We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angel De Paz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angel below.

Hi Angel , thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In 2023, I was involved with a group called Lead for America that taught me how to navigate through my city and find activities it lacked. The city was in dire need to family friend activities they could attend on weekends that was fun for all ages. Within the community engagement activities I became apart of, I noticed it would be a perfect place to bring in traditional masked wrestlers to put on live shows for families. In acquiring sponsorships and teaming up with local businesses, we were able to make our first show happen in December of 2023.

Angel , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been an independent wrestler for 7 yrs in Kansas, from working behind the scenes, to training with a group in Wichita KS that taught me how beautiful independent wrestling can be. Together, we created our own version of WWE that was locally grown talent with impactful storylines that portrayed characters for the fans to relate to. A dream that became a reality, a vision that brought live wrestling entertainment to families of all ages that quickly spread throughout all of Kansas.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

There is a lot of negativity when becoming an independent wrestler. Most people will watch WWE and say it’s fake, don’t waste your time with that garbage. Those are the same people who watch reality TV shows and binge watch shows that end up taking their personal time. From close family members, to people in my community that I looked up too. They didn’t believe this dream could become a reality until I sold out my first wrestling show. That put Southwest Kansas Independent Lucha Libre on the map and got people to respect my business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I first started as owner of my own small business marketing firm. Our goal was to promote small local Hispanic businesses in the City of Dodge City to help businesses grow. I realized after a couple of years running this business that there were many hurdles to jump through and it wasn’t feasible for the company to continue. I quickly had to change my advertising from that business to combine it with pro wrestling events in order to capture a new audience for the small businesses. We would go into shops with our Lucha masks and cut promos to show the products the companies had and tell their story utilizing our characters. It quickly became more successful than the previous business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skillluchapro.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skillprolucha?igsh=c2lkcG1pZGlnY29k&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552001401823&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@skillpro620?si=KCGsSzcnfcB8Z5jv

Image Credits

Ana Carbajal Photography