He's very heavy, he's my brother

 At 11:49, Tuesday February 17th, I was told the news that I still can't believe. I never thought this would be a post I would make. The next two days, I caught myself getting ready to send Brett a message and had to stop. 

I wanted to take a few days before posting anything and look for some photos (take the picture) of Brett from the past. 

At first I thought - did he and I have any photos together?  The answer is yes, not many, as I am slightly averse to having my picture taken. Franklin Dove, Brett and myself did get in a photo at The Gathering in Charlotte in 2025: 

I called him brother Brett, he called me brother Blake- and this wasn't the usual wrestling "brother" thing. 

In the mid-2000s, when we were both doing shows on the road, some folks got us confused. Easy to see the confusion, two fat guys with brown hair, glasses and both showing up for wrestling shows. When Brett was called Blake, he responded with "No, you're thinking of my brother Blake. He takes the photos. I do the announcing."  I would do the opposite. 

"Brothers are like fat thighs...they stick together."

I'm glad that in the last few months I got to spend more time with him., he loved his work. He loved wrestling, but he especially loved his friends and we loved him back. 

There is nothing I can write that will match Brett's obituary...among the best written pieces of a life that I have ever read...and it's an emotional gut-punch.

I share in the grief that we all are going through. The shows will go on, but a big star has burned out. I hope we can all act a little bit like Brett from here on out. Not just at wrestling shows but in our everyday dealings- see the funny side of life and be comfortable with poking fun at ourselves. 

I will miss his humor, his cookies, and his positivity. Goodbye brother Brett.

Below are just a few photos I found tonight. This is not all I have, but these are the earliest. As I continue to go through the years with my posts, I will be including any photos of Brett with them:

Possibly the first photo I took that Brett was in - this was July 21, 2006 at AWA Power Pro Wrestilng in Hendersonville, NC. Brett said his first announcing job in NC was July 22,2006 - which would have been High Velocity Wrestling (HVW) in this same building. I have photos from that night but none of Brett. 

 August 19, 2006 - HVW. My first photo of Brett announcing? 

 Sept. 2, 2006 - HVW. Brett was open to whatever entertained the crowd early on. 

 Sept. 22, 2006 - NWCW in Athens, GA. My first road trip with Brett. Ole was impressed with Brett's and my size. 

May 2005

What better time to make a new post than a completely snow covered day? So here we go. 

I started branching out in May 2005 - AWC (promoter: "Stray Cat" Brodie Ray Chase) in Easley, SC; Carolina Championship Wrestling in Gaffney,SC and UCW in Greenwood, SC.  Looking back on all the photos I took away from APW and HVW I can tell I was having to adjust how I shot matches to adapt to the variety of talent I saw while on the road. Seeing these different faces and venues sparked the desire to broaden my horizons with wrestling photography.  

This album includes photos from: 
May 7 - CCW, Gaffney SC Middle School 
May 8 - American Pro Wrestling, Spartanburg (Mother's Day show)
May 20 - UCW, Greenwood, SC. 

It also includes a photo of a young man that I had the pleasure of knowing for his whole life: Trevor Arrowood - he came down to the APW Mother's Day show and was interviewed by Jay Eagle. I encouraged Trevor's interest in 'rassling and he later joined me on the road to Charlotte,NC for a memorable show and Waffle House visit (he got to eat with Kevin Owens aka Kevin Steen). I have worked with his father for many years and Trevor followed his father into law enforcement, working at Rock Hill,SC Police Department. The Trevor's Gift Scholarship Program was established to honor Trevor's memory by providing students the means to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. If you have a moment, check out their website. 

Click here for the May 2005 Album

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In Mitchell's Mess & More news -coming up in February, the bosses will be at the American Legion in Wilmington for the Carolina Sports Promotions card show on the 7th and then at the Segra Stadium for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Spring Fling on the 28th. 

This time of year means Mad Monster Party time in Charlotte, NC! This is the anniversary of my reconnection with the Smiths and has become an annual meet up for us all. 

April 2005

 Hi there reader - I hope you had a good [insert your winter holiday(s)/festival(s)] and happy new year!

Wanted to make a quick post - I realized today the last post was in November! Holidays get busy here at the home office. 

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Uploaded a few photos from April 2005 in this album. These are all from American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC and High Velocity Wrestling in Hendersonville, NC.

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For Mitchell's Mess & More, upcoming: 

Saturday, Jan. 17th - Greater Goldsboro Collectibles Show in Goldsboro, NC at the Maxwell Ag Center. 
Saturday, Feb. 7th - Carolina Sports Promotions in Wilmington, NC at the American Legion. 

MMM hit Gastonia,NC back in December for the Fourth & Goal Collector's Vault Show - check out the post below on the MMM facebook.  If you're not already, follow the page - upcoming shows, updated photos, and the great group shots of all our pretty faces!

January is quiet for myself - I am planning on visiting the Spartanburg Comic Con on January 24: 

Collector's Vault Shelby AND Wrestling Evolution: Love is Pain on January 31: 

That's it - thanks for reading!

March 2005

First off, I'll be heading to Greenville, SC tomorrow for the annual Retro-Toy Con! Looking forward to getting back together with the Mitchell's Mess & More gang -the toy con has become another great time for us just to hang out and have a good time...and stay up late for the room swaps! 

