Recommendations

I had the chance to wrestle with Grakoda today, and let me tell you, he totally caught me off guard! This guy is incredibly strong and tough. Made me tap out of almost every hold that he had me in and then slowly drained me of any energy I had left. I had an absolute blast the entire time! If you’re looking for a real challenge, I highly recommend Grakoda. He’s a beast!

"Thank you for being part of this journey."

I say those words to every opponent on this cross country trek. And with #35, the charismatic tank that is ThunderBull, that phrase rings an especially sweet, aggressive emphasis. In the days before I finally arrived in St. Louis, one of my final stops, our communications flew furious. Tangible adrenaline. Read-my-mind anticipation. Bold trash talk. This great athlete took two days off from work (awwww, man) to make sure we got a double-dose: singles the first day, a 2on1 (with RowdyBear) the second. I checked into the hotel early; he was ready to go, wrestling bag already in his car.

Rocking a red, muscle-tight singlet, ThunderBull brought his BJJ training and rugby endurance. He's totally a guy's guy, the type of competitor who pushes himself and then pushes you. Always safe, always sane, his pure alpha camel clutch and finishing Boston crab instantly set the pace for a submission clinic that left the king size bed soaked. His confidence walled in any damage I might have done; better to get inside the other guy's head, he explained. Given the size advantage, technique won't beat him – but hanging with him earns mutual respect. Repeatedly stretched, choked and tapping after my face turned sky colors, we'd trade slow-smiling stares.

"You can take a lot," he said, eyes flashing bright.

Coming from him, those words meant a LOT. Especially when his friend, RowdyBear, picked up on Day #2...

Easy going guy and is a good person!

Awesome time with this gentle giant who looks like Ivan Drago. S-Dude is very tall (6' 2"), super handsome, and has really big biceps. Personality-wise, he is curteous and sweet, a real gentleman.

In the end, like in the best movies tradition, Ivan Drago got defeated. Yet, it almost felt like the wrong finale, given how incredibly charming and handsome this guy is. I do want to have a round two and I swear... I do want to lose next time!

I had the pleasure of going at it with this guy and man oh man what a treat that was. We had a red versus blue singlet round and he looked like the ultimate wrestling hero in his blue singlet. He has a very muscular physique that you cannot resist grabbing onto… not to mention super chiseled pecs that punished me in his headlocks and his pins. I used my chest as an attack in some past matches with other guys. This wrestling hero gave me a taste of my own medicine. Hopefully I have better luck next time and can squeeze him into submission haha. Wrestling aside, HLTW is a very sweet guy and is incredibly good looking. He looks like a model. I’m crossing my fingers that he passes through St. Louis again so I can have another round with him.

Warning! Bear attack!

Grr. As my cross-country wrestling trip winds down, the St. Louis stopover loomed like a gauntlet, Advil waiting to happen. Opponent #37 – ThunderBull's chum and the day's carpool passenger – was the compassionate, assured and gentleman among men RowdyBear. When I'd reached out, he proposed a 2 on 1. What I didn't realize was that I was the 1.

Fresh from his garden, and no doubt taking a cue from my match with ThunderBull the afternoon before, Rowdy filled out his camouflage trunks and flipped the alpha switch. All safe, sane, communicated, and respected, these two – in tandem – pushed my limits. I'd never been in a fight growing up, but for every pec and ab claw, for each gut punch, for every inevitable choke out when I got body scissored and elevated against him, limbs extended, he and ThunderB (looking awfully proud) traded smiles.

"He's resisting... "

Damn right. There's nothing like locking eyes with a steel fricking heel – then still launching against him three sweaty hours later. As the inevitable bruises formed, for some reason, I kept blurting out "Rugby is for girls!" and "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is for sissies!" Clearly, momentum was shifting. His only recourse were camel clutches, ab stretches, smothering face pins, brutal roll ups, bow and arrows, dragon sleepers, side headlocks, more arm bars, leg splits, cradles, spladles, Boston crabs, reverse head scissors, scissors nelsons, body scissors, neck cranks, repeated knees to the gut, bulldogs, body slams, chops, slaps, a lot of crushed hamstrings, frequent opportunities to flex... and – damn – the only bearhug I submitted to all trip.

After 37 matches in 40 days, these two awesome guys couldn't have been nicer. They frequently stopped to loosen up my tight-weary left side, reminded me to drink lots of water, and sandwiched me in a bye-for-now bearhug. Incredibly, Rowdy thought I was his age. ThunderBull laughed as I showed my profile.

Guys like these keep you young.

Recently I traveled to Maine to wrestle a rematch with LatinoHT. While there, I also challenged Jiminmaine to a match. I knew he was a submission wrestler and I am a fan of pro but I thought I would give submission a shot again. Jim showed up right on time and we agreed to a SLOW submission match. Jim was a true gentleman while being an extremely strong wrestler. This 64 year old man has the strength of a 20 year old first year college student on the wrestling team. I thank him for being so understanding with me and I encourage any REAL submission wrestler to accept a match from this talented athlete. He’s amazing.

Had an awesome time with wrsl150! We’ve wanted to wrestle each other for a good minute now and finally got the opportunity to while I was in Maine. Those muscles aren’t just for show! He’s super strong and very skilled at applying all kinds of holds. He really tested my flexibility with some of them haha. We rolled for well over an hour and definitely could’ve gone longer had I not had a time constraint. Overall, a wonderful experience and amazing guy to connect with. Highly recommend meeting up with him!

Luchar contra el fue muy difícil, con su fuerza física, una pericia técnica y una tenacidad envidiables.
Además de ser un luchador formidable, este hombre es también una persona respetuosa, educada y sumamente interesante.
Fue un placer conocerle. Espero volver a verle y luchar el

Incredibly strong person. Although he has no fighting skills, he has instincts and tries his best.
I loved meeting him and spending time with him. I hope to see him again someday.