Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Max Zaleski. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Max, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.
Effective communication is a must in all facets of life, including personal and professional relationships. Something that I’ve been pretty good about in my adult years is making sure that I am speaking with purpose and speaking truthfully. There’s a lot of people who speak out of both sides of their mouth – or will sugarcoat what needs to be said. That isn’t something I do; I’m very up front with people. If there’s a problem, I go directly to that person and speak to them about the situation. I don’t take a lot of crap from people – I simply speak clearly, from my mind, and allow them to react in however manner they determine – and then we go from there. If that rubs someone the wrong way, that’s on them.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve been in the local independent wrestling scene for about a decade. Independent wrestling in Washington State has a pretty sketchy history, and wasn’t truly ‘legal’ until about 2015/2016. I initially started out as a social media coordinator/manager for wrestling companies (3-2-1 BATTLE!, PCW Ultra) and athletes (Robert Strauss / Robbie E), providing small seminars to people who were either already wrestling for other promotions or for students of the school I was at in Seattle. I was able to get this company signed with Twitch to become a partner and almost tripled their social reach. It was about this time (mid-2018) that I launched my own career as wrestler – however unfortunately it was cut short due to injury. So instead of boo-hoo’ing and wallowing in self pity, I got together with some industry friends and launched Without a Cause – an independent wrestling company that focused on giving people a chance – typically wrestlers and crew that were either early in their career or was looking to wrestle in a new region. After we came back from COVID, we decided to shutter the company and begin anew with Peak Sports Entertainment – a company that specifically focused on local wrestlers and the students from the local area. No frills, no extras – just good ol’ wrestling.
Throughout my wrestling time, it’s become apparent that it thrives due to diversity and inclusion. So with that, and a few LGBTQ+ related events and campaigns, I launched Unconfined Fight Offerings (UFO). UFO is a completely non-profit (working on the actual paperwork as I type this), where we will be focusing on raising money for LGBTQ+ causes with every event. UFO will focus on the local LGBTQ+ community members and our strongest allies for performers, sponsors, and additional event hosts. Every penny above what we need for the event is going to these causes, I am not taking a salary, and regardless of the amount that we bring in – I will personally be donating $250.00 each event. We aim to have 6 events per year at a local concert venue and bar in my hometown (Tony V’s Garage). Currently, it’s just me – however I have been reached out to by several people to be part of the inevitable Board of Directors that is needed for any official 501(c)3 / non-profit. Our first event is December 28. Something that sets us apart from other promotions is that we will be running with no ring and no rules and will, after the first event, have live bands to play music after the wrestling portion of the event(s) is done.
Within hours of announcing the first event, I was reached out to by 3 other promotors in the area to do some sort of co-op show with them.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Being able to have a thick skin is very important for wrestling (and, really, life in general). You are a public figure, at any level, so making sure that you can handle a jab or two regarding anything from your looks to the logo of your company, to the people you book or the music you play before the events start – you just grit your teeth and make sure that you’re producing the best product you can.
2. When you decide to do something in a public setting, with the public providing their hard earned money for a good or service, there’s an expectation of professionalism. That’s sometimes lost in ‘professional’ wrestling and reminding everyone that, sometimes, you have to do what’s best for the business hurts – it hurts friendships, it hurts work relationships, and you can end up damaging your brand by making poor decisions.
3. Organization is key. This is true for any industry, but I was the admin, logistics, and social media person for the companies (Without a Cause, Peak Sports Entertainment, and now UFO) I worked with / began. Being able to context switch and go from answering a Twitter / Facebook message about X, Y, or Z and then going into Photoshop to change a name or update a photo – it takes an incredible amount of brainspace to make sure that you’re not spinning wheels on things. This isn’t to mention the budgeting, the paperwork, and the like for these events. Making sure that everyone gets to the events, being adaptable to changes, and maneuvering the personal relationships you have with wrestlers, crew, and fans – you have to be ready for anything on show days – and still remain composed and professional.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
As much as I dislike doing admin work, it needs to be done. Staring down a website about how to start a non-profit, or the business-aspect of said non-profit, is pretty daunting. I’ve owned a business before; I did the admin work (taxes, licenses, etc) before – but now doing it for a new space (non-profit), I am mortified about doing it incorrectly. If anything, I want to make sure that I am doing everything by the numbers to make sure that it is official. Wrestling has a problem with grifters, so I want to make sure that people who don’t know me – and are seeing UFO for the first time, don’t get the impression that it’s not official, or that we’re not doing what we’re saying we’re doing.
I have reached out to a few people I know who are within the non-profit space to see about the different types of non-profits and what is the best option for something like us – where we’re not going to be doing transactions on a daily basis or have a physical, permanent space. But those conversations happen on their own time frame and we’re heading towards our first event – so it’s working in tandem to make sure that we’re very transparent about what we’re doing (receipts, donation goals, etc) that is most important to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ufo_pnw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UFO.PNW
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxazaleski/
- Twitter: https://x.com/PNW_UFO
- Other: Personal sites:
https://x.com/MaxInThePNW
https://www.instagram.com/maxinthepnw/
Image Credits
Vitz Photos
West Smith
Max Zaleski
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