Next in Dollamur’s news series to get you further acquainted with our mats and our customers, we’ve spoken with Carlos Arroliga, Wynwood Wrestling’s marketing and social media manager. We asked about the team and Carlos was happy to tell us all about the coaches, Samuel Mercado, Luis Mercado and Arnol Arroliga, and their treasurer Katherine Felipe, and all they do to make Wynwood a successful team! “Starting in 2016, our team opened Wynwood Wrestling in the hopes of building a program specifically for the kids of inner city neighborhoods in Miami, FL. As the life in Miami is not always easy, and after school/extracurricular activities are oftentimes a luxury for the few, we created this program free of cost to parents in order to help youth stay of the streets. When we first started we didn’t know exactly where to begin but eventually with time, we turned our dream into reality. Starting with about 15 kids in one small 15 by 50 room, we soon had to move into a larger space as demand for our program grew. As it became difficult to afford rent, we decided to partner with the City of Miami. The city was able to offer us a location at Roberto Clemente Park from 2017-2018. However, even with that generosity, fighting to keep our program free was not easy. It was a constant challenge for us to acquire funding and we had to continually work hard to hold fundraisers just to pay for tournaments. We even asked former wrestlers to donate their old shoes for kids that couldn’t afford them. Unable to buy uniforms for the entire program, our kids would regularly wrestle in shorts and t-shirts. With some parents buying tights for their own kids, many went without basic wrestling gear. Despite this roller coaster of support and funding, our team never lost the enthusiasm for this sport and the passion to move forward. Our biggest goal was to purchase new mats for the kids. To inspire hope and the desire to dream big, we worked hard to buy our Dollamur mats. As 4 young men with regular jobs, spearheading this program was not easy, but with a sense of responsibility to our community, we could not give up on the kids because they depend on us. In 2019 we partnered with the Miami Police Department and moved into a tougher neighborhood between Overtown and Wynwood. We’ve built our program up and now charge a small yearly fee of one hundred dollars. The fee covers brand new shoes and uniforms, as well as tournament and insurance costs. In addition we provide scholarships to those who are unable to afford it. In the past 4 years our program has grown immensely and our 2020 goal is to get our own building for younger kids on the first floor and older kids on the second. Throughout the years we have learned that dreams are not always easy to attain but they are always possible. So why did we pick Dollamur? With the best mats in the game, it’s a simple choice. We want our kids to excel in this sport and in the rest of their lives so we work hard to provide them with a solid foundation and that includes first rate equipment. We now receive requests from other schools and programs to borrow our mats for tournaments and events because they are some of the best around. We are incredibly proud of our mats and grateful for the opportunity to have them. To learn more about us and our program, please visit our website at www.wynwoodwrestling.org.” Get quote on your customized Dollamur Wrestling Mats here.