One Ring Circus (Extreme Wrestling in the Minor Leagues)

Disco Fury. Wrathchild. Bam-Bam Bambi. Ladies Choice. Gorgeous Michelle Starr. Welcome to the world of minor-league professional wrestling.

Over the years, professional wrestling has grown from a cult into one of the entertainment world’s most lucrative industries, creating megastars out of the likes of Chynna and The Rock. And for every superstar, there are hundreds of hopefuls across North America waiting in the wings, paying their dues and counting the days until they get the call to the big leagues.

One Ring Circus pays homage to the wrestling life: the sound and the fury and the die-hard fans who are often as colorful and outrageous as the wrestlers for whom they clamor. Photographer and author Brian Howell spent three years following the wrestling circuit, and this book of brilliant photographs and crisp narratives perfectly captures the visceral energy of a remarkable underground scene.

Includes more than one hundred black and white -photographs.

Brian Howell’s work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, the National Post, Saturday Night, and Geist and has been exhibited in New York City.

PHOTOGRAPHY + TEXT = PARALLAX

Parallax, a new series of books from Arsenal Pulp Press, explore the far reaches of the modern world, proposing new perspectives on how we see ourselves through the eyes and the words of our most intriguing photographers and writers.