Transcript
Speaker: Hello Pandalorians and welcome to The Best Of Season 6. In our final episode of The Best Of series this month, join us as we interview the fantastic Billy from the Scottish Wrestling Network. But what does it mean to be a Scottish content creator in 2026? Well, without any further ado, for the last time this month, let's find out. Welcome to Chatsanami, a Scottish variety podcast that discusses topics from gaming and films to anime in general en interest. Join me, your host... Satsunami, as well as the rest of our Chatsunami team for our takes on these very important pop culture topics. That happens three times in the film. Every time that general goes, don't do this one thing, he goes... Do you know what I'ma do? A zigzag.
Speaker: It doesn't work. She had the pointy teeth. What was that about? She looked like Bilbo when he wants the ring back. She turned and tripped. I just want the lightsaber one more time. Parasite says, no, you will get back into your office and work. No, says the man in Zoom. Trousers are for the working man.
Speaker: You're bursting into your hotel room. Honey, we need to go. Leave the kids. You can milk an oddish. Oh!
Speaker: That's the worst thing you've ever said on any of the epi episodes. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can check us out at our website, chatsanami .com, as well as all good podcast apps. As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated. Stay classy and have a good one. This has been Satsanami. I'm sorry.
Speaker: hello Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Chatsunami. My name's Chatsunami, and joining me today is none other than the one and only wrestling expert himself. It is Billy from the Scottish Wrestling Network. Billy, welcome to Chatsunami. How are you doing tonight? You know what? I've listened to quite a lot of Chatsunami in the past, and it's weird seeing the sausage getting made. I'm here in real life. I'm actually speaking to you voice to voice. It's great. Do you know, that is the best description I think any guest has... Satan. That's true. Honestly, yeah. ah Can't top that. Let's end the episode. No, I'm only joking.
Speaker: I know, I didn't think 30 seconds in I'd be talking about sausages. Here we are. I mean, to be fair, it's like an innate Scottish thing, isn't it? It's like we can't go through one episode without talking about them, you know? if it Well, I mean, it's like just before we recorded, I was like, is it okay if I swear? Because I'm like, again, Scottish. I'm just like, we're just built to swear, it seems. But I will do my best to not do it because that's my rules on my podcast is I don't swear unless my guest does. And I think that's a nice way to go about it. It's their fault if there's the FC Jeffs busting out. But I'll quite gladly join in as well. No, that's absolutely... So what was I saying? Yeah. So, yeah, as I was saying there, you're, of course, the host of the Scottish Wrestling Network, which I have to say, I think initially when I started the podcast, I saw you popping up here, there and everywhere. And then it wasn't until you and I had that very strange vein diagram crossing over where, of course, my very good friend and co -host of the podcast, Martin McAllister, appeared on your podcast, which I was like, wow, that is fantastic. So before we get into... but I don't want to say the sausage making of your podcast. Yeah, now I've got sausages on the mind. Well, that's that's the effect I have on people. They see me and go, sausage, sausage.
Speaker: But yeah, what sparked your interest in starting a podcast like this? Because am I right in saying you were one of the many, myself and Cozy's of course, who decided to start it during the 2020 pandemic? ah Yeah, pretty much this iteration anyway. I tried other ones, but I didn't really know where to start. I did a radio course with Murray Firth Radio and I got home like a wee microphone to do Fox Pops and all that kind of stuff. And I thought, well, while I've got this, I'm going to take a bash at doing podcasting. so There's a couple old episodes on our YouTube channel and I've also got some older. I did a wrestling radio show on their student radio thing. It was called Monster, Monster FM. So I dabbled. I did a couple of things at W3L shows as well because they appeared in Elgin a couple of times, again, with this little microphone. I did one, oh man, wait, this is the first one I ever did was with a wrestler called Marty Jones who wrestled for World of Sport. It was a legend, legendary British wrestler. And I got offered to do it and I was like, okay, cool, we'll do this. I'll figure out how to do it along the way. All I had was... me was uh eight pounds chinese hooky tablet and that was it that was all the equipment i had and it broke so you've seen the video was like 15 years ago i think and it's the worst it's still got loads of thousands of views but it is terrible i can't hear anything it's like it's been filmed underwater it's terrible but to answer your question yes it was pandemic june was the first one i ever did with omar muhammad initially it was supposed to be wrestling only and that was it it was just gonna be half an hour wrestling chat done because I had Zoom on my work PC, which I probably shouldn't admit, but that's what I used initially. Eventually by episode three, I broke that format and we ended up speaking about dinosaurs with Kevin Williams for about half an hour. And since then, this will be what episode I've tabled up to episode 469. I've done about 460 at this point, including road trips and quizzes. And we also have spinoff shows as well. with We show previews and watch alongs and I kind of got obsessed with it. And that's where I am. What's that? Six years later, six years come June.
Speaker: It's crazy how time flies, isn't it? Oh, yeah. And at the same time, it's not enough. because yeah So I say I start every season, I'm doing one episode a week. Every time, I'm doing one episode a week that'll go out, done. That's never happened. I've been putting out three episodes a week for the last two years because I want things to go out in time. I want things to go out so it doesn't clash with maybe a talking point that I could talk about in the episode. So if I'm speaking to somebody and... Sorry, I've just rambled on now. No, not at all. That's what the podcast is for, genuinely. I think I told you I was going to do this. I'll also plug in my Patreon, patreon .com .scotter, isn't it? But the thing that I do is, yeah, I want to get things out in a timely manner. So if somebody's got a show on, say, two weeks' time, and I want to make sure that episode goes out before it, but then and I get somebody else on and it's the same thing. They've got a show in a week's time, so I need to make sure it goes out before then. And then eventually I'm just like, three episodes a week, here we are. This is what's happening now. So yeah, I spend a lot of time in this room where I work and I seemingly play as well. That's my little box room where everything is, all my toys and rubbish and computer screens. like some sort of Batman man in the chair. So many screens in this room, it's ridiculous. No, I'm totally with you there because I'd like to say that I'm sitting in in the grand Chatsunami studio, which, yeah, for the audience imagination and all the Pandalorians listening, yeah, it's like a big studio. There's a big neon light. It's totally not a cupboard that I've converted and put some foam pads on up and everything, you know? I mean, it's a cosy cupboard, that's all I'll say, but at the same time, it's cosy. of those evolutions though isn't it you yourself when you listen to those first few episodes when i do well my first ever episode was in my kitchen with a one pound pair of headphones and a laptop that is still remarkably alive and it was dying in 2020 and it still works i don't know how it's the only thing i have in this house that's got a cd ripper nothing else has new pc doesn't newer laptops don't they just don't have to come with them anymore so it's somehow still alive and then seeing the absolute tat i have built in my room since because when i moved upstairs I had three Funko Pops. That was it. That was my collection. A couple of wrestling belts because I'm a big nerd. And then now, if anyone watches the video versions of our podcast, it's just a wall of stuff behind me now. I've somehow started amassing a collection of Blue Power Ranger. It wasn't even my favourite at the time. I don't know how I've ended up with a collection of Blue Power Ranger stuff. It's because his name's Billy. But I've amassed a collection of several Blue Power Ranger toys from, again, I'm still confused how that's happened. Oh yeah, it's amazing what you collect over the years when you're like, eh. oh, just get this, I'll just get that. Now you're like, have I got something?
Speaker: Because, I mean, that's what I was doing. I think it was sometime at the beginning of last year, I really got into Resident Evil. And when I got my PlayStation, I was like, you know what? Because digital media is a bit kind of iffy, I'll try and collect a couple of the other ones in physical media. So I was like, okay, I'll get them. I'll get that. As of recording this episode today, the original Resident Evil 2 came through my door. And I'm like, okay, I think I have a problem here. I get that. CEX is an absolute goldmine. time a terrifying place because you just go right i'm gonna go in for one thing we look for one thing and then you come out with a pile of stuff but i'm the same obviously wrestling games if i spot a smackdown game i've got a ps2 for christmas which is well i'm a 35 now i think i got my first ps2 for christmas when i was 10 11 something like that when did the ps2 come out you'll know this offhand i'm sure oh Oh, that's a good question. Was it 2002? Yeah, it would have been 2002 -3 because that's, I think 2003 was when the GameCube came out or 2002. Oh, I can tell you. Yeah, it was 2002 because I got FIFA 2003 and I think they were always a year ahead initially with the games. You're right, yeah. I was 11 when I got a PS2 and then here I am 25 years later getting a PS2 for Christmas again. It was great. But yeah, Smackdown games and if I spot a wrestling game that's like under a fiver, I'll probably end up taking it home with me just because. And also... i have a terrible memory i have several copies of games because i forget if i bought them or not oh no i'm the same It's awful. Not even that. Same with Blu -rays. I think I had three copies of Spider -Man 2 on Blu -ray because I forgot I bought it. I was like, oh, great, Spider -Man 2. I'll pick that up, take it home. I've already got Spider -Man 2. It's amazing Spider -Man 2 as well. I wasn't even like, I felt disappointed in myself that I bought it three times, to be honest, because it's not the best Spider -Man film. Anyway, sorry. What, the Sam Raimi one? No, no, the amazing Spider -Man. Oh, the amazing. Oh, right. Okay, okay. Sam Raimi one's great. You sound like you're ready to fight me there. Yeah, I was like, you know, Martin McAllister is a bad influence, by the way. It's just like, yeah. get in the right no no that's fine because i was trying to remember i'm like did we review yeah we did spider -man month we did the raimi trilogy we did the amazing spider -man yeah no i can totally understand that was definitely when my friends andrew and i when we reviewed them were like yeah this is when it dips this is when it gets really hard to get through these films i mean really we're here to talk about my stuff and all that kind of stuff and we'll get into it but i'm really here just to sell a copy of amazing spider -man 2 if anyone wants to buy one off me i have several copies apparently because i'm an idiot so you know do you know what you should do actually you should include it in your patreon there's like a reward you know a gold tier for the swn podcast you know what a terrible prize to get the worst spider -man film here you go or you could say a mystery film and you'll get one person oh surely i just want to point out for legal reasons i'm distancing myself from this project sponsored by chat tsunami Yeah, the red panda lawyer is not going to be happy in the morning. That's all we'll say. Between that and the Kit Kat fiasco, that's another thing I'm denying, of course. Oh, man, what a time. Honestly, that'll date the episode, apologies. So out of curiosity, when you were saying there that you got into the wrestling games quite young as well, has wrestling always been a part of your life, would you say? So I started watching wrestling when I was about nine. It was by chance. I went over to a friend's house. I don't think he'll ever listen. Or if he does listen to this, it would be amazing. It would blow his mind. I went over to Greg Thompson's house. It was actually his granny's because it was just along the road from the school, from primary school. And they had Raw on. I think it was on a repeat. And my first memory, nine years old or