The United States has long been the world leader in professional entertainment wrestling, but how does a young person growing up in Australia idolising names like Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker make it in the industry?

Firstly, they have to take it seriously.

And in a world of outrageous lifts, shoulder charges, headlocks, body slams and, yes, tight-fitting Lycra that can be a big ask for some.

Luke Potter is a wrestling coach who trains students at a professional wrestling school in Wollongong, New South Wales.

"They have to be physically ready," Mr Potter said.

Wollongong wrestler Luke Potter kneels in the ring as his character Hunter P.S Hayes. ( Facebook: Luke Potter )

"I give them guidance for workouts and nutrition plans but it's more important for them to be mentally ready.

"You need to be able to think about the safety of yourself and the person you're wrestling, performing under fatigue and developing core strength so you don't drop someone on their head."

When he is not offering ringside advice, Mr Potter becomes Hunter P.S Hayes — a blonde-haired, bearded, hairy-chested wrestler.

"When I was five, I went on a family holiday and I was down there with my cousin and he told me to check out some wrestling videos," Mr Potter said.

"We went to the video store and hired two more videos and watched them for two weeks straight, then I told mum I wanted to be a pro wrestler at five."

An 'angry child' that needed an outlet

Having wrestled for 19 years, Wollongong's Nichole Sharrock is the longest-running female wrestler in the country.

She too was hooked on professional wrestling from the age of five, but did not realise Australia had a professional wrestling industry until she saw a live show with her father when she was 16.

"I always wanted to be the female version of The Ultimate Warrior," Ms Sharrock said.

"I was a very angry child and I needed an outlet and wrestling was my outlet."

Back when she started her wrestling education, she said women were ''seen and not heard'' and were only given bit parts in wrestling narratives.

Now she said women were getting more publicity, longer time in the ring and were developing skills that were just as impressive as the men.

"When I was a kid, I always wanted the world to know who I was, and I wanted to put a light on kids' faces that I felt when I watched wrestling for the first time," she said.

She competes under the name Niki Nitro and has enjoyed international and domestic travel as her alter ego.

"Even though Niki Nitro is a sod who can be really nasty, kids adapt to her.

"I never thought I'd go to America, Canada or Malaysia and around Australia, but I look at myself like a girl who had a dream, pursued that dream and got lucky with it."

Loading

The birth of the Ice Cream Man and the art of creating a character

Sydney's Jackson Warner is 'Jay Sorbet, the Ice Cream Man'.

He even wears a shirt of his own line of merchandise with his name and three ice cream cones on it.

Loading

It is all part of the crucial process of creating a character that will resonate with audiences, and the value-adding of merchandise as part of the business.

"Hunter [Luke Potter] had been trying to give this character to people and they thought it was too goofy or silly," he said.

"It's a lot of fun, the kids love it when I come out with the ice creams and smile and have fun with them.

"It's a very kid-friendly character, but the adults also get a kick of it too because it's quite silly."

He trains almost every day in the gym or the ring and manages full time work on the side.

He said as a wrestler you must be prepared to answer questions about professional wrestling being 'fake'.

While the industry is open about wrestlers following a pre-determined script and exaggerating the blows, there is no trickery in lifting a grown man and throwing him to the ground.

In fact, conducting a fight without either wrestler getting seriously injured is an achievement in itself.

"I like to explain what I go through and let them make up their mind for themselves," he said.

"If people are looking to argue, you can't convince them, but if they're genuinely interested, they'll appreciate what you do.