I didn’t get to spend a lot of ‘friend time’ with people over the course of the last several days. There’s no way to truly make up for lost time, but I hope I’m able to one day. To a lot of you, you’re probably going to read this and roll your eyes. “Who the fuck is this guy?” “Why the fuck is he acting like one weekend in Chattanooga is like raising the WWE Championship to close WrestleMania?”
But, fuck it – I don’t care. This is for the friends who I didn’t get to catch up with in the Scenic City. The people who have been with us for years. That have taken the time to get to know me, to get know Mose, and to get to know the vision behind SoBros Network. If you don’t get that, then this is your chance to just click out of this post. Bye Felicia.
Today’s going to be a slow content day, but I just wanted to take some time to write this down for all of the people who have helped us go from 100 readers a month in 2016 to 25,000 readers a month in 2019. To the people who know how hard this SoBros Wrasslin’ team works.
Our Journey to SCI 2019
Man, three years ago, I was a sports writer who had just walked away from all of his writing gigs to launch his own brand – literally turning down money because I was tired of all of the clickbait bullshit and wanted to write things my way. Plus, yeah – there’s a bit of me that just likes the challenge and has always wanted to run my own business.
I was listening to Kick Out At Two, the show that I completely give credit for getting me back into independent wrestling. I heard about this ‘Scenic City Invitational,’ and hearing that there was this big tournament in Tennessee had me thinking, “hmmm….could indie wrestling work on SoBros Network?” We cover Nashville, the Tennessee Titans, funny viral videos, movies, WWE, and everything in between. But, could we make this work? It’s something fun. It’s something we could easily travel to to cover, and people seem to be interested in, right?!?!
Well, I’m thinking about flying solo in 2016 – just sitting back, observing the scene, and whatnot. The problem is that two days before the tournament, I went for a hike and came back with poison ivy head to toe – literally had poison ivy IN both of my eyes, in between my toes (which may be worse than anything), and even the ol’ undercarriage. I was miserable for a full two weeks.
It’s easy for a full year to sneak up on you in the content business. I’ve dedicated my life to this – it means long days and late nights. I’m still a Titans writer at heart, and that workload picks up this time of year. That’s just an illustration of the give and take that occurs when you write about a myriad of topics. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. Months become years, and you still have projects and ideas sitting on the table untouched. FFS, Fidget Boyz sat on my desk for two years before it was done and that was a simple day’s shoot that turned into a three-minute video.
So, the idea that would eventually become SoBros Wrasslin’ just marinated for a year. We load up and make the trip down in 2017 to finally test the waters. I distinctly remember Dylan Hales taking time to help me put together a YouTube playlist to showcase the 2017 field when he had no obligation whatsoever to do so. I still appreciate that to this day.
Otherwise, we didn’t have a single connection down there, just fuckin’ wingin’ it like we always do. But, a guy who would turn out to be one of the kindest, most supportive human beings I’ve ever met in my life walks up to us and says, “What’s up, man? My name is Ben…”
Ben showed us the ropes that year. Anyone who has ever had a solitary moment with Ben understands why they call him “The Mayor.”
We didn’t get a single interview that year. I reached out to a bunch of guys, but I was no-sold left and right. I wrote recaps and reviews. We did a bunch of SoBros podcasts that year. Everything performed well. Two years ago, our collective following was about a third of what it is today. And, we made a lot of friends that weekend that climbed on board the SoBros train.
So, I knew we had something. SCI 2017, for us, was like planting a seed. I knew I had to cultivate it, tend to it, and care for it. If I did, maybe something wonderful would grow out of it.
I needed help, though – I can only stretch myself so far, and considering my duties and obligations to the SoBros Network shield, I knew from experience (look at our movie section – no way that page is as deep and developed without Brandon’s work) it was completely unrealistic to put that on my shoulders. I periodically put out feelers on Twitter saying we were looking for an independent wrestling correspondent.
I was trying to write what I could to keep the idea afloat, but I’ll be transparent with you guys, I don’t travel much and between the focus on the Titans season that fall, I couldn’t get much going. Just enough to keep it going.
Finally, in February of 2018, I get an e-mail from some ‘coupleofjobbers’ account. That’s the first box checked – getting an actual e-mail from someone instead of a Tweet. It’s this guy named John Mosley. Never met him…but he’s telling me he’s interested in covering wrestling for SoBros Network. Okay, I’ll give him a shot…“thanks, man! send me a writing sample!”