eight, I can't remember. remember that time was the undertaker versus kane in an inferno match say that five times fast and i watched a big goth set a big scary mask dude on fire i had nightmares that night but for some reason i just i couldn't stop watching my next memory from that is the cover for royal rumble 98 it was like stone cold steve austin's back of his head and nails in his head and i'm not really of the macabre or horror stuff it's never been my thing but something about that kind of gruesome imagery i was still just so enamored by and so just i wanted to know more about it and then WWF was on Channel 4 for a year which I think everyone my age that's when they got into WWF because it was on free TV it was on terrestrial television so you got Royal Rumble you didn't get WrestleMania that year you got fully loaded I think you may have got SummerSlam as well maybe Unforgiven so I would get my dad to set the tape recorder because I was 10 at this point he would set the tape recorder take out the tab of course, and just record the wrestling. And I wore out a tape with Raw Rumble 2000 on it. And then I've never been the kind that's had that dip and layoff of wrestling. I've always found it somehow. So whether it's Sky One, when I had ITV Digital, I would watch Smackdown, or I would run home from Sunday school and watch Metal, or I'd get the magazines, or I would get an action figure, or I would get a VHS tape. I was just always wanting to find wrestling in some of the most strangest places. If I was on holiday, I'd go to a shop and find... a VHS or a Ken Shamrock action figure. I would just want something wrestling related. So it's never really left me in the 20... Oh God, 27 years that I've watched wrestling for. There's just something about it. It's just never, it's a comfort zone. You see Resident Evil and things that you find as a comfort watch in a franchise. Wrestling's got such a lineage and history and so varied and it expands so far. There's always something new to find and that's a really exciting thing. Because that is the amazing thing about wrestling. And honestly, you brought back so many memories for myself as well. While I wasn't the biggest wrestling fan growing up, I was. was kind of on the edges of it. So I would see, for example, The Rock on TV and WWF. Oh, God, I do remember those days because I always remember the big kickback from the, was it the World Wildlife Federation as well? Oh, the World Wildlife Fund, yeah. The whole Get the F Out campaign in 2002. And, you know, I barely remember what I did this morning, but I could tell you everything I knew about wrestling in 2000. It's insane how much it stuck to my brain. It's probably spawned one of my favourite images. of all time and it's, you know, the panda from the WWF. He's holding the steel chair ready to smack down. Have you commissioned that yet for Chatsunami? Surely that has to be, you've done that already. After this episode, I'm going to go straight to my artist and be like, hey, Ross, do you want to do this for me? And they'll probably be like, yeah, why not? That is merch. A red panda smashing another red panda, I'm guessing from the context of the meme. Well, I don't think Martin McAllister would be too happy if I did it for him. well i mean it's panda on panda violence surely that's okay well yeah true um hold on let me just check yeah the red panda glitter sorry he's in the corner he's just giving the nod of approval there you know i'll send it to the legal department i'm sure it'll be Honestly, that's actually a great idea. But I always remember how, whether you were a wrestling fan or even if you just knew about wrestling, because I remember my brother, he had, I think it was some of the action figures, you know, like Hulk Hogan. And as I said, The Rock, Triple H, those kind of figures. I think he had a Bret Hart one. And then I learned about what happened to him. That was really tragic. As I said, even if you weren't a wrestling fan, somehow the whole industry, and I'm sure you can... agree on this it grew arms and legs and it started going into other forms of media and i think the main one of course was the entertainment industry with hollywood films and really just films in general because you had hulk hogan and was it like three ninjas and things like that honestly i'll need to get you back on gremlins yeah there was just so many of them you had the rock of course who was in doom the tooth fairy probably not one of his finest mind you still not his worst i mean i I fell asleep during Gridiron Gang. Really? That was a terrible film. What was that? Oh, God. It was so boring. I got that as a gift for my birthday. I can tell you now, that friend went down in my estimations because that was an awful film. But yeah. Most importantly, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Celebrity Deathmatch. That is the big thing. Claymation, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bat Room Folk. That is the height of 2000s media. Yeah, honestly, I can see it.
Speaker: Was there not a lot of claymation action stuff then? Which I can't believe that's a mastermind's niche subject. It's like, how many wrestlers have been turned into claymation? Probably more than you think. Well, I mean, Bret Hart and The Simpsons as well. Oh, of course. Yeah. It's insane how my wife laughs about this because she was never a wrestling fan. She knew, again, like yourself, outskirts. She knew bits and pieces. She knew things like Edge's wrestling theme was Metalingus by Olive Bridge. You know, things like just little bits and pieces here and there. But the more she watches anything that... I enjoy watching or she enjoys watching, there's nearly always a wrestling reference somewhere. Even in things like, we watch Scrubs. Love Scrubs. Oh, that's great. And there's an episode where I think Turk and JD have walkie -talkies. They have wrist walkie -talkies. And JD speaks to Turk. He's got a high -pitched voice and asks him if he's naked. And he goes, yeah, how do you know? And what's covering his front is a Goldberg alarm clock. There's wrestling everywhere. Even, I think it's the second or third episode, JD does a Bret Hart impression or a wrestler impression. He's got the singlet and the WWF winged eagle belt and all that kind of stuff. and you know I watched that episode the other night and I was so taken aback when he's like I'll tell you what the hell and tonight at the mega slam I'm gonna stretch you because I'm the intern you know it's just there's references everywhere but I think unless you're kind of in the bubble you would never notice them but they are there's just everything's got wrestling everything's wrestling and it is it's so subtle as well you know you might say oh that's the thing from that wrestling or oh it's this and that and I have to say it's It's definitely different, say, when you're watching wrestling on TV, because I remember for the longest time, you know, I'd seen these wrestlers go at it, and don't get me wrong, it looked painful when they're getting pummeled and everything, and they're just lying there unconscious, and everyone's like, woo, give them the chair, which is the only place you probably hear that sentence when you're looking at someone unconscious. But yeah, when you're watching it, you think, yeah, okay, it's a bit theatrical, and I'm sure they're fine, you know, they're trained professionals. etc i remember it wasn't until i want to say 2019 i think that martin and i got the chance to go over to sweden because we're visiting a friend and then somehow it ended up we went to a wwe match and i was like oh hell yeah let's just go let's see it i have never gone from oh look at how theatric this is to oh my god is that man okay like a split second because we weren't ringside we were fairly further back in the stadium but it was just you We're sitting there going, oh my God. You could hear the canvas under them just crack. I think it was the New Day that we're fighting in that one, which fantastic team of wrestlers. But I'm trying to remember who else. There was one who had a, and trust me, Martin will definitely be able to explain this better, but there was like a eco -friendly one or something. Oh, Daniel Bryan. He had the eco -friendly belt. It was made of hemp. Yeah, I'm sure it was hemp. Is that 2019? Yeah, it must have been. Jeez, yeah. I just remember seeing that for the first time and I could see. See how enraptured everyone was watching all of these wrestlers just absolutely go at it. And they are honestly so talented. And I'm not just saying that because I know they would find me and beat me up. But no, genuinely, they really are, aren't they? Oh, yeah. I mean, we're talking about the thing people get involved outside of a tribute show, which I think needs to come back in 2026 because they are so bad. But my first actual wrestling show was WWE show 2006 in AACC in Aberdeen. And my mum and dad took me for my 16th. birthday my birthday was in july but i got the tickets the show was in november it was the second night of a two leg in aberdeen which i don't think they've done since which hurts me to this day because i would love to go two nights of wrestling and p and j or whatever technically i did for the comic con but we'll get to that so my mom called it redneck panto and we meant it with all sincerity because that's what it was because it was the entertainment it was a spectacle and yet we were going yeah kick his ass kick him in the crotch hit him with a chair you know it was just it was literally redneck panto but no it was a mad night because it's my My favorite wrestler of all time is Jeff Hardy and he was in a match. So I got to see Jeff Hardy wrestle live. Main event was DX versus Rated RKO, which is mad at the time. Didn't get to see Roddy Piper, but we found out why in the coming weeks afterwards. I think he got diagnosed with leukemia, I think, around about that time. He was supposed to be on the show, but we got to see just, it was so amazing to see them so up close and personal and so larger than life. I mean, I love live wrestling. I would go every weekend if I could because seeing it live is so much more intimate than seeing it on television. the television's got the glitz and the glamour but if you're in a venue surrounded by people wanting to see the same thing that are just here to enjoy the moment and be involved and some get a bit too involved but they just want to be part of the show and just enjoy themselves there's nothing like it in any form of entertainment or spectacle and that's why i kind of started the whole website into the podcast because i need to let people know that this is good fun it's affordable if you have a show near you pay 15 quid for a ticket go in and just go shout at somebody for half an hour it's gonna be great because i have to say whether it's a big show like WWE are one of the professional companies or as you said whether it's one of the local ones because I think I've probably seen more I wouldn't say local ones but you know more Scottish based yeah that's a great word thank you yeah more independent ones it's amazing to see how enraptured I think especially the kids as well honestly it never fails to amaze me how invested they get you know it's like their favourite wrestler gets hit to the ground and they are tears on their eyes yelling get up come on and everything and you can just see the passion and the inspiration they're getting well hopefully not to go home and then wrestle their sub on you but it is just amazing to see how much joy that entertainment brings and out of curiosity touching back on your podcast of course and can I just say as well for your website before this episode I was looking through because I knew you had a website and everything and you've got reviews and your episodes and things I did not realise how extensive it is by the way it is incredible Yeah, how do you do it? I've got to ask. Because it's just amazing. WordPress is very good on mobile. That is what I will say. And templates are great. So if a match is announced and I'm in the kitchen or something like that, it doesn't take me that long to just edit what I need to edit and put out. But the site started because I needed the place to put stuff. It was initially on Facebook way back when, when it was under an old name, OSWTV, which is a whole other story of why it was called that. So I got an interview. Somebody, Andrew Marshall was his name. He offered to do an interview with me. And I was like, all right, I've never done this before. And I'm very socially anxious anyway. So this is a very weird situation. to be in so i sent him like 10 questions he answered them i put on the facebook and i was like yeah i'm gonna lose that really quickly so i need a place for it to go so i put it on i did have google and because i'm scottish i was like i'm not paying much if anything for anything here so wordpress was free step of wordpress stuck on there then i was like i'm going to show down dundee i'll do a preview of it i'll stick that on the website