For many, driving trucks is an all-consuming lifestyle, with long hours spent behind the wheel and the time in between spent resting and seeing loved ones. While plenty of Australian truck drivers hit the road each day without a thought of their life outside of their family, friends and career, there are some drivers who have plenty going on beyond the transport industry.
Ben Nguyen is one of these people, with the young man also living his dream of becoming a professional wrestler when he’s not behind the wheel.
“I would be lying to you if I said I got into wrestling as a kid and didn’t watch WWE all the time,” Ben told OwnerDriver.
“It’s a staple for any of us wrestlers. When I finished high school, I tried to get into the film-making business, where a friend of mine introduced me to a university project that involved local Australian wrestling.
“I didn’t even know there was a local scene for wrestling, I only knew about WWE.”
While wrestling was always a passion for Ben before he stumbled into the local scene in Melbourne, he also had a deep love for trucks that started with watching garbage trucks complete their weekly runs on his street.
“As a toddler, I just loved how garbage trucks worked and how big they were,” he says.
“I also used to love Transformers, and my favourite was Optimus Prime, who turned into a truck, so I always had a soft spot for trucks and anything to do with them.”
Despite this passion, Ben never had a strong urge to be a truck driver when he was older. However, as he went through his schooling years, he began to develop a feeling that fate would intervene and he would become a driver. Despite this sense, he tried his hand in some other fields before once again falling into the sector.
“I was first a baker for five years before I got sick of the super early starts – I remember reaching breaking point when I did a 17-hour shift – I knew then I had to find another job,” Ben says.
“I then got a job working at a truck and trailer yard, which reignited my interest in trucks. From doing that gig, I learned the basics of hooking and unhooking trailers as well as working with different trucks and prime movers.
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“Following that, I got my own licence and got work with a truck company where I began completing deliveries of roofing supplies before moving to now delivering split systems and units.”
Nowadays, Ben loves driving around by day and completing local deliveries over set hours each day. While some drivers love the long haul work, Ben’s schedule allows him to explore his passion for wrestling outside of truck driving that has already seen him rise in the local Melbourne wrestling scene.
“After getting introduced to wrestling after school, I started training with wrestling coaches and learning the tricks to the trade,” Ben says.
“Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW) had an academy at the time and I tried out for it.
“It was such a tough circuit that was designed to make people throw up.
“I did the trial with 32 others, including a bunch of different athletes who played AFL and other sports. It was tough but I survived, with 12 of us left at the end.”
Ben then entered the little-known world of wrestling schools, where he became part of a community learning the art of wrestling. For three years he honed his craft at Professional Championship Wrestling (PCW) in Melbourne’s Ferntree Gully before COVID intervened and he took a break.
“By then I didn’t think it was for me, so I had some time off,” he says.
“By the time COVID lockdowns finished in Victoria, I had the itch to get back into it, so I started training with Relentless Wrestling.
“I still train there now – it’s one of the best wrestling schools out there. It’s like one big family with a wonderful culture.”
Combining years of training and slowly building his craft in the scene, Ben has now been wrestling for nearly seven years. Like all skills, this dedication means Ben has gotten pretty good – good enough to be chosen to wrestle in the pre-show of one of MCW’s events in late 2024.
Coming out as a warm-up act that got the crowd going at Melbourne’s Thornbury Theatre on October 19 for the MCW’s ‘Fight to Survive’ event, Ben got the chance to wrestle under his name ‘Happy Kai’.
While not taking the conventional route through academies to get to the night, Ben was rapt to get the chance to show his wares at the event.
“It was such a surreal experience – I was so excited to do the pre-show,” he says.
“You’d think if you went through the MCW academy that you’d get a pathway through to the events, but I didn’t, I had to jump through different hoops just to get there, but it made it all the more special when I did get there.”
In the lead-up to the event, Ben went all around Australia, wrestling in interstate matches to prepare for the MCW night and improve his skills.
While he is adamant that he is improving his craft each time he wrestles, he has had some tough nights with the crowd.
“Most of the time, the stuff I do works and the crowd loves it, but there are times when I would wrestle in different places where it isn’t that easy,” he says.
“In places such as Adelaide, I’d try and do the same shtick to the crowd and it wouldn’t go as well. Luckily, MCW still appreciated what I did, and on the night the crowd reacted well.”
Now, Ben is looking to continue his wrestling journey while enjoying his time spent behind the wheel each week. On the truck driving side, his goal is to further develop his skills and capabilities to become a safe and efficient driver until he can drive bigger trucks.
“I am aiming to enjoy my driving and eventually I’d love to get my heavy combination licence so I can drive larger models,” he says.
“Driving with a trailer is cool – I just love driving anything. Eventually I want to do everything I can and take whatever opportunity comes my way.”
Simultaneously, Ben will keep working hard on his wrestling, looking to hone his skills and move closer towards being a popular member of the MCW clan.
While most days you’ll see Ben behind the wheel in Melbourne, he’s also dedicating plenty of time to the team at Mayhem Pro, where he now wrestles, to work hard on becoming the next big name in the local wrestling scene as Happy Kai.
“It’s cool to be a stage with my wrestling where I know what to do with MCW wrestlers – we train to the point where we can reach each other’s mind,” he says.
“I appreciate the spot I’m in and the opportunity I have – I am so grateful for Mayhem Pro for the chances they’ve given me.
“I have such a strong passion for both wrestling and trucks. I’ll continue taking any good bookings that come my way and soak it in whenever I get to wrestle in front of a crowd with plenty of energy.”
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