Meet the wrestler: The Amish Warrior

Contributed by: Anthony Welch/YourHub.com on 4/2/2006

Martin Klemm's coworkers have a hard time believing he's a professional wrestler when he's not working his day job at Target.

The 20-year-old, from Aurora, is soft-spoken and shy to an extent. Not to mention, he's not the biggest guy and is definitely not the huge, hulking, muscular guy you'd picture wrestling.

"(Coworkers') first reactions are, Wow, you're a pro wrestler,'" Klemm said. "Because I'm kind of skinny."

Klemm, who has wrestled and trained at the Altitude Pro Wrestling Academy in Aurora for nine months, doesn't mind the comments. The skeptics are more than welcome to come to a match and watch Klemm toss and get tossed around the ring.

Klemm, aka The Amish Warrior, has always enjoyed watching professional wrestling with his father.

"I've been a fan of wrestling my whole life," he said.

In 2004, Klemm attended a three-day wrestling seminar with pro legends Les Thatcher and Harley Race. There, he met Altitude trainers Jeff Michaelis and Billy Roberts, who invited him to check out their academy. He signed up a year later.

"When I first watched a practice, I was excited," Klemm said. "I've wanted to do this my whole life."

The 2004 Hinkley High School grad took part in his first Fusion Pro Wrestling event Jan.7. He played an Amish guy in the audience who was dragged into the ring and given a small beating by one of Fusion's "bad guys."

"The first time went really fast," he said. "It was just exciting. But I was nervous. I was shaking."

While Klemm's father was happy for his son, he was skeptical as well.

"My dad's first reaction was, As soon as you get your butt beat, you're going to come back to me crying.' It's been nine months now and he's pretty proud of me," Klemm said. "My mom's behind me 100 percent."

Klemm's friends love coming to the matches to cheer on their pal.

"They like to watch me get my butt beat," he said.

For anyone interested in giving pro wrestling a shot, Klemm said to be prepared to put some work in, and getting in shape is crucial. But wrestling has its other benefits as well.

"Be ready to learn," he said. "(Michaelis and Roberts) will help you grow not just as a wrestler, but as a person."

So, why the Amish Warrior character?

"The real truth is because of my hair and my beard," Klemm said. "(Roberts and Michaelis) looked at me and said, You're Amish.'"