How I got my nickname of Chewy

A really common question I get, probably the most common, is where I got my nickname. Most people who meet me ask if it was because I was really strong, or maybe I was exceptionally hairy or maybe it was some sort of Star Wars reference. To all these I have to say “No.”

Before there was this guy

 

There was this guy

That’s right. I used to be a super chubby kid with a definite lacking in athletic ability. Then I started wrestling. I truly believe that wrestling was one of the things that changed my life for the better. Wrestling gave me the inner confidence to allow me to be, well, me. Wrestling also allowed me to see the consequences when hard work and gritty determination are used to achieve a goal. My wrestling coach used to say, “you’re the masters of your own destiny,” when talking about working hard and going after what you want. That motto from wrestling really stuck with me. I guess most impactful though, is that wrestling led me to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

The reason I bring up wrestling is because I had a great nickname from wrestling, which considering this blog is about my nickname, seemed like a fun thing to throw in to the mix. My wrestling nickname was, wait for it, Tugboat. Yeah, Tugboat. After my first wrestling match when I was still a hefty teenager I wheezed so badly that it made an almost horn like sound. My coach got a kick out of it and it stuck. Just like Chewy, Tugboat became my alternate name for that particular sport rather than just an occasional nickname. When they would call my name over the speaker system at tournaments it was always “Tugboat Albin.” I’m not sure what is wrong with my given name of Nicholas or even the shorter version of Nick.

 

On to Chewy

So, then there is this guy named Mike Colley

When I first started BJJ during my senior year of high school he was a green belt (a solid white belt). One day we were rolling and I did something. I can’t really remember what it was but it was something a spazzy white belt would do. Just to give you an idea of what I was like at that time. I would come into the gym hopped on pre workout like supplements and I would roll accordingly. Armed with a wrestling base, an overly competitive streak and too much caffeine, I was the textbook definition of a spazzy white belt. Right after I did whatever it was that I did. Mike said in a fit of justified irritation, something to the effect of “you big dumb wookie.” He would then periodically refer to me as Chewbacca which replaced “dumb ass.” But I feel like that’s how you know you’re IN with a group of close knit guys, when they start messing with you. At this time Mike was like the verbally abusive big brother I never needed. Eventually the nickname just sort of stuck and has since become my Jiu-jitsu namesake. To be honest, if it wasn’t for Facebook, I’m not entirely sure many people in the gym and BJJ community would even know my real name.

So there you have it. That’s where I got the nickname, from being an ultra spaz on the mat. I’ve grown to love it, although it is a little weird that I’m a 29 year old man who is called Chewy instead of his real name of Nick about 90% of the day. The other 10% being divided up in no orderly fashion amongst Chew, Chewster, Chew Chew, Mr. Chewy, Chewbert, Big Chew and Nick. I like to think of it as kind of like a super hero. They have their regular name for the public and then once they’ve donned their costume they become Superman, Batman or whatever. Only mine is just sort of reverse. Oh and I don’t have super powers . . . stupid.

So, thanks Mike, without you I would just be a black belt with an ordinary name.