Under the dimmed lights of pink lamps, over three hundred people gathered in a Brooklyn warehouse on Valentine’s Day. But unlike typical singles mixers, attendees didn’t merely go up to one another and introduce themselves. After a few rounds of good conversation, they got the chance to wrestle.
Organized by Grownkid, a popular social club with nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram, the wrestling speed dating event on Saturday night garnered attention on social media ahead of Valentine’s Day and focused on connecting Gen Z through play. Catering to 18-24 year olds, Grownkid aims to help young adults develop their social skills by increasing human interaction and connection through weekly events. After hosting a series of similar activities like tai-chi in the park and a boxing event titled “fight your evil situationship rave” in Los Angeles, founders Gael Aitor and Kayla Suarez moved their operation to New York City and started off strong with the viral wrestling mixer.
“Our singular role is, ‘Did we help people make more connections, and did we give them the skills to make an informed community in their own lives?’” Aitor told WSN. “We specifically wanted to target this demographic because it’s such an awkward transition.”
Attendees could either buy a standby ticket if they wanted to simply mingle with other guests or a wrestler ticket for the opportunity to put on headgear and go head-to-head on the mat. Eventually, those with standby tickets had the chance to get in the ring, sign a flurry of consent forms and try to pin someone down.
CAS alum Carter Fein, who graduated from NYU last year, decided to attend after flying into New York a few days prior. With years of training in jiu-jitsu, Fein not only felt well prepared for the opportunity to wrestle but also to find a meaningful connection.
“I kind of just put it in my head that if I’m interacting with people past today, that’s a blessing,” Fein said in an interview with WSN. “I could get my ass kicked, but at the end of the day what I’m gonna do is have fun. I’m gonna go find other people.”
Before wrestling, attendees first had to meet a fellow participant and decide to get into the ring together. As the social manifesto, which everyone was expected to sign when they entered the venue, states: Attendees should “find any excuse to talk to someone” because “connection thrives on small risks.”
Fein came with his friends, including fellow NYU alum Luiz Campos. After participating in a jiu-jitsu event earlier that day, Campos came to the mixer with the intention to wrestle — but the concept of mixing the sport with a dating event further piqued his interest. Campos was one of many who were able to find a connection at the event, and even took the chance to wrestle her in the ring.
“I feel like technology is a barrier now to relationships, whereas back in my parents’ generation, people would go out and meet each other more frequently,” Campos told WSN. “This event’s also awesome because you’re encouraged to really not be on your phone and actually go up to people and talk. And that’s something that I don’t think I’ve ever actually really done.”
For young adults like Tisch senior Lydia Zhou, who was working at the event, the unique speed dating format served as a positive moment in a relatively bleak time.
“I think that there’s a loss of community around us, and things that are fun like this can really get people excited about things again,” Zhou said. “I think that we’re not all excited about anything in this state of this world.”
As the night went on, attendees circled around the ring to cheer on the fighters while small pockets of people conversed among themselves. The sound of flesh smacking mats echoed throughout the room as music and the occasional announcer one-liner underscored the festivities.
By the time the last round was called three hours after the event began, attendees were still crowded at the mat entrance for a chance to wrestle. Some, like Lucy Mauries, a 22-year-old product design student at the Parsons School of Design, wrestled multiple times. Mauries was only able to hit the ring three times before being cut off, though she had signed up for seven matches. Despite being in a relationship, Mauries used the event as an opportunity to meet new people.
“I think that events like this let people have the same environment that going to a bar and meeting people would have,” Mauries told WSN. “There are very few places left that are like that in the world and this was literally made for that.”
As the night came to an end, Aitor got on the microphone to thank those remaining as some stragglers stayed behind to speak to one another, while two men held each other close up against the wall.
“Every single event will be something different, and the one thing you can count on is consistency,” Aitor told WSN. “It will be a consistent event every week — always something unexpected, but always something valuable and centered around connection.”
Contact Jason Alpert-Wisnia at [email protected]