My guest today hails from Lawrenburg, Indiana, and might be the baddest man to ever come out of Dearbornne County. He is an NCAA heavyweight champion, a Big 10 Conference Champion, a four-time NCAA all-American and a three-time [music] high school state champion. In 2023, he won the Dan Hodge Trophy for being college wrestling's most dominant wrestler. He represented the United States of America at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He currently competes in the heavyweight division of Real American Freestyle where he will be facing NCAA champion Wyatt Henderson at the Fishers Event Center on December 20th. Mason Paris, welcome to the show, baby.
Thanks for having me on.
Yes, sir. So, this is a full circle moment if I had to say, right, coming from Indiana, obviously going to Michigan after [music] that, but then coming back to get to wrestle at uh for for RAF at Fischers Event Center on December 20th. What does that feel like to be able to come back and compete for the state of Indiana? I've been able to wrestle, you know, all over the world and just to kind of be back in Indiana where it all started is just it's it's amazing. You know, I have a bunch of family members, people I know from, you know, the community in the state of Indiana that, you know, I've met through my journey that are all coming to watch me go out and compete. And like it's awesome.
It's it's right in my backyard. I'm going to have the home crowd advantage. So, it's going to be it's going to be a lot of fun. checking out the Indiana Matt message boards and the people are fired up to make it to Fisers on the on the the 20th, baby. The interesting piece about this, right, you think about wrestling all over the world, wrestling in the Big 10. A lot of what you see today is kids going to these prep schools and these massivemies and they wrestle 24/7.
That's not quite your story. Lawrenburg High School is in rural southeastern Indiana. Talk to me about growing up in Lawrenburg and then going from a small town in Indiana to getting to compete in the Olympics on the biggest stage.
It was quite a journey for sure. It um you know started wrestling when I was uh four years old. My dad started our youth wrestling program. It was our first uh youth wrestling program in the entire Dearborn County originally at the time. And we had people from a bunch of the neighboring schools come and uh you know training and you know a lot of those guys you know ended up doing really well in high school. So we had you know 100 plus wrestling club of kids.
So you know that was amazing you know growing up wrestling wrestling through all that and then uh you know I had um did really well you know growing up in national tournaments traveling all over the country. So you know I had different opportunities to wrestle in uh you know private schools you know bigger schools you know people you know wanting me to come and wrestle there. But you know I I wanted to stay in my hometown of Lawrenburg. That's where my family's from. And uh you know I had a lot of friends there. I you know built a lot of connections.
I just you know fell in love with it even though you know know it's a it's a small town and decided to continue my high school journey there. Decided between you know wrestling and football.
So you played football in the fall, wrestled in the winter and threw shot put and ran the 110 hurdles. Like that's crazy. Is this true? I think I saw that on one of your bios. And you were a state qualifier in the hurdles.
Yeah, I was a state qualifier for both. So, I ran I ran the 110 hurdles and I threw shot put and uh I was the biggest hurdler by far out there in the state championship. The guys uh I was competing against, they were all laughing at me. They're like, "Yo, big boy shot put pits over there. Like, you're in the wrong event." I'm like, "No, I'm in hurdles, too."
[laughter]
You end up losing one match your entire high school career when you were a freshman and then you end up going on I believe like over 150 wins in a row through high school season, sophomore, junior, senior year, three-time state champion. Talk to me about the college process and how you ended up getting to Michigan and how you ended up selecting Michigan as the right place for you.
Yeah, it was it was a really hard decision for me. you know, I um had, you know, over like 15 colleges come to my house on uh like at the at home visits, which was, you know, really awesome. Really cool experience. And then, you know, you got to narrow it
coming to Lawrenceburg.
