| Reckless Youth | |
| Birth Name: | Thomas Carter[1] |
| Birth Date: | 18 September 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Mount Holly, New Jersey, U.S.[2] [3] |
| Names: | Reckless Youth Silver Wings Tom Carter |
| Weight: | 199lb |
| Trainer: | Al Snow Larry Sharpe William Regal[4] |
| Debut: | September 1995 |
| Retired: | 2010 |
Thomas Carter (born September 18, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American independent promotions including the East Coast Wrestling Association, Combat Zone Wrestling and Chikara, where he was one of the original founders alongside Mike Quackenbush.[5] In January 1998, Pro Wrestling Illustrated senior editor Bill Apter called Reckless Youth "one of the most recognizable independent stars" in the United States.[6]
Carter was part of a small group of "backyard wrestlers", including D'Lo Brown, while growing up in New Jersey. Carter and his friends eventually began renting an actual wrestling ring from Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory. Within a few years, Sharpe eventually offered to book the young men on his shows if they joined his wrestling school and sold tickets for live events. Carter made his pro debut in September 1995. He also trained at Al Snow's Bodyslammers Gym in Lima, Ohio during his rookie year.[7]
Youth made his debut for Great Lakes Wrestling in a ladder match with Steve Nixon. He later started a stable alongside "Dirty" Don Montoya and Diamond (later Simon Diamond) called East Coast Invasion. Youth went on to win the GLW World title and competed in the final match in GLW defeating "Dirty" Don Montoya in a two out of three falls match on January 17, 1997.
Youth's first appearance in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) was against Justice Pain, at The Staple Gun.[8] He then faced Mike Quackenbush and Ric Blade in a three-way match at Down In Flames on June 19, 1999.[9] Youth would also have a memorable three-way match at Un F'N Believable, against Trent Acid and Blade. He then faced Minoru Fujita at the next three shows, all in a losing effort.[10] [11] [12] His final appearance in CZW was a fatal four-way against Nick Berk, Nick Mondo, and Tony Mamaluke in 2003.[13]
Youth married his wife Kathy on November 4, 2000; together they had three children. Youth pursued the career of accounting, a side job he worked while on the independents, and is currently the Director of the Tax Department at Jones Apparel.