Q: What motivated you to start the Pin Cancer Campaign?

A: There are a few motivating factors that pushed me to start Pin Cancer. The first was our sister organization Red Card Cancer, which is affiliated with the soccer community. Jared Ferreira showed me what they were doing and I thought maybe we could pull it off in the wrestling world as well. The other was my mother. After she was diagnosed that’s when I really started the push to get Pin Cancer off the ground. Seeing what she has to go through first hand and knowing that there are so many other cases like it out there is motivation on it’s own.

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Q: How and why did you come up with your Pledge Program?

A: When we started the organization we really wanted to get people involved in a “hands on” way. We didn’t want to just ask for flat donations so we came up with the Pledge Program which allows wrestlers to collect sponsors which pledge to donated a dollar amount of their choice for ever win, pin or takedown that wrestler records. I guess you can kind of say it’s like a walk or run for a charity. But instead of walking or running, we are wrestling. We thought it was a great idea to get not only the wrestlers involved, but their fans as well. It has really taken off in the past year!

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Q: What are some other ways wrestlers or teams can get involved?

A: There is really no holds bar when it comes to getting involved. Host an event, set up a table, pledge or just spread the word! This isn’t my organization, it’s theirs. It’s for the people fighting for their lives and the wrestlers who are trying to make a difference. I’m extremely pleased with the support we have seen over the past two years.

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Q: Has Pin Cancer hit the national stage yet?

A: I think we can officially say we are nationwide yes. We get a lot of online orders and support from all over the U.S. It was fun to check off the states we hit as we went along. I just recently sent a shirt order to Alaska.

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Q: Does Pin Cancer have any big partners or sponsors yet?

A: Well we consider every wrestler and team that gets involved a partner of Pin Cancer. Right now we are partnered with a handful of cancer research centers, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We are looking to expand on that this year. Recently we teamed up with Takedown Sportswear as our official gear sponsor.

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Q: What are your plans for Pin Cancer in the future?

A: Right now we are looking to create an internship for wrestlers looking to gain some experience on how to run a non profit (or the business end of it.) They may think it’s easy but it is a lot of work. Between trademarks, lawyers, board of directors, the website & gear designs, incorporating ourselves, filing for non profit status, it was all done by us and I want to share that knowledge. Our main goal is obviously to grow the cause and continue to help make a difference in the fight against cancer. Expand and continue the mission!