Yeah. They came down to Lawrenburg, check it out a little bit. So, uh
they I ended up having to narrow it down to five schools. And, uh I ended up taking all five visits. It was after my Friday night football games, I would drive, you know, or fly straight to, you know, the school I was looking at, um, a bunch of really good schools, you know, Nebraska, NC State, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, and Michigan. And, you know, I went to Michigan and, you know, I loved it there. I just really thought it was a place I was going to reach my full potential at. It was like it it was hard to beat. Like, it was really good academically. Like, I I went to school. I I wanted a school that had like good engineering, which I just finished, you know, my my master's degree last year. So, yeah. [laughter] So, I
Let's go.
Yeah. So, then I uh I wanted, you know, a good academic school, but also a school that was, you know, really good athletically and like I could reach my full potential there. So, you know, I went there, really liked the coaches, met a lot of kids that were going to be in the same class as me, really connected with those guys, and, you know, we all, you know, decided, you know, to go there together and just strive to, uh, you know, be our best, and, uh, you know, that's how I decided I wanted to go there.
Who was like the coolest person that came down to Lawrenburg to visit you? Like driving through rural Indiana and you're like, "Oh, I I can't believe that so and so is here in Dearborn County."
Yeah, it was awesome. I had um actually so one of my home one of my home football games, the first one of the year, we um I had two different sets of coaches, the Michigan coaches came, the Virginia Tech coaches came to watch my football game and they said they got out of the parking lot and they saw each other and they're like, "Oh, you're here too to, you know, watch Mason play." And then, you know, another time I had uh the the Indiana coaches there, you know, watching me play. So, um, you know, I had I had a lot of head wrestling coaches, you know, flying from, you know, all the way out from, you know, Stanford and all the way, you know, each side of the country.
Yeah. Also, to watch you play football with those those first couple today, it feels like we live in a world where everyone's like specialized, specialized. If you're not only wrestling or you're not only playing football or you're not only doing track, like you're never going to be great. You obviously played all three, were a state champion, were an all-state linebacker, I believe, for on the football team, and then you qualified for shot put in hurdles in track. Talk to me like is it is it the fact that you are just so athletically gifted or is it the fact that kids were made to compete and play sports because that's what sports are?
Not to be biased.
Three sports, it uh it worked it worked great for me. it um it not only like gave me a break when I felt like I needed like a break from the sport. It was like the other sports felt like to me they helped build off of each other. So like you know football and wrestling obviously you know have a lot in common and you know help help each other get better. People say it all the time but you know even the hurdles helped my you know my flexibility, my endurance and stuff like that. So you know for me it was always like I wanted to play three sports. I had a blast doing all three of them. Yeah, had a great time doing it. I felt like they played hand in hand really really well together.
Like the regional that where you qualified for state in the hurdles, like winning that or getting a top placement. Like I'm going to need to see the video on that because it just looks like something I like I can't I can't like really wrap my head around a heavyweight Olympian being fantastic at the hurdles. The 110s. That's crazy.
About 27 pounds too at the time.
I love it. like one wrong one wrong move and you were taken down like half the half the track would have been great. Um, one thing you did mention that is going to bring us into RAF. So you went and you just got your master's degree in engineering. So that means obviously you know the journey for college and professional wrestling has been interesting. You think about you compete at the Big 10, you go to the NCAA and then some people get to represent the United States of America in Olympics in the Olympics and other people end up going to whether it's regional training centers or college coaching or like you're the world for professional wrestling has not been an easy path or like you end up going to WWE and hitting people with the chair. Talk to me about the opportunity that RAF provides for really highlevel wrestlers to continue wrestling as a professional, as a career.
It's an amazing opportunity for all of the wrestlers, you know, after, you know, just giving us a wrestling league where we can go and compete and, you know, the fans can see matchups that they might not have ever been able to see because of different, you know, weight classes or age groups or, you know, whatever. you know, it's just it's it's it's an amazing opportunity for us. It's like they they get to pay us and we can make, you know, a living off of, you know, wrestling and uh it's just not all or nothing anymore of just making the Olympic team. Only, you know, six people in uh the the entire US make the, you know, freestyle wrestling team, which, you know, everyone everyone is it's their dream. So, it's like it's very competitive. It's very hard.
