GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Goodrich, Michigan to meet up with Joe Byrd, the founder of Pure Pro Wrestling, a family-friendly brand of wrestling that serves the community both in and outside the ring.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: If your career is on pause, you can earn a business or tech degree from Walsh College, with a flexible schedule for working professionals who want to expand their skills for a changing marketplace.

Learn more at WalshCollege.edu Walsh College is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: Whether your business is starting up or scaling up, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation can connect you with services and support.

From finding employees to accessing state-wide resources and partnership opportunities.

Michigan, Pure Opportunity.

PEIPEI: My business means so much more than just a business.

I'm passing along our culture, our languages to the future generations.

More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers like Peipei at Baby Learns Language.

Amazon, a proud supporter of Start Up.

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Learn more at Bluehost.com Bluehost is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: Running a business isn't easy.

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♪ My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country faces significant challenges, small-business owners are navigating their way through a changing global marketplace with strength and perseverance while continuing to push the economy forward.

We've set out for our 13th consecutive season talking to a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they learn to adapt, innovate, and even completely reinvent themselves.

This is Start Up.

♪ The sport of wrestling is thousands of years old, dating back to ancient Greece and Egypt.

And as far back as the 1800s, staged wrestling matches became a staple of traveling shows and carnivals across America.

But it wasn't until the invention of the television that pro wrestling became prime time entertainment.

And by the 1980s and 90s, larger-than-life characters packed arenas with their mix of athleticism, and wild storytelling.

Today I'm heading to Goodrich, Michigan to meet up with Joe Byrd, the founder of Pure Pro Wrestling.

From what I know, Joe went from being a professional wrestler to owning the largest independent wrestling league in the state of Michigan.

I can't wait to learn more and might even get a chance to hop in the ring myself.

♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey ♪ Let's just clear the air right now and talk about that aspect of wrestling, the theater aspect of wrestling.

JOE: So, you know, a lot of people, they- they use this reason that wrestling is fake.

That's why they don't want to watch it.

The thing is, it's predetermined.

It's entertainment.

It's storytelling.

It's larger-than-life characters.

But I can tell you for- for a fact that from doing this for so many years, it absolutely hurts.

These guys and gals are taking real risks.

They're doing athletic training, you know, full time, all year long.

They don't take days off.

And so there's- there's a lot that goes into this that people don't see.

GARY: Yeah.

JOE: And what I love about it is that it's- it's a live-action movie that happens right in front of your face.

GARY: What was the origin for you?

When did you fall in love with wrestling?

JOE: Saturday mornings, I was a young kid And they would have the WWE recaps would come on, well, WWF at the time.

GARY: Yeah.

JOE: So it started with me and my My Pet Monster.

Yeah, I- I put on, you know, whatever I could find in the house as like, as a costume, and I would go and beat up the My Pet Monster and pretend to be the Undertaker, and I'd come up with different... GARY: Yes.

Names and run through these stories in my mind.

And that was kind of the first love of it.

I actually was at 15 years old, was renting venues with a bunch of untrained kids.

Don't ask me how they let me do it.

And we made videos every single weekend and we'd get together and do these shows.

GARY: Do you remember the moment that this went from you being a fan and just really into something to saying this is something I want to do?

JOE: I got to see WrestleMania at 18, Rock versus Hogan.

GARY: Oh, wow.

JOE: I've never been in an environment so electric.

I didn't know that you could make people feel and do the things that they were doing that night.

And seeing that match, I was like, this is what I want to do.

Shortly after, I found somebody that was training people out in Port Huron, and I started lying to my parents and driving on the weekends with my friend and getting my ass kicked by guys that were twice my age.

(laughs) GARY: Wow, that is an incredible story, man.

What was step one in taking all of that energy and all of that passion for something and sort of reverse engineering that into a business that you can make money and sustain at?

And was that the plan and the goal?

JOE: No, no.

The goal was always to be a professional wrestler.

I wanted to... GARY: Okay.

I wanted to be on TV.

I wanted to travel.

I wanted to see the world and get to do this.

I did enjoy a good career.

I got to travel and see places and meet people that I never thought I would meet.

And I got to be in the ring with legends that I grew up watching.

Like I wrestled the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine and Scott Steiner and Chris Saban while he was the X Division Champion.

So I got to wrestle, you know, so many people that I grew up watching and kind of fulfill that part of it.

And, you know, so it was natural progression for me to get into coaching and promoting even though it kind of fell in my lap.

