LBy Thomas Whisenand ocated in a renovated commercial garage 20 minutes west of Minneapolis is Midwest Pro Wrestling, where grown men live out their childhood fantasies of being professional wrestlers.

Making at most $20 a night, they make their real living counseling children, driving trucks and going to school at universities across the Midwest. They spend countless hours training and hundreds of dollars developing their characters with elaborate costumes and makeup.

The wrestler’s bear pain and financial loss because they “love the pro wrestling business” said owner and wrestler Terry Klinger, also known as “The Sheriff.”

Klinger, along with fellow wrestler “Shifty,” started Midwest Pro Wrestling in 1999 hoping to create a place where others could live their dreams of becoming professional wrestlers.

This is a look inside the world of Midwest Pro Wrestling through the lens of a camera. It is a world where both wrestlers and fans gather together to participate in something they love: professional wrestling.

Thomas Whisenand welcomes comments at [email protected]