But, you know, real American freestyle wrestling just gives a lot more people opportunities to wrestle and continue to wrestle and build the sport.
What would you be doing if it weren't for RAF? If it weren't for Real American Freestyle, what would Mason Paris be doing as a career?
I want to wrestle definitely through the 28 Olympics. I'm trying to make the 28 Olympic team, but you know, who knows what I would be doing? You know, probably, you know, if I wasn't wrestling, working, you know, working as a construction manager or something. Who knows?
Do guys that are maybe five or 10 years out ahead of you that maybe were in a similar position look at you and say like man you're so lucky that RAF is here now like I wish this would have been around in 2015 when I was coming through. Yeah, there was there's a ton of people that talk about that, you know, all the time that it's just like they wish that they were, you know, able to do the same thing. Like I even had a conversation with, you know, like Kurt Angle and Kurt Angle, he was like, man, like I don't even know if I would have wrest I might have just continued to, you know, do do you know, professional, you know, real professional wrestling. So, you know, I know a lot of those guys in the past, they're like, "Man, this is like an amazing opportunity for you guys." And like they've tried wrestling leagues before, but, you know, this one's just like it's a lot different. It's like they have the right people in it.
They have, you know, the funds to take care of it. The production's like amazing. Like, if you tune in and watch or like if you're there, like I think a lot of people are going to be blown away how like amazing the production is. It's like Eric Bishoff. He was um he was a big guy in the WWE and he's uh like the guy that's helping produce it all and like they're just doing like an amazing job. It's like it's it's really really cool.
I wrestled in RFO2 and uh you know it was it was uh it was a blast there.
Yeah. You were originally supposed to wrestle Snider, right? And then he ended up getting hurt and then you ended up winning by Tech Ball, right? So, how are we feeling leading into to Araf number the second match for you against Wyatt Henderson?
Oh man, I'm feeling great. Like everything's been lining up really well for me. I competed about a month ago in New York City. Competed in the RAF too before that. So, you know, just feel like I'm peing at the right time and uh you know, my body feels great. My wrestling has been, you know, feeling feeling really good.
So, it's it's I'm excited to go out there and just like put on a show in front of the home crowd. It's going to be great. Well, like one side, Wyatt became like beloved by America, you know, one one match, he becomes beloved by the entire country, but this is Indiana and Mason Paris has been beloved by the state of Indiana for a lot longer than a year. I think that the home crowd's going to show out and that place is going to be absolutely insane. You did mention the the career path that it used to look like was WWE. Kurt Angle going to the WWE and you actually ended up briefly with a contract for I think next in line contract for the WWE.
Talk to me about pursuing that opportunity and what ended up just not driving totally that way for you to join the WWE. right when NIL came out, um they actually uh messaged me and wanted me to be a part of their next in line, which is like getting people kind of ready for the WWE and you know, it was it was a really cool, you know, opportunity and stuff. Kept in touch with them all throughout and then uh actually went to Wrestlemania and uh it [clears throat] was a lot of fun. It was really cool and like, you know, I had I had an absolute blast there. But then, you know, I kind of told them I wanted to see, you know, Olympic wrestling through and kind of wanted to do that. And, uh, you know, I kne I know a bunch [clears throat] of people now that are like in the NXT and stuff like that and they're like doing really well.
A lot of people that were in like the same class as me for the NI for Next in Line. So, they're all doing really well. So, that's really cool. But, you know, I'm just I'm not sure. You know, I don't know if I have the personality to go and talk a bunch. you know, I'm more of I'd be probably more of a silent guy that go out and do some big some big wrestling moves and stuff, but uh you know, it's it's it's it's still, you know, a cool opportunity that, you know, I've I've played around with a bunch of times.
