As luck would have it, in December, I was offered the chance to interview Marco. Unfortunately, December was a very busy month for me. I was definitely interested, though. And so, I thought of a few questions and things we could chat about. I ended up sending them via email, just to see what he thought, and very quickly got replies to all of them! Wow.
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| Wow, quick turnaround on these answers! (Marco vs. Iceman - Bearhugs) |
Alex: I feel like Joe at Ringside has covered a lot of the pre-Underground Wrestler stuff in his previous interviews with you (EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED) and (MARCO IN PRIVATE), but it might make sense to remind folks of some personal things to start the interview.
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| Just a few icebreakers to start things off. (Marco vs. Iceman - Sleeper Mini-Match) |
Marco: I grew up wrestling.
Alex: How did you get into wrestling videos?
Marco: I was referred by another wrestler. I had no idea about any of this 5 years ago.
Alex: How quickly did you know that were the new big fan favorite? I feel like it happened right away, but I don’t know if you (or the other wrestlers) really keep track of that.
Marco: I kept getting requested for matches so that was the main indicator. A lot of people liked that I actually knew how to wrestle and loved my trash talk.
Alex: Who is/are your favorite guy(s) to wrestle with ever? Why?
Marco: I enjoyed wrestling Johnny Bravo, Brian Cage, Dirty Daddy, Joey King. Those guys are good at what they do and the match flows nicely. Any guys I get to beat up are fun, too. lol.
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| We have fun when he beats guys up, too. (Marco vs. Frey - Veteran Ring Match) |
Alex: Do you hang out with anyone outside of filming wrestling videos?
Marco: There’s a close group of guys that hang out with each other. Most of the local guys do and some of the regulars that fly in to shoot. We'll go out every once in a while.
Alex: As a wrestler, you had some amazing matches, but also matches where you seemed bored or disinterested. (a) Do you agree with that? (b) If so, what gets you excited to wrestle? What bores you about a match? Is it pace of production, time of day, your opponent, something else?
Marco: Most of my matches, I have a lot of fun. I think it naturally shows on camera. When the other guy is having fun and knows what he's doing is usually when there's a best seller. If the guys aren't into it, it really shows and makes for a bad video. Making sure the guys are into it is the major key.
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| Yeah, I think they're into this match. Hi Chase! (Marco vs. Chase) |
Alex: Can someone meet you for a wrestling match?
Marco: Yes. If anyone wants to meet me for a match please send me an email. I'm available in Florida or anywhere else in the world. For any other wrestlers, please contact them directly.
Alex: The main thing I’d want to talk to you about is obviously Underground Wrestler. It’s the new news. Let’s start at the beginning so we can understand more about it.
What exactly is it? I think we’d all like get a handle on the details, like posting schedule, customs, watching, pricing, etc.
Marco: Underground Wrestler offers pro matches and also real amateur wrestling matches. I’m excited for the real matches since I’ve had a lot of requests for them. They'll be unscripted with a real winner.
I post videos on https://www.undergroundwrestler.com as they're completed. Right now https://www.patreon.com/undergroundwrestler is once a week with bonus content in between. I will be making big changes there soon.
PAGE LINKS:
https://undergroundwrestler.com/
https://www.patreon.com/undergroundwrestler
https://www.instagram.com/undergroundwrestler/
https://www.facebook.com/undergroundwrestler/
https://twitter.com/UndergroundWre1
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| Now I'm getting the big picture. (Kasee vs. Chase) |
Marco: I started Underground Wrestler so I can offer higher quality customs. I was getting feedback from other companies that I knew I could easily improve on. I produce a high volume of customs and have very happy customers. Great reviews on my site.
https://undergroundwrestler.com/collections/wrestling-matches/products/custom-wrestling-video
Alex: How has it evolved since launch? Why? For example, I think one of the things at launch was that custom videos wouldn’t be sold/released. Has that changed? There wasn’t a Patreon. Why go that route? That kind of thing, depending on what's evolved.
Marco: I originally started by just making customs. The production costs for customs kept increasing (wrestlers, their travel costs, editors). To keep growing the business and improve my quality, I decided to start Underground Wrestler. The idea of Patreon was to give my fans more access to me and more value. I have a lot of ideas coming for Patreon.
Alex: What is the long-term plan? What your goal with it? What should guys look for in the future?