too i went down to i quite liked it i'll put that on the website and then was how long has it been i do have the date when i started on the site itself i think it was 2012 maybe it's just grown and it's been a case of where i do my own thing on it i've invited people to do bits and pieces and i've had guests reviews and all that kind of stuff and initially i started it with osw tv meet series which was like five questions to a wrestler you know they have a little bit of time they can just fire me five answers sweet and then i got a good relationship with the guys at wrestler ropes who were pretty much the place for scottish or british wrestling results at the time and so they were handling quite a lot of the companies and i was like right it's okay if i do the ones you don't handle in scotland cool that's fine eventually they closed because andy was wise enough when he started a family to go i don't need this website anymore because i've got a family i clearly have not learned that lesson but i was like right do you mind if i take the results then and merge them into my site he was like that's fine so that's what i did so a lot of the back catalog is stuff i merged from wrestle ropes but things like reviews i just do when i can i mean one i did last night i've been putting off for about when was the show i went to it was the 21st i went to the show and it's one of those things where i'm writing reviews it's a show i've been to i need to kind of just get in the zone and it takes a few days to get me in the zone to do it and i just started that about seven o 'clock and I finished it at midnight and it was done. It was gone. I rarely proofread and that's very evident at times. But I put it out there into the world and I'll proofread it in the morning. I'll be fine. But yeah, I just find time. If I'm processing an episode of the podcast, I've got an hour maybe, I'll do some updates. I'll put out some results. I'll start something and never finish it. It's just finding the time to do it. And again, trade secrets here. I used to do it during work hours, but I moved jobs and I can't do that anymore because I'm ridiculously busy. So even then, I find the time around my nine to five to do it. But, you know, I just, I don't know. I don't really think about it. I think if I do think about it, my brain might explode going, how are you fitting all this in? It's just, I'm just doing it. Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to because I don't know the answer either. I mean, see, when you started podcasting and, you know, especially doing the reviews, did you think it would take as much time? Because the amount of podcasters, content creators that I've talked to in the past and they've gone, oh, yeah, it's going to be this really fun thing. And then you actually get into the weeds and everything and you're like, oh. There's a lot to do with marketing, to do with editing. You know, it's like a one -man show, really, for the most part. I very much took the thought of, and this is just very lazy, that if I'm doing an interview, if I'm doing the podcast, I'm not editing it. As in, if we chat for an hour and a half, that's what's going out. That's just something specific. There's a big dropout of signal and it goes all to pot. I will try and chop it and get it all linked together. But if there's pauses or M's and A's and all that kind of stuff, it doesn't really bother me because it's a natural. conversation so what i really did for and i still do really for the podcast i've kind of leveled up a little bit by getting an old canva subscription thank you patreon what's your patreon again i mean i don't like to shout it out but it's scar isn't it less than two pounds a month you get ad free content but i've added logos pretty much into the episodes which is not something i did until this season because i really just topped and tailed it i make everything myself i made the logos myself i made the intros myself all the graphics i do myself now use canva all the kind of layouts there's probably so much easier way to do a lot of the stuff i do but i've just not learned how to do it so i just do everything myself really it's a control thing i think i know how i want it to look yeah i can't explain how i want it to look so i'm just like i'm just gonna do it myself easiest way i've only very recently let somebody edit an episode and that's that six years It took me to actually let somebody else do it. And it's because I've spoken to them that much on episodes and I trust their vision to match mine. But I think I'm just at a control point where I know how I want it done. So I'm just going to do it myself. But yeah, editing wise, I just top and tail it. I take the silence at the start and the awkwardness at the end where I try to hit stop record and put the intro and outro on. That's about all I do for the mainline episodes. There's spinoffs and that. I kind of do the bulk of it on Canva. I've already pre -made the templates at some five minutes I've got during the day. So I've got the actual... Overlay, done. I just need to record the episode, throw it in there, take it off. This may shock you as somebody who probably has such a wide, vast array of editing knowledge and equipment. I use Windows Movie Maker for quite a lot of the editing side of it, which is older than me, I think, because it's all I need it for. I just need it to stitch a couple of videos together. I'll make the video myself on Canva or whatever, put it into Movie Maker, it stitches it all together, one button, done. I probably overcomplicate things, but in my mind, it's really simple. I'm too scared to change at this point. At six years in, I'm like, it's working. Somebody was going, And I'll speak to somebody, they're like, why don't you use StreamYard or anything like that? I'm like, I don't know how that works. I'm six years in, I know how Zoom works. Just, almost. So, you know, I'll just use that instead. I don't like change. We're just going with it. But yeah, in answer to your actual question 10 minutes ago, I just find the time. I just do. I don't know how, I just do. Well, would you believe not Windows Movie Maker? Although I was upset because I couldn't find Windows Movie Maker on my PC at the time. I was like, where the hell is it? But during season one, and this is how bad I was editing back then, I used to use... I can't even remember what the software was but it was a video editing software and for some weird reason and I think this was before I could totally be wrong maybe I missed the boat on it but I remember I would edit the episode so I could upload it into what was formerly Anchor but now it's Spotify for podcasters now and it was terrible it used to be okay but it was like you know the way it just got worse and worse as time went on and then it's like oh we've got Spotify for podcasters and you're like no no go away I like the old system. But I used to basically edit the whole podcast in a video editing software. I have no idea why, because my thought was if I do it in the software, then I'll be able to upload the video version onto YouTube, even though it's a static image. So there's no video as such to upload. So I was like, right, OK, because the majority of episodes were streamed live on Twitch for season one. So that's why I thought, OK, I'm going to download. the VOD from that and then I'm just going to edit around it and that'll be absolutely fine. Thank God the software conked out on me and then I was forced to use Audacity because otherwise I don't think it sounds perfect now but I think it sounds a heck of a little better than it used to. I just had to learn how to use Audacity and Audacity again maybe it's it and there's Scott and me where I'm like okay it's free it's good but genuinely it has been an absolute lifesaver of a editing software except one patch but that's a whole other rant where it just would not work for me and i don't know why but it was like one specific update that everyone else seemed to be like oh this is wonderful and then when i used it it's like no i know who you are you used to edit on the video editing software but no that's totally valid you know because you do a lot of video interviews as well don't you for the podcast all my interviews are video it's all zoom i did a couple in person most recently at comcom aberdeen i did a couple backstage at a WrestleZone show. It was very kindly asked by one of the guys to do an in -person one just at the hotel. We were staying over in Aberdeen at night, so we just did it in the hotel lobby, which, with somebody, again, very socially anxious, was very weird for me because I was like, what if the hotel tells me to get out? I mean, I've got the room for the night, so we could go back to the hotel room, but I feel it's very weird to go, listen, gentlemen, would you like to come back to my room and we can video you? I've got a tripod and everything. It's not weird. I've got a tripod. It's okay. My wife will hide in the bathroom. It's fine. It's okay. So, yeah, everything I do, in my head, I mean, I know my video numbers. aren't great the algorithm has not found me again they found me initially but it's not finding me again but i feel like if i get at least 30 views i know at least 30 people want a video version and i feel like it's enough for me to keep doing the video version and because i'm not great with gauging reactions and emotions with people the video helps me so if i've got the video i've already got it so i'll be as well just put it out you know and use it because then i can tell from people's faces what they're thinking because otherwise this is fine i've listened to your podcast i kind of get your emotional range if i'm speaking to somebody for the first time they don't me i don't know them and we're just kind of muddling away if i see their face at least i'm like okay they're smiling so i must be okay you know but yeah i genuinely don't know how i'm still doing it because i am the most awkward person to me in real life it's incredible and i still do this three times a week oh no same well other than the three times a week because i tried doing it two times a week and then i was like you know what maybe one time a week isn't up but i totally get you because the amount of interviews that i've done in the past and as many of the pandaloodies out there listening knowing yourself that i usually do these in an audio only format and i feel as if on the one hand people are comfortable with doing that because they don't have to worry about appearance or if they've got a messy background or whatever they just pop on but on the other hand you're completely right i've had a lot of interviews where i'm sitting there going oh and what do you think of this haha joke and then either it'll be silent so they'll go yeah yeah yeah that's fine and then you know you have to keep the interview going and you're like all right so what about that and that and then your head you're like oh god i've messed up Oh no, what's going on? Oh, without naming names, what's been the worst moment for you doing that then? Oh, I'm trying to think. Name names if you want, it's your platform. Okay, there was X, there was Y. That Martin McAllister, you know, shucking. Oh, I don't know why I keep inviting him back, you know. For legal reasons, Martin. I know you know where I live. Please don't come and beat me up for that. For the most part, I think the majority of podcasters have been, in general, content creators have been relatively nice. There was only one or two instances. There was one where there was a person who asked a baby. inappropriate hypothetical question and without going into that because i will definitely identify them but yeah i had to cut that out of the episode and don't worry i'll tell you after the podcast lovely there was that and there was also another one which ironically enough it didn't even get to the interview stage where i was talking to a podcaster saying oh thank you for the follow you know the usual networking stuff and then i said do you want to come on the podcast and they said oh yeah sure but let me ask my co -host. And long story short, the co -host was very unpleasant towards me because they only did their podcast live on stream and everything. And they were like, oh, I don't think you have anything to offer us. And really, really rude. And granted, I don't think I handled it too well. I got really angry because I was like, excuse you. Again, that's not why I do these interviews. I don't do them to be like, oh, what amazing guests can I get on? Because I just love having a gab. Let's face it, we're Scottish. We love channeling. But that was probably one of the worst experiences where I was like, honestly, that's the only time that's happened. The only other time was there was a person. I remember it was someone I said that I was going to interview. And this was genuinely at the very beginning of the podcast. I completely forgot that we were supposed to be doing it. But instead of them reaching out saying, and granted, it was my fault as well. But