As I mentioned in part one of this blog, there was little, if any money to be made in death match wrestling. A nice little hack, however, is selling merchandise to your fanbase […if you’re “over”; wrestling vocabulary for “popular with the audience”]. As a result of putting his body through tremendous punishment, possessing an impressive arsenal of high flying maneuvers and a general charismatic way with interviews and the mic, he had become one of, if not the most popular wrestlers in CZW.

My friendship with “Sick” Nick Mondo was an integral part of my development as an artist. Matt had ideas on how to create merchandise to balance the virtually nonexistent paydays. I mentioned in the earlier part of this story, he had approached me to do a t-shirt. It was my first t-shirt design, so I read up, did a few illustrations, cobbled it together with some graphic design and there we were. Hard to believe, I don’t even have one of those shirts, or even a photo now, but it sold like crazy!

Some of the CZW wrestlers saw Matt making fistfuls of money, and I was being approached by them about coming up with their own design. Looking back 15 years now, those designs were really rough around the edges, but indy wrestling shirts are always notoriously bad […typically just awful text or a horrendous logo], so I had a clear advantage. After a few designs, I coined a brand and website, BrutalButcherShoppe.com. I wrote a blog a few months ago called “Art and violence shaped my future” chronicling many of my favorite designs.

The shirts lead to DVD’s, DVD’s lead to epic video productions and assisting on photography and film projects like “Unscarred: The Life Of Nick Mondo”, which even got picked up as a pay per view feature on Direct TV! If I’m able to boast that I’m a jack of all trades now, it’s because of the years of collaboration with Matt.

During the summer of 2003, I showed up to Smyrna, DE and cut around back to meet Matt. When I saw him, he looked anxious and I asked how he was doing. He just stoned faced me and said “…Zandig wants to do the mother f’n bomb off the roof.”. Zandig was the owner and promoter of CZW. He’s also crazy as fuck and lives life like the rules of reality and laws of physics don’t apply to him. At that time, he was in his early 40’s and we was talking about he and Matt dropping from a 30’ roof through a few tables […covered in lightbulbs]. That was a weird moment for me, because I’ve always been a mark for this industry, and ALL of your friends get hurt, but in that moment, I was faced with the possibilty of a good friend dying or being disabled for life. I remembered muttering “Matt, you can’t do that. Don’t do it.”.

During the second round of “Tournament Of Death”, “Sick” Nick Mondo and John Zandig spilled out of the thing, fighting through the crowd. At that point, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scrawny […one of the security guards] starting to set up the tables under the edge of the sports bar. At that moment, I knew neither he or myself talked Zandig out of that pump. I was taking photos and video for nickmondo.com, so I was right at the front of an opening of fans surrounding the tables, and just like that, Matt was heaved about Zandig’s head, and in one sloppy step off the edge, both of them fell 30’ to the cement below. It was a surreal moment that very few friends share […thank God]. During the fall, Zandig’s momentum twisted and landed almost entirely on Matt.

After 30 seconds or so, they both crawled from the carnage. Matt wouldn’t remember this, but he crawled right past me and I watched blood pump from a severed artery in his back. He and Zandig pulled themselves in to the ring, and the match continued. CONTINUED! He won and was treated with super glue on the worst cuts, and prepared for the finals. Yes, he had to perform again. “Sick” Nick Mondo won “Tournament Of Death” that year, and wisely retired immediately thereafter. I made one last t-shirt, resembling a tombstone that read “Here Lies Nick Mondo”.

“Sick” Nick Mondo’s legacy has lived on with fans, to an astounding level that still amazes both of us! I was talking to him this afternoon about this Steemit post, and he sent me a photo of a fan that JUST got a tattoo of a logo I designer in 2002! Thirteen years after he retired! Wrestlers are notorious for making dramatic announcements they’re hanging up the boots, then making a subpar return a year or two later. Other than a return to CZW’s “Cage Of Death” event in 2013 to acknowledge a fan known as Little Mondo, who went on to become a CZW wrestler, Matt hasn’t retuned to ring as a performing. That, in my opinion, is why his legacy has remained in tact. He’s never tarnished what was a Shakespearian level beginning, middle and dramatic end.

Post wrestling, Matt and I became even closer friends and more frequent collaborators. I worked with him the directors cut of “Unscarred”. Eventually, I came out to visit him in Minneapolis, a city that I fell in love with and now call home. Camera phones arrived on the scene in 2006 or so, and thus began some of the most immature games ever dreamt up, such as “Make That Face”. Taking pictures of random billboards, advertisements or scenes from movies, challenging the other person to take a photo of themselves impersonating the subject.

In 2008, I met him in Phoenix, AZ checking two big achievements off my bucket list. Seeing Tom Waits live, and peeing off the Grand Canyon. In 2010, on my 30th birthday, I drove from Scranton, PA to Minneapolis and began my life in the Twin Cities. Matt was an anchor for me in Minneapolis, helping me move in, meet friends and get on my feet. The pranks and laughs didn’t slow. We almost got kicked out of “BodyWorlds” because I couldn’t stop laughing after he whispered “Make That Face” while we looked at cadavers at the exhibit, then subsequently ruining Chipotle for me by mentioned that the barbecue […at the time, my favorite] looked exactly like the muscle tissue at BodyWorlds.

In 2011, Matt left Minneapolis to pursue his dream of filmmaking and living in Tokyo, where his still lives to this day. We’ve kept in touch over these last 5 years, sending emails as often as we can. He’s in the throes of sending his newest film, “The Trade” to festivals around the world before it’s release.

Matt has joined the ranks of the Steemit community. Follow him @mtbmondo as he’s a brilliant writer, director and film maker. I’m certainly he’ll enrich an already thriving artist community. Thanks for staying with me for both parts of this one. Trying to condense 15 years was harder than I anticipated.

I post frequently. Follow me @kommienezuspadt!