Sebastian pins down his dream job after landing YouTube wrestling role

A University of Northampton graduate who has had a life-long love affair with wrestling has landed his dream job.

Sebastian Gabor was first captivated by WWE professional wrestling when he was a schoolboy, in his native Romania.

Having never missed a WWE television show for 11 years, Sebastian can now claim to be part of the action he loves, after securing a much-coveted role with YouTube wrestling channel, Wrestlelamia, which regularly attracts millions of viewers.

Sebastian, who graduated from his Media Production and Moving Image/Film and Screen Studies joint-honours course in 2018, was appointed Wrestlelamia video editor and graphic designer in February.

And, within his first six months he’s produced more than 50 videos which have racked up a rather impressive 25m views combined.

“When I first came across WWE, I was nine and watching a storyline about John Cena getting stabbed in a nightclub,” said Sebastian. “And of course, all the YouTube clips of the Undertaker and Rey Mysterio blew my mind as a child and got me hooked.

“The fact that I later found out it was staged made me even more intrigued – as around that time I was into theatre as well.

“As time went on, it just became something comforting to watch and escape in the silliness of it all. But, I am always astounded by are the video-packages WWE puts together. They are such well edited mini-stories that, just for a couple of minutes, your imagination races and you suspend your disbelief instantly.”

Sebastian as a wrestling-mad schoolboy.

Sebastian’s unbridled love for the genre – and a professional showreel he’d put together to help him in his job hunt – saw him land his dream position at Wrestlelamia.

He said: “I spent a good few weeks on my showreel, condensing about six hours of material into just two minutes. And I’m glad I did, because all the employers that got back to me when I was applying for positions were impressed and inquisitive about my work.

“I must have spent about two months applying for every media-related job I could find across the UK – and then I came across an ad that got my attention from the first three words: video editor wrestling.

“I read the advert about five or six times to make sure I wasn’t misreading it in some way, as it was a too-good-too-be-true moment. The cover letter wrote itself, and I even had my brother read it through, to make sure I wasn’t coming across too overly excited about it.

“It was only after I got a reply back, inviting me for an interview, that I started looking into the company itself, but couldn’t figure out much. However, as soon as we sat down for the interview, I recognised the employer’s voice, because I had been watching his videos for the past five years on his Wrestlelamia YouTube channel. Needless to say, I was a bit starstruck, but I played it cool. I was told my showreel was something that made me stand out from the other applicants and the rest is history.”

Sebastian with WWE,wrestler Rey Mysterio, and trying on a belt for size.

Wrestlelamia runs news about the sport, plus top facts and mini documentaries, with all videos created from existing digital material, including photos, videos and tweets.

Sebastian said: “Once the editing starts, the creativity takes over. I find it incredibly rewarding creating everything from scratch, stitching together moments, finding new ways to add meaning and entertainment.”