HE MAY be best known for appearing on the ITV 2 show Love Island, but Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted’s aspirations are firmly set on carving a name for himself inside the squared circle.

The Irishman is set to have a busy year in the world of wrestling and will be appearing for Varisty Pro Wrestling (VPW) this Friday at the Vyne Community School.

In the age of reality TV, it could have been easy for Maxted to get lost in that world, but he decided he wanted to use the show to get exposure in the wrestling industry to achieve his dream of appearing for the WWE.

The 24-year-old personal trainer said: “I took some time to think about it because I knew it could be a risk going on reality TV especially with my goals of making it to the WWE, but I said to myself that if I went on the show and was myself and came across the right way on TV and spoke about my wrestling etc that it could open doors for me so I went on to the show using it as a platform for exposure.”

And the show has helped springboard his career, but he is now aiming to get away from being known as the ‘Love Island guy’.

He added: “I guess a lot of people think that I'm 'just that guy from a reality TV show' and they automatically think negatively about me but most didn't know that I had been training to be a wrestler for about a year before going on the show and I still train three nights a week at my training school (Uprising Pro Wrestling School) in Belfast.

“In 2017 I want to change people's opinion of me and I'll no longer be known as 'The Love Island Guy' but taken seriously as a professional wrestler.”

He has now established himself at Irish promoters Over the Top Wrestling, but for a period after the reality show Maxted was in hot water for a picture of him in McDonald’s with a protein drink captioned: 'Sometimes I like going into McDonalds to sit and have my protein shake … Just to make everyone there feel better about their diet.'

“All I'll say about that is I didn't how many people couldn't take a joke in the world,” Maxted continued.

“I had just left the gym that day and was actually waiting to get picked up to go wrestle on a show and I said to one of the guys take this pic it'll be funny.

“I had no idea how big the backlash would be but obviously a lot of people found it really offensive which was never my intention - I even used the #heel to show that it was wrestling related to get some heel heat.”

Any preconceptions people may have of the wrestler for appearing on Love Island will be squashed when they see his in-ring ability, and Maxted is hoping to continue to ride the wave of momentum he was on at the end of last year.

Maxted added: “My main goal this year is to be in the ring as much as possible and keep improving and learning every time.

“Like I've said I will work hard to change people’s opinion of me this year and hopefully with hard work and dedication, I’ll have an opportunity to try out for the WWE someday – to work for the biggest company in the world is ultimately my goal.”

Maxted will be part of the VPW show at the Vyne Community School on Friday, starting at 7pm.

For more information at tickets visit varsityprowrestling.com.