Meet Squid Sterling | Professional Wrestler, Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Squid Sterling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Squid, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Throughout my entire life there have been two things that have remained consistent and those are my passion for music and professional wrestling. From when I was a little kid I was exposed to all different types of music from classic rock, hard rock, metal, grunge, pop, hip hop, the list goes on and it’s always expanding. I picked up my first guitar in 5th grade and I haven’t put it down ever since. Being young and going to concerts I fell in love with the energy of live entertainment. It was incredible how these artist could get up there and share their material and bring out a variety of emotions from not just me but a sea of people in the crowd was awe inspiring and from the first time experiencing that I knew that what I wanted to do in some capacity. I wanted to create art, that felt good to me, that helps others have a good time and forget about the routine pains of every day life, even if it was just for a little while, because that what music did for me.

Now the other side of the spectrum of entertainment I’ve fallen in love with is the sports entertainment world of Professional Wrestling. My sister Tanya and my cousin Jerry always had some sort of wrestling on the tv. It was WWE (WWF), WcW, ECW, TNA or if it wasn’t on tv then we were going to local independent wrestling events in the area. From an early age I fell in love with the captivating characters like, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker. Just as such I fell in love with the actual physicality of Pro Wrestling. It’s so much more than a good and a bad guy beating each other up, it’s a full on production with enticing stories that can be told through physical actions and not just words and vignettes. The psychology behind this sport is one of the most intriguing things I’ve had the pleasure to learn about. The way that one character can turn an entire crowd from booing them out of the building, to cheering in a standing ovation can be incredible, especially when you’re a part of it in the crowd. It’s another form of entertainment that is meant to bring entire crowd of people to together to have a good time, relate to one another, and step away from the mundane world we all go through.

As my platform gets bigger my goal is to be able to use my love of music and wrestling to be able to spread waves of positivity and reassurance that no matter what life throws at you, you can be and achieve anything in your wildest dreams. It takes getting back up from a lot of failures, naysayers, and even overcoming your own anxieties and roadblocks. Anything is possible if you believe and put in the work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Since I was young I’ve been around business savvy minds. My dad would take me to the flea market so I was able to sell some Pokémon and yugioh cards I’ve been collecting. After a little while I felt like I was getting good at it and started saving up some money to open up my own business. I thought the idea of running a business at my age, 11 would’ve been fun. While it certainly became fun, it was not easy. By the time I was 12 years old I had opened up a business on Main St in Old Forge Pa called “Squid’s Music and Wrestling”. In the shop we sold a variety of musical instruments and wrestling memorabilia. We offered services such as guitar and drums lessons and for special promotions, had wrestling related meet and greets and special events at the store. At a young age my parents had enough of trust in me to allow to me to go on this business venture with them overseeing how I was running the place. I handled everything from merchandising, finances and bank books, advertising, promotions, hiring musical instructors, and dealing with customers every day. One of the most challenging parts was maintaining good grades in school and juggling the business, but I loved it enough to make it work.

Through that time I’ve gotten in contact with local wrestling companies willing to partner up and allow me to be a vendor at their events, often times bringing in former wwe superstars for autograph signs and traction began to build from there. About 3 years went by and business was picking up, however the owner of the building we were renting out of sold the entire building and it was to be demolished to so they can build a Dunkin and Family dollar. Our business, a tattoo shoppe, and families were forced to move out of there within 30 days. So we had no choice but to close down.

Fast forward to after I graduated high school I enrolled in Marywood University to study music and business management. During that time I had also landed a job at GameStop and quickly rose up the management ranks. I’m a huge gamer so I enjoyed the products I was selling. Till seemingly all at once life started to fall a part.

My mom got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and the doctors locally gave her no more than 6 months to live. That devastated the family and took a large mental toll on us. Eventually through out years of treatment, seeing some of the best cancer doctors in the world at Fox Chase in Philly, and her pure Bad*ss will and determination, my mom was able to live an extra 9 years from the original sentence, she’s a big influence in my never say die attitude.

However during the times of uncertainty, especially in the early days of her diagnosis it did send ripple affects through our lives. My mental health became so awful I couldn’t keep up with my school work and had no choice but I drop out of my classes, I felt ashamed at the time but I had to do what was best and that was best to help take care of mom and the rest of the family. Shortly after I ended up loosing my job at GameStop and I felt like that was the nail in the coffin. I could keep school going, I lost my job, my family’s health was weighing in and I felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

I sulked about it for a week, wondering where my next steps in life are to be, then I remembered the wrestler, Kit Raff, telling me about Back Breakers Pro Wrestling Center in Scranton. Said if I ever had the balls to go about this dream, that’s where I start. So I thought hard about how I KNOW that what I wanted to do in my life, and I wasn’t about to rob myself of that anymore. So I picked myself up and I went down to the center, I signed up for pro wrestling school on whim and swore I’d dedicate myself to it. The first day of training, my trainer, Justyn Glory, sat us down and told us that this is one of the most rewarding and at the same time most difficult career paths you can take and not everyone was cut out for this. So there’s no shame if you can’t make it. Well I was determined to make it now.