The year is winding down, but you have a couple more chances to see MMM in 2025. December 12-13th, we'll be at Fourth & Goal Promotions: Collector's Vault Showcase in Gastonia, NC. This will be the first of their shows we'll be set up at - I'm looking forward to it. 

Next up, on December 20-21st, MMM is once again at the Lumberton Toy & Comic Holiday Show in Lumberton, NC. 

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Photos for this post are from March 2005. This month saw me take my first road trip for a show in Kingsport, TN on the 11th with Ken Magnum and Viper. 

Ken got to meet some nice locals: 

And we got to meet the King of Kingsport: 

March 18, 2005 - the first High Velocity Wrestling "Redneck Champion" title belt: 

March 19,2005 - here's a mid-air shot of Dirty kicking Nick Fury - American Pro Wrestling, Spartanburg, SC. 

On the 25th, I was invited to shoot the last "Hardcore Hell" show under the NWA Wildside banner. "Hot Shot" Shane Austin invited me and I was welcomed by the talent and Bill Behrens, who ran the promotion. It closed a month later as Bill left to work at WWE's Deep South Wrestling. I would return to the building though as it reopened as NWA Anarchy. This night I shot one of the best pics I ever got in my opinion - look for the fireball in this gallery!

You can view the show here, and will occasionally see me at ringside. This was before I started wearing solid black, so you can't miss me, it looks like I was wearing an orange shirt (why? I don't know...I should have listened to that drag queen who told me I look like the Great Pumpkin in orange). 

Thanks to all for reading - and have a happy Thanksgiving. 

February 2005

I am pulling photos from February 5, 12, 18, 19 and 26 of 2005. All of these were at American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC. 

On 2/18, APW helped promote the Legends of Wrestling show that took place the next night at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (See the booking sheet below). A strap match between Greg Valentine and Chief Jay Eagle was set up as a tribute to the Valentine / Wahoo McDaniel match from 1977 where Valentine won the Mid-Atlantic Title. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GALLERY

Further Reading:

https://midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/spart_nol_index.htm

https://www.midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/2005/spartanburg_2005_pl.htm

https://www.midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/2005/spartanburg_2005.htm

Mitchell's Mess & More is taking the month of October off - but will return in November: Wrestling With Purpose on Nov. 1 at Scotland High School in Laurinburg, FWE on Nov. 15 at Sport HQ in Cary, and then I'll join up with the guys at this year's Retro-Toy Con in Greenville, SC from Nov. 21-23. 

Thanks for reading!

January 2005

January 1, 2005 - American Pro Wrestling hosted the (first?) Johnny Weaver Iron Man Tournament. There are a couple of photos in the gallery of Johnny - I'm not sure where the rest of the pics are from the night. This was the last night I used the Sony Mavica camera. 

By the next show, Jan. 8 I had moved up to the Nikon D70 Digital SLR.  It was leaps and bounds better than what I was used to. I slowly learned what I could capture with it. 

In Mitchell's Mess & More news: 1/2 of Mountain (me), Coastal and Piedmont were all able to get together at the Mad Monster Expo held in Concord, NC August 22-24. Mad Monster (the MM Party in February) is where Tre and I were reunited many years ago from our 'rasslin days and it has become an annual tradition for all of us to get together, enjoy a Red Lobster lunch on Saturday - support the awesome charity: Scares That Care, see old friends and hang out.

September sees MMM debuting in Havelock, NC on Saturday, the 6th at the Brothers Boyd - Friends of the Comic-Con III and then I'll be joining the tables at the Southeast Collectors Showcase in Concord, NC on Sept. 20 & 21. 

The gallery below has photos selected from APW shows on Jan. 1, 8, 15 and 22.  The show was snowed out on Jan. 29 per my notes. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GALLERY. 

Speaking of notes, take a look at these original booking sheets from APW, Jan. 15 & 22: 

Thanks for reading!

2004 - APW, HVW...

The last couple of weeks I have looked through the 2004 photos folder. It was over 3300 photos...and...they were not the best. I took photos from a seated position for a few months at American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg (APW). It was the top tier of the metal bleachers you see on the left of the below photo: 

 I was learning "on the job" so to speak. I had no experience in photography, but I was a big wrestling fan and knew what a good wrestling photo looked like. I was learning my way and the photos showed that. Also, the Sony Mavica had a bit of a delay, so I missed more than I got. 

So here are some selected pics from (mostly the latter part of ) 2004. I've tried to do a mix and include different wrestlers, but as I mentioned not all of the photos were that great, so if you're looking for someone specific you may not see them-this wasn't intentional...again, in 2004...I wasn't that good. 

View the gallery here.

I'll be joining the con family again next weekend at the Mad Monster Expo in Charlotte, NC. It's a great horror convention and is where I reconnected with Tre & Mitchell from Mitchell's Mess & More. They usually have a rassler or two also. This year: The Honky Tonk Man, Killer (Karrion) Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux, and Saraya.

Further Reading: 

https://midatlanticwrestling.net/andersons/abc/2004_abc1/abc1.htm

https://witnesstheevolution.com/

https://jimmyvaliant.weebly.com/

https://madmonster.com/expo-2025/

https://scaresthatcare.org/