I hear many stories in the world of professional wrestling. Some make you cringe, some make you want to claw out your ears so that you can’t hear any more. But this, my friends, is a story about a young child who grew up in Bulgaria. Before Rusev was out of nappies, there was a true Bulgarian brute causing near-riots for his confectionary and his wrestling ability. Please note that this is all hearsay as I could not contact the man himself, I tried through email, telephone and carrier pigeon to no avail. I travelled across Europe to find out all I could about this mysterious figure.
He was born Bozidar Branimir, growing up in a circus where he was tasked to make food for the performers. His Father, a lion tamer, and Mother, an acrobat, had brought him up travelling around Bulgaria trying to make ends meet. When he was only 10 years old, tragedy struck in his life when a fire hit the circus. It was thought to be a scorned former lover of his Mother who was exacting his revenge. His Father locked Bozidar in the food trailer. It was pitch black, all he could hear was the screams of the performers as they were engulfed in flames. Bozidar clinged onto the first thing he could put his hands on and prayed that it would all be over.
A day passed.
When Bozidar was found he was clinging for dear life onto a stale loaf of bread. The only thing he had in his possession. No photos, no trinkets, just this loaf. When he exited the trailer there was nothing but the charred remains of the place he called home. His family, his friends, everything he ever had was gone. Burned in the flames. Instantly Bozidar was taken to an orphanage with no time to properly process what he had lost, he was subjected to ill treatment from staff daily. Suffering beatings if he did not complete tasks correctly, being starved as punishment. When he would get fed he would hide the bread used to clean up the grey, lumpy substance that was put before him. His only friend, the only thing that was by his side as his parents perished.
At 16, Bozidar escaped the orphanage. After his, now daily, beating by the staff, they found his stash of bread going through various stages of decomposing in a hole in his bedroom wall that had been covered by the thin mattress that he had slept in. They promptly removed the bread which incensed Bozidar as he fought back for the first time in his life. He had accepted the beatings before, he did not feel the pain as he was numb to the world. His only happiness was holding a piece of bread and now that these people were taking that away, he snapped. He bit, clawed, scratched at the staff. He couldn’t stop, he beat them, he punched with all the strength he had. Before he could land a final blow he came to his senses, he ran. Ran away from everything. Running across Europe before stopping in Oberhausen, Germany. It was here that he saw a town fete. He looked around, taking in the sounds and smells that reminded him of the circus. He hid, scared of being captured and returning to the orphanage. He was still inside when the gates were locked for the evening. When everyone was gone he took the chance to explore this adventure land. Sampling the food, the first he’d had in a long time that didn’t come from a bin.
The morning came round and the staff found him asleep in their food tent, holding a loaf and smiling. He was at peace for the first time since the day before the fire that tore through his home. Instead of turning him into the authorities he was taken on to work for them, selling baked goods and learning how to make them for customers. His bakery goods became the talk of the town, he was dubbed The Bulgarian Baker and people travelled the world over to sample his breads, pastries, cakes, buns, baguettes, everything that he had on offer. Everything was going well, he was making a good living in Oberhausen. At 18 he had become a master baker and was on top of the world.
“I remember when I first tasted one of his pastries. It was so soft, it just melted in the mouth. He was special.” – Claudia Schiffer
“The buns, the buns were unbelievable. When he put a burger in there It was like, it was like it was giving the meat and cheese a big hug.” – David Hasselhoff
All this changed one night when Bozidar was clearing his area and sweeping up the crumbs left from people devouring his goods. He spotted two figures in the distance. One was fighting off a bigger silhouette. He got closer and recognised the smaller figure as one of girls that operated the candy floss stall. He shouted but the larger figure didn’t stop, Bozidar rushed towards the man and launched an attack. He saved the young girl that night but didn’t save himself. After the initial onslaught, the bigger man took control and beat Bozidar, repeatedly punching him in the face, breaking his nose, eye socket and cheekbone. Leaving him bloody and his clothes stained red. He was found the next morning by Peter Wiechers, who was travelling to the fete with his wrestling promotion, wXw. After taking Bozidar to hospital, he was told the story of The Bulgarian Baker. He offered to train Bozidar to fight.
“Bozy was a natural, he could do things that I couldn’t believe. He also provided the boys with the best sandwiches that we’d ever tasted. I mean, wow.” – Fit Finlay
“Oh Bozistar, as I liked to call him, was a genius. He was a natural, he also came up with the name Fozzy while we were jammin’ one night beh-beh.” – Chris Jericho
Bozidar was quick to accept this offer but his facial injuries resulted in him having to wear a mask to protect the damaged caused that night. He picked up quickly in learning the art of professional wrestling and was already being sent to tour Europe by the age of 20. The Bulgarian Baker was now making a reputation, not for his bakery skills but his wrestling. He carried bread to the ring to represent his past as tribute to those who got him to where he is now. Which leads to his overprotectiveness of the bread when others touch it.
“The Bulgarian Baker” Bozidar Branimir. Though you may see a masked individual holding a piece of bread, the story behind the mask is a hard fought and difficult one. Hopefully we’ll get the full story of “The Bulgarian Baker” from the man himself one day.
SCOTTISH WRESTLING NETWORK | SWN 