Today we’d like to introduce you to Flynn Hendrix.
Hi Flynn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me! I’m a Nashville native, husband, father, entertainer, podcaster & guy who wears too many hats. My performing journey started all the way back in 1994 when I was in Kindergarten & being the lead in our Christmas production of Rudolph. In elementary school, I became fascinated with cartoons & imitating them to entertain my family & some of my friends. Imitating Cartman from South Park was a personal favorite. When I entered middle school, I became involved in band & drama. For the next 8 years, until I graduated high school, the band took over all my free time & most of my school time too. Little did I know that all the travel for Wind Ensemble & Marching Band was going to prepare me for what was about to come a little later in my life. In the midst of all the Drama Club & Band, I was still a shy, fat kid that didn’t fit in with the popular crowd. However, around my 7th-grade year, a group of my friends was going to hang out to watch the then WWF’s Royal Rumble in January of 2002.
However, my dad wouldn’t let me hang out to watch or be a part of the event. After that happened, I did whatever I could to never miss anything the WWE put out. I saw my first WWE pay-per-view when the Rock took on Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania x8 and was hooked from there.
As if the universe was listening, the Judgement Day pay-per-view was coming to Nashville in May, and my mom got me & my friend Chris tickets. After seeing a Hell in a Cell match and the Undertaker defeating Hulk Hogan for the WWE Title, I became obsessed. I had to watch it all and know about it all. Needless to say, at the time, wrestling wasn’t that cool, and being the fat kid wearing wrestling shirts didn’t help my social standing, and led to A LOT of joke-making. During my sophomore year of high school, I went to Memphis for a WWE Smackdown taping that was leading up to Wrestlemania 21. My family in Memphis found out about my love of wrestling and offered to introduce me to their friend Koko. Little did I know that this would turn out to be future Hall of Famer & Memphis Wrestling Legend, Koko B. Ware. Meeting Koko was an eye-opening experience because I always thought you had to be a giant to be a wrestler, (the tv makes everyone look larger than life), and there was a legend that was my height and was a trailblazer. He told me that if I ever wanted to become a wrestler, he would train me after I graduated college, and gave me his number. At that time, 15-year-old me wasn’t sure that this would actually happen, but I continued to set money aside in case it did. And 2 weeks after this meeting, I saw what I still consider the best wrestling match of all time, Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle taking on “Mr. Wrestlemania” Shawn Michaels…from there, there was no doubt I was going to do whatever I could to become a wrestler. When I graduated high school in 2007, I had a chance encounter with someone from my high school that was a wrestler in Nashville, for a company named USWO. He gave me information about the show and how to start training. He recommended that I reach out to someone named Chris Michaels, however, Chris and the USWO promoter, Tony Falk had a falling out, so he wouldn’t be able to train me. I reached out to Koko when I found out Tony Falk was running the training school to get his thoughts, and he gave his blessing due to knowing each other from Memphis. I began training in July of 07 and had my first match in
November of that year. Things didn’t go as planned, but it ended up spawning a career I wouldn’t have imagined.
From 2007 – 2014, I wrestled as much as I could while working and going to college full-time. I sacrificed sleep, missed family events & lost jobs to chase my passion…not something I’d recommend to anyone now but at the time I was young, dumb, and hungry & despite not always being surrounded by the best people, willing to believe that my hard work would pay off. I got to share the ring with legendary performers like Ax of Demolition, Superstar Bill Dundee, Ricky Morton, Rob Conway & a host of others. In 2014, I got the chance to have my first run with WWE, being a part of the Raw & Smackdown shows that paid tribute to the Ultimate Warrior after his passing. From there I got married to my wife Kynsey, & decided it was time to step away from wrestling. My family was my priority, and I was tired of fighting for the pay I deserved & being surrounded by people I thought were friends, but were doing nothing but trying to derail me. My first “retirement” lasted all of 9 months before I got pulled back in for a couple of unremarkable months in 2015 before my first son was born. From there is a husband, and dad & wrapping up my personal training job to move into something that would better provide for my family became a priority, but I still missed wrestling. Then in 2017, I was asked to come back in for a show that was starting in Bowling Green, KY called United Pro Wrestling. I talked myself into going back and performing until November of 2018 when we found out we were pregnant with our second son. This was my inadvertent third retirement until I was asked to come back for legendary wrestler Vic “the Bruiser’s” retirement tour in 2022. During that time off, I began to get burned out on wrestling as a whole and felt a void for performing.