Marco: My long term goal is to lead the underground wrestling scene. I want to bring more attention to our wrestling community. A lot of other companies stay very hidden. The real wrestling part should help expand the audience. I will be offering more products than just wrestling videos. I have more plans to make Underground Wrestler the go-to site for anything you want. That will be announced in the next year.
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| Stay awake, Eagle, there are big plans afoot! (Kasee vs. Eagle) |
Marco: I’ve always had an idea of who people would want to see. I take that into consideration when I recruit new guys. The main indicator is video sales. The best sellers are ALWAYS the matches where you can see the guys having fun and really getting into it.
Alex: There are more wrestling video sites out there than ever. What makes Underground Wrestler unique within the space?
Marco: Underground Wrestler's quality will always improve. The companies that have been around since I started almost 5 years ago haven't changed one thing. I'm also very interactive with my fans and listen to a ton of feedback. I have a better community feel to my site. Like I said in the above question, I will offer more than just videos.
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| Marco's already done a Q+A with Patreon fans |
Marco: I love being on my own schedule. I'm really loving the process and learning all the back end to design and production so that I can keep improving.
Alex: What’s been the biggest/most surprising challenge?
Marco: There can be some crazy twists with the wrestlers but I've always managed to keep up with any surprise challenges.
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| There's always a lot of heavy lifting when you own your own business (Cason and Vinny vs. Kid Romeo) |
Marco: Right now all my videos are from custom requests. The real wrestling series will be who I match up. I have some new guys coming next month that I will announce through my weekly emails. You can opt in to my emails through my website by either making a purchase or going to the footer menu.
https://www.undergroundwrestler.com
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| The custom guys seem to have good taste so far. (Kasee vs. Chase) |
Marco: This is a great question. I'm going to feature this process on my Patreon soon. After someone purchases a custom through my site, we get to talking about the guys, gear and script that they want. I have to make sure the guys are still active and will do the proposed script. Once that is set, I get to scheduling the guys. Usually within a couple weeks to accommodate work or school schedules. I always send my wrestlers the scripts and explain how they need to wrestle and the emotion they need to show. On the film day, we go through the script again to make sure they have it down. We practice any moves they aren't sure about then get to work. Once filmed, my turn around time is within 24 hours.
https://undergroundwrestler.com/collections/wrestling-matches/products/custom-wrestling-video
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| Poor Eagle. Someone asked for him to suffer. (Kasee vs. Eagle) |
Marco: I haven't had any bad reactions. I always appear to be cool with the script so there isn't any worry or concern translated to them. So far, I haven't had anyone refuse a script.
Alex: Is there a particular video where you think the guys were most into the scenario? Beyond money, are there types of things that get the wrestlers more or less interested to participate (e.g., stories with lots of acting vs. no acting, certain types of wrestling, gear, etc.)
Marco: Very recently I filmed Vinny and Cason vs Kid Romeo. All three guys really had fun with that match. There was boxing to start if off then the natural bully came out of Vinny and Cason while beating on Kid Romeo. I think the wrestlers enjoy matches most when they aren't the same typical moves. Boxing was a nice way to switch things up and they like ring matches too since you can do different moves.
https://undergroundwrestler.com/collections/wrestling-matches/products/cason-and-vinny-vs-kid-romeo-high-school-bullies
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| Yeah, I believe they were having fun. (Cason and Vinny vs. Kid Romeo) |
Marco: I would agree with that. They usually focus on the guy that they want to be the jobber. I think they connect with how the wrestler sells the pain, or on the other hand, how the jobber secretly loves the pain and asks for more in a non verbal way.
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| We love to see our faves squashed. (Marco vs. Chase) |
Alex
It seems like Thunders Arena but a bit dirtier, which makes sense if it's made up of commisions.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen so far, it's squashier and the gear is usually better. To your point, this makes sense based on it being commissions.
DeleteDid he happen to mention if there's any affiliation between Underground Wrestler and Thunder's Arena? I know several of Thunder's wrestlers have started working with other companies, but Underground Wrestler seems to have the same models as Thunder's, as well as the same wrestler profile format on its website, the same download service, and even some of the same venues in its videos (for example, the red and white curtain in the garage). It has me a little confused.
ReplyDelete-JS
That’s a great question. As I understand it, UW is Marco’s thing, but he’s functioning as the ‘custom’ arm of Thunders. So he’s like an affiliated sub-contractor or something. If that’s wrong, hopefully Marco checks these comments and corrects me.
Deletehow can i get marco video
ReplyDelete