instead of them reaching out saying, hey, sorry, were we supposed to be, you know, recording? Are we supposed to be doing that? They sent a really passive, aggressive message saying, I guess we're not recording tonight. And I was like, oh, okay. I guess I'm not inviting you back onto the podcast. Yeah, you do get those quite awkward moments, don't you? Flipping that back onto you, because honestly, that is a great question. I can see why you're a great interviewer. I'm very good at not being a host. It seems terrible actually being a guest. I'm just going, what do you think? No, but have you had any similar experiences? Again, not naming names, because, I mean, the Red Panda lawyer is in the corner just in case. I can tell you, for the first about 14 episodes, the first episodes, I didn't have notes. I did it off the top of my head, which was fine. But, I mean, I can tell you what the episode was, because I'm still ashamed by it. It was an episode with Sarah Marie Taylor. And I just got giddy, because I'd seen Sarah wrestle for years. And it was the first one I've tried and just went, I forgot everything. I had nothing. My brain went blank straight away. And I felt embarrassed as a host. So, from that point onwards, I always kept notes. Even if it's like five bullet points, so I have something to kind of... to just draw myself back to if I need to. As far as a guest goes, I've been very lucky with guests. I mean, some have asked me to pull episodes for whatever reason and they've always been nice about it. If they're nice about it, I don't have a problem pulling episodes, so that's fine. Or taking stuff out if they go, oh, can you shave this bit out? Absolutely fine. It'll look terrible in the video because I'm a terrible editor, but you've asked me nicely, we'll get it done. One guest, if I tell you who it is, you won't know, but if you tell Martin, he'll know. So I had a gap. Somebody pulled out, I needed a guest on because it was weekly at that point, just once a week. And they went, oh, come on. Cool. That's fine. Let's get you on. I started asking a question and I watched them zone out during the question and I was furious because I was like, you asked to come on and I have asked you a question. It wasn't a particularly boring question. It was a question about them because it's what the podcast is for. And I watched them literally just start eyes going to the side slowly and my head's going, you just don't doubt on me. You have not listened to that question. And it was possible other shorter interviews I'd done because I was fizzing at that point. I was like, no, we're just going to get into some cliche questions, round this up and you can get out of my sight. But no, generally everyone's been nice. I mean, of course, when I'm doing a little networking and trying to get guests on, most of the time it's just no answers, which is fine. I'd rather no answer than some of the refusals I've had in the past. I've had one person very point black tell me no in more colourful language. Really? Because apparently I said something mean about them in a review or past episode. And I was like, I don't think I did. But if that's how you feel, that's how you feel. And I found the clip or somebody found the clip for me. And it wasn't even me who said it. It was somebody on the episode that we were doing that said. particularly what's even that mean i'll tell you exactly what the comment was the joke was that the guy was quite large so it was fat shaming it wasn't my prize moment but the joke was he's quite low to the ground so he wouldn't get picked up and even he's got his own gravitational pull that was the comment that he took offense to which i didn't think about at the time obviously i'm in charge of the edit so it's my fault at the end of the day but he's held on to that grudge for like four to five years wow and i asked him if he'd like to come on he told me to f off I was like, all right, I'm going to get a new one then. We'll just chalk that up as a new. But no, generally everyone that has come on have been pretty good. I've had some things that fall through, but I think I'm at a point where I think folk know in general that what I do is a positive thing for the wrestling independent scene. Is it changing lives? No. But is it a positive thing to get stories out there and get people to know you? Yeah. So it's a case of, no, we can't do it, or I don't really want to do podcasts, but thank you for asking. That's fine. I'm happy with that. But yeah, to point blank, tell me to F off. That was an adventurous one. That was fun. But yeah, it is what it is. You can. I mean, granted, I've never been told to bleep off by any potential guest. I've been ghosted a lot of times. Well, yet, exactly. That's such an optimistic way to look at it, isn't it? It's like there's always room for growth and there's always room for new opportunities. Add that to the mood board. Yeah, I've had people completely ghost me. See, for the most part, they'll either ghost me or will say, oh, yeah, we're going to do it. And then eventually it might fall through or I don't have the time to follow up with. it and you know there's not really been anyone unpleasant there was one person granted again they weren't unpleasant but they were one of these very quite motivational content creators they were saying this is how you grow your channel blah blah blah really inspirational and then i was like oh do you want to come on the podcast and i think it was still relatively early at the time but they were like nah sorry i don't do podcasts but thanks so and you know that way i think it's different if you tell you to
Speaker: You're like, okay, fine, go away. But for those responses, I always kind of try to at least keep the door open to be like, all right, that's no problem. That is something that I think a lot of early podcasters, especially, don't really understand in the sense that they've got a voice. And if they get popular with that voice, then obviously more people are going to listen, more people are going to be influenced by that. And they don't really realise the weight that that has. Because, I mean, as of... of this episode and I was looking, for research purposes, I was looking at your page and I saw that you'd got 100 ,000 plays. Is that right? Yeah, I don't know how. I know the feeling. As someone who just crossed that milestone, I'm like, how the hell did that happen? There was a good portion of the time where I thought there's just a glitch on my website and it's funneling views into listens. I don't care because at the end of the day, it means I can go, look, our podcast has hit 100 ,000 listens. Do you want to come on? So even if that's half the actual number, it's a good mark. marketing tool that i can use and go look we've hit a hundred thousand listens do you want to come on the podcast they look at it and go oh this guy gets a lot of listens we'll come on gets me next level tier guest you know which i've never used that specifically but it has worked because i've been able to get opportunities to speak to guys at tna and get these guests i didn't think i would ever get on like scottie too hotty and stuff like that it's all numbers at the end of the day if you just use them the best way you can to get the next thing next opportunity because it always reminds me of there was a podcaster that i was talking to and this was years ago that they got to I think it was like a million plays or something. And I remember hearing that thinking, wow, that is absolutely incredible. And it is, you know, it's an absolutely amazing feat, especially in the indie podcasting scene. And I thought, all right, what's going to be next? Are they going to get brand deals? Are they going to be quitting their day job and things? No, no, they're still doing the podcast and maybe they'll get the odd ad here or there. But it's one of those things and one of those experiences that you hear that happens. And obviously it's not to detract. from the work that they do but it's like you realize that just because you know you get those numbers i mean don't get me wrong as you said it's fantastic see for at least promoting the podcast and being able to say i've achieved this you know like in a personal sense i think it's fantastic to be able to look at your stats and things and think i can't believe i've got to this stage and i'm absolutely in the same boat you look at it and go all right who's been hitting refresh on my page because i know way this is real but yeah it is it's honestly incredible just to always see it from a different perspective because would you say that if someone from the outside of podcasting is looking in and seeing that they would think oh we're going to be hyper famous from all those plays yeah i think so when you see it in six figures it's like my god there's actually people listening as we establish whether they are or not doesn't matter numbers still take up yeah but the weird thing with that because of that for so long as well i mean not so much the outside of the podcasting sphere but when i go to wrestling shows and again as i've established very socially awkward i meet people that listen to the podcast or watch it whether they're in the crowd or the wrestlers themselves they've caught an episode or two of somebody that's their pal or something like that and i don't know how to react to that at any point don't know whether to go oh cool you know ace high five actually no don't high five me so no no no touchy i'm too big a deal and also i'm sweaty and clammy at this conversation as it is but again it's a cool thing if someone goes oh do you do that wee podcast and i go well i just hit a hundred thousand listens so you know stick that up here bleep so i don't know i don't think i have the answer for it so i'm just waffling now so i'll just i was gonna say just sending a screenshot of that a hundred thousand to that guy being like with me flicking the v's going yeah
Speaker: GIF making has come a long way, by the way. I'm sure you could package that into the email. It's like, you know that scene out of Jurassic Park? Uh -uh. Oh, dear. But anyway, I'll put that on the ideas board. But no, I totally get what you mean, because I remember, yeah, this is going to be such a smooth segue, I swear. But I remember when Martin McAllister and I, we did work. with Epic Comic Con way back when, and even before they rebranded, we just did an episode by ourselves and we went around interviewing people. And honest to God, I totally know what you mean when you're going up to people and in your head, you know, when you're in the, again, quote unquote studio or whatever, and you're like, okay, I'm the host. This is what we're going to do today. We're going to do X, we're going to do Y. And then when you're actually out in public with a microphone, I get flashbacks to, you know, those old prank videos. It's like, what's up, guys? Today, we're at Comic -Con. Oh, God, I hope I don't look like an ass. And you're going up to people. And I was listening to my voice thinking, oh, I can't be that bad. And it's like, what do you think of Comic -Con? Please answer quickly. I'm going to lose my nerve. It's completely different when you have to do it face to face and everything. But I remember he was telling me that one of the guys at Epic Comic -Con, one of the crew members, had started listening to the podcast. And I was like, oh, that's absolutely fantastic. and Martin was like, yeah, he was listening to it in the office on loudspeaker. And I went, excuse me? It was what? Did you tell him to stop? Yeah. Right, what really worries me, and this has happened way too many times that I'm starting to think, please don't start at season one. Because a friend of the channel, and he's been on before Robotic Battletoaster, when him and I first met, he was like, oh, I've started listening to your podcast. It's amazing. I'm like, oh, thank you so much, man. And then he showed me a screenshot and there was an episode. one and there was that interstellar moment i'm hitting my screen going no no i don't listen to so many better seasons and then there was another guy cryptic 1991 he was doing yay and again it was such a cool idea i think it was a twitch stream of you know one of these truck driving simulators and they said you know what i'm gonna do i'm gonna play your podcast in the background while i'm playing so he was playing it on stream honestly i'm so grateful to him it it was really a nice thing of him to do but then when i got on the stream i'm I'm like, I wonder what episode he's listening to. And it's season one. Oh my God. Oh my God, no. And then he's like, oh, do you like it? And I'm like, yeah. And honestly, I am so grateful for him for doing that. best Every single time someone says, I've listened to your podcast. And it's that way. I don't want to seem like a thriller film where I'm like, like what season? As long as it doesn't begin with one, that's fine. That's a better question than mine, which is, I listen to the rest of your podcast. Why? Why are you listening?