GARY: How did that transition from- going from the wrestling side into the promoting and the business side?

JOE: So I was dating a young lady at the time who was working at an animal rescue and they were about to shut down.

And she said, "Hey, do you think that maybe you and your friends "might be able to put a wrestling show on for us to raise a little bit of money?"

So we do one right up the road here in Davison at this little VFW, we absolutely packed the place and the show was really good.

And I had a blast doing it.

And at the time, I was working a full time job.

I was like pursuing, you know, my dream and passion on the weekends.

And after that show, I was like, well, maybe I'll- maybe I'll do a couple more.

And so I started just doing them sporadically, just out of fun and something, you know, new and challenging.

I lost my job.

And recession hit, and our business started plummeting that I was working for.

GARY: Yeah.

JOE: And I remember getting these unemployment checks.

And I'm looking at these unemployment checks, and I'm thinking to myself, "I don't want to go back "into what I was doing.

I wasn't fulfilled."

And I'm thinking about these shows, and I'm like, what happens if I just start putting these checks on these shows?

And next thing you know, I started investing my unemployment checks into what would now become Pure Pro Wrestling.

I gave it a name, filed the LLC and never looked back.

♪ ♪ GARY: How did you start physically building Pure Pro?

JOE: You know, I started with- with nothing.

I mean, I was renting rings, using wrestlers that were, you know, friends of mine.

And really what it took is, you know, investing a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of heartbreak, a lot of failure, a lot of loss.

I mean, there were nights where, you know, I would lose several thousands of dollars in a single night.

GARY: Oh my gosh!

JOE: And be sitting on the floor, like, you know, crying in the locker room, wondering how I'm going to pay the guys.

And then I'm looking at my wife going, you know, "Go get the rent money.

We've got to take care of everybody."

And so we've had some, you know, some dark days in building that.

So it wasn't- it wasn't instant by any means.

GARY: The feeling of that sort of gut punch of knowing that you gave something your all, but it still didn't work.

How do you get back up?

And I mean, it takes a lot of resilience, man, but go back to that time.

JOE: I wanted to quit doing this so many times.

When I'm looking at my family going without, and I'm sitting on what most people around me are calling a pipe dream, telling me to grow up, to get a real job.

It was gut-wrenching.

It makes you question everything about who you are as a man.

It makes you question your own integrity.

And I tried to walk away.

I couldn't even tell you how many times.

And my wife, she wouldn't let me do it.

GARY: Wow.

JOE: She's like, "This is your dream.

"I'm fine working, doing what I'm doing.

let's keep doing this, let's keep building."

So I persevered through that, which was really hard because again, when you're looking at your kids and you know you're not providing enough for them to sit there and still put them through that and take the risk and the gamble, I felt selfish at times, but everybody around me believed in me even when I didn't.

GARY: Talk about when you started to see an uptick and you're seeing less failure and a little bit more success.

JOE: It started when we- at first I would chase every opportunity.

I had no idea where I was going.

It's just like, oh, someone wants to do a show.

Yeah, let's go, let's do it.

And I found myself doing events all over the place and spreading myself so thin that, you know, that I was really not being successful anywhere.

So I started saying "No," which was really hard.

I- I let go of markets and venues that I had had for years, but I was only drawing 50 people or maybe 100 people would walk in the door.

So it was sort of not financially conducive to continue.

GARY: Sure.

JOE: So I started targeting our- our heart of our market, which was Flint.

And this is where my business started.

And- so I started doubling down on my efforts into Flint.

Iceland Arena is a place that we got our start at, which later spearheaded a major event over at Dort Financial Center, to which we had 1,500 people, and started building what we call in the wrestling- in the wrestling industry a loop.

And you kind of set up markets that are in an area, and they all kind of lead into one big show at a major arena.

GARY: Got it.

JOE: So I started doing that and just changing how I think about and approach my business, and that's when things started turning the corner.

♪ (banging) ♪ (cheering) ♪ (indistinct) GARY: What is Pure Pro Wrestling?

JOE: So Pure Pro Wrestling is Michigan's largest professional wrestling company, and it's a unique program because most schools are either you're going pro or bust.

We are a lot different than that because I believe pro wrestling can be enjoyed by so many different types of people.

And you don't have to be the next WWE star to be able to enjoy this.

We've got people in our program with special needs, you know, autistic wrestlers, people- you know, we've got a youth program where we train kids.

