The Angry Fish Athletic Club is a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 2001 by Ty Moore and Ray Brinzer, while most of the real work was done by Linda Moore, Ty’s wife. Many of its alumni have gone on to accomplish remarkable things, like world silver medalist Jake Herbert, Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott, Bellator Champion Phil Davis, and NCAA Champion Matt Hill.
While best known as the Angry Fish Wrestling Club, Ty and Ray chose to incorporate as an “Athletic Club” because their vision was bigger than wrestling1. An Angry Fish understands that hard work and fun are fully compatible, and that humor, friendship, and adventure make life’s struggles worthwhile. We’re proud of our most successful athletes, but they aren’t the only ones who have remained close friends decades later.
Today’s Angry Fish is heavily influenced by Ray’s later work with Beat the Streets, in New York City, which has changed the lives of many talented kids from tough neighborhoods. Wrestlers in the city of Pittsburgh have as much heart as their counterparts out in the suburbs, who have been among the best in the nation for decades; they just need opportunity. The Angry Fish plan to fill that gap, while helping strengthen the wrestling culture of the whole area.
The name “Angry Fish”, by the way, is a wrestling insider’s joke. “Fish” has long been slang for a bad wrestler; one who flops around on the mat. An Angry Fish, then, would be someone who wasn’t very good, but was happy about it, and had no intention of staying that way. As it turns out, people who take that attitude seem get better quickly.
- Angry Fish Judo hasn’t happened yet, but it’s our destiny. And jiu-jitsu. Maybe boxing. We like shooting stuff, too. ↩︎