And then you also ended up briefly, uh pursuing professional football in the NFL. Did you go to rookie mini camp with the Chargers or something like that? I went and uh did a try out at like the week after the like couple weeks after the Olympics. I did a try out with the Cincinnati Bengals. Uh that was really cool. It was right it was like right before uh the season started last year and then uh I did uh I went and trained with uh the Michigan football team.
They uh they let me in there and um kind of like took me under their arm. you know, some of the coaches like kind of helped me out, like helped me kind of learn the sport of football again, just like on, you know, the college level. And uh they allowed me to do their pro day with them, which was like really cool. Got to run my 40, got to do my vertical, my shuttle, and stuff like that. Then I got a new opportunity, you know, to do a camp with the Detroit Lions. So, um, they all the teams kind of they saw me as like a fullback, which I played a little bit of fullback in high school, but I was more of like a I was all state middle linebacker, so that was kind of my position.
But, you know, they saw me as I was a little too big, I guess, for linebacker now cuz I'm like almost 270. But, uh, so they were trying me as a fullback. And, um, yeah, that's when I went to the Chargers camp. I was out there for about a week in LA. I have a bunch of good connections out there. Knew Harball really well.
My uh dad's
my dad's football coach when he played in college was uh coach Mener, which was is the defensive coordinator for the Charger. His uh his dad was my my dad's coach. So, uh had some good connections out there. Got to do a week camp with them. It was it was freaking it was so much fun. Never thought I'd put a football helmet on again, but like it was it's very competitive, you know?
I and I felt like I hung right in there with those guys. I felt like, you know, athletically, I was I was hanging with those guys, but I think it was just kind of the experience of not having, you know, college the college football experience. It was like I was kind of I knew I was fighting kind of an uphill battle. But it was like for me it was more like just a cool experience and opportunity for me. And like it kind of gave me the break after the Olympic Games to like kind of, you know, evaluate where I was at, how I was feeling. And, you know, it it it just it was good.
It helped revitalize my love for the sport of wrestling and I kind of found where where I belong.
Coming off the 2024 Olympics, obviously they don't go the way that we're hoping that they go. You come back over and it's kind of like do you have that moment of what what comes next? What does life look like for Mason Paris? Do you go to the NFL? Do you go to WWE? Do you stick it out and go four more years? Like another cycle. Like four years, that's a lot of wear and tear on the bike. Like that's another college career training to get to the 2028 Olympics. Take us through your thought process of of what got you reinvigorated about the sport of wrestling.
A lot of people don't talk about it after the Olympic Games. It's like it's really hard on you like mentally like just like it's such a big like buildup and like peak just for like a couple of moments and then like stuff doesn't go your way. even though, you know, I felt like, you know, I was prepared the best I can, just like trying to figure that out and like combating like feeling a little burned out just because I was like wrestling so much. Wrestled a whole college season, then I was wrestling on the world team, Olympic team, just like never stopped. But, uh, yeah, that's why I was like, man, I'm just going to take like a little break. And then I think like football, I just kind of like realized like, you know, wrestling is just where I belong.
Like I just love the grind of it and like I I just learned to like appreciate the grind for it and like how hard it was. It was something I really missed and like took like I felt like I might have took like some moments for granted in there and then being able to come back and you know try to do it all again is just like it's so exciting and like just like more motivated than I've ever been.
Take us through what we can expect Saturday, December 20th at Fischers Event Center. Uh what's it going to look like? What's it going to feel like? What are people expecting when they get in the door?
It's going to be a really good production. They're going to do a really good job. They're we're going to meet all the fans before the before the match and uh you know, it's going to be a really good fan experience. They're going to, you know, do a bunch of really cool videos up there. They're going to do it up. It's going to be like nothing people have ever seen in you know, the sport of wrestling before.
It's going to be, you know, a little bit more on like the WWE side of things where it's like it's a big production. It's a show. but we're putting a show on. But like the matches [clears throat] out there, they're real matches. You know, we're there's nothing scripted about what we're doing. We're going out there.