And so it's all inclusive.

Anybody and everybody's welcome.

And we give everybody a chance.

My goal is to be able to see you achieve your dream and that's to get on these shows and be able to perform and do the things that you watched all these people get to do on TV when you were a kid.

And I think that's what makes us special, and we have an amazing community that reflects that.

♪ GARY: Tell me a bit about yourselves, guys.

KURT: My name's Kurt.

This is my son, Tank.

He is the first open autistic pro wrestler.

GARY: Amazing.

Tell me about how you felt the first time walking in and getting into this ring.

What did that feel like for you?

TANK: I was a little nervous, but then I got into it and I started loving it.

GARY: As a parent, what did this program, in your opinion, do for Tank and his confidence and his ability as a human?

♪ (crying) TANK: I was nonverbal.

I couldn't talk much with the fans.

And it helped me with my autism to talk more, be out more, and make friends.

GARY: Wow.

So prior to starting the wrestling program, you were nonverbal for the most part?

TANK: Yep.

GARY: This place is more than wrestling.

I mean, this is a miracle.

And as a parent, that has to be everything to you.

KURT: (crying) It's- it's a family.

GARY: Yeah.

KURT: I mean, we've come a long ways.

♪ GARY: Man.

KURT: Watching him grow up where he is today.

GARY: What is it that you love most about this sport?

TANK: Me and the fans, I like to say, "Dream it.

"Believe it.

You can achieve it."

I like to show that people with disabilities and other things, they can do their dreams.

GARY: What do you feel about, you know, Joe and this program, especially the way that it's impacted you guys?

For anybody out there that may be interested in getting into something like this?

KURT: I think the Junior Grappler saved his life.

GARY: Yeah.

The universe led you exactly where you're supposed to be.

KURT: Yes.

TANK: Mm-hmm.

KURT: And it's nothing but a loving family.

♪ GARY: Paint a picture of the whole, you know, sort of business dealings of Pure Pro.

JOE: We have a never-ending schedule of live events.

We will do no less than two events in a month.

Some of these months we're doing four or five in a month.

And our school is offering classes every single day, you know, just about.

We have a robust Junior Grappler program.

The kids train here two days a week And then when we do live events, we have Junior Grappler exhibition bouts right next to the adult pros.

We're trying to expand our community efforts.

We have a program called Ringside Mentors.

And what that is, is we go into schools or we work with youth groups or ministries or nonprofits, and we have motivational speaking.

We have a health and nutrition seminar.

By partnering with these organizations, with these schools, these fairs and festivals, it's allowed us to be able to find a niche in doing events that maybe don't necessarily have tens of thousands of people but, you know, we're raising a couple grand a night on a show that might have three or four hundred people, you know, for a good nonprofit or we're selling, you know, 1500 seats in a place like Dort Financial Center.

So that's kind of where we've- where we've landed in that niche, but obviously we want to expand.

(crowd noises) GARY: What made you start to like wrestling?

ABEL: Well, my dad has told me many stories and stuff.

And then we went to a- one of these wrestling shows.

GARY: Yeah.

ABEL: So I decided that I was going to ask my mom if I could try.

GARY: I know as a father myself, I get nervous watching my kids do stuff.

I mean, this is the extreme.

What does that feel like as a parent?

Do you trust the process?

Or are you a little like, ugh?

JON: No, I- I have a thousand percent trust in Joe and his program.

You know, he takes lots of measures to ensure their safety and, you know, the comfortability of them performing in front of such big crowds.

And the confidence, like confidence in him and his sister both have just soared.

GARY: So the moment of truth is here.

I put on Joe's favorite blue singlet, laced up his boots, which happened to be my exact size, and hopped in the ring.

(thumping) JOE: Alright, so.

GARY: I'm jumping the gun a little.

JOE: When we talked earlier, you said, you know, throw me right in the fire.

I want to feel what it's like.

Normally, we start a little bit slower.

We're doing like rolls and what we call bumps, which is the type of falls that we take.

But screw all that.

We ain't got that kind of time, right?

So we're going to throw you right in the middle of the fire.

We're going to start off with one of the old-school wrestling moves, the body slam.

Yeah, you're going to give a slam.

CROWD: Yeah.

(clapping) JOE: All ready?

CROWD: Yeah.

(clapping) LEO: Ok.

GARY: Holy cow.

Ok.

LEO: Holy cow.

JOE: So I'm going to walk you through this.

