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Konrad McKay
Age: 23
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Why Is He A Scary Bad Ass? Because despite his relatively small size, he's the "enforcer" for the Charlotte Checkers. And he has the scars to prove it.
Bad Ass Credentials: Anyone who follows hockey knows that the sport's rough and tumble reputation is well deserved. Fights are vicious and happen often, and if you've witnessed a fight during a Checkers game in the past couple of years, chances are McKay was in the middle of it.
Bad Ass Background: McKay, who is a member of the Cree Nation, is from the rugged and remote town of Wabowden, in northern Canada. "I grew up around a lot of loggers and fishermen," he says. "Back home you just grew up tough. You had to."
When he was 15, McKay started playing for Canada's junior hockey league, and was already displaying his scrappy and hard-nosed playing style. He says his worst fight was when he was 19 and playing a game near his Canadian hometown. "I got into a nasty one with a guy about 6'6". We threw punches at each other for about a minute straight. We were both pretty bloody. That was a nasty affair that one."
McKay estimates he's gotten into over 50 fights since joining the Checkers three years ago, and has grown to relish his role as team enforcer. "It's part of my job," he says. "In hockey, every team has an enforcer who takes care of the other guys and stirs things up." But all this brawling has come at a price -- namely an impressive array of broken bones and scars, including a nasty and ragged gash that runs across his forehead. "Yea, I've got a few scars, but that comes with the game. You can't duck every punch. I've also broken my hand, ankle, collarbone and wrist. But I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I still have all my teeth and I haven't had to have surgery yet. I always look for the positives."
Jeff Clayton
Age: 40
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 250 lbs.
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Why Is He A Scary Bad Ass? Why? Just look at him. If you've ever seen one of ANTiSEEN'S shows, you know why the band's lead singer qualifies as a scary bad ass. Think one part professional wrestler and one part demon spawn.
Bad Ass Credentials: Clayton has been fronting the band ANTiSEEN for over 20 years. During their 20th Anniversary gig at Tremont Music Hall in April, Clayton dove into a wall of barbed wire, carved up his forehead, and jumped onto a burning table covered with thumbtacks. And that was one of the band's more sedate shows.
Bad Ass Background: Clayton said he developed his wild style from watching professional wrestling as a kid. "As I got older I discovered the Japanese hardcore stuff, where they used barbed wire and light bulbs and fire, and adapted that into our rock & roll theater. During our very first show, I had a microphone that had been through the ringer, and had pieces of metal sticking out the screen and I just raked it across my forehead. That kind of thing doesn't happen every show, but it happens enough to where my entire forehead is nothing but scar tissue."
Clayton says that his stage antics make him the target of overzealous and out-of-control fans. The most recent incident happened a few weeks ago when the band was playing a gig in Las Vegas.
"This kid in the audience starts cutting himself up and splattering blood all over the audience, which no one wants," Clayton says. "He jumps up onstage, but before he can make a move I kick him in the head and throw him back in the crowd. He caught me at the very end of the show when my adrenaline is at its highest, and I just started heaving bottles at him. Then I grabbed a boom stand and a mike and hit him with that. We have crap like that happen almost every night."
Clayton is a husband and father off-stage, and says his extreme rock & roll persona stays onstage. "I know there are a lot of young fans out there who might be shocked to hear that, but they haven't lived long enough to realize that if you go through life like that all the time you're not going to live very long."
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Calendar
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Wine & Paint @ Blackfinn Ameripub- Ballantyne
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Queen Charlotte Fair @ Route 29 Pavilion
- Through April 22, 4-11 p.m.
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NEW WINDOW GALLERY-Pat Rhea-ACRYLIC PAINTINGS-April 05-30 2024 VALDESE, NC 28690 @ New Window Gallery/Play It Again Records
- Through April 30, 12 p.m.
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TheDiscountCodes
- Mondays-Sundays. Continues through Dec. 31
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Face to Face Foundation Gala @ The Revelry North End
- Fri., April 19, 6-10 p.m.
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Esports in Charlotte Takes Off: A Guide to Virtual Competitions and Betting
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Canuck in the Queen City 7
A Canadian transplant looks back at her first year as a Charlotte resident
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Homer's night on the town 41
If you drank a shot with the Knights mascot on Sept. 20, you were basically harboring a fugitive
