HE was a big kid just out of high school who dreamed of an even bigger life in the zany world of professional wrestling.
Trouble was, his former friends say, Ivan Radocaj just wasn't aggressive enough to chase his dream. Instead he left the city's wrestling business in the late 1980s and faded into obscurity.
Until Friday. That's when the 43-year-old Radocaj was found dead at his Inwood-area home, a house he'd just recently moved into according to neighbours.
RCMP said he died of blunt force trauma -- beaten to death.
Twenty years ago, it was a different story for a younger and healthier Radocaj.
Former local wrestling promoter and trainer Walter Shefchyk remembers Radocaj being escorted into his gym by his parents in the early 1980s.
"They were big wrestling fans," Shefchyk told the Free Press Monday. "He was just nuts for it."
Shefchyk said Radocaj had played football for St. John's High School and his parents thought that because of his size -- standing over six feet and weighing more than 250 pounds -- he had a shot at the big time.
"He was a good wrestler," fellow promoter Tony Condello said. "He was a good kid."
Armed robbery
According to wrestling websites, Radocaj came to the attention of promoters when he was featured in the media after an armed robbery at a gas station where he was working.
His debut came June 24, 1981, for the New Brand Wrestling promotion. He also worked for the Central Canadian Pro Wrestling promotion.
Inside the ring, he went by the names Croatian Giant, Ivan the Giant and later Big John Radocaj, after he got into mixed martial arts.
But success eluded him, and more people started calling him, "Lumpy" as he gained more and more weight.
"He got up to 650 pounds," Shefchyk said. "He had to have gastric surgery. He had a tough life."
Friend and former wrestling announcer Marty Goldstein said, despite his problems, Radocaj was always, "a totally likable guy."
Goldstein, of Island Sports Entertainment, said Radocaj could have made it big in the ring, parlaying his size much the same as wrestling great André The Giant. But Goldstein said Radocaj found it hard to stay in shape.
His health problems were complicated by a car accident several years ago that left him with a broken neck, according to a court document. After gastric surgery, his weight went under 200 pounds for the first time since he was a young teenager.
bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca
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