Vancouver Magazine
Care to travel the world, one plate at time? Visit Kamloops.
Flaky, Fluffy and Freaking Delicious: Vancouver’s Top Fry Bread and Bannock
The Best Gelato in Canada Was Made in a Hotel Room (and You Can Get it Now in Kitsilano)
Wine Collab of the Week: The Best Bottle to Welcome a Vancouver Spring
Naked Malt Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Celebrates Versatility and Spirit
A $13 Wine You Can Age in Your Cellar
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (March 20-26)
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (March 13-19)
Looking for a Hobby? Here’s 8 Places in Vancouver You Can Pick Up a New Skill
What It’s Like to Get Lost on a Run With a Pro Trail Runner
8 Things to Do in Abbotsford (Even If It’s Pouring Rain)
Explore the Rockies by Rail with Rocky Mountaineer
4 Fashion Designers From African Fashion Week Vancouver to Put on Your Radar
The Future of Beauty: How One Medical Aesthetics Clinic is Changing the Game
Before Hibernation Season Ends: A Round-Up of the Coziest Shopping Picks
The city’s Elite Canadian Championship (ECCW)Wrestling league may have launched the careers of WWE stars like the Bollywood Boys with their monthly sellout shows, but ECCW’s training classes give the wrestling-curious the chance to practice body-slamming their way into spandex-clad glory. That includes Carina Piccioni, a 37-year-old art teacher, who started training on the ropes two years ago and now sometimes even climbs into the ring (though usually only to wind up getting kicked in the head).
“I was five feet tall and barely knew who Hulk Hogan was, but I went to tryouts just to see—it was a bit of an early mid-life crisis. There was this gauntlet of squats and push-ups, and I made it through. I was impressed with myself—and really sore.
“Since then, it’s been a big learning curve; there are so many unspoken rules, codes and secret handshakes. You have to be insanely fit, too. I’ve been doing it two years and I’m still not quite ready. I’ve been a referee and sold T-shirts, and I’ve only interacted in the show two or three times so far—I ended up getting squashed. It’s a thing they do with little guys to make other characters look ferocious. But the whole throwing-you-around part? I’m totally fine. My character is this plucky indie rock guy. It’s kind of like a drag queen identity: you take your character from your personality and amplify it.”