Post by josephwhite on Mar 2, 2018 0:22:19 GMT
Joseph White is sat on his haunches leaning against a brick wall which has been painted white. White stares straight ahead, clearly lost in thought. He is taking heavy steady breathes. There is the sound of people talking. Entrance music can be heard playing in the background - faint and distorted through a cheap PA system - unable to be picked out. The other sounds fade out as we can only hear White’s breathing. White looks up as his attention is taken by something.
-
We cut to White in a cramped corner shop, wearing a jeans and a heavy winter coat. White picks out a 4 pint bottle of milk, he stops at the biscuit aisle. White takes a moment to make a decision, he picks out a packet of custard creams. He makes his way to the counter, behind the counter stands a tired looking woman in a wooly hat, winter coat and fingerless gloves.
WOMAN: Alright Joe, where you been? I ain’t seen you in a while.
WHITE: Aye, well you know, I’ve just been travelling around a lot lately.
WOMAN: Oh aye, anywhere nice?
WHITE: Um well, I’ve been spending a lot of time in Italy, Japan…
WOMAN: Is that with your wrestling, aye?
WHITE: Yeah, with the wrestling.
WOMAN: That sounds great, you treating yourself to some biscuits?
WHITE: No, there for my maw. I’m cutting weight at the minute actually.
WOMAN: Oh God! I could never do that!
WHITE: Aye, well, it’s a lot of work, but it’s something I’m passionate about, you know? It makes it a little easier.
WOMAN: Good luck with that!
WHITE: Cheers, Marie!
The woman gives White his change, White makes his way out into the snowy street, huddling closer into his winter coat as he does.
-
White is on a treadmill, in a Dogs of War t-shirt and a grey cotton-blend Adidas tracksuit which is slowly soaking up a fountain of sweat, which can be seen visibly streaming down White’s face. White is listening to music on a pair of headphones - White’s sights set in front of him - his eyes focused, pain slowly beginning to show in his face as he winces but continues to fight through the pain, grunting as he does.
-
Later, White is wiping down face with a towel, suddenly he notices someone he recognises. A man in a Nirvana t-shirt and S.K. Sturm Graz football shorts, with a beach towel in his hand, the two men shake hands.
WHITE: Alright, Nathan!
NATHAN: Y’alright, Pal, how’s it going?
WHITE: Y’know, I’m just keeping busy.
NATHAN: Decent! I saw that you won a title the other night at that Italian company…
WHITE: Oh aye, did you watch?
NATHAN: Oh no, I’m not subscribed to it, but I saw it on Twitter - I saw a gif of you hitting that running knee you do - looked sick!
WHITE: Always does, and it hurts even more!
The pair laugh.
WHITE: Yeah man, I’m glad I went over there.
NATHAN: Aye, it’s good to see you doing so well - soon you’ll be too big to be coming back around these parts. How come your in town?
WHITE: Actually, I’m in town for the show this weekend - you gonna be there?
NATHAN: Yeah man, I’m opening in a tag match!
WHITE: Nice! I’ll see you there then, aye!
NATHAN: You know it, mate! I’ll see you around, Joe!
The pair shake hands and Nathan makes his way past White.
-
Back at the show, White is hopping from one foot from the other, muttering something to himself as he does. There can be heard someone talking into a microphone, muffled by the sound of a near-by audience and by people moving around backstage. A man with a radio-walkie-talkie and an ear-piece approaches White.
ASSISTANT: You ready to go out there, Joe?
WHITE: Aye, Aye. Hit the music. I’m ready.
White adjusts his left elbow pad. He haunches down, and stares down at the ground. He places his hand on his beating heart.
-
An elderly blue-haired woman in a Dogs of War t-shirt, Thick clear-rimmed glasses and a beige cardigan. She sips from a mug of tea, White sits posed at her side in a matching Dogs of War t-shirt.
MRS. WHITE: Aye, I remember when Joseph was a wee boy and he was out there playing football with all the other boys. He was never afraid of playing with the bigger boys.
WHITE: Aye, yeah, they’d always knock me down but I’d always back up.
MRS. WHITE: The amount of times you got in trouble at school for fighting with them boys was… I lost count. But that’s how I taught him, if someone hits you hit them back harder.
WHITE: And look where we are now!
The couple laugh.
-
A grainy oversaturated photo of Joseph White as a young teenage boy around the age of 15, he is wearing a Green Day American Idiot t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms, stood in a sodium lit gymnasium surrounded by a gang of shabbily dressed wrestlers. White has a clenched fist pointed in the direction of the camera, and a false tough guy expression.
-
White ponders a question he has been posed, his mother looks at him waiting for a response.
MRS WHITE: What are you thinking?
WHITE: Well, I’m just thinking about how far I’ve come. When I was just a boy in those early shows we’d be watched by, like, 30 people.
MRS WHITE: On a good night.
She laughs.
WHITE: Right, and last week I won my first championship belt in front of what would have been close 10, 000 people in Italy.
MRS WHITE: Aye, and you earned that. You worked your socks off to get where you are.
WHITE: Aye, and that’s what I was thinking about. I’ve come all this way and there’s still a long way to go still. I’ve still got so much I have to give.
-
White stands facing a black curtain. His entrance can be heard starting up.
