Meet Lo | Founder and Host of Wrestling Winedown

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lo, what matters most to you?
Professionalism matters the most to me. In the capacity of Wrestling Winedown, I am frequently reaching out to guests to interview on my platform. I strive to ensure that each guest has a pleasant experience with me, from our first interaction to when the episode is live and published on streaming platforms. I think professionalism is so important because it helps an individual stand out and really shows prospective guests that they are in good hands because you’re prompt and prepared to work with them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Wrestling Winedown is a female-founded podcast dedicated to professional wrestling and wine. Professional wrestling is a male-dominated sport and I am proud to be among the women who have decided to step into this world and be a strong voice for other women that are professional wrestling fans. When the podcast began in 2019, myself and my former cohost wanted to stand out by incorporating a unique niche, which is why we selected wine. Incorporating this element has helped me to collaborate with women who are well versed in the wine and spirits industry to educate Wrestling Winedown’s listeners and provide recommendations for our favorite adult beverage.

I am proud that Wrestling Winedown has grown to incorporate merchandise, including apparel and accessories. From my perspective, wrestling merchandise sometimes caters to the male fanbase, so I strive to provide options that anyone, no matter your gender identity, can confidently wear to wrestling shows or out and about. I am also proud that I have had the opportunity to work with independent wrestler Jake Something, to incorporate a shirt into his merchandise store for his blossoming female fanbase. Additionally, I am proud that I have been able to host small get-togethers along with wrestling cosplayer Brittni Sacco, for women who enjoy wrestling when there are big wrestling events here in Las Vegas. These meetups have helped women to gain friendships and strengthen their connections within the wrestling community and it has meant so much to me to organize and facilitate. I am also proud that I have been able to collaborate and work with a handful of talented individuals both inside and outside of the squared circle as well as prominent publications in the wrestling community including Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI), Cultaholic, Grapsody on Fightful, Those Wrestling Girls, Battleground Podcast, Women’s Wrestling Talk and SEScoops  to name a few.

I am excited for the rebrand of Wrestling WInedown that is right around the corner. This rebrand will include a new logo, color scheme, marketing/brand photos, intro/outro music and more. The podcast turned 3 in April 2022 and I feel that it is important that the podcast’s brand identity grows with the progress of the podcast. Now that the podcast is solely operated by me, I think it is important to incorporate a bit more of my personality and let listeners learn about the lady behind the mic.

The journey of Wrestling Winedown has been a unique one, but it has not been easy. The magic behind the podcast started in 2018 when myself and my college friend, Hayleigh, realized that we were both huge professional wrestling fans thanks to Twitter. Around the fall of that year, Hayleigh had an idea to begin a podcast. I did my research to see what other wrestling podcasters were out there and realized that there were not many female-hosted wrestling podcasts. I knew that I wanted to be a voice in this community for women who love wrestling and we both agreed that we wanted the show to feel as though you were unwinding with your friends after a long week to catch up on the latest in wrestling. We knew we wanted to incorporate another element into the podcast and I came up with the idea of wine, as well as the name “Wrestling Winedown.” The name pays homage to one of WWE’s flagship shows, Friday Night Smackdown. Hayleigh and I were able to cultivate a diverse community of both men and women after launching in April 2019. In late/mid 2020, Hayleigh embarked on a new journey and I decided to continue operating Wrestling Winedown solo. This was a challenge, as now I was not only running social media, but recruiting, scheduling and interviewing guests, editing the podcast and creating social media marketing materials. Thankfully, I have been able to successfully run Wrestling Winedown and have grown the brand to what it is today thanks to time management and post scheduling.

Along the way, I have learned so much when it comes to working with and interacting with different personality types. I have also learned so much about our followers and listeners and what they enjoy. From a professional standpoint, I have learned more about social media and marketing to increase the visibility and reach of the podcast, time management skills and how to utilize new social media apps such as Tik Tok, to connect with other branches of the wrestling community.

I want the world to know that Wrestling Winedown will continue to be a platform where our listeners can learn the backstories of those both inside and outside of the wrestling ring. I want women to know specifically that it is absolutely okay to be a proud wrestling fan and to not be ashamed just because it has been seen as a male-dominated sport for so long. We are knowledgeable and deserve a seat at the table.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A week in Vegas is quite long! For food and drink options, I would take my best friend to La Comida in Downtown Las Vegas for some amazing Mexican cuisine and margaritas, Cafe Lola in Southwest Las Vegas for a cute and delicious brunch, Esther’s Kitchen in Downtown Las Vegas for some of the best Italian food in the valley and a couple of other places on the Strip that I have yet to try but have heard great things about including Lago and Mon Ami Gabi. There are also some unique Vegas places that are not on the Strip that we would frequent!

For visiting and hanging out, we would definitely check out the Mob Museum and the Neon Museum in Downtown Las Vegas. We may attend a Cirque Show or even a wrestling show if there is one going on in town during the span of a week. There is so much to do here, it is hard to even make an itinerary!

I think the most fun and interesting things in Las Vegas are off of the strip. There are so many amazing activations, events and experiences that people can enjoy without stepping onto Las Vegas Boulevard, especially around the holiday season!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to a couple of individuals in my life. My mother and grandparents’ support, love and encouragement throughout this journey has meant so much. While none of them are wrestling fans, they support Wrestling Winedown like no other. They sacrificed and made it possible for me to be able to study Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which is where I was able to learn and practice my skills that I use now on the podcast, as well as professionally.

My cousin, DeAndre, was and is one of the biggest supporters of Wrestling Winedown. Once he found out that I was a fan of professional wrestling in my younger years, he and I would attend wrestling events here in Las Vegas.

There are also strong, knowledgeable women and men that I have met in the wrestling community that have supported, encouraged and shown me immense love on this journey including Iridian, Teti, Robert, Kaycee, Brittni, Candace, Alicia, Nicole, Kam, Ventika, Karen and Mari.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the small, yet mighty, team of friends that have been able to assist me with making Wrestling Winedown what it is: Joy Lin Arness is the face behind our current and upcoming logo and Fior Murua is the photographer that takes our professional marketing photos.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this shoutout to the listeners and followers of Wrestling Winedown. Their support means so much and the podcast would not be where it is without them.

Website: shop.wrestlingwinedownlv.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/wwdcast

Twitter: www.twitter.com/wwdcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wwdcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb2waeo_eNxGn-nIku_T-bw

Other: Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wrestling-winedown/id1458191061?mt=2 Spotify: https://pos.li/2bkxjw iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-wrestling-winedown-63480722/

Image Credits
Wine 3:16 credit: Kaycee Liendo Wrestling Winedown Logo photo: Joy Lin Arness/Fior Murua