Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Susan Scandlon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Susan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I would have to say that the story behind my mission of writing and publishing a children’s book about youth wrestling, has a few parts. To begin, there are not enough books about youth wrestling that encompass the sport as a whole. I wanted my book to be exciting, detailed, and educational. I wanted my book to get the reader’s attention, and give them a desire to either further their wrestling experience, or spark an interest in wrestling. I would have loved for there to be a book like mine when my son was a youth wrestler. I know a book like ‘Cole’s Journey into Wrestling’ would have helped both of us to get a better understanding of what the sport entails. I wanted young wrestlers to keep the flame burning when they got home from a practice or match. I mean, having a book about a sport that a child either loves or is interested in, is a fantastic way to keep a sport exciting.
Doing my part to help grow a sport that has taught my son, my husband, and myself, so many great lessons, was a pleasure, and definitely part of my mission. I loved writing my book; I knew it would be beneficial to anyone who read it. I also wanted to write and publish the book before my son graduated high school; I did just that!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am just a wrestling mom who wanted to do as much as I could to help nurture and grow the sport of wrestling. Being a children’s book author, is an added bonus to my involvement in the wrestling community. I had never been involved in the sport of wrestling, and did not know anything about it, until my son decided to join a youth wrestling team in our area. I had no idea how the scoring worked, what the moves they hit were called, or what the uniform parts were called. Right before my son began wrestling, I learned that my husband wrestled back when he was in school. I later learned that my husband’s day to day lifestyle, revolved around lessons he learned in a wrestling room. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the sport. I went so far as to take all the state required coaching classes. Not that I really did much mat-side coaching, because I was still learning all the moves and scoring system, but I did all that so I could to get a better understanding of wrestling. When my husband was coaching at the high school level, I did all of his paperwork for the team, and taught the “stat girls” how to keep the stats for each match. I continued running the stat program for our school’s wrestling team even after my husband and son finished their time with high school wrestling. Being part of the wrestling community was unexpected, but such a huge part of who I am today. This past season (2022-23) was the first time since 2014, that I was not mat-side helping with stats for the high school wrestling season. I was able to focus on selling my book, for the first time since my book was released.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Funny that you ask about NFTs. Our family is pretty big on supporting this form of digital technology. It is a great way to secure information and proof of ownership. When it comes to NFTs, I’m the one with the least amount of knowledge in our family on this. From what I’m learning, it is definitely the way of the future.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building my audience on social media has been eye opening. In my case, being involved in the wrestling community has been a big benefit when it comes to getting my book shared on other social media pages. Finding connections with wrestlers, wrestling teams, wrestling parents, clubs, and coaches, has been great for spreading the word about my book. When people get my book, and then tag Cole’s Journey into Wrestling on their own page or club social media pages, it is the best feeling! Connecting with people in your niche, or community, makes the social media spread easier. Building relationships with others you may or may not know already, is key to spreading social media awareness of any product. I’ve made some great connections with people all over the USA who are involved with wrestling. Many of them I’ve never met in person, but they share my information on social media pages as if we are life-long friends. Stepping out of what is familiar, and making it a point to make connections with others who have connections, is the key to growing on social. media. I’m still in the process of working on growing my social media presence; I have a lot of room to still grow!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.colesjourneyintowrestling.com
• Instagram: colesjourneyintowrestling
• Facebook: Cole’s Journey into Wrestling