. It was time to get tight in mind and body and assume a larger-than-life presence. Time to scrap lethargy and summons up energy. Time to shrug off the silly bs of the day and get serious, remove relaxation and engage explosiveness. It was time to be the best that Ultimate Warrior was capable of at that moment in his existence.

All these years without face paint, my Warrior logo still symbolizes these very things for me. Today, with the same intensity as Ultimate Warrior brought forward, the Warrior logo resonates even more powerfully with the living I?ve longer been doing outside the ring than any of the living I did inside one. If I had to put it into a few words, I would say, for me, it stands for this:

Be more than you are. Do better than you can. Rise above and go beyond what others are willing to let you off the hook for.

If you are an Ultimate Warrior fan, maybe the logo means something like this to you, too. Maybe you can?t put it into words. That?s okay. You don?t have to. You?ve got your memories and they work well enough.

I?ve got my memories, too. In every single logo I draw, scribble, doodle or paint, a piece of those memories goes down with it. The logo symbolized something pretty awesome to me and Ultimate Warrior fans back in the day. It symbolizes something even more awesome to all of us in the days we are living now.

Contact me about doing your OWN custom Warrior logo art piece.

Both the knife/oil paintings and the Weapons of Warrior Wisdom make great gifts.

Send me an email if you are interested in either of these knife/oil pieces. I?ll be posting more alongside the regular postings of new Weapons of Warrior Wisdom.

Your Founding Father of Life Intensity,

Always Believe,

Warrior

Tags: Ultimate Warrior, WWF