Local pro wrestling company Grapplemax rebrands; new venue features Japanese ring, high-impact mats, photo studio space
The company is now officially known as Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Studios.
After holding live shows and training out of a gymnastics centre’s premises for three years, local pro wrestling company Grapplemax has relocated to a larger and more specialised space.
Now officially branded as Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Studios, the company will operate out of its own facility in Ubi.
The new studio space is equipped with a wrestling ring in full-sized Japanese specifications, high-impact mats, professional sound-dampening, discussion areas, and photo and video production capabilities.
According to co-founder Greg Ho, the decision to shift out was a result of wanting to further the industry’s potential.
“I think the gap that we’re always trying to fill from day one is to have a place that could allow not just us, but any wrestling company to have more regular and professional looking events,” he told Youthopia.
He added that the new studio space will give opportunities for fans to attend more local wrestling shows and to allow the pro wrestlers to perform at a frequency which professionals do outside the country.
Citing full-time Japanese wrestlers who train and perform three to four times a day for five to six days a week, Greg said that the Singapore scene is “nowhere near that”.
“If we ever want to help the industry move towards a situation where we can really grow it, then this place is intended to unlock that potential,” he said.
Having their own space also means having more control over the content produced. This sentiment was shared by Remus Koh, who goes by his in-ring moniker of Wildfire Remus.
The 29-year-old with a background in video production is currently contributing his time and skillset to the company’s marketing efforts. He feels that the professional sound-dampening and lighting set-up would allow for higher production quality.
“I think (the new space) will really help (us) create more content on a consistent basis…I feel like consistency is key in marketing,” Remus said.
Fellow pro wrestler Christian Maranion, who has helped oversee the operations and renovation processes, envisioned for the new premise to be one that provides comfort for all of its users.
“Our previous location was large enough to house the ring but not necessarily a space that was convertible to our needs.
“Having a space dedicated to that aspect definitely improves our productivity and as a whole, a conducive environment dedicated specifically to our craft brings in an element of comfort for our community,” the 32-year-old Wrestle Square cruiserweight champion shared.
While the current “short to mid-term goal” for the company is to double or triple the number of wrestlers training with them, many within Grapplemax are hoping for wider collaboration across artforms in the longer term.
Shawn Phang, member of local wrestling tag team Aussie Aussie Aussie, is one who shares this vision.
“We (now) have the freedom to create many new events with stakeholders…not necessarily just (put on) a vanilla wrestling show.
“We are also looking to transform Singapore as an act of a regional powerhouse for professional wrestling within Southeast Asia as we grow and nurture our ever expanding local roster,” the 29-year-old said.
To facilitate this long term goal, changes have been made to the programmes and workshops offered at Grapplemax to focus more on performance, acting and stage presence.
These will in turn spotlight more of the showmanship that is “often associated” with bigger American-based companies like World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling.
Greg shared: “We’re hoping to then attract potential partners or people who are actors, people who are professionals in other industries beyond wrestling, but have similar sort of fundamental skills that we can learn.
“We hope to bring in people from other similar sorts of arts and small stunt teams to circus teams, (and figure out) how we then use that to help each other improve our respective arts.”
Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Studios is located at 55 Ubi Ave 1. Its next live event, titled Rolling, will be held on Aug 26. More details on upcoming events can be found on Grapplemax’s Facebook and Instagram.
