Wrestling, Community and Finding Your People

I never thought wrestling was anything more than sweaty people sliding across each other's bodies until I heard about this.

So after my post yesterday, a random amount of what we'll call 'signs' have floated around my social media pages. One shouted at me (and not only because it’s an old friend involved). This story isn’t about me this time, well not fully anyway.

So to start us off, I was born in a bright beautiful place called Blackpool, heard of it? 

Yeah, not so bright and beautiful now. 

Living in Blackpool is where all the trauma started, through the years it got worse and worse and there was just no light. Literally, everything was always grey. But this story goes back to the age of 16. I had a mint group of friends. We spent our days doing everything and nothing all at the same time. The boys skated, the girls pretended to be interested but all in all we were there for the banter. It was a group of misfits supporting each other with the simplicity of company. 

Sounds great right? This isn’t to say it didn’t come with some tough times and I can only speak my truth and not for the group. I spent everyday smiling, laughing, loving and building friendships within these years but it seemed to be a time where everything was falling apart slowly without me even realising it. I can’t really remember much, I think I’ve spent so many years blocking them out I genuinely don’t know anymore. All I know is I had a source of support until I didn’t.

I went through a long term relationship that started as friendship. It was kinda awesome, till i found out he cheated and on our 2 year anniversary told a girl she was absolutely his type while i was standing right behind him. Please bear in mind I paid for us to go for a weekend in London to go see the Harry Potter studio and paid for pretty much everything on that trip.

Just Sayin’

But that's beside the point. The point of this post is how wrestling can be more than sweaty people hitting each other with chairs. For me, having a unit of people around me meant having somewhere to go, somewhere to be social and somewhere I felt comfortable. As I got older, there seemed to be less and less for that awkward 'in-between' age where you just want somewhere to vent, socialise or exist for a bit. So what do we do? 

We drink. 

I’ve recently been in touch with one of my old friends from the Stanley Park days, as we call them, and he shared with me that he found a love for wrestling and has actually become rather good, if I do say so myself. I thought okay sounds cool, but the passion he had when he was explaining it was something so pure, it was lovely to see. I knew him as this skater boy that liked skateboarding  and Yu-Gi-Oh! Now he wrestles within a club called Rascals Professional Wrestling Academy. 

Rascals Professional Wrestling Academy are based in Blackpool, hence the Blackpool part of my short story, and if you live in Blackpool you will know how little there is to do that isn’t drinking, shopping or staying at home. Rascals Professional Wrestling Academy is not just training to wrestle. 

"We're a big family with a lot of different great personalities. They've helped me so much with confidence and fitness and all around good times, the best thing I ever did was just say fuck it im gonna do what I loved since I was a kid. Skating was fun but I always knew it wasn't for me deep down I did it cause my mates did it”

Rascals have opened their doors to everyone and anyone struggling and needs to vent or just to have that little group of support through chatting, gaming and movies, and no you don’t need to walk in and start talking about your trauma, you can talk about your simple pleasures, talk about wrestling, games, anything. Or you could just ‘eat some snacks and get all fat and sassy’. I will put the more details on the resources tab.