GARY: I'm good- I'm good?

JOE: I'm going to walk you through it.

I promise.

GARY: Alright.

JOE: So you're right here.

Nice and tight, almost like you're hugging.

GARY: Ok.

JOE: Yup.

Ok.

And right here.

Ok.

Now when you land, I want your feet flat like a sit-up position.

Tuck your chin and exhale out.

JOE: There we go.

Woo.

(clapping) Alright, hold on, hold on.

All right.

GARY: Woo.

JOE: Alright.

So that wasn't even a full one, that was like a half a body slam.

You think you're up for a full one?

GARY: Uh, let me see more demos.

JOE: More demos, Okay.

Let's get a give and take.

GARY: Let me tell you, there is nothing fake about the pain.

Being body slammed, getting welt-worthy chest slaps by eight wrestlers in a row, having my back contorted, and taking a shot from a flying wrestler off the high ropes.

I think my wrestling skills could use some serious work, and Joe is definitely the guy who could get me there.

Despite the pain that I know I'll feel tomorrow, this was an incredible experience.

Do you feel at some point or sometimes that not having that $20,000 headliner budget has been a blessing?

'Cause it seems like you've been forced and willingly accepting the creativity that you've had to have to build this business, you know, with- with grit and determination one step at a time.

JOE: If I would have started with a big bankroll, I would have absolutely blown it and already been out of business.

The great thing is when you have to pinch pennies and you have to be creative in how you market your business, you learn so much about what's working and what's not.

If you spent $10 on Facebook, if you didn't get those clicks, you're like... GARY: You know it.

JOE: You want to know why, and you're going after Meta.

You know, you're yelling at the AI bot.

GARY: Yes.

JOE: So, but you learn so much about strategy and what works and what doesn't work because like your life literally depends on it.

It's like, if this $500 investment in radio didn't kick off, like my family's not eating steak this month, you know?

And then also it allows you to learn all your lessons the hard way early on.

And that's what I did is just, you know, a lot of messing up.

So figuring it out and not having those resources, I think ultimately is what made me a good promoter, and it really gave me a definitive knowledge of my craft.

GARY: Did you ever have to take out any sort of loans or SBA or bank or anything like that to grow the business?

JOE: I'm proud to say that I've actually remained debt free in terms of my business.

GARY: Wow.

JOE: My personal, not so much.

You know, my credit took a hit.

And yeah, we did get a lot of help, especially when COVID came and it shut my business down for a year and a half.

And so if it wasn't for the SBDC, if it wasn't for I-69 Trade Corridor and the grants and the loans that were available at that time, I would be working a different job.

Like this- we would have shut down.

GARY: Tell people about the SBDC.

JOE: Most people don't even know it's there.

GARY: Unfortunately, that's why I love that we're talking about it.

JOE: And I didn't.

You know, I didn't know that there was actually something out there for me.

And, you know, I got help not just with like short-term money to get past that rough patch.

But, you know, they're like, let's take a look at your business.

Like, let's look and see what you're doing and what your strategies are.

And I'm like, I don't know if I even have strategies.

Like, well, you're gonna.

And as someone who wears 70,000 hats, I mean, I do seven professions in one, you know, as a business owner.

So to have someone sit down and go, "Hey, this is what's out there.

Just go use it."

Wow.

What a difference.

♪ GARY: What are some of the things that you guys do and benefits you provide?

SHANNON: We help people at all phases of business.

We help them build their business plans, marketing plans, help them identify capital resources, getting their funding together, anything that goes into a small business.

GARY: Tell me about Joe and the experience of working with him and getting Pure Pro Wrestling to where it is today.

SHANNON: He is the definition of resilience.

Watching him grow throughout the last few years.

What I love about him though is he's willing to do the work.

He doesn't just take our time and have a conversation.

He goes back and he implements everything that we talk about and he's able to make the changes in his business.

Watching Joe go from a wrestler to a businessman has been just a great journey to watch.

♪ GARY: Tell me how you first met Joe and became involved with Pure Pro Wrestling.

LEO: I always wanted to be a professional wrestler all my life, but I'm also legally blind.

What was so nice about it, he took his time with me.

GARY: Yeah.

LEO: He modified the ring for me.

GARY: Okay.

LEO: He put like a tape on the center of each one of the ropes- top ropes, so I could find it.

But look at this.

I got the heavyweight championship belt.

I did this... GARY: Yeah.

