Designing YOUR Pro Wrestling Gear (w/ Mz. Yolanda)

A key element of making an impression in wrestling is the design of your gear. Getting the look right is essential, and it might not be a task that speaks to your personal skill set. So what do you do? You hire a designer like Mz. Yolanda! Not only is she a rising star of the US fashion industry right now, she is top designer for pro-wrestlers at every level. You've seen her work on WWE, AEW, NXT, ROH, Impact Wrestling and dozens more, and I sat down with her to talk about designing your pro wrestling gear, her methods, protocols and insights.
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[@TilWeMakeIt]

Thanks for watching - I hope you enjoyed it! 😃 Check out my Patreon @ www.patreon.com/tilwemakeit to support the creation of my KZbin videos, and gain access to tons of exclusive new content.

[@CyborIndustries]

"Stop being the Next Somebody and start being the First You." Quote to Live By.

[@RageCrazeGamer]

I always love designing gear in the game, great to see insight from such a pro!

[@TilWeMakeIt]

👍🏼

[@GimicksTV]

Thank you I appreciate that. One I day I'll give CAW, but amount of options would take me all year! LOL

[@DarkDuckGaming]

I'm loving these interviews man, these are super interesting and insightful

[@TilWeMakeIt]

I’m glad, thank you very much!

[@steelman774]

Words of wisdom: 8:56 “Stop being the Next someone, and start being the First you!” 😎

[@TilWeMakeIt]

Absolutely.

[@GimicksTV]

Yaaaaaaaaas!! This is a gem that you can use no matter what. :D

[@Brando-Lee3725]

Another great vid once again ! Also Yolanda seems cool as can be . I respect her skills and thinking process . You can tell she is not phoning it in , she wants what is best for the talent .

[@TilWeMakeIt]

Yes, she is fantastic and a total pro!

[@GimicksTV]

Hey Hey I appreciate you saying that, because I really do take this very seriously. And I must admit that I am cooler than a fan lol. (insert Scot Hall glide) lol

[@YBSalvo]

Hey, been watching alot of these videos recently because I applied to be a wrestler, missed the intake day by one day lol. Gotta wait till the next one. Plenty of time to binge watch these though!

[@TilWeMakeIt]

Nice! Where did you apply?

[@YBSalvo]

@@TilWeMakeIt The Asylum in Glasgow. I didn’t realise 16 year olds were allowed to apply until it was too late

[@TilWeMakeIt]

@@YBSalvo Oh! I had a few Glaswegians train with me earlier this year when I was in Newcastle. I wonder if it's the same bunch?

[@YBSalvo]

@@TilWeMakeIt It could well be, it’s the only training school i’ve heard of in Glasgow, and it’s heavily connected to ICW, a big UK indie promotion based in Scotland who have had Triple H appear before, so it could well have been guys from there

[@TilWeMakeIt]

@@YBSalvo It probably was then. Very nice guys, a real pleasure to share the ring with! I might be back in the Newcastle area again next year.

[@ShawnPhoenix]

Yknow, I wasn't planning on getting new gear anytime soon.. but now I've got the itch

[@TilWeMakeIt]

I know the feeling!

[@ShawnPhoenix]

@@TilWeMakeIt I think I'm sitting on 5 pairs of gear I've yet to wear.. I think it's a problem

[@TilWeMakeIt]

@@ShawnPhoenix WOAH. All the same color?

[@ShawnPhoenix]

@TilWeMakeIt usually I'm limited to the fire colors for my character, but then I realized other colors of fire exists. Also, while I have you, love to get your opinion on this, I am trying to get at least one of every style of gear. Trunks, tights, etc..all within the fire imagery, but my theory is one day I may be thrown into a tag team and we may not have matching gear, but we'll have matching gear style.

[@GimicksTV]

Awwwwww snap!!

[@kazwach0wsk1]

For me, the outfit would consist of strap on sandles, cargo shorts that go under the knees, a T-shirt, like a sleeper wrestler who doesn’t look like much until pushed over the edge and then start to kick ass.