Speaker: Are you sure? Nine? Are you positive? Did you mean to? Did it pop up as a recommendation and you couldn't escape it? I mean, thank you. But, you know, I'm just very suspicious why you're listening. But yeah, and if you listen to it, why are you speaking to me? You know I'm very anxious. Leave me alone. Wave. Do the wee nod. That's it. That's all we need to do. We acknowledge each other. That's all good. But that's why at the Comic -Con, which I feel like that's our next subject. Oh, absolutely. That's why all my interviews were done with the wrestlers at WrestleZone because they know who I am. I know who they are. That means I know that I can get a good signal. Although one of them I didn't know. but he did that thing where I pre -arranged it with the guys at WrestleZone and just going I'm a content creator now so do you mind if I speak to a couple of you guys and they were like oh yeah it's fine we'll tell the For the Love of Wrestling champion Sam Bailey that you're here as well if you want to grab him I've never spoken to Sam before never at all and I went up to him and I was like do you mind if we do a 30 second little bit he went oh I see your t -shirt that's fine they warned me about you and he said it in such a nice way but as I didn't know him I was like oh god was it good did they say good things about me and I was sat in a paranoid state for 30 seconds just going oh my god don't tell them I was an idiot just to humour me tell me i'm just a make -a -wish and they're just like just humor i mean he's fine he's harmless really he's not gonna stalk you they had all that in that split second moment but it was fine in the end i think people realize that i may look very calm on the outside but on the inside i'm like duck underwater just like i'm looking nice calm at the top i am swimming for my life underneath always the case if i'm doing into east and i end up rambling which is what i'm doing now so again i'm going to pull myself back and let you host no no honestly it's like you know that internal screaming when it's like oh god and then on the outside you're like thank you for your time yes i feel as if this has been very productive honestly i am always like that at comic cons because i had to remember the recent one that i went to it was power con again it was organized by fan frontier who honestly they host an absolutely fantastic con although granted at that con it was so chaotic because there was an old firm game going on in glasgow there was a dance competition going on next door and i remember i nearly went through the wrong door because i was looking going that doesn't look like comic -con and then yeah it was honestly it was a brilliant con just chaos actually getting to that point of getting through the door And again, in all seriousness, I really didn't go until I got the email. And I remember I text Martin and one of the organizers. I was like, so just to clarify here, you do want me here. This isn't a phishing email or something. Because I applied to their content creator scheme before. And I was like, right, OK, I'm sure, you know, they're not going to say yes. So I'll give it a shot. And then fortunately, I managed to get in and everything. I don't know how, but I managed to get in. I was so happy. And then it was just like. Like, oh my God, I can't believe that they want me back. for another con so I went there I made content for them and it's actually something that I don't think a lot of cons I mean I could totally be wrong there could be a podcast convention scene or something but it's not something you really think of is it see when you think of comic cons you usually think of creators that are quite besides the ones that are just utterly horrible they're just doing it for shock value like those ones aside you never really think of podcast leading that content creation side of it, do you? It's always the, what's up, guys? Today, we're at Comic -Con. You really dislike these guys, don't you? It's the only impression I can do, I'm going to be honest. If I became a vlogger in another life, that's probably what I'd be like. But yeah, sorry. I'll tell you a dislike of mine before we get into ASMR. I find that super irritating. And it's just, again, don't mind people liking it and doing it, but my three -year -old at the moment likes unboxing videos and it's ASMR. and I'm sitting there just furious going, just open the bloody thing. Just open the toy. I want to see what's in the box. Tell me what's in the box. What's in the box? What's in the box? I don't need you tapping it with your nails. Just open the damn box. Anyway, sorry. Just to counterbalance your dislike of, what's up guys? Like, share and subscribe. Just quickly touching on that and I swear we'll move on to the Comic -Con thing. The thing that really creeps me out is see when you're looking for a new mic, whether it's on Amazon or any other website and it's like, you don't want to make your podcast that much better. If you had a microphone that... like a pair of ears and you're like no
Speaker: I was like, no. Are you sure? It's only $1 ,000. It's like, who are you people? but No wonder you can afford this. Jesus Christ. Anyway, for legal reasons, it's a Sontronic podcast pro mic. It is not an ear mic. I just want to point that out. I don't know. it Obviously, other than the usual suspects, but ah those creep me out. Something awful. Can you imagine going to Comic -Con and interviewing someone and just holding that up? the microphone i'm using now it was a tenner off arms amazon the one i took to comic -con was aliexpress special it cost me like four pound you don't need to spend a lot to do this oh no absolutely not yeah i mean the most expensive thing about podcasting for me is the editing side of it canva and zoom but the actual equipment i mean i don't know if people notice it maybe they're listening to it going oh my god i wish you got a better microphone but i mean it's worked for me so far so i'm not gonna change it unless somebody goes no you really need a new microphone and i will turn around and go have you got a new microphone for me because this one seems to be doing a nice good job for me right now my rule of thumb is always if you sound like you're talking from the bottom of a pringle stoop then it's time for a new microphone otherwise absolutely fine it doesn't matter if you have a low -end mic a high -end mic to be honest this it doesn't really mean a lot when someone says oh it's a low -end mic and then it sounds absolutely fine for the longest time i used a i think it was a fee fine mic and that was only like 20, 30 pounds or something off of Amazon. And you're completely right, yeah. As long as it sounds okay. Because did you ever watch Tune the Fat back in the day? Oh, yeah. Do you remember that old skit where they'd say, I got X off of eBay? And it was like, at the time, eBay was relatively new. The joke was it was like a scam. So they would go, I got this house off of eBay. And then they'd go into the house and there was just a cutout on the front of the house. And then they'd yell, oh, I got this motorbike off of eBay. And then it just falls apart as he's riding it. It's like that. I got this mic. microphone off but anyway sorry back to comic -con that's what i'm saying half the reason why we set this up wasn't it and we're an hour in exactly wrap up because we've got another three hours no i'm only joking i mean i could go have a no i
Speaker: Out of going back to what I was saying before, are you surprised that there's not as much of a podcast scene for people promoting Comic Cons? And again, they're... probably is i've not seen it personally yet but i mean if there is anybody listening out there saying hey wait a minute please reach out and let us know but yeah what are your thoughts on that i think for comic cons because it's so visual yeah that's possibly why there isn't a dedicated podcast scene for it yeah because it's and it's also we're in an age where it's tick tock you know it's 10 second clips and stuff like that just to get you through the door so i can see why there isn't a dedicated market for it or if there is i don't know about it
Speaker: And also all of us podcasters are just doing this because we just want to speak to people, but don't really want to meet people face to face. So if there's a whole podcast network, I feel that's a very awkward group chat, you know, of us just kind of all trying to build up the courage to do the networking, but not being very good at it. But my initial point is Comic -Con is so visual with the cosplays and the meeting of your heroes and meeting of these people, these larger in life people and seeing the stalls and seeing all the entertainment that's round about it and everything that goes with it. I feel like it's difficult. for it to be in an audio medium because unless you're there and you're getting to hear the atmosphere i don't think it really translates as well but again could be totally wrong so i'm happy if someone's messaging you angrily going your guess is a right idiot because we've got this massive network and it's huge and people love it but for me it's a very visual form of media so it's better in short form bites maybe or yeah i just a more visual medium in general yeah because i have to say that is the only time where i will incorporate visual elements not so much recording myself because i was actually having this conversation with basically the pandalurians out there who wanted to reply to the tweet but i was saying what do you think about the aspect of video podcasts versus audio only and things and much to my surprise i think there was that kind of balance and nuance ah of if there's something to film then absolutely go for it or if that's the kind of format then yeah that's also valid but there's also people who feel as if they have to force that type of element in to the podcast and i personally feel as if if i had myself on camera i would just look like a sleep deprived gremlin because the amount of late nighters that i pull trying to edit the podcast and everything and i look in the mirror and it's the big bags under my eyes i'm like no today's not the day i'm gonna go video the podcast i think it works for you anyway because you're a discussion medium essentially you're discussing podcasts you're discussing a subject so it doesn't really need that visual content meaning if you're doing watch longs the example i think off the top of my head is the guys at weekly planet they do have video content but it's never them you never see them so they can do everything they can in audio medium whereas i feel like for mine anyway i offer both and the audio listens get more but because you can just do it on the go but i know people watch it and again it's not just for me seeing the people that are telling these stories but it's also for people that see these guys wrestle you know so they get to see them in a bit more relaxed environment and they're not just body slamming people so i know that's why i do a visual aspect whereas is for yourself i don't think you need it because like you said you're mainly a discussion pod you're looking at topic and bouncing ideas back and forth adding a visual part to it it would be nice you know it'd be great if you have the time to do it but it's not entirely necessary because that's not what your show is for it's just for taking topics and discussing them and finding the joy and passion in them as well there is definitely a time and a place for the visual elements of it and i feel as if that's the only time where whenever i go to a con and you were the same of course with the co up in Aberdeen where it's like okay camera out and I'm going to film this and that I always remember pulling out the camera and the organizers had said to me like oh it's okay go ahead and film and on the one hand yeah sure i don't mind filming stuff and i did do that but on the other hand you know that way it's that kind of social anxiety where it's like you don't want to be just a random guy standing in the middle of a con doing the slow pan and portrait mode and people are like what the hell is that guy doing like i'm sorry i'm doing a podcast what does that mean i don't know i've got a car but I'm too scared to take them out of my bum bag I'll give you a laugh whenever I go to these cons I always try to go to the um artist alley and I usually have these wee packs that I'll give out so it's like it's got stickers in it it's got a wee pin of the podcast and I'm like here you go and sometimes you know that's a really effective networking tool because it's like okay here's some free goodies and everything if you want to listen to the podcast that's fine if you don't no problem at all I remember for the most part I love it when My phone pings and it's like, oh, so -and -so's followed you. And then I'll follow them back and everything. And it's like, that's great. But that means one or two where it's like, I'll give it over. And then they'll be like, what's this? I'm like, oh, I run a podcast. You know, I'm just giving these out for free, etc. And they look at me as if I'm recruiting for a cult. This isn't a cult. Chatsanami is not a cult. I should make t -shirts in Chatsanami. That is a t -shirt, yeah. Yeah, Chatsanami is not a cult. Anyway, if you'd like to pay your monthly tithe, it's at patreon .com forward slash Chatsanami.
Speaker: Hail Red Panda. Yeah, for the greater good, etc. just some of the reactions i felt bad because there was one really popular artist or sorry it was like a couple who they draw their daily life and things and obviously i'm not going to name names but i remember buying something from them they' like oh here you go and again it was the same thing it was like oh what's this and i'm like yeah it's the podcast and everything i explained and then i went on my way and you know that way you're walking away and i was like I'm not going back to that store. And again, it's nothing against them. It's just more my awkwardness being like, yeah, no. Because out of curiosity, did anyone come up to you and say, oh, wow, it's Billy from the Scottish Wrestling Network or anything? I mean, only the wrestlers, but they all know me anyway. Oh, yeah. That was a bit. That's a lie. there was And again, it was all wrestling anyway, as everything is in life. But one of the stalls was somebody that I've met at shows before. And I saw them for years at shows where we used to go down Dundee. They had a little store. I'm trying to remember what the name of it is so they can get a little bit of a plug. I can't remember what it is. I think it's Little Auras, it's called. They do kind of homemade things like coasters and earrings. and just crafty things like nice little craft stuff so to see them and they spotted me first i was like oh oh my god here we are like the old paul rad look at us but you know me the thing but no not really i don't think as much as it was amazing to be part of it i don't think it's what again i'm i'm just surprised they let me in that's it i don't think it's really part of the kind of comic -con zeitgeist of stuff is what we do but to be part of it and being let in and being allowed to get the wee goodie bag and take part was just yeah it's still mind -blowing now and i'm sitting in there doing the old stat padding on this stop adding to not stop pad i i need to Make that very clear. Sending the stats and analytics back going, oh my God, will they keep me? Am I allowed to go to the next one? Because the Edinburgh one looks amazing. So I'm like, hopefully they keep me in. And then that's like, that's again, that thing where I look very calm, but I'm just panicking inside. Like, will they let me continue? Have I done enough? The whole docket came through of what they expect of content creators be part of this program and stuff. And it was doing three pieces of content. I think I did 12 over the two days and then I did another vlog at the end. And then I did all this kind of, it's like, have I done