We're trying to win the belt and be the best. So, it's um it's going to be it's going to be a it's going to be a fun time for sure. It's been so interesting to see the storylines unfold because you mix like the wrestling influencers of the world that like have like the production value and they have the personalities and a little bit of that WWE in them and then you have some of the most badass dudes on the planet just like ready to go in there and and scrap. I'm really excited for it. Uh obviously everything takes place Saturday uh December the 20th at the Fishers Event Center. It's gonna be awesome.
I think Indiana is really gonna show out. Uh, and it's what? It's after everyone has their Saturday tournaments and whatnot. They'll be able to get over there with plenty of time. It'll be It'll be fun. Okay, we do have to talk all things Indiana wrestling as we round out the show.
And I did make a promise to a local Indiana uh media mogul, per se, that I would do this for him.
Hey,
had to rock my 800 pound gorilla.
Yes, sir. all things Indiana high school wrestling growing up as a wrestler in the state of Indiana. Obviously our show is all about Indiana and Joe has done a fantastic job I believe for the last 17 years with Indiana Matt. Did was were you active on Indiana Matt when you were coming through high school?
I went on there every once in a while but you know my dad was on there like religiously. I felt like like I'd come down and he was on there. I just remember like my freshman year like after I um wrestled in the state tournament, you know, I took third and like my dad was pumped. People were even like talking about me on there saying, you know, how I was going to be like a good wrestler and stuff. So, it was like it was like always cool to like kind of see what people were saying like, you know, on there about me. I think that after that freshman year, you really like you after that state tournament series, you earn some respect, not just for yourself, but also South Eastern Indiana cuz I I feel like it's always like Lawrenceburg like you would come in with 50 matches, you know, like he's 42 and 0 or 45 and0 or 53 and 0 or whatever it was.
Be like, "Oh yeah, but they don't wrestle anybody down there." And then you'd start scrapping and holy smokes. Uh I I remember a lot of them. They were a ton of fun to watch. I do want to talk Indiana high school wrestling for you. What was your favorite team to beat in the state of Indiana?
When you get to the state tournament and you were like, I cannot wait to beat a kid from XYZ school.
Had a lot of friends on Cathedral, so I never wanted to lose to them ever. Maybe the guys up in the region. Maybe I don't I didn't like losing to the guys up in the region just cuz they're uh you know, opposite corner of the state than me, you know, but uh
there's something in the water up there. Favorite place to wrestle in Indiana? I loved wrestling in Newcastle. Like we had semi-state there every single year. We wrestled a dual tournament there. I have like some of my most memorable matches at that big Newcastle gym. So like that was uh you know a really really fun place to wrestle at.
It's tight quarters down there when you're on the on the floor in Newcastle. That place is awesome. Okay. One thing you change about Indiana high school wrestling. I don't know if they've changed the rule recently, but I just remember when I was in school, there was always a problem with wrestling out of state places, which kind of sucked. You know, I wasn't able to wrestle in like uh some of the big tournaments. I wanted to wrestle in like, you know, the power
like Iron Man, right?
Iron Man and stuff like that. It just like kind of sucked. I felt like it was like I I want to go out and I want to compete. I want to wrestle against the best guys, you know, in the entire country. being like I don't think I should be just limited to, you know, wrestling guys in my area and wrestling guys in Indiana.
Yeah, I they have changed that now, right? So, there's a bunch of teams that take people over there. It would have been fun to see you go and scrap some of those biggest national tournaments. Your most memorable high school match.
I mean, obviously winning my first state championship was a really big one. All three of them were really big ones. I mean, it's it's funny because I think the one I remember the most is my, you know, my record was 206 and one and that one is the one I remember, you know, against uh, you know, Chase Osborne from Penn, you know, I was um, [clears throat] you know, it was a crazy match if if if anyone if you guys can go back and, you know, watch it, you know, I was just,
wasn't there like a ton of blood time, too?
