EP# 51: Ringside Revelations: Phil McManus on Wrestling Promotion, Personal Triumphs, and Celebrating Life's Passions

What makes Phil McManus with Blitzkreig Pro a good neighbor?

When Phil McManus steps into the spotlight, you know you're in for a treat that's part masterclass, part roller coaster ride through the electrifying world of Professional Wrestling Promotions, Marketing and Sponsorship Corporation. Every turn of his career is a testament to the sheer resilience and passion it takes to make it in this industry. In our latest episode, we sit down with this Marketing Maestro and Ring Announcer Extraordinaire, who reveals the nuts and bolts of coordinating high-octane events and the thrills of being the voice that ignites the crowd. Phil's stories are not just about the glitz and glamour; they're a powerful narrative of his personal battles, including a life-threatening health scare that couldn't pin him down for the count.

Offstage, Phil is as captivating as he is when he's announcing the next big bout. He takes us on a journey through his other loves, from horror films to cannabis advocacy, painting a picture of a man whose interests are as varied as the moves in a wrestler's arsenal. His candid take on the misconceptions surrounding wrestling will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about the sport. And through it all, Phil's unwavering dedication to his craft and the joy he finds in every aspect of life shines through, making this conversation a knockout punch of inspiration and entertainment. Join us for an episode that's more than just a look behind the curtain—it's a celebration of what it means to follow your passions and emerge victorious.

To learn more about Phil McManus and Blitzkreig Pro go to:
https://blitzkriegpro.net

Blitzkreig Pro
(413) 272-9679

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Liz Lemon.

Speaker 2: 0:11

Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a marketing and sponsorship coordinator? Surprisingly, one might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, phil McManus. He is a ring announcer. How are you doing today, phil? I'm not doing that bad. Great. We're excited to learn all about you and the marketing sponsorship piece. Please tell us about it.

Speaker 3: 0:34

So I've been in marketing and sponsorship work for the last God 15 years. I started with podcasting back in 2010. Then I got a tenure with Wizard World. I started doing convention appearances with them and media-related substance. I've done media for a couple of horror films like the Black Dahlia, haunting Huff, and then I bridged my way into the world of professional wrestling where I'm now a ring announcer and marketing sponsorship coordinator for a couple of promotions.

Speaker 3: 1:06

How did you get into the business? I was actually working with Barnstorm Cycles on a project and they wanted to market out to other people and I saw a local promotion called Blitzkrieg Pro that was doing a show out in Connecticut. So I researched them a bit, got in contact, worked out a deal with work with them where we gave them some money to bring in a big-name wrestler from AEW named Evil Uno and we paid for all that, put a motorcycle down at the show, set up at the table and, you know, had a good event. We had some good cross-marketing going and I met the owner of Blitzkrieg and, with my former work in Wizard World, convention appearances and working as a host and emcee of a podcast and a show and just basically loving being in front of the camera and being the center of attention. We talked and I kind of took the ring announcer job. And that was three years ago now and I've been all over New England now doing some crazy shit sits.

Speaker 2: 2:07

That's amazing. That's amazing. What are the myths and misconceptions within your industry?

Speaker 3: 2:13

The biggest thing I get is oh, wrestling's fake, right? Well, it's the furthest thing from fake. It's one of the craziest things you'll ever witness in your entire life. Are there predetermined outcomes? Absolutely. Is there safety precaution? Absolutely. But are these guys putting their lives on the line every time they're in that ring? Yeah, and it's not soft batting, they're hitting hard floor. Like just this past week we did a show at the Palladium in Worcester with Bone Dugs and Harving and EZE where we put on two death matches on stage at the Palladium in front of the entire crowd. I mean, you're hitting hard floor. So like we may be trusting each other with that and knowing who's going to go over, but we're still hurting ourselves for your entertainment.

Speaker 2: 2:56

Right right. So I have to ask outside of work, what do you do for fun? But it sounds like this is super fun as well.

Speaker 3: 3:02

So my work is my fun too. Man, I'm an avid wrestling fan enthusiast. I love the business. I love being part of the business. I love picking it apart. I love just brainstorming ideas for different ways to just promote different like projects and get ourselves over as the workers. You know it's, I love it. I love the business. I love getting paid to be the center of attention. It's really just as easy as that. Other than that, I like film. I'm a big cannabis enthusiast. Um, anything old school like movies, horror, big fan of all that. Tattoos, you know multi-facet for sure.

Speaker 2: 3:42

Let's change gears just for a moment. Can you describe one hardship or life challenges that you rose above and can now say because of it you're better and stronger? What to mind?

Speaker 3: 3:52

About two years ago, almost now, my whole life changed. I had an allergic reaction to a vaccine. It gave me CHF, which is congestive heart failure. At one point my body ballooned up with about 40 pounds of edema weight. My EF, which is the flow in which the blood flows through my system, through my heart, was down down to 15 and I was pretty much told I was dying. Got, went from a normal life, couldn't really move out of bed, couldn't breathe and fighting for my life for a good year until finally they found the right meds and the right exercise. And I mean now I'm really just appreciating life and really taking in and trying to make this wrestling thing take off more than it already has you know.

Speaker 2: 4:36

Absolutely. We're so glad that you're okay. What is the one thing you wish our listeners knew about your marketing sponsorship coordination company?

Speaker 3: 4:45

That the biggest thing I always run into is people will contact me and say hey listen.

Speaker 3: 4:50

we need some help.

Speaker 3: 4:51

We're not reaching as many people here. We want to find a unique way to get our footprint out there digitally, or just go out somewhere and do an event and they'll hire me and they'll say, hey, let's try something new. And then they'll come at me well, we like to do it this way, or we prefer it to look like this, and I always have the challenge of telling them. It's like like if that way works, you wouldn't have hired me in the first place. So getting people to realize that just because their way was happy and like, comfortable and safe to them, doesn't mean it's going to give what you need. And that's why, when you outsource and you hire someone like myself to go in and try and find a way to connect with your audience in different ways, it may feel weird at first because someone's taking the reins of your baby, but I promise you my numbers speak for themselves and what I like to do is just find new ways to capture your audience that you may have not seen, that become a new part of your company.

Speaker 2: 5:47

That's for sure, brilliant. How can our listeners learn more about and contact you for more information?

Speaker 3: 5:53

You can find me on any social, at Voice of the Faithful 420. That's my go-ahead for the wrestling. My name is the Voice of the Faithful because our fans are the Blitzkrieg Faithful. You can find us on blitzkriegpronet and you can contact me at Ohana Family Adventures as well on Facebook.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Fantastic Well, phil, I really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 3: 6:17

Thanks so much, Liz. Have a great day.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppalmercom. That's gnppalmercom, or call 413-414-5940.