Day one I went through my first in ring training session and, not to get gross, but half way through a vomited my guts out from the physical intensity of the work outs and drills. It was by far the most Intense stress I’ve ever put my body through but I didn’t care, I knew it felt right and I showed back up the next session and the rest is history from there. Almost 7 years and I’m still going strong and have had the wonderful opportunities to work with some of the most talented wrestler in the world and I feel like we are only getting started.

Throughout my wrestling career I’ve also held jobs in the restaurant industry, both front of house and back of house for about 7 years. They helped me pay for my schooling and keep me afloat while I was still in the green stages of learning my craft. My last restaurant job was the key to meeting one of my best friends Jay Lotus. Jay is rapper, singer, and producer from Scranton PA and is completely self made with a passion for tart and how it could affect the community. We clicked instantly as we share much of the same ideals. Because of Jay, for the first time in over 10 years I felt confident in my music and my message to go up and play a show in front of a live crowd. He brought me out a dark place in my life to get me here and I’m forever grateful of that. That was back in summer of 23, now heading into the summer of 24 I have a ledger full of gigs and open mics filling up my schedule. To go along with that Jay is also helping product my first original recorded record which should be out later this year. Love you man!

Recently I quit the restaurant job where I met Jay and I’ve moved on to working at a gym that I’ve been going to for years and am now taking classes to be a certified personal trainer. So now I’m working with people close to my field and I get to help many different individuals meet their goals and help them over any barriers holding them back from living a healthy life style. Once I’m officially certified it’ll be full speed ahead for making a difference for as many people that will allow me to do so.

A big lesson I’ve learned through the years and through these experiences is that everything happens for a reason, you lose job and gain jobs for a reason. Certain people come into your life and exit your life for a reason, and with that you kinda have to open your mind to any and new opportunities and experiences because you never know where the day might take you. That something that seemingly wrecked your life or changed your life in some way, may be the stepping stone to accomplishing your dreams. You just never know. Most importantly, no matter how hard or impossible things may seem, keep believing in yourself, trust the process, and don’t ever give up.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The “Electric City” Scranton PA has much more to offer than just being the home of hit series “The Office”. The music scene in Scranton is huge where you can often find a live band/artist playing every night somewhere in town. There’s open mic held at a variety of places like nepa scene at the Vspot on Tuesday nights and The Keystone Stage at Monday nights. The best coffee shoppe in town in my Opinion is Northern Light Espresso bar in heart of downtown Scranton. Their Vanilla Chai is to die for. Maybe head across to street for a bite to eat at Chef Von and Mom whom in my opinion has some of the best tasting food in town. Chef Von was just on Next level Chef with Gordon Ramsey so you know that’s good food.

I’m a big nature guy, so I’d show you some beautiful spots to relax and meditate up around Nay Aug Park, the cliffs that over look the gorge and rest of the park is absolutely breathtaking. There pool halls around town that often have live entertainment. And a nice little barcade called Bartari that showcases many old and new arcade games while grabbing a drink and a bite to eat.

There’s a lot of history surround Scranton, you can check out coal mine tours, Steamtown for an education on steam trains and visit all of the historical markings around downtown Scranton. Oh and I gotta mention, downtown Scranton is a hot spot for Pokemon go for those who are trying to be the very best.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
No ones story is ever written on their own. There’s many people who had huge influences in my career thus far. Justyn Glory, who was the head trainer at Back Breakers Training Center. Without him and his instructions I wouldn’t even have a wrestling career. He started me at the bottom and through countless hours of training and guidance has led me on a path 7 years in the making so far.

Rosh…or as the Fans know his as Uncle Masty is the owner of Smash Master Wrasslin and is the first Ma to really take a chance on me in this business. He gave me the green light to go out on his events and show the world who Squid Sterling really is, and along the way we picked up Zack Xander, Alexander Bateman, and Damon Dante to form “The Electric City Mayhem”. The ECM are looking to show the world why we are faction that’s must see!

Musically I gotta shout out my boy Jay Lotus, he helped bring me out of a bad place at the right time and without him I wouldn’t be standing up on that stage playing. He’s the producer of my upcoming album and is a huge team player in the local scene around NEPA

Also shout out the Keystone stage and NEPA Scene for hosting open mic and giving opportunities to guys like us to allow our messages to heard and for giving us a safe space for sharing our art.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squid_sterling?igsh=OHJzNWdpd2V4ZHMz&utm_source=qr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squid.sterling?mibextid=9R9pXO

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@squidsterling?si=segqrXgeOBtphBJ2

Other: Tik Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@squid_sterling?_t=8jh3dbDnNGA&_r=1 Teespring (Merch) – https://squid-sterling.creator-spring.com/

Image Credits
Nepa Scene Livelifewell Photography PaigeWatchey Photography Kyleigh Smith KatSnapsSports photography