Spanky has had an interesting relationship with names over the years.
His mother originally planned to name him Damien, but after seeing the movie "The Omen" she opted to name him Dustin, after her favorite actor, Dustin Hoffman. He was originally given the last name "Rhead" even though his mother was divorced and Rhead wasn't his biological father's last name. While in high school, Dustin paid to have his last name changed to "Ward" to reflect the last name of his biological father.
Dustin adopted the nickname "Spanky" at the age of 13. It derived from an old black-and-white TV show he watched as a little kid. One of the main characters, "Spanky" was a chubby little tyke who constantly got into trouble. This mirrored Dustin quite well as a small child. Spanky used his new moniker as a marketing tool to acquire a sponsor for his BMX racing hobby. It worked, and the nickname stuck.