ANNOUNCER: Weighing in at 209 pounds, coming from Glasgow, Scotland, returning for one night only - he is the Gold Standard! Joseph White!
The crowd of a what can only be 100 at most, come to their feet and cheer. White pushes through the curtain.
-
We cut to White in a cramped corner shop, wearing a jeans and a heavy winter coat. White picks out a 4 pint bottle of milk, he stops at the biscuit aisle. White takes a moment to make a decision, he picks out a packet of custard creams. He makes his way to the counter, behind the counter stands a tired looking woman in a wooly hat, winter coat and fingerless gloves.
WOMAN: Alright Joe, where you been? I ain’t seen you in a while.
WHITE: Aye, well you know, I’ve just been travelling around a lot lately.
WOMAN: Oh aye, anywhere nice?
WHITE: Um well, I’ve been spending a lot of time in Italy, Japan…
WOMAN: Is that with your wrestling, aye?
WHITE: Yeah, with the wrestling.
WOMAN: That sounds great, you treating yourself to some biscuits?
WHITE: No, there for my maw. I’m cutting weight at the minute actually.
WOMAN: Oh God! I could never do that!
WHITE: Aye, well, it’s a lot of work, but it’s something I’m passionate about, you know? It makes it a little easier.
WOMAN: Good luck with that!
WHITE: Cheers, Marie!
The woman gives White his change, White makes his way out into the snowy street, huddling closer into his winter coat as he does.
-
White is on a treadmill, in a Dogs of War t-shirt and a grey cotton-blend Adidas tracksuit which is slowly soaking up a fountain of sweat, which can be seen visibly streaming down White’s face. White is listening to music on a pair of headphones - White’s sights set in front of him - his eyes focused, pain slowly beginning to show in his face as he winces but continues to fight through the pain, grunting as he does.
-
Later, White is wiping down face with a towel, suddenly he notices someone he recognises. A man in a Nirvana t-shirt and S.K. Sturm Graz football shorts, with a beach towel in his hand, the two men shake hands.
WHITE: Alright, Nathan!
NATHAN: Y’alright, Pal, how’s it going?
WHITE: Y’know, I’m just keeping busy.
NATHAN: Decent! I saw that you won a title the other night at that Italian company…
WHITE: Oh aye, did you watch?
NATHAN: Oh no, I’m not subscribed to it, but I saw it on Twitter - I saw a gif of you hitting that running knee you do - looked sick!
WHITE: Always does, and it hurts even more!
The pair laugh.
WHITE: Yeah man, I’m glad I went over there.
NATHAN: Aye, it’s good to see you doing so well - soon you’ll be too big to be coming back around these parts. How come your in town?
WHITE: Actually, I’m in town for the show this weekend - you gonna be there?
NATHAN: Yeah man, I’m opening in a tag match!
WHITE: Nice! I’ll see you there then, aye!
NATHAN: You know it, mate! I’ll see you around, Joe!
The pair shake hands and Nathan makes his way past White.
-
Back at the show, White is hopping from one foot from the other, muttering something to himself as he does. There can be heard someone talking into a microphone, muffled by the sound of a near-by audience and by people moving around backstage. A man with a radio-walkie-talkie and an ear-piece approaches White.
ASSISTANT: You ready to go out there, Joe?
WHITE: Aye, Aye. Hit the music. I’m ready.
White adjusts his left elbow pad. He haunches down, and stares down at the ground. He places his hand on his beating heart.
-
An elderly blue-haired woman in a Dogs of War t-shirt, Thick clear-rimmed glasses and a beige cardigan. She sips from a mug of tea, White sits posed at her side in a matching Dogs of War t-shirt.
MRS. WHITE: Aye, I remember when Joseph was a wee boy and he was out there playing football with all the other boys. He was never afraid of playing with the bigger boys.
WHITE: Aye, yeah, they’d always knock me down but I’d always back up.
MRS. WHITE: The amount of times you got in trouble at school for fighting with them boys was… I lost count. But that’s how I taught him, if someone hits you hit them back harder.
WHITE: And look where we are now!
The couple laugh.
-
A grainy oversaturated photo of Joseph White as a young teenage boy around the age of 15, he is wearing a Green Day American Idiot t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms, stood in a sodium lit gymnasium surrounded by a gang of shabbily dressed wrestlers. White has a clenched fist pointed in the direction of the camera, and a false tough guy expression.
-
White ponders a question he has been posed, his mother looks at him waiting for a response.
MRS WHITE: What are you thinking?
WHITE: Well, I’m just thinking about how far I’ve come. When I was just a boy in those early shows we’d be watched by, like, 30 people.
MRS WHITE: On a good night.
She laughs.
WHITE: Right, and last week I won my first championship belt in front of what would have been close 10, 000 people in Italy.
MRS WHITE: Aye, and you earned that. You worked your socks off to get where you are.
WHITE: Aye, and that’s what I was thinking about. I’ve come all this way and there’s still a long way to go still. I’ve still got so much I have to give.
-
White stands facing a black curtain. His entrance can be heard starting up.
ANNOUNCER: Weighing in at 209 pounds, coming from Glasgow, Scotland, returning for one night only - he is the Gold Standard! Joseph White!
The crowd of a what can only be 100 at most, come to their feet and cheer. White pushes through the curtain.