I’ve been writing for five years at this point. I’ve worked for five different organizations. This is always the part of the process during which you lose people. Everyone wants to be famous. Everyone wants to be an internet personality. And, everyone wants the things that come with it.
But, no one wants to put in the work.
Within hours, though, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had four paragraphs from John sitting in my inbox. Even then, though, when you’re in my position, you can’t help but wonder how long it’ll last. I’ve created 26 accounts on SoBros Network dot com. Most of those were never used. I’ve seen plenty more that are used a few times and then writers ghost. It’s just a part of the process you have to accept.
But, you can’t weed those people out right away and if you don’t give people chances, your brand isn’t going to grow and expand to new audiences. So, Mose got his chance.
A few days later, he posts an article about a feud between brothers that was coming to Southern Underground Pro: Brett Ison vs. Righteous Jesse. It blew up, and we even nominated it for ‘Article of the Year’ in the 2018 SoBros Awards. I think, “okay, off to a great start, Mose.”
Months later, and Mose had already cracked the top five in the SoBros content count. Seeing the way he writes with a certain genuine transparency and a love for pro wrestling that shines through his words, he had me secretly begging that he’d stick around. But, more importantly, his work spoke to wrestling fans who wanted to hear that sort of jubilation and passion in their wrestling “journalism.” Let’s face it – it ain’t like there’s a flood of positivity on wrestling Twitter. But, Mose built that brand for himself.
We go to SCI 2018 weekend, and out of it, Mose and I get written interviews with Ison, Marko Stunt, O’Shay Edwards, Mr. Brickster, Curt Stallion, A.J. Gray, and others I’m sure I’m forgetting. We did a podcast with Jesse and Lane that our readers ended up voting ‘Podcast of the Year’ in the 2018 SoBros Awards. Our recaps caught fire, and our analytics showed that that weekend’s content reached over 12,000 people in a matter of three days.
That’s a testament to Mose’s willingness to put in work with me and it’s a testament to his ability to create relationships within the community. But, there’s so much more that the guy does for us – as an example, there wouldn’t be an Unofficial Titans Podcast without him. He’s done SEC season previews. He’s covered the NBA for us. He’s pitched in on movie content with Brandon when we needed another voice because I don’t fuckin’ watch movies. I have to put over Mose as much as I can. Without him, there is no SoBros Wrasslin’ brand. We’re talking about some pretty big projects, and it’s all because of him. I love to just sit back and watch him do his thing at shows.
I think it’s important to celebrate small successes along the way…because it’s those small successes that add up to the big ones. All of these little wins eventually lead to the big win: quitting my job to run SoBros Network full time because we have the money to do so. SCI 2018 is one of those small victories that we’ve built upon.
I don’t always share my own victories. I stay focused on the grind, and I just keep looking ahead. But, one of those victories, for me, is the pride I have in seeing the people who commit themselves to the SoBros mission rewarded. To see Mose do his thing at shows fills me with pride. Dropping Brandon off at a film festival that he’s been invited to as a credentialed media member fills me with pride. I can’t put the intensity of that pride into words.
Truthfully, I didn’t think it would get much better than SCI 2018.
But, it did. Fast forward to SCI 2019 and we’re selling Ison’s ‘Street Justice’ shirts like crazy because he was gracious enough to trust us with his business (and because Cadbury was willing to sweat away in his garage making a screen and inventory for it). I’ve been able to talk business with the heart and soul of Tennessee wrestling, Kerry Awful. We’ve been to WrestleMania Week and written FUCKING 25,000 WORDS ABOUT IT. We’ve been sponsoring SUP shows and hitting our stride with that crowd for over a year now. We witnessed W.O.M.B.A.T. in Tullahoma and Tony Deppen told me to suck his dick. I see Effy at a GCW show, and when he looks up and sees my shirt, says, “omg the SoBros are here!” To see the rise of guys like Marko Stunt, O’Shay Edwards, and Manders over the last year. To be in The Basement East to see Brett fucking Ison walk out on a GCW show to a pop that sounded like Stone Cold Steve Austin walking out during the Attitude Era. We got Poppa Bear walking through the curtain to try and detain Daniel Makabe during the fuckin’ FINALS of SCI. To have a L-E-G-E-N-D like B-Boy sit down and do a podcast with us…to shake our hands and thank us…to come up to us after a match and ask for our thoughts on it. These are moments.
It’s just fucking insane. I just sit here shaking my head with a blank look on my face trying to process it.
