Story Flashback: The rise of EFFY, a gay pro wrestler who overcame the odds — and slurs — to craft a lucrative personal brand

Photo provided by EFFY. Photographer: Nick Karp

One of my earliest loves in life has been professional wrestling. Well before cannabis, horror movies and even dogs, there was pro wrestling. I started as a fan around 5 when I saw Ricky the Dragon Steamboat blow fire from the corner during his WCW entrances. Aside from a few years off here and there, I've never looked back.

Even during periods when school kids would make fun of you for liking the scripted sport, I always watched along. With scant invitations from friends during high school, I could easily watch along on Mondays, Thursdays and most other nights. Often, those times were done alone, definitely not telling anyone else because I feared being made fun of even more for the things I loved. This sounds tragically sad, and in a way, it is. But I loved it.

I wish I had wrestling characters like EFFY when I was growing up. Whether LGBTQ or not, EFFY embodies an inspiring, educated, don't give a fuck approach to business that works, wrestling or beyond.

EFFY, aka Taylor's, ability to transcend internal struggles and emerge as one of wrestling's most marketable personalities is incredible. The feat is that much more impressive when considering he chose to do what few have done before him: shunning any interest from major companies to stay independent and control the brand as he sees fit.

Wrestling is much like cannabis in that everyone has an opinion. For everyone who loves EFFY, or a particular cultivar, there is someone who is going to shoot it down. Cannabis seems to have a strong streak of not caring about detractors' opinions. That isn't so much the case in wrestling, but it is with EFFY. I and many others admire Taylor's ability to stick to who he is. Through that ability, and clever marketing, he's connected with an array of fans--even if they aren't the kind of person you might expect to be shouting "Daddy" at a man in fishnets and a pink spiked leather jacket.

I was a bit surprised that Insider approved this article pitch in late summer 2021. I worried that the publication would find this subject and story too niche for coverage. Thankfully that was not the case, and EFFY was on board soon after I got the green light. We got to chat for about an hour for this interview, taking place in Queens, New York in September 2021 just before the latest GCW show came to town.

And true to wrestling form, EFFY did not tell me he would soon be dethroning Matt Cardona for the internet championship title. That omission allowed me to "pop" along with all the other surprised fans in attendance that evening.

Published in December 2021, EFFY's Insider profile is one of my favorites despite little to no cannabis coverage making it to press. When I recently turned down a career altering opportunity with a major cannabis publication, I re-read this story to re-affirm my decision. I usually wouldn't big up my own work like that, but hey, a cannabis copywriter's gotta do it sometimes, right?

Read my full article on EFFY (Dec. 2021) at Insider