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What really motivated you to write this book

“I’ve always bought, sold, and traded wrestling shoes since I was about 12 years old. It’s always been a hobby of mine. Over the years, I accumulated a lot of knowledge about different shoes and to be honest, there is almost no online or written documentation on the history of wrestling shoes. This is what inspired me to write the book because I didn’t want the history of wrestling shoes to be forgotten.”

You’ve obviously had quite the career on the mat, how much do you think the right shoe impacted your performance?

“I don’t think the shoes really affect how you perform on the mat. Although it’s a cool aspect, pretty much all shoes accomplish the same goal and provide you with the same opportunities. If anything it could help out on the mental side. “Feel good wrestle good”. If the shoes make you feel good and feel unstoppable, you might perform better.. but other than mental games, what shoes a wrestler wears really won’t affect the outcome of his matches.”

You’re obviously knowledgeable when it comes to shoes, have you ever thought about making your own kind of wrestling shoe?

“I have considered making my own brand or at least customizing some of my own shoes. To this point, I haven’t acted on it. The wrestling shoe market is heavily dominated by the bigger brands (Nike, ASICS, Rudis, Adidas) so it’s very hard for smaller brands to make a name for themselves. I’ve mainly focused on the reselling of older shoes, rather than making my own. You can see my currently available shoes on my Instagram page (@drewrestler_shoes). If the opportunity arose for me to make my own shoe or even collaborate with one of the larger brands I mentioned, I would be all for it!”