 The gimmick was a strange choice for Pastrick because his parents were Polish and had been held in a Concentration camp during World War II.The Von Steigers first became noticed as a team in the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling, where they won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship in 1967, their first title as a team.After working in the Stampede Territory for a while, the duo moved on, leaving Canada to begin working for the promotion most synonymous with the Von Steigers, NWA Pacific Northwest in Portland.