We’ve gone from no one knowing who we are in 2017 to having so many people wanting to do Checks and Championships that I literally don’t have a moment to grab a drink of water in between recordings on Friday afternoon. I love talking Titans. I love the feeling of seeing a local Nashville piece being shared left and right on Facebook. But, if we’re talking about things that drive business for SoBros Network – the wrasslin’ branch is of paramount importance. Our dear friend RHog attended the shows this weekend, and at one point, he even looks at me and says, “y’know man….maybe wrestling is your thing…”
It’s certainly ignited something within me that I never knew existed.
I’ve been completely overwhelmed with emotion the last couple of days just thinking about all of this. Lane (and the Best Western employee for that matter) even caught me having a moment after night two….just standing outside my room with a headache and a cup of scotch, smoking a Swisher Sweet with tears streaming down my face. Just thinking about the work I’ve put in to SoBros Network, the sacrifices I’ve made that people never see – to me, this weekend was validation that if you put good into the world, and if you work hard at it, that good comes back to you. Ultimately, that’s what we’re aiming for here. Enough good that maybe one day we won’t be chasing our dreams. We’ll have achieved them.
That’s the message I want to share with all of you.
This is a victory lap, but I never want to lose sight of these moments. It’s what encourages me to stay on the path I’m on. This is me savoring the moment.
Thank Yous
There’s not enough time to thank everyone who has helped the SoBros Network over the last two years, but I’m going to do my best to identify those who have helped us develop and excel at our Wrasslin’ coverage.
To Mose, I’ll just say that I hope you’re savoring this moment, too. You deserve it, and it’s been a real treasure to get to know you over the last year. You’ve become like a brother to me.
No single individual has supported us over the last year as much as Ryan Franson has. I hope you know that your contributions never go unnoticed, and I hope that you are feeling a similar sense of pride in weekends like this because you’ve had a significant part in it as well, whether you realize it or not.
Similarly, I’d like to thank Jack Kopanski for being one of our Patreon subscribers since day one. Without the words of encouragement and financial contributions from you and Ryan, we aren’t here. You’ve both made us believe in ourselves.
To Jesse, you’ve become a true friend to me. I’ve come to you at times when I’m feeling defeated and frustrated, and you’ve always built me back up. You and Brittany have taken the time to learn the inner workings of SoBros Network, and are helping us to take our company to the next level. It’s incredible to see how you’ve grown this year, and to be there to share some of these moments with you has made for one of the best surprises of my content-creating career. And, hell – we all know we don’t deserve Brittany. Both of you will always have a spot at SoBros HQ if you want it.
To Brett Ison, I will never ever ever forget your willingness to take a chance on a group of degenerate writers who make shirts out of their fucking basement. As much as I hate to, I’m going to be a fucking mark and say it’s been incredible to see you have the year you’ve had. You deserve it. On a personal level, you have my utmost respect as a man. The world could use more Brett Isons.
To Lane, thank you for being there for us since that SCI in 2017. You’ve really put us over, but more importantly, you’ve been there with us to create some lasting memories…and some great fuckin’ content (shout out to Fidget Boyz).
To E, Ben, Brett, Steve, Reed, and my dear friend Steven McCash – you guys are our “regulars” and I can’t thank you enough for supporting us and giving us the encouragement we need to make this dream happen.
To Jason Cline, thank you for always supporting us and giving us feedback. Aside from being one of the most encouraging people we’ve met doing this, you’re just an outright delight to see at shows and catch up with. The way you’ve supported the Tennessee wrestling scene when you really don’t have to blows me away.
To the SUP braintrust, thank you guys for going above and beyond to take care of us and to promote the SoBros brand like crazy. You guys have made an impression on us that I will never forget.
To Doug Markham, you’re one of us now and I hope you’re okay with that.
To Dylan Hales and Scott Hensley, thank you both for making us feel incredibly comfortable at SCI and taking care of us as sponsors.
To O’Shay, you’ve told me that you’ll never forget the people that helped you along the way. That’s a two-way street, brother – you have a team behind you any time you need us.
To Marko, good luck.
Weekends like this assure me that what we’re doing is eventually going to work. It ain’t over, though – I still have shows to edit and post, we’re going to be doing more review shows, writing recaps, features, and maybe if we’re lucky, get a few new written interviews on the site. But, for the time being, I’m going to continue to enjoy this moment. And, if you see the SoBros banner at a show, please come say hi.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go hug my girlfriend and plan our anniversary trip to Savannah.
Thank you, SCI.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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