Wrestling Stories

By Keith Boykin, in sports
Wednesday, June 12 2002, 6:00AM

It's getting harder and harder to describe myself these days. Most people know me as a writer, lecturer, or activist, but I'm also a non-practicing lawyer, (I graduated from law school but never practiced), a college professor (I'll be teaching again next year), a political aide (I spent 2 years in the Clinton Administration), and an aspiring singer (okay, I'm not really a singer, but I will be performing June 27 at the Triad in New York). Add to this list: amateur wrestler.

Last year I joined an amateur wrestling club in Washington, but I had to give it up when I moved to New York. Then last winter I discovered several wrestling venues in New York City. I joined Metro Wrestling Club, a gay amateur wrestling team that will compete in the Gay Games this fall in Sydney, Australia. It's not WWF bodyslam wrestling. No thrown chairs and garbage cans. No trash talk. Just real wrestling, a sport I participated in on my high school team.

I've also checked out a couple of other wrestling events around the city, including The Works, which holds an erotic wrestling night the last Tuesday of each month and Brawler's Fight Club, which also occurs once a month. These two events are not as serious as Metro, but the few times I've attended have been fun. Tonight is the monthly Brawler's night, so I'm gonna check it out and skip the NBA Championship game. (We all know the Lakers are going to win anyway.)

The picture here is taken from the Works wrestling night back in December. I wrestled a guy named Carlos, shown here, who is one of the paid regulars at the club. It's a lot of fun.

Other Wrestling Links on Keithboykin.com