Takedown Report

2019 WIN Journalist of the Year Justin Hoch looks for more than fire inside wrestlers

By Mike Finn
In meeting the photographer who created the “The Fire Inside” project — an extremely up-close and intense group of portraits of at least 1,800 people who are currently associated with the sport of wrestling — one might think Justin Hoch was an angry person. But when countless people actually meet this resident of New York City, they actually realize that Hoch is one of the nicer, more inquisitive people who is trying to promote the sport with his unique photography. “I want (the project) to be a representation of the intensity of the sport and what it creates within people,” said Hoch. “When you see one of these portraits, it tells you something about that individual. And when you see a collection of all of those things, it starts to paint a picture of what the wrestling community is.”

But Hoch also sees something richer in these images that he believes also can impact people not associated with wrestling. “Sometimes I think we lose sight of what the particular valuable things are,” he said. “It’s a good reminder to know how cool it is and feel good to be part of it. It’s also important for non-wrestlers because it can tell the story about wrestling that they don’t know. They will learn wrestlers’ stories and what the sport did for those people and how those people are giving back to the wrestling community.” Hoch’s “The Fire Inside” project, which fans can find on-line — http://www.jhoch.com/the-fire-inside/— is also displayed at many national wrestling tournaments. For the creative project and years shooting wrestling at all levels, the 38-year-old photographer has been named WIN’s 2019 Journalist of the Year. Rest of the story, photo and a list of previous winners of this award at https://www.win-magazine.com/2019/05/hoch-named-2019-win-journalist-of-the-year/?mc_cid=5cf27f4634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

June 2, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized