While tailing a black Buick out to a Selah home near the Yakima Training Center to photograph an organized backyard fight, I couldn’t believe Yakima Herald-Republic writer Pat Muir and I had been given access to what appeared to be a semi-seedy, underground fight community.
There was a sense of secrecy around the location of the fight, the details were shady and I think both Pat and I felt like we could potentially be getting ourselves into a situation that could be difficult to get out of should something go awry.
However, as more time was spent with fighters “Vengeance” and “Nasty Rob” and the rest of the spotty cast, the more everyone relaxed. By the end of the day, the big question I kept coming back to was “what makes a person want to do this?” There’s no money involved, no belt or trophy and seemingly little glory
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“It’s a huge rush” Vengeance said in a recorded interview with Pat. “You could probably compare it to being thrown off a plane… it’s exciting, there’s no feeling like it.” I guess I found my answer.
–Kris Holland