enough? and it's mad it was just a mad time i'm still recovering from it now and it's been two weeks i mean did you go for the full weekend am i right yeah yeah so we're in elgin so we're only like an hour and a bit away from aberdeen so it's not a huge task and we just went over the friday the comic -con started on sunday so we went through on the friday after him my work just because it started at 9 or 11 or something like that so we're like we'll get in we've got a three -year -old so it's easier getting him ready we'll just head straight over so that worked out well so we're there pretty much we left the hotel just as doors opened and got there about 10 minutes afterwards because We were just along the road, really, in the car. So yeah, we were there the whole weekend. We left about halfway through the second day, mainly because... we were knackered it was so overwhelming not just for i think i could have hung on but because i'm again even though i didn't pay for a ticket as being part of the content creator program i still feel like i need to get my money's worth and stay there right to the bitter end yeah we left halfway through uh the sunday because we'd done stalls many times over and over again we bought one photo so we got that done i saw the q and a that i wanted to see as well that was on the first day so we kind of did everything we wanted to do so we're like we could just hang about stay a little bit longer watch a bit more of the wrestling have a good time or just go home and get our feet rested because we've got I'll go back to work on Monday. But yeah, it was overwhelming. It was so overwhelming as a first time goer. Honestly, I can totally relate to that. When I went to PowerCon, I wasn't able to go for the full weekend, unfortunately. But I managed to at least go on the Sunday, which is usually the day that it winds down. It did not wind down, I'm going to be honest. If anything, it wound up. But the first time I did Epic Comic Con and Martin McAllister was there, I got to watch him wrestle and such. My God, I know what you mean because I'm in my 30s as well. I'm walking around all these very energetic cosplayers running around being like, yeah, let's go to Comic -Con. And I'm just like shuffling behind being like, oh my God, when did I get so old? And you know, by the end of day one, it's like, okay, I'm tired, but it's fine. And you know that way, it's like you wake up the next morning and you're like, today's going to be a challenge. That's what I mean. Today's going to be a challenge. Let's go. Again, I'm not saying drag yourself like it's a terrible con. It is a fantastic convention. But at the same time, it's like... The mind is willing, but the body is weakier. I think. that see the people who do apply for the content creation thing do you think they think it's just a case of oh we're just gonna run around comic -con we're gonna have an amazing time and we're gonna do it and the ticket's gonna be free and everything and they don't realize just how tiring it is i mean not just the physical side of it the mental side of it because oh yeah you'll know yourself you get the pressure you get the kind of spec what to do and or what they expect of you you know the bare minimum was what they expect of you and so then you go in and go right i want to impress at least then You look around and go, right, I can do this. I can do that. Maybe I can do this if I have time. Maybe I can just take a photo of this and all that kind of stuff. But I feel like, especially the first day that you go, you don't relax at all because you feel like you want to get all your content done. So that means you can enjoy the second day and be a bit more relaxed about it because you're like, well, I've done everything that I've wanted to do. I've made all the content and I really felt that kind of pressure because I don't know what I'm doing. I didn't know until the week of that I could have asked for a plus one. So I ended up buying my wife's ticket because I didn't know that we could get a plus one. So I was... just so naive about it all and i feel like i'll still be naive about it if i get asked to do the next one and i'll still be naive if i get asked to do the next one because it is just so yeah you just go in and go there's so much and the pnj i've been in that building the pnj live i've been in that building to watch concerts and go to all manner of things and to see it so so open but at the same time so busy it was just crazy but yeah it was very anxious first day just making sure that i got what i think they want in that content creation hub and then i went back to the hotel and thankfully they had wi -fi so i was like right okay they obviously want to be able to sell tickets for sunday so i better put out stuff saturday night so people can see it maybe go oh i'm in aberdeen i'll go see sunday and there was a lot more of a mental challenge to it than i possibly expected and like you're saying people just maybe be just joining it to think they'll get jolly and a free ticket i mean you'll probably get that for the first one but if you don't pull your weight and actually provide something in return then you'll get removed from the whatsapp group and you won't get invited to the next one because you didn't do what they want to do because in the end they It's their way of, for a free ticket, they're getting free advertising. That's what it is. So if you don't do the advertising, then that free ticket's been absolutely wasted. Yeah, I think that kind of attitude that you're talking about, that's good for one, but it's not going to fly for a second. And I mean, it's as you say, it's tiring, but at the same time, I don't want to put anybody off and say, don't do it, it's terrible. But I mean, for the most part, at the time, you are exhausted. And then once you see what you've done and everything, because I mean, the content that you pumped out for that was... Pumped out to the right. word yes press send that's it here we go but yeah honestly it was fantastic but you know it is it's like when you look back and think oh wow this is what i've achieved i've been a content creator it sounds so silly to say but i remember when officially i got asked to be a content creator and i got there and they're like here's your lanyard and i was like we get lanyard oh hell yeah give me i got a free cookie i was buzzing really oh my fan frontier if you're listening. My demands have been... No, I'm only joking. Unfortunately, I didn't get a lanyard for the second one, which I was quite sad at because they only had, I think it was crew member ones. And I was like, yeah, no, no, no, no. I'm not at that level. Yeah, no, no, not at that level. That's just false advertising at that point. Yeah, I'm not running around being like, yeah, look at me. I was like, no, no, no. And again, it's the silly things that you get so enamored by. You're like, oh my God, this is so cool. But yeah, when I first saw that lanyard, ick. Kind of, I mean, I've still got it upstairs, but it sinks in, you know, that way where you're like, wow, as silly as it sounds, it's like I'm a serious content creator now. I mean, don't get me wrong. It doesn't have to be the turning point that you do think. It's amazing how you go from starting a podcast and everything and you're just chatting about your favourite topic to a company who, by all means, can pick and choose whoever they want. And then they're like, right, write I want that person. I want this podcast. I want them to represent us to the wider public. And I think they are absolute. with fantastic ideas because without that you get some and again i'm not naming specific cons but there's some conventions that i've seen in terms of their pr and things and you think it's not bad per se but it's like you don't really know what's going on with it whereas there's some that utilize this influencer culture you know or this content creator culture where they say right let's use the again when i say use you know i mean let's invite them into the space and work with them so that we are getting the exposure from it they're getting exposure and content as well so yeah it's quite symbiotic isn't it
Speaker: yeah it really is i mean i know for me i'm a very niche platform so i wouldn't expect to go to things like for the love of horror or you know something that hasn't got a wrestling element to it which is absolutely fine by me but the fact i was kind of letting i think it it worked in my favor that because i've got a relatively good relationship with wrestlezone who were doing the wrestling at the pnj that i was able to get myself into just doing that and at the end of the day it helps them as well they get a little bit of extra content out there and i mean there's some folk even i had on the mainline podcast i was able to grab a wee chat with and that's fine because that means i put it into a vlog episode means it counts as a guest and i put that on my little sheet to saying yes i had you on the podcast technicality but it still still works but yeah i know that i won't be needed for all the comic cons because that's just not what my platform's for but the fact i was let out there and doing it and seeing the numbers come back i mean i'm not i don't know if they're good numbers or not but over the course of the weekend or everything that i got about 30 000 views which is pretty okay i think that was not bad across tiktok which i've never really used until that weekend because I was like, um okay, I got 200 views on TikTok a video. Well, that's fine. That's 200 extra views and I can put into my analytics here. It was really, I've used the word overwhelming a lot, but it was kind of overwhelming to see the numbers as well after I tallied them up.
Speaker: and seeing my grid on instagram and going oh my god i was only asked to really do three and it's just like interview after interview after montage after post after just doing all this kind of stuff because it was so creatively exciting to do because there's no real wrong answer for it you know it was like they've given you the space they've given you the opportunity just make stuff the worst thing that can happen is it gets a really low view and you delete it and nobody knows about it so just have at it and sometimes that can be maybe creatively terrifying being given such an open open format to do it and just make whatever you want as long as it has the comic -con a positive light at the end of the day i mean they don't say that but they read between the lines they don't want you just to turn up and go well this is a bit rubbish isn't it the queue was really long stuff everything's so expensive the vendors were really rude the lines were terrible you play the game which i will say comic -con aberdeen none of that happened so i will put that on record the red panda can confirm everything was a top -notch comic -con for my first one as well it was just it was yeah it was thrilling thrilling to be there oh no absolutely and it was so good great to actually see you there and by see you there i mean on social see you there i was not in aberdeen in the background actually i don't know if i've ever told you that but there was a comic con i went to i think it was fantasy con that martin and i were at again we weren't invited as content creators we were just there well i think he was working at it and i was just there as a guest and i remember i went to see chart and tabletop i don't know if you've seen them before it's like the scottish dnd group all right okay really great group and everything and i remember i did an interview with them i think it was a couple of months at the time before and then I remember I went in to watch their show and everything and it didn't dawn on me until halfway through that it felt so weird because obviously as I said this is always all audio only so I was sitting there they had no idea what I looked like and I just had a chat tsunami video on it was like something out of a horror film I bought a t -shirt by the way I said hello and I bought a t -shirt and I was like I don't know if they recognise who I am or not purely because of that but I was like you know what I don't think I'm going to to do that again not not go see them but just a moment of yeah that was a bit weird so probably announce yourself next time i think that's also why the video medium really works for me as well because people can see me and they can start the conversation with me otherwise it's going to be very weird because i'm like i do that really weird lingering thing before i start a conversation and wait for eye contact which unfortunately doesn't often come with some wrestlers because they're in the same kind of boat of like oh no i'm a real life person i kind of just want to be in that ring as my sons and i called it the trampoline do the wrestling bit this bit is a bit weird walking around going oh this is a bit weird i really should network with people but ah i don't know what to do i don't know what to say my wife finds it hilarious my favorite wrestler in scotland is a guy called lost boy aspen and i think we've got a pretty good relationship wise we have chatted on the podcast but meeting face to face my wife finds hilarious because we both don't make eye contact with each other and it's really like a shuffling of one of us has to start the conversation sometime somewhere and i said this in the podcast i feel it's okay to do it here i called it that i find aspen like a cat because you kind of have to go to get them to come over and have a chat. But I'm also the same. So if I kind of have to just create make eye contact and beckon them for me to go towards them, because otherwise I'm just going to stand really awkwardly until somebody speaks to me. It's a weird life. And the fact that doing the content creation side of things, I was kind of forced to do it as well. So I kind of had to go up to these people and go, do you mind if I grab you for 60 seconds and do a wee chat? And it was a very big shock factor to my whole life having to actually instigate these things instead of just wandering around and hoping somebody speaks to me first. the whole time because do you know what it feels like and this is going to sound like the weirdest comparison ever but you know those memes of oh when your custom character is in a cut scene and it's like everyone looks relatively normal and serious and then it's just the most outlandish thing ever because i honestly think that these con organizers think i only have one pair of clothes just a chasunami hoodie and jeans and i'm like i swear to god it i only wear these for the conventions i don't go around in a chasunami hoodie like a cartoon character and I'm worried about the day I don't know if you ever do this but whenever a con wraps up I always get because I've posted videos about it it will suddenly be added onto my For You page the algorithm etc I always look in the background and it's like all of these cosplayers being like let's go through Fan Frontier Comic Con yay let's go to Epic Con and I'm looking in the background like
