Fundraiser looks to help Sandwell wrestling school which helps people physically and personally

The father of a wrestling-mad youngster has said that the school he trains at is a valuable place for people to become fitter and more confident people and is working to help raise much needed funds to help it develop.

Chris Guest said his son Billy has become more confident and learned so much since joining Top Turnbuckle Wrestling’s (TTW) training school in Cradley Heath.

The Wrestling promotion, which puts on shows in Perton, runs regular training sessions for people young and old, with Saturday classes being tailored to children aged between six and 12-years-old.

Mr Guest said his son, who is 10-years-old, was an avid fan of wrestling and they had enjoyed live WWE events across the UK, as well as a trip to Wrestlemania in Las Vegas this year, and had found out about the training school from social media.

He said: “I loved wrestling when I was a kid, watching it with my grandad, and Billy has been watching it since he was eight and probably has about 100 action figures of wrestlers.

“I saw a video by Bargains with Josh, who is on TikTok and whose content mostly focuses on local businesses and he covered a TTW show.

“I saw that they had a training school and got in contact with them around the new year and they said we were more than welcome to come down and he’s been going there since.”

Mr Guest said he had been down to see the sessions himself and said the trainers had been very good at interpersonal training and making sure that everyone’s needs are catered for, whatever their ability.

He said the idea for the fundraiser had come about as he had seen the equipment the school was using and said he wanted to help them modernise what they had.

He said: “I see the effort and love and passion they put into it and it’s such a shame that they’re working with very low resources, just like any grassroots sports team.

“They’re currently using a boxing ring, rather than a wrestling ring and they’ve made a few adaptions to it to make it safe, but the ring mats have seen better days, the ring skirts are tired, and the turnbuckles urgently need replacing.”

Mr Guest said there was, perhaps, a selfish reason for doing the fundraiser as he wanted to ensure his son could keep training and developing, but said he ultimately wanted it to be a place where people could develop and learn and the trainers could do more as a result.

He said: “I would love to put in more effort myself just to see my son grow, which I know sounds a bit selfish, but if he’s doing what he loves and wants to carry on, it can encourage other people and have that knock-on effect with people.

“Billy’s passion in it is matched by the passion of the people training, such as Ricky Rowley, who takes extra time with Billy in training, and everyone really adores him.

“If we can get people to donate to help the school, that energy can be matched and channelled into this for him and a lot of other people.”