WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently interviewed Lola Vice on the “Hall of Fame” podcast. The highlights are below.
Lola Vice on her early upbringing:
“So my life has never been normal. My father has owned a Taekwondo Academy in Miami for 35 years and my mom is a teacher. She was also a dancer. But my dad was also a stunt actor back in the day. So he did the fight scenes for the movies. He always wanted me and my sisters to be martial artists. He basically trained us like men. My mom was actually pregnant with me while doing her black belt test, so I was kicking in the womb. This is fact (she laughs). But also at the same time, my mom wanted me to be feminine and elegant and decide what I wanted for my life. So I was extremely into Taekwondo and I was extremely into dance and I did both at the same time.”
How her MMA career has helped her in her pro wrestling journey:
“Well, so the story is, I actually got into MMA when I saw Ronda Rousey do it because Ronda really opened the doors for young female fighters like me to step in. If it weren’t for her willpower, you know, I would have never been able to do what I loved. I saw Ronda doing it and my mom was sick at the time. She had cancer, but she survived it. I was like, this is how I’m gonna get my family out. So I knew my family trained me intensely unlike any other girl so I knew I could do it if I put my mind to it. But in that world, I learned, you know, to trust my gut and to believe in myself because at first people saw me as very feminine and they didn’t think I could actually do it in a cage. So at first I was just proving everyone wrong and then it was like, wow, I’m proving myself right and my work ethic matches my performances. Then also in MMA, I learned how to brand myself and not only show myself as a fighter, but show my personality and what I’ve been doing my whole life.”
On the origins of the Lola Vice name:
“I like Lola because it’s Hispanic but easy for everyone to pronounce and I feel like it goes with me, and then Vice was inspired by the Miami Vice series back in the 80s. I’m born and raised in Miami. I come from a family of Cuban immigrants. The Miami Vice colors is just who I am at a heart and I know that if I could really relate to something, I could translate that in the ring and it works for me and I love my name now. I actually prefer it more than Valerie.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
