Greatness only comes from giving your all, and University of Memphis alum Kevin Parks, known as "Malik" Parks in the wrestling ring, definitely knows about give-and-take in his world.
During a match in 2011, his father, a professional wrestler, passed out.
"I was in the audience," Parks said. "I jumped from the crowd to ask if he was okay, and he said yeah. He was stubborn, just like me, so he got up and kept on wrestling."
After passing out a second time, he didn't regain consciousness, and died in the ring.
"I felt him breathing, and, all of a sudden, it stopped," Parks recalled.
This tragic event did not discourage Parks from wrestling. Instead, he uses wrestling as a positive way to channel his emotions.
The Innovative Wrestling Action, or IWA Professional Wrestling, is a local wrestling company that seeks out inner-city youth to teach them to channel negative experiences into positive actions.
Parks owns the company, and has been wrestling since 1999.
"I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. There's nothing else I can see myself doing," Parks stated.
Now 31 years old, Parks motivates the youth of Memphis to get involved with IWA.
The company was a vendor for Memphis City Schools up until the recent consolidation.
According to Parks, they would recruit kids to train with them.
"From what I've been told by parents, they started seeing a change in their kids. They (the teenagers) don't have time to get into trouble because of their congested schedules," Parks explained.
He also said that training costs about $2,500 but IWA understands financial struggles and works with underprivileged members.
"We know that not many families have $3,000 at their discretion (so) we train them for free," Parks continued.
The training is to assure the safety of the wrestlers and to reinforce the quality of the shows. It can be considered strenuous, but, according to many, it is necessary.
Allen Dalton, 23, believes training is an ongoing process.
"It's just like any other sport. If you don't train, you will hurt yourself and possibly somebody else," Dalton said.
He is an acting roster member and has been wrestling with IWA for about six years will be graduating with a degree in accounting at U of M this fall.
Dalton said his grandfather, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, is his biggest inspiration and number one fan.
When he was a child, they would watch wrestling on television together.
"His cancer made him want to see me (wrestle) more," Dalton said. "I'm doing this for him. I mean, I'm doing it for me, to better myself and my career, but I know he's got a limited time."
Dalton does not use life's hardships, work or school as a crutch.
He encourages all trainees to follow suit, although neither him nor Dalton deny the extremities of training.
Willie Harris, a 20-year-old Southwest Community College student, is known in the ring as Andreas Sanchez.
"My first day of training, I quit," he admitted.
But he stayed with the organization as a cameraman and eventually took it up once more, and has now been doing it for two years.
They all emphasized a difference between professional wrestling and traditional wrestling.
"You're playing a character-you transform into someone you can't be in the outside world," Parks said.
According to him, professional wrestling is all about presentation and performance.
"The reason we train so hard is so it won't come off sloppy," Parks continued. "And you don't want two inexperienced guys to go out there and hurt themselves."
Dalton stated that will power and dedication are vital when it comes to wrestling. When he started out, he had his high-school work, a part-time job and wrestling on his plate.
It was difficult for him but he said it was worth it.
"The payoff is always sweeter than the difficult journey," Dalton said.
Harris has quite a bit on his agenda as well. He said that Saturdays are his only free day and he has no social life, but performing makes it worth it.
"I love crowd reactions," Harrison said. "It's the best feeling in the world."
IWA does not focus on weight like other companies, and they pride themselves on diversity.
"We have black, white, Hispanic, short, fat, skinny-we have it all," Parks said.
Women are also a part of IWA.Heather Raney, "Terra Rae," has been wrestling there since 2009.
"I did it to show that a woman can make it in professional wrestling and to prove that a woman can do whatever a man can," Raney said.
She even asked that the trainers showed her no mercy. She wanted to make sure she got training equivalent to that of any male wrestler.
In addition to wrestling, Raney is currently a manager for the younger wrestlers, she has refereed in the past and, after graduating from Delta Technical College, she is a truant officer.
She said that her job is stressful, and sometimes her character is an outlet for frustration.
"I have to make sure Terra Rae doesn't come out at work so I don't get in trouble," she said.
Harris also bleeds his IWA character with his own personality.
"The two (personalities) are fairly different. I'm an arse,but Andreas is a respected and humble person," he continued. "Sometimes I confuse the two and I have to draw myself back."
For Harris, developing a character was difficult.
"There are days I walk around not knowing who I am, so coming up with another person was hard-being me for 18 years, yeah, it took a minute" he said.
But the characters are what make the shows worthwhile.
The shows are every Friday and some Saturdays at 3035 Director's Plaza near the Memphis International Airport.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for people 18 and under.
