Meet Nick Gossert | Lucha Libre & Laughs booker and promoter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Gossert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honestly, there wasn’t much of a thought process at all until it was too late! Lucha Libre & Laughs was intended as a one off show to raise funds for a movie that was never made. The very first show in 2013 was successful and fun enough that we wanted to do it again, and again, and again. Soon it became successful enough to be the albatross around my neck that I can never escape. A growing audience meant a growing revenue, which led to the need for an LLC and filing taxes on one hand; but on the other was the artistic freedom to grow the product with bigger stars and fine tuning the presentation for the audience. Most success means more work, but more work means opportunities for more success.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Success is born from failure. I had been involved in numerous comedy and film related projects that fell apart due to unrealistic planning, not understanding finance, not understanding the marketing side of things, or group members fighting among each other, quitting, and derailing the project. So when I started this show I waited to pull the trigger until we had a sponsor (Tecate weirdly believed in this fledgling show concept), found the right venue (the Oriental Theater), and booked funny friends that I knew were easy to work with (Nathan Lund and Sam Tallent). I wish I could give myself credit for somehow knowing everything would click, but a lot of it was luck and the right people being in the right place as I dreamed up this silly show. We put on our first show layering lucha libre style pro wrestling, stand up comedy, and a surf rock band. It drew about 100 paying customers which was enough to make it a success (Oh how the times have changed there!)
With the second show the musical segments were cut, and after a few events the high level local pro-wrestlers showed interest in performing, now that this goofy outsider had proven his ability to draw a crowd with wrestling.
Within a year it became big enough to justify flying in a star to main event. The bigger crowds allowed me to bring in more stars, and today LLL will feature up to half a dozen of independent wrestling’s biggest stars, with talent from London to Tokyo knowing that this is the place to perform in Colorado.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is one of the joys of bringing in talent from out of town, because I get to show off my favorite spots in the area. McCoy’s on Federal has become the de facto place to gather for lunch before LLL shows. It’s a perfect throwback diner. Sadly it’s no longer open twenty four hours a day, so the post-show dinners are a thing of the past. Many wrestlers are comic book nerds as well, so a trip to Mile High Comics on Jason street is a must. The place practically doubles as a museum with it’s golden and silver age comics. It’s also the home of New Era pro wrestling, which is a fun family friendly wrestling show for the fans with kids and G rated sensibilities.
I love bringing people to the Oriental Theater. Wrestling shows tend to be in rec centers, elks lodges, etc. So to see performer’s eyes light up when they see this beautiful, almost a century old theater makes me remember how special it is.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The entire history of professional wrestling, both good and bad, and my wife who has had the patience to deal with this crazy world being dropped into her living room several times a year.

Instagram: @lucha.libre.laughs

Twitter: @luchaLibreLaughs

Facebook: facebook.com/LuchaLibreLaughs

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/luchalibrelaughs

Image Credits
Geoff Decker at Hidden Vision Photography