TB: How did you get started in the wrestling business?
HC: I got started January 14th exactly seven years ago. I first went to Bob Bailey's USWF school in New York. That was a deal where I always wanted to be a wrestler, but never thought it was possible because I thought I was too small, there weren't any Rey Misterios on TV yet so I was quite sure he wouldn't let me in. So I called him up after watching an ad on local TV and went down to the school the next day and I was gonna be his first student because I was the first guy that called. So I waited in the parking lot for about an hour getting up the courage to go in because I thought he'd kick me out because I was too small. Luckily, he wanted the money so he didn't care either way, so he trained me and it went from there. It's been a fun, long road seven years now. That's how I got started.

TB: Who were or have been your biggest influences in the business?
HC: My biggest influence in the world of professional wrestling is one Tommy Dreamer. He's the closest thing to a mentor that I have. He's the type of guy that I decided when I was in ECW I wanted to teach me and literally show me the ropes. I had other ones along the way that I watched, but Tommy was the guy that took you aside and told you what you were doing right and what you were doing right and made you feel good about what you were doing. He didn't make you feel like crap when you did something wrong, he showed you the right way. And the little analogy I always used was if I saw a match and I really liked it and Tommy Dreamer said that match sucked then I'd say, "Boy, I must be wrong because Tommy Dreamer knows everything about the business so I hate that match too." But he was the man, my mentor, my biggest influence.

TB: If you could pick any wrestler in the business to wrestle or team up with, who would it be?
HC: To team up with it would be my current tag team partner Sledge. But to wrestle against in a singles match as far as guys on TV, I'd like to work with Christian because I like his style and Chris Benoit because he hits hard and so do I and he's one of my favorites. As far as tag teams go, everyone wants to work with the Dudleys, I like the Dudleys. As far as guys not on TV go, I'd like to work with Trent Acid, who works in Pennsylvania and a lot of the independents. He's a guy that I've never faced that I would like to work with. I've seen his work and I respect his work a lot.

TB: What are some of the independent promotions that you've worked for?
HC: That's a hard question. NMW of course, USWF, USWL, NBW, a lot of these are like the alphabet soup and there's a million of em' out there. Some of your more recognized independents I've worked for are Combat Zone Wrestling, which is getting a lot of attention and is probably the most recognized independent right now, or at least one of them. And Ring Of Honor which is starting up next month from RF Video which has a lot of potential and is "on the horizon."

TB: Out of those indy promotions, where do you feel you've had your most success?
HC: The most success I've had is one which I forgot to mention before and that's TSW. They have a real good TV deal with the American Independent Network and I'm doing quite well there and being received well by the fans. It feels kind of like coming home when I wrestle there so I'm happy there.

TB: So far, what do you consider the biggest highlight or most defining moment of your career?
HC: It's kind of a double-edged sword. As much as I never considered myself a referee when I got the Extreme Official gimmick in ECW, it started in Milwaukee where luckily I went out and cut a promo and the people happened to be with me and that's a whole another interview in and of itself. But the highlight of my career was a couple weeks later wrestling Chilly Willy in Salem, New Hampshire and we were the first match and we didn't know what we were going to do before we went out there. And the only reason we were out there was because they needed another match so they said "I've got an idea we'll let the ref wrestle and we'll let him call his own finish." So we did it and it worked so good when I walked back through the curtain, there's Dusty Rhodes and Paul Heyman and Sandman and Tommy Dreamer all telling me how good it was. So that's the highlight right there. That's the happiest I've been in my career.

TB: Is there anything you hate or dislike about the business?
HC: Um, there's a lot of little things I hate. I hate guys that think they're wrestlers but they're not. They not only don't put the time and effort into learning our business, but respecting it as well and I hate that very much. I'm in a tag team right now and our gimmick, if you will, is Hate Machine and that's where my hate comes from. Being in the business for seven years, setting up rings all the time, going from town to town, paying my dues, things like that. There's guys that are the weekend warrior type that just want to be stars in their hometowns that don't know our etiquette and our business, whine about this and that, they never slept in their car, never set up a ring, never driven 500 miles to wrestle for free. That's why I hate the business a lot because every once in a while, one of those guys will squeak by and get a better spot than me or my partner, someone who has paid dues. That's where my hate comes from.

TB: Is there any advice you would give to someone who wants to get into the business?
HC: Yes watch wrestling every day no matter what watch wrestling. Learn to wrestle, don't worry about your gimmick is going to be because it doesn't mean anything. And get the idea out of your head that it's fake because it is not fake whatsoever. If you whine about this and that and you don't wanna wrestle and all you want to do is your huracan 450 shooting star con planchelbow, as we like to call them, not only will you not get any real work you'll be in the way of the guys that do and they'll beat you up along the way because they won't respect you. So I would say be very respectful of this business, its rules, its etiquette, and its veterans.

TB: Are there any goals or aspirations you would like to accomplish before you leave the business?
HC: Very, very simple. My goals are to make a name for myself so that the fans know who I am and who my partner is, and to be respected by the other workers as people they can wrestle and have a good match with. And financially, I would like to make a living from this. I want the WWF million dollar contract, but I would also settle for being a well-respected guy who barely paid his bills. That would be it.

TB: What does the future hold for HC Loc?
HC: A lot of tag-teaming with my partner Sledge and our team Hate Machine. The future holds a lot in that in the year 2002 we want to grow and be recognized as the best, or one of the best, top-tier independent tag teams. Then after that the next logical next step would have to be Monday Night 'Raw Is War." That's what the future holds.

TB: Now we're going to play word association. Titles
HC: Don't care.

TB: The indies
HC: Love the indies, hate a lot of the independent wrestlers. But the ones that are worth not hating, I love. Try to squeeze some logic out of that.

TB: The road
HC: Different now that I have a family, but I love it.

TB: Respect
HC: The most important thing.

TB: Backyard Wrestling
HC: Not as gay as it used to be but still stupid. Some guys now have a ring and try to do their thing, but it's still backyard because they don't have anywhere else to go.

TB: The Internet
HC: Ruined the business, but I still check on it every day.

TB: Smart marks
HC: Stupid. I mean at least they're paying to see us and they're coming to the show, but they're stupid. I don't like them because they can ruin matches for people.

TB: WWF
HC: Dream

TB: WCW
HC: Glad it's dead, but we do need another good company.

TB: ECW
HC: Tears. I actually had a dream about them last night. I would literally take years off my life to see to it that that was still here.

TB: Vince McMahon
HC: The man.

TB: Paul Heyman
HC: Very animated and very motivating.

TB: Tommy Dreamer
HC: Mentor

TB: Hulk Hogan
HC: Icon. I was a Hulkamaniac.

TB: Ric Flair
HC: Flair is God that's all there is to it.

TB: NWO
HC: Probably the best angle ever around.

TB: The future of the business
HC: Probably more athletic. It's starting to turn that way and that's good.

TB: NMW
HC: Home. A place where I can wrestle and be with my friends and people that know and care about me.

TB: The fans
HC: The lifeblood and the energy of the business. Better than anything.

TB: And finally, HC Loc
HC: A guy who tries real hard and has given up a lot for this as a lot of people have, not to say the ones who haven't made it haven't either. But hopefully a guy will have the respect of his peers one way or the other