Yeah, I was I was like I didn't cut any weight. He was a returning state finalist. He was a senior. I was 182. I was not nearly as big and muscular, you know, as I am now. But, uh, you know, I went out there, he took me down a couple times and then, you know, I started making a push that, you know, halfway through that second period, got him really tired and, uh, I ended up tying the match back up to 10 to 10.
And then, you know, I I my whole thing was I was cut guys like I'm going to wear this guy out. I cut him with about 30 seconds left. He had a nose plug, kept blowing the no blood all over the mat, you know, trying to get injury time, stuff like that. And then, um, you [clears throat] know, I, uh, you know, wrestled him, pushed him out, you know, couldn't get the stall call a couple times. I was trying to get that stall call on him. And, uh, you know, the ref never called it even though, you know, he backed straight out of the match.
And, uh, you know, I've had that ref, you know, apologize to me, you know, later later. No,
he was like
kind of costed you four state titles and I was like, man, it's too late now.
That's crazy.
But it was it was a crazy match. Lost by one point. He ended up, you know, going on to win state and then, you know, I went and, you know, ended up taking third place. So,
what was the culture of Lawrenceburg wrestling like? I mean, obviously, we know that you as an individual had a ton of success and went on to continue to have a ton of success, but talk to me about the guys around you and your team as you were coming up through Lawrenceburg. Yeah, we started our club when I was young. We barely had enough guys to fill our whole high school team a lot of times and uh it was weird, you know, cuz uh wrestling just wasn't as big at the time down there. And then but you know, once our guys in that age group kind of started coming up, we you know, had a pretty pretty good team, a lot of solid guys, you know, um you know, a lot of we had I yeah, a lot of you know, really good guys. uh you know we didn't have you know more than you know one state qualifier you know every once in a while for the state tournament you know I was uh but you know one of my years we had you know three state qualifiers and you know a bunch of guys that you know winning conference doing really well and you know we were filling out you know whole teams and stuff like that but um yeah it was um it was it was good you know I felt like even even now the you know the program is doing a lot better than it was and it's just like it it just kind I felt like, you know, a wave came over, you know, Lawrenceburg wrestling and like, you know, it's it it was it was held a lot more.
It's like a lot more, you know, important and a lot more, you know, big. It's a lot bigger now.
How were you able to maybe like motivate or just to keep your teammates bought in like obviously you were going to be really good, you know, like you need practice partners, you need people in the room. It's more fun to win on a team. How how were you thinking about the team aspect as you were coming up being the star of the team? We had guys on, you know, all different kinds of levels and different places in wrestling. So, it was just kind of trying to keep those guys up and like, you know, I would try to show them moves in practice and, you know, help them out, but like, you know, while also, you know, trying to get better myself, you know, but it was just, you know, keeping keeping, you know, everyone positive, just trying to be a team leader, trying to be a good role model for, you know, the other the other teammates.
Who were you wrestling in practice? Um, I had a couple guys I would wrestle with that were pretty good. I used to wrestle with uh Jake Rubberg a lot. He went on and wrestled at uh University of Indie State qualifier and then I wrestled with Jonah Ralphus too. He was our he was a weight class below me and you know he ended up also qualifying for the state tournament too. So it's um I had some good guys I could wrestle with and you know but I I traveled a lot to um some like clubs. I wrestled at, you know, a couple different clubs and stuff like that. That helped uh get me to wrestle, you know, some guys from all over.
Okay. Wrestling is often revered as it's very tough, very crazy. Only a certain type of person can excel. What is the hardest or craziest thing you've ever done when it comes to the sport of wrestling?
I was younger. I was probably in like sixth or seventh grade. I would wrestle at Lasal High School and they had a really good wrestling club. you know, Lasal's a really good uh they're Ohio they're like been like Ohio State champs for wrestling. I'd go over there and train with those guys and they would keep their room like 96 degrees and it was like the hottest thing I've ever been a part of and like we'd wrestle with those guys and like they would be no joke like an inch of sweat on the mat. You couldn't even walk hardly like you're slipping all over the place.
