Richard "Ric" Converse (born December 26, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is one of the top "heels" on the Southeastern independent circuit, especially in the Carolinas, and currently competes for CWF Mid-Atlantic where he is a record 6-time CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion. He has wrestled for a considerable number of other independent wrestling promotions, most notably, Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling, NWA Carolinas, and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He was also a star in the short-lived AWA Superstars promotion holding both the promotion's world heavyweight title and tag team title (with Xsiris) during 2006 and 2007. Early life Converse was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1998, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina. A victim of bullying as a child, Converse was inspired after watching Hulk Hogan on television and decided on a career as a professional wrestler when he was only 8-years-old. On September 15, 1998, Converse enrolled at Ken Spence's School of Pro Wrestling and spent the next four months in training. Professional wrestling career Early career (1999–2002) Converse made his professional debut on January 23, 1999, wrestling a tag team match with Mr. X against Dr. Feelgood and Double Trouble at Winston-Salem's VFW Hall. He went on to wrestle for a number of local "indy" promotions during the first two years of his career: Alternative Championship Wrestling, Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance, New Empire Wrestling, Ringside Championship Wrestling, Southern Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wrestling Alliance. He also had a brief stint in Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling. It was during this period that Converse developed a cocky "heel" in-ring persona, calling himself "Slick Ric" and "Slick Diddy", parodies of pro wrestler "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and rapper P. Diddy respectively. His first major feud was with the Lumbee Warrior. Ten months into his rookie year he scored his first-ever victory by pinning the Warrior in July 1999. The two men eventually formed a tag team together, "Sudden Impact", which led to his first title victory on March 17, 2001, with an ECPW Tag Team title victory alongside his erstwhile rival. On September 7, 2001, he and Persephone teamed up a WWA show in Statesville, North Carolina, to defeat Mikael Yamaha and Amber Holly in a mixed tag team match. The following summer, Converse had won the major single titles of three different promotions in a three-week period. He was named