Speaker: and hands and hands. Is that me? Is that the back of my head? No, fortunately not. But yeah. Oh, thank God I wasn't the only one doing that for days after on TikTok. I'm at Aberdeen Comic Con. Hey guys, I'm at Aberdeen Comic Con. Oh God, am I there? Can I see my baldy head in the background? Oh, there it is. No, it's not. Okay, it's not me. That's fine. It's just another dumb looking human. It's going back to something you were saying there about it being mentally draining. Is that kind of case where I'm obviously not doing the big coat hanger smile or anything around? Because that would be really weird. But you know, you're going around trying to Because I've got one of these faces that is just a rest and satsu face, let's face it. Where it's like, I genuinely, I'm not bored or anything. It just kind of goes into, mm -hmm, mm -hmm, kind of. Which, yeah, that's the technical term in this audio only format to describe a face. But you know what I mean. I get you. Yes, yes. Two dots and a line. But it's like, I swear to God, I find this interesting, but my face isn't really saying it. I don't want to go around and then I'll be caught, you know, in the back of someone's video. I'll just look like... the most miserable man in Glasgow to be like, yeah, Comic -Con, what a blast. Oh, Jesus, how many more minutes? See, mine was because it was a whole family thing. I spent a lot of it chasing my three -year -old around and I'm scared that I'm going to see a video of me waddling my way trying to capture a three -year -old, which with context is fine. But if you're just watching a video and you're seeing a returned gentleman chasing a child in the background of a video, you get more questions than answers in that situation. And so I was worried that I would just go through. see just me chasing my son around and him just going no because he wants to play with everything that he sees especially the retro toy places and all that kind of stuff or the bath bombs jeez child and bath bombs that's a terrifying combination the rest of the times there's always a bath bomb still though isn't there
Speaker: Oh, I tell you what, we came home with two Lightning McQueen ones. They're ace. Really? good My son loves Lightning McQueen. He loves Disney's cars. And there was a place that had Lightning McQueen bath bombs. We were like, oh, we'll have some of them. Absolutely. I came home with so much wrestling stuff. It was ridiculous. I almost came home with the Power Ranger Savasard. If the guy didn't say it was 80 quid, I'm awkward enough. I'm not haggling. If he said it was like 50, that thing was coming home with me. I told my wife that. I told her how much it was. And she was like, if that's lower, you're probably getting it, aren't you? I went, yeah, I probably would have. And she was like this very supportive face of going, kind of glad it wasn't because we... could have put it i'll put it next to my turbo man figure thank you very much i've already got a place in mind but yeah i'm i'm worried i'm even now i still get out stuff on the for you pages and stuff from comic -con aberdeen thinking oh god i hope i don't see myself in the background i'm the same i'm just a resting confused face confused at life just going why am i here they let me in they've still let me in they haven't figured out yet they haven't figured out shoot me here i think that's probably my face for the whole weekend was going i don't know what's happening get here that's me chasing child i'll just would go and get here randomly but that scares me that i'm still gonna see a video of me in the background just running about because whenever I go to these conventions, I always bring my stuffed Red Panda about. And, you know, I'll put it on the sets that they've got set up. So for PowerCon, they had, I think it was like Stranger Things, you know, the living room from that. They had a massive Game Boy. And then they had, I think it was like a massive PlayStation controller. You know, things like that. And they had the cart from Mario Kart as well. But I was putting my Red Panda on and I was doing the videos and things. And all I could keep thinking in the back of my mind was, if somebody TikToks me, right? now and that shows how old i am i'm like if someone does the tiktok then i am gone Check this guy putting his red panda on everything. What a weirdo. I know. What a weird guy you doing these zoom -ins. Because I was. I was like, oh, isn't it funny? There's a red panda. And then I walked back and zoomed out and everything. I was like, out of context. People are going to be like, oh, that's nice. He's got a day or something. I'm like, no, I swear to God. I'm here as a content creator. Sure you are. Absolutely. Yes. That's nice, Grandad. Get out. I used to be a content creator, you know. That's nice, Grandad. Go, go. your toy and go home or you go to the juice bar go get yourself something soft that's exactly how it feels it's like because genuinely i feel as if that is one of the things and granted i'm still learning how to do that personally but it's trying to get over that sense of i don't want to say self -doubt but that kind of self -confidence thing where if you're doing an episode with a person you know or you know you've listened to this stuff and you think oh right that's absolutely fine we'll be able to talk for ages but the amount of people that i've had to you know get over myself and be like initially i think oh great this episode is dead in the water after five minutes because i messed up the intro or something and then after the guests will be like that was a great episode you're humoring me aren't you and they're like no no no it's a good episode and it really is it's just trying to get out that headspace isn't it of yes i am a content creator i'm a podcaster i will tell you a trick that i don't consciously do this so for anyone thinks i do i don't i almost always mess up something in the first couple minutes and it's again nothing i've done on purpose it's absolute luck because i think it automatically relaxes the guest because i've messed up so now they've got the opportunity and they don't have the opportunity they kind of got the permission to mess up a little bit because i'm the guy doing the host and then i've messed up so you know nobody's perfect in this game it's just going to be a case of you know i think it relaxes people off the bat you can just kind of sit and go right okay he's messed up he'll probably edit that out so if i stumble over some words and i ask him to take out he's not gonna be that fuss because he's gonna do editing anyway because he's made a mistake but yeah it is a case of getting over yourself because i see what other people have done during that weekend and theyve they came in cosplay and they did the get ready with me and they had the chat with the other cosplayers and i'm like i have no confidence to do that myself i appeared first day in a scottish wrestling network t -shirt which i sweated through and the second day i just appeared in shorts and a wrestler t -shirt because i was like it's a hot venue i've dressed professionally the first day i'm dressing for comfort the second day that's what's happening now but yeah i hope they come in their amazing cosplays like that is is a commitment in itself because it's the heat. Not so much the, I mean, the walking around will cause the heat, but spending all that time to create something absolutely incredibly intricate and just be roasting in it. And they'll be there the whole day. So for nine till six, they'll be just in the element, in the moment, just enjoying life. I look at them and go, God, I wish I could do that. I wish I could just be a little bit more freer and just do that sort of thing. But no, at the end, I'm just in my little shell of paranoia and fear. So, you know, the world's going to get what I can give it. it that's just what they're gonna have to just live with you know because that's what i'm doing i have to say i really need to get a better hoodie before going around and because this is something i keep saying to martin after every single convention we go to where i've got one of these you know the pullover hoodies and it's one of the comfiest hoodies ever that i've ever ordered and it's like at the same time i can't really take it off because i don't have a chatsunami t -shirt under it but at the same time i'm like i don't have a zip on the front i can pull it down and you know it would be cooler to do that but But no, instead, I'm just stewing the melon juices and walking around Comic -Con being like, my God, it's warm. But then, as you said, the amount of cosplayers that walk around, I think, you know what, if they can cope with it, then I can certainly cope with a warm hoodie. I nearly got smacked in the face by, it was a guy and he, I don't know what he was cosplaying, but it was essentially like a furry dragon cosplay thing. And he had one of these massive tails at the back. And just whenever he was walking, it just kept going swish swish. I was keeping my distance like, hmm, I'm in danger of Eton Drone going to get smacked into the next convention. But but yeah um as you said, the amount of cosplayers and as I said, especially the artists that are there as well, it's a fantastic experience. And I love going to these types of conventions because it always brings, you know, you're always going to get one or two old people. But for the most part, you always have these very passionate people who are just there, you know, to celebrate their level.
Speaker: whether it's a particular fandom whether it's just cosplay in general whether it's for the guests or whatnot because I used to and it's been a while since I've been to them but I used to go to these model conventions with my friends for you know like Warhammer 40k and things and it was amazing even in them and again I wasn't there as a content creator I was just there on my own but it was amazing to see how passionate people were about their particular hobbies and things like that and how interested they were in you as well in terms of So what do you think about this and that? And I feel as if that's the great thing about these conventions is that, and especially with us, we're able to shine a light on that to say, this is amazing because so if you want to go for the wrestling or if you want to go for the artists or you want to go for anything else, then it is just a fantastic place for community and especially for all ages as well, wasn't it? Yeah, I took a three -year -old. So that was, yeah, an adventure in itself. The best thing about it though was that he developed a love for wrestling. that weekend, which I was like. yes wonderful like Darth Sidious or evil Kermit just like yes because he developed a love for a wrestler called Omar Muhammad because I have a t -shirt I have an Omar Muhammad t -shirt and he recognized him from that t -shirt that's why I'm gathering anyway we wanted to make sure he could go see the wrestling and see Omar at one point we did the toilet we came back and saw that Omar was in the ring just from when we went back into the venue and just ran across the arena to make sure that he could see Omar and that was the best thing ever there were so many cool things to do that weekend we met Natalia Ten from Game of Thrones and Harry Potter and stuff like that. I've got a photo with her. I saw the Starship Troopers Q and &A because I didn't watch this film until last year and it was wrestler Ian Skinner who'd kind of convinced me I would watch it and then we would talk about it because it's one of his favourite films. The film's fascinating. I don't know if you've seen Starship Troopers. Oh, I love it. Yeah. It's so unsettling at the same time as it's a fantastic film. It was Casper Van Dyne, Denise Richards, Michael Ironside, Jake Busey, Diane Mayer, and... oh who's the other fella patrick like something so yeah also the q and a's simon cassidy hosts them and he's a prominent wrestling personality anyway he does the ring announcing for icw and other places so that was kind of cool that i got to speak to simon i've done a podcast episode anyway that was that tangent there but yeah he found this love of wrestling and it was just incredible to know that if he was kind of getting overwhelmed himself because we can't really let him walk around the hall because he's gonna run and it's busy so when he was getting overwhelmed we just took him to the wrestling he just sat and watched the wrestling and clapped along and if he got to see omar fantastic because that means he got to see his favorite to the point where omar is a big disney cars fan as well and we've had this discussion with him in the past and in fact i'm wearing his t -shirt right now which is great for the audio medium but it's uh essentially the cars logo but it's been customized for omar muhammad so some of the first day great jack was absolutely buzzing we got a picture of loads of the wrestlers they were also good with them as well and then the second day he saw omar again and i'd already bought the lightning queen bath bombs and jack met omar i was like oh oh and he went into the pram brought the bath bombs to show omar and he's like Look, look, look. Because he was complimenting the Lightning McQueen t -shirt the day before and these Crocs. And of all the things that happened that weekend, all the mad things that I was allowed to be part of, that was the best bit. Seeing him enjoy it and seeing him find something that I enjoy and enjoying it too. And it was just, I'm actually feeling a little bit emotional because I'm talking about this. Seeing any enjoyment through a kid's eyes is just an incredible thing to witness and be part of. And it was phenomenal to see him find an enjoyment in something that I've spent. the last nearly 30 years enjoying and it kind of made me just going good i wasn't wrong to follow this passion because i'm now seeing him enjoy it and seeing his eyes light up i mean we just went to a show this weekend halfway through the show he didn't want to go home but it was like nine o 'clock at night i'm weighing up to be tiredness over the lack of enjoyment but the fact that he wanted to go when he talks about it go to the wrestling want to go to the wrestling that's what made the whole weekend for me it wasn't the content creation and the craziness and being part of this group and doing it all and getting to advertise the podcast it was getting to share that moment with my family and getting to see him and enjoy something naturally and organically And just seeing that, it was just beautiful see to see his turn there. No, not at all. I'm honestly so happy to hear that, though, because it is something that I think a lot of people, when they hear about content creators and podcasters and whatnot, I think they're quick to think about the obvious controversial ones and all the louder ones that are like, oh, I've got a podcast, or oh, I've got a YouTube channel, and they aren't really exp spreading anything meaningful or positive. It's all very detrimental. But then when you take a look at the industry, or yourself especially, Because to be honest, until I'd met Martin McAllister, I knew he was, obviously through our childhood, I knew he was a big wrestling fan. But it wasn't until he got into that world, actually wrestling, that I thought, all right, okay, I guess the Scottish scene is... kind of big but i didn't really know the full extent of it until he got into it and then i started seeing you know all these other companies that obviously have been around for a while and then of course i see your content as well and as i said i'm not just saying this because the paypal check just cleared but you know you do some absolutely fantastic work and shining a light on that it is something that i do feel as if it is very important because what you're doing is essentially as you said you're sharing your passion both with your family which is the most important thing but also you're sharing that passion with your wider audience and it brings that community together whether you are at Comic -Con or whether you are interviewing God what was it 462 did you say? I don't know if that's how many people I've interviewed there was a time I was putting things like the road trip episodes into the main timeline stuff but I would hazard a guess that I've done at the very least 450 interviews so by maybe 200 or so guests, separate guests, probably. And I mean, that's incredible because genuinely without your podcast, I wouldn't have known. I know some of the wrestlers that you've got on other than Martin McAllister. I think I've name dropped him so many times. I'm going to have to pay him royalties. You know Martin? Eh, a wee bit. He's all right, you know. I think so, yeah. But no, I've seen some of them that you've interviewed. I've been like, oh, I know that person. I know that one. And it is honestly amazing to see.
