The Sumotalk Team Through the Years
The concept of a website like Sumotalk grew like wildfire after its inception, especially because the ability to stream sumo bouts from the hon-basho on the internet wouldn't become prevalent until over a decade later.
Fans from the around the world quickly gravitated to the site, and it made sense to add more contributors from different countries to assist the two original writers, Mike and Kenji. Writers would come and go over the years, and each person brought their uniquie perspective that helped create a fabric and culture unlike any other sports blog out there.
In 2016, the Sumo Association made the decision that it needed Japanese wrestlers to start winning tournaments again after a drought of 10 years. Shortly after, the Association made the decision to start promoting Japanese rikishi to the Yokozuna rank again, and all of this was orchrestrated through heavy bout fixing. While Japanese fans were excited at the new changes, some foreign fans began to lose interest, and that trend carried over to writers for Sumotalk as well.
Navigating the course of heavy yaocho (bout fixing) in sumo is a very difficult task, and so Mike is now the last man standing shouldering the load as time allows.
Former Contributors
Kenji was a site co-founder and the impetus needed to evolve Sumotalk into the format it adopted early on and largely still maintains today. Kenji is from Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and currently resides in the Midwest. Ironically, Kenji and Mike talk more about running these days than they do sumo.
Simon was instrumental in the early stages of Sumotalk by filling in for Kenji when his schedule no longer allowed regular contributions. Simon was easily the best writer in the history of Sumotalk, and he kept us grounded when we began straying from the original concept of the site. Simon is also a legend for more than just his writing (IYKYK).
Clancy had Mike at hello in his first ever email to the site. He was invited to contribute to Sumotalk on the spot, and he guided the site to creative levels that had never been considered before. When Clancy was at his peak, Sumotalk was at its peak in terms of overall hits and monthly unique readers.
It's not everyday that you hear from one of Alice Cooper's iconic lead guitarists. To put it in Kane's words, "I was touring in Japan and turned on sumo and watched Asashoryu fight and said to myself, 'Dayum! Now THAT'S a rockstar!'" Kane's creative contributions and Sumotalk memes were second to none, and you can still find him creating music and touring with Alice periodically today. RTFO!!
Writing for Sumotalk became difficult as bout fixing took more and more precedence. As writers began to drop, Harvye filled in and shouldered a lion's share of the work alongside Mike for a good chunk of Sumotalk's history.
Where Clancy took the site to new creative levels in his writing, Mark took it to new levels with the pictures he used in his reporting. Mark likely invented memes before memes even existed, and some of the stuff he posted caused Mike to see his Bishop and repent nearly on a weekly basis.
Don was instrumental in introducing Sumotalk to the podcast world. A former professional wrestler himself, Don always appreciated hand to hand combat, which also sparked his interest in sumo wrestling. You can still find Don today providing commentary for MMA bouts across Europe.
Martin was the youngest contributor in the history of Sumotalk, and his English was better than everyone's but Simon...which is ironic because Martin hails from Romania. Martin was a solid European contributor during the height of Sumotalk.
With the emergence of the Estonian rikishi, Baruto, it made sense to also have a contributor to Sumotalk from Estonia. Working for CERN, Mario eventually outgrew the juvenile nature of Sumotalk and turned to politics.
Like Kane, George was drawn to sumo wrestling with the emergence of Asashoryu. Hailing from Boston, George was Sumotalk's northeastern representation, and he was also the first contributor to Sumotalk who was spotted wearing a suit and tie.
Andreas was another European contributor whose writing was so stern you felt as if you needed to go sit in a corner after reading his reports.
Justin was a latecomer to Sumotalk as a contributor, but he was an instrumental piece in keeping the site going as many of the original gang began to wane.
Bernie could stir the sh*t better than anyone, and his claim to fame was defending the tachi-ai henka when Mike would rant about it frequently.
Oscar represented Spain and had a great sense of humor. His tenure at Sumotalk was shorter than most, but you always looked forward to reading his reports.
This can't be the same Matt Walsh who grew a beard and now contributes to Daily Wire can it?
If ya know ya know.