This story is about the members of the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), an independent-professional wrestling company based in Long Island, New York.
Although the Professional Wrestling boom of the 1980’s has subsided, the sport is still one of the most watched cable television programs in the United States. Despite it’s many avid fans both in the U.S. and abroad, many people do not understand wrestling at all. They don’t grasp why people would watch a sport that is not real. ]But as Jimmy “The Greek God” Papadoniou, a senior member of the New York Wrestling Connection, said, “the outcome is determined, but wrestling is not fake.”
Wrestling is about skill, technique, delivery, dedication, and character. You have to sell the part no matter what. These men hold themselves to a high standard. The truly dedicated ones train with the NYWC three times a week and work out constantly on their own. Improvement is always on their minds, with the ultimate goal of getting signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), or other mainstream wrestling companies where fame and money are guaranteed. The wrestlers of the NYWC see their diverse group as a family, one where respect for brothers and superiors is crucial.
At first, I decided to photograph pro wrestling because I thought it would be a visually interesting story about a culture that I did not know much about. I thought I would photograph one match and that would be it. But instead, I started spending more time with the wrestlers and realized that, to them, this is much more than a fun pastime, it is a lifestyle. To them, wrestling is a chance to follow in the footsteps of their childhood idols, superheroes of their youth. It is a real opportunity to be a part of something.
Emily Berl was born in Washington, DC in 1985. She is currently a freelance photographer based in Brooklyn, NY.
Contact me at:
202.549.6949
ejberl@gmail.com
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