Where Is He Now?

Barry has been working as an Account Executive with Management Resource Solutions (MRS) since the beginning of 2001. This company, based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, manages facilities and provides copying and printing services. I remember when he was trying to build a customer base, including the places I worked. Now he has so many, he is constantly driving around the Twin Cities doing business with his clients.

I have been working at the Robbinsdale Women's Center (RWC) on both a full and part time basis, and we are one of the businesses that Barry acquired for MRS's printing services. As Administrative Assistant at RWC, I was able to gradually send projects to Barry, and he gave us such consistently good prices that we began to do all of our printing with his company.

When Barry calls RWC and I answer, I always love to hear his unique greeting: "Cherylbarry!!!" (Which, translated, is "Cheryl... it's Barry!" but he is always in such an energetic and cheerful mood that he just runs words together - and what better greeting than using a new name like that?!) When I ask how he is doing and how his work is going, he always says that he is kept unbelieveably busy, but that he loves his work.

How easily could a former wrestler named "Smash" learn everything about paper and ink quality, among so many other facets of the printing industry? In Barry's case, he became a pro in a short amount of time. Combined with his incredible and creative sales skills, his disarming, friendly personality, and his ability to underbid just about any of his competition, he has become a total success in his new career.

Not so long ago, he shared his thoughts on having been one of the best-known professional wrestlers and on retiring. "It seems like it was so long ago, like it was a totally different world," he told me. "I've gotten so many injuries from wrestling, and things are so different now. I love what I'm doing now."

He loves being home with his family, too. He coaches hockey at his son's high school, and they all head north to their cabin on weekends - a favorite pasttime of many Minnesotans who are blessed to have a getaway "Up North." In this case, it's the Brainerd area - to where they almost moved, until his son convinced him to allow him to finish up high school and playing hockey here in the suburban Minneapolis area.