For nearly five years Mark Bloxton has led a double life.
During the day, he dons a postal worker’s uniform to deliver mail around Blackshear. At night, he’s known as “the Violent Gentleman, Miles Blackwell” donning the costumed harness of a professional wrestler.
Bloxton, a 40-year-old resident of Waycross, delivers mail on a route which often includes many of the businesses in downtown Blackshear.
He typically walks down a row of shops and offices, exchanging pleasantries as he hands over the mail, before getting back into his mail truck and heading to the next street on his route.
Some afternoons, after he’s through with his duties working for the United States Postal Service (USPS), Bloxton transforms into “the Violent Gentleman, Miles Blackwell,” who hails from Manchester, England speaking with a British accent and an air of sneering superiority, working with the Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW) circuit in Florida and Georgia.
“Blackwell” ruled CCW as champion for 450 days after a three-year long feud with longtime rival Bryce Maddox. Not bad for a comparative newcomer to the industry.
“I started when I was 35,” he said. “I should have started a lot younger. In August it will be five years for me. It’s always been a dream, though.”
That dream became a reality though the support and encouragement of his wife, Emily, and the training he received at Top Rope Wrestling Academy.
“My wife was the one who encouraged me,” said Bloxton. “She said, ‘you’ve always talked about it. You’ve always wanted to do it. Go talk to them.’” Bloxton went to Top Rope’s website and entered his information to an application. He was called and two weeks later began what became six months of classes and intensive training.
“The academy is very old school,” he said. “They teach you the proper way to do stuff. It’s not all just about moves. It’s about making it make sense.”
Bloxton looks fit. He attributes some of his athletic vigor to “clean living” saying his only vice is a love of caffeine. Bloxton says most of his fitness is due to months of training at the wrestling academy and plenty of hours in the gym.
“Physical conditioning is so important,” said Bloxton. “I don’t want the guy in the audience to watch me and think ‘I can do that.’ I want them to see it and think, ‘that’s insane!’” When asked if he means ‘make sense’ in terms of the choreography of a match or the storyline it underlines, Bloxton stated “it is a bit of both.”
“You’ll get hurt doing this stuff,” he said, “but, the idea is to not get injured.”
Bloxton’s favorite wrestler to inspire him is none other than the late wrestling icon Rowdy Roddy Piper. He has a tattoo of Piper on his left forearm. It was a present from his wife and inked by Cody Jones in the Blackshear tattoo parlor where he often delivers mail.
“To this day he is still my favorite,” said Bloxton. “He was like me. I’m never going to be a body guy with an insane physique, but he was the best heel.”
Up until four months ago, Bloxton, or rather “Miles Blackwell”, was a heel as well, a bad guy in the parlance of wrestling, the guys you love to hate.
Prior to his recent ‘face turn’, his “Miles Blackwell” alter-ego was part of a stable called the Diamond Exchange, a group akin to WCW’s more famous Four Horsemen of the mid-1980s to late 1990s.
As a heel, Bloxton often had to wait for the parking lot to clear out before leaving. He was so effective at being the bad guy people would swing at him over the guardrail during the show. Sometimes they would be lurking around after the show to confront him.
“Now, I’m doing autographs and pictures,” he said.
Of course, one of his biggest fans can’t even read his autograph yet. Bloxton’s son is just 18 months old. The proud father said when his son watches his matches he doesn’t really know what is going on.
“He just knows his daddy is in the ring,” said Bloxton. “I will probably do this at least long enough until he can watch and know what is going on, what his dad is doing. I don’t want him to just see it on a video as something his dad used to do.”
Which means Blackshear’s wrestling mailman will probably be doing this for years to come. What does the future have in store for Bloxton and his recently redeemed alter ego?
“I think if I had started earlier, I would have tried to go to an even higher level,” said Bloxton. “But, I love where I’m at.”
Bloxton said he intends to keep wrestling for as long as he can and serve as a mentor to younger wrestlers willing to learn.
Bloxton’s most recent performance was Saturday night, June 8 at the Trembling Earth complex in Waycross.
Garbed as his in-ring persona of Miles Blackwell, Blackshear mail carrier Mark Bloxton shows off the CCW Heavyweight Championship belt, which he held for 450 days.
