In this “The Work of…” episode, I talked to my good friend Ian Douglass (@streamglass on Twitter) about the evolution of his career as a wrestling writer. Ian has written six full-length wrestling books — five autobiographies and a detailed history of wrestling in the Bahamas — and is currently a contributing writer to the Ringer1 and Men’s Health.2 He was also the fitness editor for the late, lamented MEL Magazine.3
This episode might contain a lot of “inside baseball” for people who aren’t big wrestling or sports fans, but it’s really about how one person’s approach to writing has evolved across multiple publications — and in that sense, I think it’s useful information for any writer who wants to hone their craft.4
Articles Discussed
“The Inevitability of Tony Khan’s ‘Dynamite’”
“The Bahamas Wrestling Association”
“Claudio Castagnoli (Finally) Has His Crowning Achievement”
Kurt Angle on training in old age
Suggested Links
Ian’s author page on Amazon
Ian’s author page at The Ringer
Ian’s author page at MEL Magazine
Ian’s author page at Men’s Health
Jim Cornette and Brian Last discuss Ian’s Tony Khan feature
Where he has interviewed or will be interviewing the likes of Claudio (Cesaro) Castagnoli, Mike Rotunda, Natalya Neidhart, Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Samoa Joe, Tony Khan, and many more. The Ringer is interesting because when someone says they “work there,” they really do — we’re all W-2 workers, not 1099 contractors (something the wrestlers themselves can’t say!).
Where he has interviewed Billy Gunn, Claudio Castagnoli, and loads of “trainers to the stars” about their workout regimens.
The final fitness editor, in fact. For MEL, Ian wrote 450+ articles, including interviews with Britt Baker and Kurt Angle as well as an awesome oral history of the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung’s “twister” submission victory over Leonard Garcia.
Until the AIs come for said craft, that is!
The Work of Writing About Wrestling