As luck would have it, I came across an ad on Facebook about how to get into Voice Acting being offered by Steve Blum, so I signed up and began investing in equipment & coaching. I was fortunate enough to get booked in a local Christmas production, and an independent film. After starting my voice acting journey, it became painfully apparent it wasn’t just about voices…it was about ACTING. So I began taking Improv, Shakespeare, and any acting workshops I could afford, (even when I couldn’t) to further the dream and become a better actor. This allowed me to gain representation in LA with Crown North Talent, and also be represented in London & Istanbul. I even started a podcast based on my wrestling catchphrase, “I Know You Hear Me!” This gave me a chance to chat with my peers in acting & wrestling, entrepreneurs, authors, life coaches & so many more, and give them a chance to tell their stories while taking the show to all major platforms. Despite all this success, I still felt like I had unfinished business wrestling-wise, so when Vic told me he wanted me back I was quick to say “yes.” After my first show back for Ultimate Championship Wrestling, run by Terry England, it became apparent how much acting had helped me become a better performer, and in all reality how wrestling made me a better actor; despite my trying to run away from it & bury it in the past. In 2022, I was able to combine this to take part in my first convention appearances. I was a guest of ICCC, Nashville ComicCon, & Music City Multicon, & given the opportunity to meet so many folks that I looked up to as actors, and fans that looked up to me for what I was doing.
The biggest professional highlight of 2022, was going back to WWE and appearing on screen, not only for SummerSlam, but also on Monday Night Raw and living out a childhood dream, but most importantly, showing my sons that anything is possible, no matter how big or small. As I’m writing this, I’m still auditioning nearly every day, wrestling when I can, performing for the American Immersion Theater, being a husband & dad, and prioritizing my mental health to try and give myself time to recharge my batteries and prep for the year to come in 2023.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wish I could say that things went smoothly, but I’d be lying if I did. I’ve dealt with mental health & anxiety struggles fueled by not addressing or talking about my struggles as the fat kid growing up, issues with my father & him making it clear that I was wanted, finding out people I thought were friends were doing nothing but trying to sabotage you, struggles at home & so much more.
In 2022 specifically, it seemed like every time I gained some success, something sucked the winds out of my sails. 2022 not only saw me leaving a job of almost 8 years due to a toxic environment, but it also saw me losing 2 of my dogs to cancer, my grandfather also being diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer while also suffering from a severe stomach infection twice, my mother had open heart surgery and our third dog attacking my youngest son – resulting in a trip to the emergency room, putting the dog to sleep, losing our 3rd pup in 7 months & traumatic memories that are hard to suppress. This also leads to A LOT of problems at home thanks to me not being willing, nor knowing how to open up and talk about all of this. My therapist even stated that she’s not sure how I’m still functioning, but I guess it’s because I’m too stubborn to know when to give up and admit defeat.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m mostly known for being an independent professional wrestler, actor, and podcaster. I have a hard time giving myself credit for any of my accomplishments, but without sounding cliche, I’m proud of all that I’ve done. Being involved in wrestling for over 15 years, despite the scummy, toxic environment that some locker rooms could provide, can be minimized by the chances to travel to 14 states, and work for WWE.
As an actor, I’ve earned work with clients like Yelp!, and Stanford University, and even had my voice in mobile games & cartoons. With the “I Know You Hear Me!” Podcast, I’m proud of the fact that it’s allowed me to gain an audience worldwide, along with friendships with people that I grew up listening to and who helped mold my love of animated VoiceOver.
Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Everyone has something to teach you, whether it’s what to do or what not to do. You have to be able to find out what works for you, and surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart. Find someone who’s not out to just tell you yes 24/7 and that’s willing to have the hard conversations to help you grow as a person and an actor.
You also have to listen to yourself and realize that sometimes you need to recharge your batteries & cut yourself some slack. And don’t be afraid of evolving, otherwise, you’ll be stuck in a comfort zone that will limit any growth & success you may have coming your way.
Pricing:
- Shirts – $30-$35
- Coaching – $30 per session
- Signed Photos – $10
- Wrestling Promo – $20
- Character Voice Shoutout – $20
Contact Info:
- Website: theflynnhendrix.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/flynn_hendrix_ent
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theflynnhendrix
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpL8Sn86ksDLoBCmysc4gPQ
- Other: linktr.ee/theflynnhendrix
Image Credits
WWE, Kayleen Easterday, Legacy Pro Wrestling, and 65 Multimedia