Like I remember like I was wrestling a dude. I tried to roll between his legs when he had my leg up. It was a coach. He dropped on top of me. My nose went my my knee went like through my nose. My nose like busted open like blood all over the place.
Like I'm sweating. I'm just like, man, like this is crazy. Like I'm doing this like on a Sunday night. Like like why why am I why am I doing this to myself? But uh you know it was uh looking back it was like it was a cool experience.
When times got hard for you like you know your whether it was times you either had to make weight or times you had to train really hard or give up Sunday nights. What did you tell yourself? What does Mason Paris's internal voice tell him when times get hard in the sport of wrestling?
The hard times are kind of what what separates you and you know makes you you know not just a better wrestler but a better person. like how you react to, you know, adversity and those hard moments and just like I kind of always just like remember, you know, that uh, you know, I'm a son of God and, you know, that Jesus always has me kind of thing is just kind of what always reminds me, kind of keeps me humble, kind of, you know, mellows me out again. So, it's just like, you know, I'm just I'm just, you know, doing it all for him. So,
we're coming towards the end of the show here. Who's your favorite Indiana wrestler to watch
of all time?
Of all time. your favorite person that has ties to the state of Indiana to watch wrestle.
I loved watching Chad Red wrestle. I loved watching Nick Lee wrestle. All my friends I had on the teams, they were always really fun. Brighten Lee was always fun to wrestle. He's a little he he's a grinder. Um [clears throat] I liked watching Cerseus wrestle. He was one of the first guys I've ever I remember ever wrestling wrestling in a college match. Northwestern uh versus uh Penn State was my very first college match I ever saw when I was pretty young. So, he was, you know, a guy I was cheering for when I was young cuz I knew he was an Indiana guy.
Those are some absolute legend. Who's been your biggest mentor uh in the sport of wrestling?
Yeah. I mean, I I have to, you know, say my dad just, you know, starting the youth wrestling program. He was a college football guy. We didn't know a ton about wrestling. He wrestled, you know, five years, you know, wrestled in high school, you know, but he uh he would spend the nights, you know, watching Pearllor wrestling videos in my basement just, you know, so he could teach me and the other wrestlers, you know, how to wrestle. But, you know, the Michigan coaches now are just like they're they're huge for me now.
It's like have helped taking me to the next level. Like Kevin Jackson, Olympic champ, you know, he's been awesome. You know, Sean Sean Borett. Now I have uh Alex Daringer, you know, he's a multipletime, you know, Hodge Trophy winner, three-time NCA champ. So like he's just a beast and like, you know, those guys. It's just like awesome to be able to connect with those guys, be friends with them, and you know, be be, you know, coachable and, you know, just just learn about their journey, what they've gone through, and just like help apply it to mine.
I've been a high school head wrestling coach for this is my sixth season, the head coach at Bishop Tart High School. I got to ask, what is your advice for my high school wrestling team? What would you say to them?
You know, wrestling's hard. Everyone knows that, you know, and uh, you know, no matter what level you are, you're going to get nervous. You're going to feel those nerves, but I feel like it's just all about just going out there and, you know, wrestling your best. Like, you can't always control, you know, the uncontrollable things, but you can you can control your effort out there, how hard you wrestle, you know, how, you know, your work, your preparation you put in. I think my confidence comes from my preparation, how well I prepared and uh, you know, feel ready. So, I think it's just, you know, going out there and just, uh, you know, grinding hard and just, uh, you know, you know, putting that work in is just how it is.
