JB Rift Biography [2/2]

[Devise 4,475]

 

Julius Braxton Rift Biography

 

Born A Rift

 

He was born Julius Braxton Rift, the son of one of the most successful, and infamous VHL goaltenders of all time. JB was born in Dublin, Ireland, the hometown of his mother Claire who was a simple bar owner in a city known for flowing brew. JB doesn't recall much of his early childhood, other than your typical childhood things like the smell of barley in the morning, getting into trouble with the local neighborhood boys, and the lilacs growing in his mothers yard. In fact the only thing to note about JB's childhood is that despite being born a Rift, he knew very little about his father. He saw him three times as a kid, on his first, second, and third birthdays. Or so his mother tells him, as he only really remembers the third. How can he forget? His dad, Skylar Rift pulled up to the driveway of their modest single family home in a two door Mercedes. To JB all that meant at the time was "fancy car." But out of the car came a man in tattered jeans with a dirty blazer and hipster sunglasses. His hair was a mess, yet he wore a gold Rolex and was busy talking on what looked to be a brand new phone. JB was to little to understand what his mother said to them that day, but before she sent him to greet his father on his birthday she reminded him anyways.

 

"That man is nothing but pure trouble. A coin constantly flipping, never allowing you to make heads or tails of what it'll land on, save for in fleeting moments. You watch yourself with him." The words have stuck with JB all these years later, but at the time seemed a confusing riddle for a three year old to grapple with. The words weren't the only thing that stuck with him that day, the passing birthday gift from his father also has. An autographed Skylar Rift Quebec City Muete stick. The stick JB trained with, the stick that is probably the reason he is playing hockey in net to this very day. Other than the stick, JB doesn't remember much notable about that day. Nothing that would indicate that despite their separation that his father wasn't well. Nothing to indicate that he wouldn't see his father again for many years, and that the next time he would everything would change. 

 

 

The School Years

 

JB was a hockey goaltender at a young age, even off the ice. He was known for sticking up his friends during instances of bullying or skirmishes. However he'd usually do this by making himself the target of other peoples actions, the true goalie mentality. It didn't seem to matter what type of shot life would give, JB was ready and willing to block it. On the ice coaches would commend his heart, as he was a pure teammate. He wasn't your typical early pro player either, as he battle a lot of on ice struggles especially for consistency. But he would still make himself a useful and great teammate on the bench. 

 

As a student JB was pretty much average across the board. He didn't struggle to keep his attention span but he also wasn't your honor roll student. His focus was ultimately always more about hockey, about going pro. It didn't take many more missed birthdays for JB to get the desire to want to be a hockey player. More than that, a VHL player. As a growing hockey fan he learned about who his father was, what he had done in the VHL at a relatively young age. And after feeling, dismissed by him for much of his life this lead to JB wanting to make the VHL and accomplish more than Skylar did, a motivation that carried through high school and even more hockey. 

 

 

The Facility Showdown

 

After high school JB considered several colleges, he could get on some minor sports scholarships but neither his grades nor his hockey play were good enough to really sell anything more. While he was deciding which college scholarship ultimately was the best for his future, he was approached by former VHL veteran Daniel Braxton, a Hall of Famer in his own right and whose surname JB is named after. Braxton was in charge of a special facility for training VHL specific players, and he wanted JB to join up. The facility was run and managed by a host of former VHL players, mostly names out of the Devise, Jericho and Advantage player agencies. Before accepting, JB only had one lingering question. Was his father at this facility? It was at this point that JB would learn more details about his father Skylar than he had ever known. He learned that Skylar has been a wanted man for much of his late adult life, running from Country to Country. Skylar has been wanted by the CIA since just after his VHL career abruptly ended, with some even speculating he committed actions while still playing in the VHL that are connected. Braxton even presented JB with the Interpol file on his father, a folder thicker than most encyclopedias. Instead of asking how a VHL hall of famer had those connections, JB accepted the offer of training and kept the file folder on him. Although he never opened and read it, not for the entire two years he had it.

 

Two years of practice, two years of VHL prep as JB began really focusing on trying to get his game to a level where he would be able to compete. Everyday after practice he would go back to his specially designed room, distract himself for as long as he could and then wind up staring at the file. Wondering. He could never bring himself to open it, on some level he really didn't want to know more specifics. Whomever his dad was, he wasn't his problem. Then, one fateful day while on the ice working on his game with a few others, most notably Ryan Sullivan Jr the prospect who was also beginning to scout VHL prospects, JB noticed something up above the ice. In the stands, there he was a crazed old man, his father Skylar. He had the file folder in his hands, clearly he had gone to JB's room to get it. He knew, somehow. He was moving slowly and inconsistently like a madman would. He was gunning for the ice, yelling out Daniel Braxtons name, yelling out other nonsense about the flip of the coin. JB seemed almost frozen, he could nothing but just stare off...at the man that he was supposed to recognize, to hold feelings for. In his attempt to find Daniel, Skylar was checked and pushed onto the ice and a brawl with Ryan Sullivan Sr. Sully Jr's HoF dad ensued. As Sully Sr. got the better of him and security was finally called all JB remembers is his dad hair frizzled, still a dumb gold Rolex on his wrist, yelling out "Vasteras will return and smite ye all sinners!" This would mark the last time he would ever see his dad, and from JB's perspective it's good riddance. For JB the future was the now, and his focus became solely on making the VHL, and on holding out a career that he could be proud of. It was after this day that JB announced his intention to the VHL and was added to the prospect pool. 

[Greg_Di 1,022]

Review: Great Bio, was a great read. Loved the bit about the crazy old dad. Only improvements I could suggest is maybe adding another picture and breaking up the really long last paragraph as it made it harder to read

[Kekzkrieg 160]

Review: Really cool take on the backstory of the Father and making it more of an inspiration for the player to succeed in the game. It would be pretty cool to have a picture of said scuffle but the detail and quotes provided gave a pretty colorful picture of the whole ordeal. Overall, the bio is pretty written with a lot of relatable aspects and I look forward to reading more!