An Interview with Asperger Dynamo
The following are excerpts from an interview with the wrestler Asperger Dynamo. This interview took place prior to the "We Can Be Heroes Charity Wrestling Extravaganza" event we co-organized with Battle Arts' Academy in support of Holland Bloorview Capes for Kids and Rising Stars 2.0. Some of the content has been edited for brevity.
Yianni Kioussis a.k.a. Asperger Dynamo is a 6-year Pro Wrestler and an underdog. He was diagnosed at an early age with Asperger's and Epilepsy and is looking to inspire people with limitations of any kind
Quillsoft: What is your name and what is your name in the ring?
Dynamo: My in-ring name has two different personalities if you will. Asperger Dynamo is my main one and that one involves being the Spartan underdog, helping anyone with any kind of disability and showing them that they can break boundaries. The other one is Slasher: The Demon God and is a sort of unhinged, demonic wrestler that does whatever he wants. But, my real name is Yianni Kioussis and I'm just a small-town Ontario boy.
What is the importance of communication to your role as a wrestler, be that inside the ring or out?
Communication means everything. When you're in the ring, you've got to trust your opponent. You should never be like "Oh, I'm not doing that. I'm not going to work with this guy." Everyone deserves a fair opportunity. Nobody with any difference should ever be held back.
As far as daily life is concerned, communication is important. It's important when you're going to your job and you feel underappreciated by your boss and you want to vent your frustration in a civil manner. As long as you do it civilly, you need to communicate.
I had a spirit guide in college, I had a guy who was my counsellor in college because I felt like I didn't belong there. He and I ended up becoming good buddies and now we're closer than ever. He motivates me, I'll motivate him. I'm helping him lose weight through encouragement, he's helping me in terms of getting through life.
I do believe in all aspects, in wrestling and in real life, it's all about being civil, and being open. You shouldn't be afraid to be like 'I feel a certain way about my current position, is there something we could do to accommodate and make it better?' In terms of being in the ring, you can talk and say "I feel like this didn't go well, maybe we can take some things out and test." In terms of match and creativity, you should be always able to pitch to somebody and be like 'Hey, this is something I think would be cool, what would you think about something like this?'
You always want to communicate. No matter what.
What do you think are the foundations of strong communication? Is it education? Knowledge of language? What does it mean to you?
I think it means everything. Obviously, education has a lot to do with it, but it's all aspects. In school, you find a course hard. That's fine. You communicate with the teacher and say 'Hey, can I get some extra help?'. I'm currently taking Radio Broadcasting and some of my classes are easy, and some of them are hard but I receive accommodations and get a safety net.
I believe in safety nets every single time because safety nets are a good blanket insurance policy. Let's say that all things are so busy that you can't get your assignments done when you want to. Ok, you let the Professor know ahead of time and they accommodate you. But to do so, you need to let them know ahead of time and communicate.
In all aspects of life, there are multiple factors at play for communication, not just education-wise, but if you blend everything up, you can make a nice "communication salad".
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Yianni can be found at https://www.instagram.com/aspiedynamo. To get merchandise for both Asperger Dynamo and Slasher: The Demon God, visit https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/dynamoa