Speaker: how much positivity that you've injected into this community and it's something that I never personally knew was so popular and again it's not because I think Scottish wrestling isn't great or anything it's more because I didn't realise there was that niche or there was that community and because you're there shining a light on it it's honestly fantastic work so at the risk of sounding you know very sappy to end the episode I genuinely think you should be proud of what you've achieved with the podcast because is absolutely fantastic work. Thank you. I think I'm needing to really build upon my confidence in 2026. And the more people say nice things about me, I'm really going to believe them one day. But yeah, I look back at what I've done and what I've built and achieved. Of course, we don't even cover everything in Scotland for whatever reason. And I tell you off chat why, but there's places that we don't cover. So we don't even cover the whole wide world of Scotland. But what we do cover, my post streak on my website is at the moment between results and podcasts and everything like that. that that we put out there i'm on a 1308 day streak of posting either news results articles reviews something goes on our website and it has done for the last 1300 days because there's always something to put out there because scottish wrestling is so busy it's just a case of getting your foot in once you get your foot in you'll find something whether it's something the thing you put your foot in the door to wasn't your cup of tea it expands your mind enough to go right i saw that wasn't something i liked but there's one nearby that i'll go see that instead and that might be the thing you like last year deathmatch wrestling was never my thing i didn't enjoy it i didn't think it was fun to watch it was just blood and guts for no reason i went to my first deathmatch show last year because it was in dundee and i made enough excuses to avoid going to the other ones i really ran out so i just went and as much as like there's bits i didn't enjoy which i didn't expect to enjoy everything i got why people like it i understood i saw the passion i saw the people in the crowd just living in the moment so i mean if we're going to learn a lesson from my ramblings for the last two hours is that if you're interested in wrestling at all even a minuscule level just go to a show you'll find something you'll find someone and that'll open the door for you to go right I liked BT Young no actually we'll use Martin as an example because he's got enough mentions already we'll mention him more I saw Martin McAllister The positive charge, you know, you may have heard of the part of Planety. You see Martin, you might not have liked two thirds of the show, but you saw Martin in a match. You're like, I like that guy. I liked his message about saving the planet. Wonder what he's doing. You go check his social media. They've got Iron Girder show next. So, oh, I'm in Glasgow. I'll go to that Iron Girder show. You might see Martin. Fantastic. You might see BT Gunn and go, oh, I like what that guy's doing. What's he doing? Go check out. He's at a Valor show, which is the opera in Glasgow. I'll go with that. And that's where you kind of build your journey of wrestling. So it's not a case of going to a show and you like or dislike it. If you find something, like it opens the door for you to find more things to like and to build upon it because wrestling so as we mentioned right at the start to circle back it's so expansive in what you can like and what you can find and there's comedy matches there's death matches there's technical wrestling there's high flying there's flipsy doodles and acrobatics and there's long -term storyline matches that tell a story of an injury throughout 15 minutes like there's no right way to do wrestling there's no wrong way either it's just what you feel and enjoy in that moment and that's why do the podcast that's why i'd share these stories that's why i preserve these stories because one day that they'll all be gone and people can look back and go well here's the memories here's a memory that can spark off a memory and at the end of the day that's a nice thing to do and nice thing to have available at your fingertips to listen to and watch oh no absolutely i mean i think it's a fantastic point and the other thing as well is if you ever want to see as you were saying about the comedic matches before the podcast and before knowing a lot about wrestling i had no idea that Spongebob Squarepants was being grained into my mind, body slamming another wrestler and beating the you -know -what out of him. And I kind of had flashbacks when I saw him again at PowerCon. I was like, this is going to be a long con, isn't it? It means I could get to accidentally plug my other stuff. I did the commentary for that match on Iron Clash TV that people can go watch online. It was Spongebob Squarepants and the Battle Royale. So if anyone wants to go check that out, they can too. Please do. Because I don't watch the matches before I commentate on them. I do it as a winner so you get my natural reactions. And that was just when I saw Spongebob come out, I was like, oh, I don't know how to, what am I doing here? I think I may have said, am I in a dream? Or am I, have I been drinking? I said something to the point of, essentially, what the F is happening here? Because Spongebob's around. and he's beating up Catwoman. What's happening? It was like, oh yeah, it was a cosplay match and you thought, right, okay, you've got this person, that person. I remember it won, but I think Martin McAllister graciously, or sorry, luckily got thrown out the ring before SpongeBob came. But I was like, thank God, because I didn't want to be coming on the podcast being like, yeah, Martin's not going to be on this episode today. He got bodied by SpongeBob and he's currently in A &E. Let's say a quick prayer for him. A one minute silence. once i feel like jesus how am i going to explain that honestly that is burned into my mind and i feel as if if you're kind of unsure about wrestling and there's a match going on at a comic -con genuinely go and see it because i feel as if that is usually the more silly i mean there are serious bouts and things that they do have but there's also kind of sillier ones for all ages and the cosplay ones honestly they are so fantastic because i even remember i think it was martin that was that he was wrestling in front of oh who was it it was eric something it was the guy who voices james from the pokemon anime and he was dressed up as james and i was like oh okay that must have been out just you know you think nowhere else but a con is where that would happen and again between that between the fact that spongebob was walking around with pyramid head around the con floor and i'm like i don't know how i'm gonna explain this on the podcast to be like, yeah, it was fine, you know. We had the artist alley. We had the vendors. They were great. The wrestling was fine. And we had an unmentionable horror stalking around the con. Oh, and Hermit Head, of course. I think it was the same cosplay con, Battle Royale, that had Ashley Day appear as Johnny 2x4, which unleashed a bunch of Cartoon Network memories, which I forgot that I even had. Oh, yeah. What a time. What a time to be alive. That actually really depressed me because there was a lot of kids who didn't get the reference and I was... Like, it really hurts me to see when they come out in the cosplay. Immediately, I know what it is. And then the kids are like, is that a thing from Fortnite? And I'm like, no, no, I'm gone. Sorry, Comic -Con, I gotta go.
Speaker: Apparently I've got to get my hip replaced.
Speaker: Bring the dragon. Get them swiping. Take out these kids with the tail. Let's go. Let's go. Put subway surfers on the bottom of the ring. It'll be fine. But yeah. On that horrifying note, of course. that way Thank you so, so much for coming and chatting to me. It's been an absolute blast having you on. I've had a great, I can't believe we've been going two hours. I was looking at your other interviews and that, and and I know you can do some long form ones as well, but I thought generally we'll be here an hour. We'll be all good. But it's just, that's the beauty of doing things like this. It's just finding that natural, that calming ground to speak about. And we just, yeah, here we are two hours later. I mean, to keep saying two hours. depending on the edit it could be an hour I don't know depends how harsh you are with my tangents basically no I've had an absolute blast I'm glad that we finally got this done and I got to speak about the thing I love I was going to say the thing I love most but that's incorrect obviously it's my family but yeah yeah for legal reasons yes I'll say the medium that I love the most which is professional wrestling so I'm glad that I got to because usually I'm the one trying to steer the ship of questions and it's been quite nice just to be unleashed and let me just ramble about the thing that has been in my life for nearly 30 years it's been great thank you very much it honestly has been absolutely brilliant because i have to say i have had guests on before that i've said oh sorry i've been rambling and i was like well if you didn't there wouldn't be a podcast episode it's like yeah if you turn around and went so what do you think of wrestling yeah it's fine then It'd be a very short episode. Why are you asking? Who knows you over here? None of your business, thank you very much. I think I said that to someone as a joke once and then I had to apologise right away and be like, I am so sorry. It's a joke. For legal reasons, it's a joke. But no, it's been a brilliant episode and I do have to get you back on. It's been a long time in the making to actually get you on to the podcast. I've been meaning to say for ages, yeah, come on. and I've been the same. I've been the same. You keep asking for a folk to contact you. I'm like, I really should. I really should. and I just never have. So we've got here, we'll find something else to talk about. Oh, absolutely. I mean, there's hundreds of wrestling films out there, let's face it. And I don't mean as in films about wrestling. I mean, films that have wrestlers incorporated into them. So yeah, honestly, there's hundreds we could talk about, definitely. So you're welcome back anytime. But before we wrap up, where can the amazing Pandal audience listening at home find your content? Well, I mean, I don't like to brag about it, but we've got Patreon. Patreon .com. which you safe thanks Yes, yes. less than two pounds a month you can join us and for ad free versions of the podcast the audio version updates and stuff like that as well but really if you don't want to listen to the first 30 second ad then you can pay and you can listen to it early sometimes it's like days in advance sometimes it's weeks depending on how organized i am and you can also follow us at scott resnet on everything i'm at a point where it has to be that because it's been like that for so long but i'm so wishing i picked someone else like swn scotland or something you know but uh here we are website is swn scotland .com funnily enough which it's got a lot i don't know How much more? It's just got a lot. Oh, it does. There's results, reviews, there's articles, there's links to other podcasts. I do preview shows. We're expanding into watch -alongs. I'm doing Valor live stream watch -alongs on Fridays and 10 o 'clock, which is two hours past my bedtime. So it's quite a ramble eventually. There was an episode I yawned quite a lot and it wasn't due to the show. It's just because it's after 10 o 'clock. It's after eight o 'clock. It's kind of dodgy ground for me. I ramble. I don't know if anyone's noticed. Yeah, you can follow us at Scott Resnick on everything and preferably YouTube if you could, because yeah, the audio numbers are... incredible i want to get those video numbers up so if anyone has youtube if anyone has youtube that's my age there have you got the youtube the old youtube yeah i would have to use the cringe phrase of please like share and subscribe that would be fantastic and yeah i was about to throw it back to you to plug your old stuff because i'm in post mode but yes that's where you can find me anyway i'm on instagram mostly is where you'll find me and i just want to reiterate that honestly your stuff is absolutely fantastic so even if you're not a wrestling fan and you're really curious after this conversation about the world of scottish wrestling definitely go check out swn it is really fascinating to listen to both your interviews billy and again i'm not just saying that because the paypal check as i said is cleared no in all seriousness it's a great lesson and yeah the website there's honestly hundreds there it's like the grand library of wrestling so genuinely go check it out it is absolutely brilliant but if you would like to listen to more episodes from ourselves and then of course you can listen to us on our website chat tsunami .com as well as all good podcast apps i also want to thank our amazing pandalorian patrons robotic battle toaster ghosty and cryptic 1991 thank you so so much for supporting the show and if you would like early access to episodes bonus content commentary tracks as well as the uncut 10 hour conversation between billy and i for legal reasons that last one's a joke check us out at our patreon page patreon .com forward slash chat tsunami this podcast is a proud member of the pod pack collective for more information check us out our twitter slash x page at pod pack collect until next time thank you all so so much for listening stay safe stay awesome and most importantly stay hydrated
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