Filed to GERWECK.NET:
I wanted to pass on the interview that Chris Van Vliet did with BDE on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. He talks about how he was signed by TNA, handling the criticism of being a YouTuber turned wrestler, a possible WWE appearance, and more!
Congrats on signing with TNA. How did that come together?
“I think it was the Bound for Glory match, the Call Your Shot gauntlet. And then after that, it was the Turning Point match with AJ [Francis], and then I heard about it from Carlos [Silva] in the back. He pulled me to the side, and he said, ‘I want to offer you a contract.’ I was happy as hell, man. I actually hugged him.”
How’d you even get on their radar?
“What an opportunity. You know, I’m forever grateful for that. But I think it all came to be because TNA wrestling has this creator program. So we were coming out to Slammiversary, and like doing vlogs and filming. So we’re meeting people and getting accustomed. I think Sami Callihan put in a good word, and just the Bound for Glory match happened. I don’t know how it happened, but it happened.”
What’s your relationship like with criticism? Whether it’s helpful or maybe it’s hurtful?
“I invite it, because at the same time, even if it’s negative, I feel like there’s some truth in it to an extent, right? If it’s overly negative, I think you can tell the difference. You can tell the difference between someone who’s hating and someone who is just giving their opinion. I don’t mind someone critiquing me or giving me constructive criticism, because I’m only a year in. So there’s things that I need to get better at. There’s things I still need to improve on. I think the only thing is, if I wouldn’t trade places with the person, I’ll just take it with a grain of salt.”
If you’re here with TNA full-time now, what does that do to your full-time content-creating job?
“So the content is still going to stay the same. I would say, since full-time with TNA, the content is not necessarily on the back burner, but it’s not my primary focus anymore. My primary focus is getting to the gym, studying practice and promos, all that. This is the main goal now, because I feel like with content after I hit a million subscribers, that was my real last goal for YouTube, it’s something that I’ll still do. I tell my viewers all the time, I’ll be making content till I’m old and gray. My mom gave me my first camera when I was nine years old. I used to make family movies, skits with my friends. That’s just something I enjoy doing, like it was a hobby before it was a job, so I’m always gonna be making content.”
With the partnership that TNA has with WWE and NXT. Is that another goal for you?
“Yeah, that’d be sweet. Obviously, my main focus is TNA. But if the opportunity ever rolls around, I’m definitely down. I’m a team player, whatever TNA wrestling needs me to do, I’m there for it.”