[@zolomgenos5930]

Sounds like a dad fit

[@kazwach0wsk1]

@@zolomgenos5930 and when I drop the sandles?

[@GBTwelveSixteen]

Sounds like you're being quite a few dad characters that exist in wrestling such as The Stepdads, Phillip Cardigan, Dan The Dad. I'd think of something else if you're going with a dad gimmick.

[@zolomgenos5930]

@@kazwach0wsk1 if you're goin for a sleeper wrestler, id say a style similar to Orange Cassidy but not exactly. Jeans, Nikes or Adidas or just regular people shoes etc

[@GimicksTV]

I see a lot of good inspirations that you can use in these responses to craft your character. The strap on sandles is a hilarious visual, but for function you might have to switch to some dad sneakers.

[@JustinRoberge]

Just gonna come out and say it. “How dare you say ‘dope’ to me” popped me.

[@TilWeMakeIt]

🤣

[@GimicksTV]

Yeah that jawn was hilarious. LOL!!

[@ArielSamuel-z1y]

I think it's pretty good

[@Zarith190]

Hey Mike I was wondering if you can talk about mental health issues that can slow or stop your overall progression in training

[@TilWeMakeIt]

This is a topic that deserves to be explored, anything in particular you think I should look at?

[@Zarith190]

@@TilWeMakeIt adhd , dyslexia, bipolar depression, manic episodes and anxiety also Tourette’s both severe and mild

[@austinwinston684]

Tron: Legacy? I think you're the one guy who saw that movie.

[@TilWeMakeIt]

This is entirely possible!

[@Marathonschannel]

Can someone please make sure I’m not misunderstanding this but if no one bought the sole right to the design then it’s still her intellectual property?

[@GimicksTV]

You are correct!! BUT the pro wrestling business is built different. We independent designers and makers only and or mostly deal with contracted wrestlers. That is the conundrum well not really, but it is because it is not normalize in pro wrestling. That's why I never brought it up in 2008, but as time go on you realize that more than the wrestler and the company is making more money than you. You have to go hold up, wait a minute, something ain't right.

[@clintstephens870]

As a gear designer and maker that is high in the game, I can assure you that she is wrong about a lot of things. Mostly those contracts. They wouldn’t hold up.

[@GimicksTV]

Hey Hey Hey Clint, what's going on? For those who are reading this comment Clint is a very talented gear maker. Matter a fact he made one of my favorite gear designs for Drew Gulak which will be in the Kimmel Center. Please check out his gear at Sports Entertainment Gear. Now regarding your comment, to say that you can assure that I am wrong about a lot of things that I said in this interview is very inaccurate. Now if you want to disagree with me regarding the contracts that's fine. The idea is not normal in Pro Wrestling, but it is in a design profession. I know because I work in a Design industry where it has been normal for over 30-40 years. Also this year Randy Orton's tattoo artist has successfully won a lawsuit against WWE 2K22 publisher Take-Two Interactive for replicating her tattoo art in the game without her permission. Now I do think that a contract of some sort is not so far fetched. Look at how many outside artist and licensing companies WWE has worked with for the past 5 years or so. This also can apply to gear makers. Here is an example, but keep in mind this does not apply to a salary position. But this does apply if you are a contractor/freelancer or have your own company. So let's say you completely design and make a set of gear for $2,000. Then an Apparel Licensing company presents to said Wrestling company that they can make hoodies for X amount of profit and no hassle. They reach an agreement to use their license for said wrestlers' design to inspire them to make an allover hoodie. It will be sold for 1 year and make $50 off of every item. The total number of SKU's /styles is 5000. That means if they make 5000 hoodies at $50 a piece that licensing company just made $250,000. That maker or designer only made $2500 and they did all the work coming up with the design. After years in the game simply put That Math aint Mathing. The design is the blueprint. It is the start. I am not saying that these contracts will be overnight or even easy, but it is worth it to figure out how to take the right approach and initiation for change.

[@TilWeMakeIt]

@@GimicksTV Thanks for breaking this topic down into greater detail - this is great!

[@GimicksTV]

@@TilWeMakeIt You're so very welcome and glad that I got the opportunity too!