Accidents happen all the time in everyday life. Oftentimes, those moments are viewed as singular failures. Few, however, produce an outcome that leads to something better. For Chris Van Vliet, he never thought his interest in wrestling would lead to the level of national success it has reached. It all happened by accident.
“2007, I was at MTV2 Canada in Vancouver, and I saw that WWE was coming to town soon. I asked my boss if we could interview a WWE superstar. It blew my mind that they said yes. I was going to get paid to do it,” explained Van Vliet. “It was the merging of two things I’m super passionate about. Broadcasting and wrestling.”
A simple request led to an opportunity for Van Vliet and began a journey he couldn’t have predicted. A one-off interview in Vancouver set the foundation for him to build a nationwide platform for in-depth interviews with stars in sports entertainment.
“I was taking those interviews with wrestlers at the time and putting them on my YouTube channel. I wanted people to see these interviews that maybe we’re watching that local television station at the time,” explained Van Vliet. “It’s kind of a digital library. That’s how this all began.”
Growth Not By Accident
Van Vliet’s platform has become a dominant force in the wrestling media landscape. Supported by a loyal following, Insight with Chris Van Vliet ranks among the top wrestling podcasts in the world and consistently appears among leading sports and entertainment shows on Apple and Spotify. His YouTube channels (CVV Clips, Chris Van Vliet) boast nearly two million subscribers and more than 2.8 billion views.
Van Vliet credits the growth of his content to consistency. For years, he balanced his passion with a traditional career, then navigated the challenges of becoming an independent creator.
“When I decided to pick certain days to put out new episodes, that’s when everything changed,” notes Van Vliet. “That was the biggest thing knowing that if I would show up on certain days, the audience would start to show up as well.”
Consistency also builds familiarity. As wrestling fandom has grown more passionate, clips from Van Vliet’s interviews frequently circulate across social media. His experience in radio and television helped him develop the skill set needed to build his brand from within.
Over time, he has earned the trust of guests by delivering interviews rooted in depth and strong storytelling.
“I’ve have been bootstrapping this for a long time. It’s really been over the last three years that I invested in equipment and started renting studios to make this look better,” explained Van Vliet. “At the core of all of this is the conversation. The storytelling, and that will always be the focus. But for me, I wanted it to look good and be something that someone would want to have on their television. People are watching YouTube more on their television than they ever have.”
The Art Of The Interview
The conversations Van Vliet conducts are exactly that—conversations. They offer perspective, insight, and depth. Rather than focusing on headlines, he emphasizes the journey behind the story. He describes his interviews as “reverse engineering success,” studying those at the top of the wrestling industry and applying those lessons to his own life while sharing them with his audience.
“I want to do these conversations always in person. If someone is willing to say yes, I will do whatever it takes to sit down with them because it’s such a different vibe,” says Van Vliet. “It just deepens the conversation. If that makes the conversation just one percent better, it’s worth it.”
His approach is not to interrogate or chase headlines with hot takes. Instead, Van Vliet prioritizes evergreen interviews—conversations that remain meaningful years after they are recorded.
“I relate to what Marshall McLuhan once said. The medium is the message,” says Van Vliet. “You need to keep that in mind with the type of content you’re creating. There’s a life cycle on it. If I’m going to put something on YouTube that might get suggested as a recommended video months from now. I want the viewer to click on that and not be disappointed.”
Choosing guests is simple for Van Vliet. He interviews people he genuinely wants to talk with and share a moment of conversation. He admits he constantly fills his phone’s notes app with potential ideas and questions for future interviews.
Once a guest is secured, Van Vliet works closely with his team, including writer Alex Hunt. They dive into the research. Uncovering moments from a wrestler’s career that may not have been discussed before, and craft questions to guide the conversation.
“I write down bullet points of the topics I want to cover, but I’m never married to the topic order,” notes Van Vliet. “The most important thing any interviewer is listen. Larry King once said, ‘I never learned anything while I was talking.’ It doesn’t make sense to ask a question and not be present and listen to the response. Sometimes that doesn’t happen in interviews.”
Wrestling Shaped As Sports
Professional wrestling is scripted entertainment at its core. Because of that, Van Vliet notes there are times when guests request certain topics be avoided due to ongoing storylines. In some cases, quotes from his interviews have even been incorporated into storylines themselves.
Van Vliet says he enjoys the current era of wrestling, where everything counts—from behind-the-scenes access to late-night talk show appearances. Every moment, across every medium, helps draw fans deeper into the story.
As his platform continues to grow, Van Vliet believes there is still room for more voices. He applauds companies like WWE for expanding into podcasting, including partnerships with Fanatics to launch new content platforms. The demand for wrestling content remains at an all-time high.
Yet, traditional sports radio often continues to overlook the popularity of the medium.
“Wrestling in general doesn’t get treated on the same level as sports. I understand that one is a sport, and one is a television program. Especially when you’re leading up to a big event in wrestling. It feels like it should be something that’s discussed,” says Van Vliet. “It’s a white space that a lot of these radio stations are missing out on.”
WrestleMania On Cable
Later this month, WWE will produce its 42nd WrestleMania in Las Vegas, a two-night event showcasing the best the company has to offer in a Super Bowl–esque presentation.
This year, WWE and ESPN have agreed to air the first hour of WrestleMania on both nights—ESPN2 on Saturday and ESPN on Sunday. It marks the first time WWE’s premier event will air on basic cable. The goal is to drive viewers to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform for the remainder of the event through subscriptions.
“I’m curious to see what the conversation rate is. How many people are going to watch the first hour and then subscribe to the ESPN app to watch the rest,” said Van Vliet. “I’m also curious to see what the viewership is going to be, because I think it’s going to be big. There’s going to be a lot of people watching that.”
Van Vliet calls the move an “interesting test,” noting that wrestling thrives on nostalgia. Placing WrestleMania on ESPN could attract new fans while reconnecting with those who drifted away from the product.
In an industry built on larger-than-life personas and scripted outcomes, Chris Van Vliet has carved out something real. What began as a chance assignment in Vancouver has evolved into a platform rooted in curiosity, preparation, and authenticity—a space where the stories behind the spectacle matter just as much as the spectacle itself.
The “accident” that started it all was never truly an accident. It was preparation meeting opportunity, fueled by a genuine passion for storytelling and professional wrestling.
As wrestling continues to expand across platforms and audiences, voices like Van Vliet’s are not just contributing to the conversation—they are helping define it. By choosing depth over noise and longevity over immediacy, he is proving there is still room for meaningful storytelling in a fast-moving digital world.
For Van Vliet, the mission remains simple: keep showing up, keep listening, and keep telling stories.
Because sometimes, the most impactful journeys do not begin with a grand plan—they begin with a simple yes.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