Amen. All right, I have four questions left for you. I let one senior on the team ask a question. He wanted to know, what was going through your head as you stepped out onto the Olympic mat in 2024? Like, what were you thinking about leading up to that match? like when you're actually there about to go and wrestle
a lot of like just like where I came from. Honestly, I was like it was just weird to think of like me from like a small town in Indiana like stepping on the Olympic stage and you know representing my town, my county, the state, you know, my school, you know, the university, my country too. It was just like it was just crazy. It felt like, you know, everything I've done to that point was kind of leading to that moment. And uh you know I probably put too much pressure on myself you know about it just like cuz it was such a large buildup and you know I felt like you know I didn't wrestle my best there. I think I just kind of let let the moment get too big which you know sucks. It's like but it you know it happens and uh you know I think I'm I'm better for it now.
I love it. These are the same three questions I ask every guest that comes on the show. Also have to say shout out to Jack Davis. He was a senior who asked that question. He's going to love that we gave him a shout out. All right. You've wrestled all over the world, all over the United States of America. If you could shout it from the rooftops, what's one thing the world needs to know about Indiana?
We're a tough state. We're one of the top states. Like, I think people underestimate us a lot. And uh, you know, I think uh I uh I always I always argue with the guys in my room about how good of a wrestling state Indiana is. And I think we've just been on such a comeup lately. And it's been awesome to see.
It's like only getting better. It's crazy. Like to see what what universities these guys are going to. Like it's berserk. Okay, this is your chance to shed some light on a part of Indiana that more people need to know about. What is a hidden gem in Indiana?
I got to obviously shout out my hometown. You know, there's a lot there's a lot to do down there. You know, we have uh people's, you know, look at Lawrenburg, they're like, you know, that's a small town, you know, right on the border of uh Cincinnati, Ohio. But um you know, we have some cool stuff there. There's a casino. know there's a ski resort, you know, in our hometown. So, you know, I think, you know, it's an awesome place. I think the food, you know, is really good. So, you know, I I definitely, you know, got to shout out Lawrenceburg, Indiana. All the food and all the cool restaurants, all the places they got there. It's on the come up for sure.
You're talking casino, you got skiing, you got the river in the water right there. It's basically the Lake Tahoe of the Midwest. That's what people are calling Lawrenburg, the Lake Tahoe of the Midwest.
Yes, sir. All right. This is your your final question. Um, this is your chance to share the love with someone else from the state of Indiana. A hooer that's doing big things. A hooer that's inspiring people. Who's a Hoosier that we need to keep on our radar. Someone who's doing big things. There's a lot of really good wrestlers I've been watching in the state of Indiana and like, you know, I want to just shout out all those guys. Like, I know how it is. I've been in their, you know, the same shoes as them. And like they can achieve the dreams that they want to do, you know, on whatever level. if they want to be, you know, Olympians, they put in the work and they prepare, like they can do it for sure. So, I just want to shout out all the all the wrestlers in Indiana. Like, let's go. Like, let's represent.
Is it hard for uh Jesse goes to Ohio State? Like, that's that's a rival school for Michigan, but he's also an Indiana guy. Like, had to put you in predicament there.
There's some conflicts there, but you know, I I I'm going to cheer for him regardless. You know, he's an Indiana guy. like he's doing great things.
So like I got to I got I got to give him props for sure.
Absolutely. Mason, I appreciate the time, brother. One last time, December 20th, this this Saturday night at the Fischers Event Center. There's a whole card. It's not just you and Wyatt. Like there's a bunch of other really cool matches that are taking place. Real American Freestyle at the Fischers Event Center. Uh if you had one last one last harra why people should get out there, support you, support all the guys at the Real American Freestyle, what would you say? say that this is the start of something really amazing and like I think you guys should be the first people to kind of be there and kind of see how amazing this is going to be. It's going to be a big thing. It's going to be a lot of fun. You're going to, you know, en enjoy it so much and like I promise you won't regret regret going.
Heck yeah, brother. Hey, I appreciate the time. You're going to crush it. We're really excited to uh to watch you take it on Fisher's Event Center December 20th, man. We're going to be cheering you on. Appreciate it, bro.
Thank you. Thanks for having me. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations [music] at Sweetwater. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hoover [music] State great. We'll see you next time here on Get