LEO: Through the help with the fans and all the workers here by working with me, training me, encouraging me.

GARY: What does that feel like for you to have gone that far and all the things that you've overcome to not only achieve that, but achieve it at the level that you have?

LEO: Wow.

It really touches me in so many different ways.

And I don't know.

I don't have words for it.

All I can just say is thank you.

If it wasn't for these- these workers here, I would not be Father Time.

I would not- I would not have this belt.

And they have inspired me in so many different kind of ways.

I call Joe my adopted son.

I feel like I'm his dad a lot of times.

We have that kind of relationship.

This has been one heck of a ride, one journey that I will never forget and I'll always hold on to it.

GARY: As we sit today, is the business profitable?

Are you able to sustain financially with only doing this?

JOE: Yes.

GARY: Awesome.

JOE: You know, and it took so much to get to this point, but I'm proud to say that, you know, my wife's no longer working.

She's a... GARY: Wow!

JOE: Stay at home mother, which is right where she wants to be.

We've been through hell and back as a family, as a business owner, you know, it's pushed me to the brink mentally and physically more times than I could count, but I wouldn't trade it for a thing.

And the journey has been worth it.

GARY: What advice would you have for somebody that has a dream?

JOE: Trust your gut.

You're not crazy.

GARY: Wow.

JOE: There's not an idea that you can't turn into something bigger.

You have to trust the process.

You have to trust the journey and understand going into it, it's going to suck.

You're going to fail.

You're going to crash and burn.

But if you just push through that and you keep going, and more importantly, you learn from those mistakes, then you can make whatever's in your mind actually come to fruition.

GARY: I have to admit, as we were driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in Michigan and came to a long driveway, and at the end of that driveway was a small pole barn, I wondered where the heck we were and if there was some mistake.

Maybe we had the wrong address and there was a huge sports complex just down the road.

But no, this was the right spot.

And my gosh, was it ever.

Because inside that pole barn, something incredibly special was happening.

It was one of the most loving, diverse, and supportive environments I've ever had the privilege of walking into.

Every age, race, and skill level was represented.

And as Tank and his dad so eloquently put it, they are a family and they treated me as such.

This is so much more than a story about wrestling.

This is a story about love, resilience, and unconditional support.

It's a story about your community believing in you more than you do yourself and never giving up on a dream, no matter how bad things get.

It's a story about seeking out all available resources and then utilizing them to the fullest extent.

And it's about purpose.

A word that's grossly overused.

But in this case, it's the only word that fits.

Because Joe's purpose is Pure Pro Wrestling.

And he's changing people's lives for the better, one body slam at a time.

And I've seen it with my own eyes and definitely felt it in my own back.

This amazing community welcomed me in and let me take a peek behind the curtain.

And for that, I'm eternally grateful.

This is a day that I will never forget.

And if the future holds nothing more for Pure Pro Wrestling than what I witnessed today, I think they have achieved a level of success that most companies can only dream of.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Pure Pro Wrestling.

Next time on Start Up, we head to downtown Los Angeles to meet up with Brian and Sarah, the owners of People's Choice Beef Jerky, a fourth generation business that continues to reinvent itself.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Do you wanna learn more about the show?

Or maybe nominate a business?

Visit us at StartUp-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

♪ ♪ We've got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ A long road ahead of us ♪ Got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ Before we pay our dues ♪ We've got a long GARY: You're not my father.

CAMERAMAN: He's not your father.

(slap) Ahhh!

ANNOUNCER: Running a business isn't easy.

BambooHR supports your HR strategies by automating operational tasks leaving you with more time to concentrate on what's most important to you and your business.

Learn more at BambooHR.com BambooHR, a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: As a business owner, your time is valuable.

Bluehost's AI website builder allows you to type a description for a fully generated website, with managed WordPress hosting and built-in security.

Learn more at Bluehost.com Bluehost is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ADRIA: Sustainability, kindness, ingredient integrity, became the pillars of my company.

You should slay your look, not the planet.

More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers like Adria at Ecoslay.

Amazon, a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: Whether your business is starting up or scaling up, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation can connect you with services and support.

From finding employees to accessing state-wide resources and partnership opportunities.

Michigan, Pure Opportunity.

ANNOUNCER: If your career is on pause, you can earn a business or tech degree from Walsh College, with a flexible schedule for working professionals who want to expand their skills for a changing marketplace.

Learn more at WalshCollege.edu Walsh College is a proud supporter of Start Up.