When Bryan Van Kley graduated from Northwestern College in 1998, he wasted no time in becoming a prominent figure in the sport of wrestling. Van Kley immediately moved to Newton, Iowa, and became the publisher of Wrestling International Newsmagazine (W.I.N.), one of the nation’s best-selling wrestling publications.
The responsibilities that come with being the publisher of a major newsmagazine would intimidate most recent graduates, but Van Kley’s passions, his education, and his ability to discern the voice of God prepared him for the challenges of this job.
Even before college, Van Kley was attracted to the idea of a career in wrestling. He attributes much of this desire to one particular wrestling match. In 1993, Bryan, along with his dad and brother, attended the NCAA championships in Ames, Iowa. Of all the matches in that tournament, one stood out above the rest. In the 142-pound weight class, University of Iowa freshman Lincoln Mcllravy overcame a huge deficit to defeat Fresno State junior Gerry Abas. Mcllravy came back, one point at a time, and scored his winning takedown as time expired. That winning takedown put a crowd of Iowa wrestling fans into hysteria and cemented wrestling into the heart of Bryan Van Kley.
After that night, Van Kley continued to develop a love and understanding of wrestling. He wrestled in high school and continued his career when he came to Northwestern. Wrestling at Northwestern is one reason Van Kley has done so well in his career as publisher of W.I.N. Magazine. Van Kley believes that, “The work ethic it took to have any chance at success at the college level set me up well to have the work ethic to succeed in business,” and succeed he has.
In addition, Van Kley says small classes and caring professors created an academic environment in which he thrived. He was able to explore a variety of academic subject areas before deciding to major in business administration and minor in journalism. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that at a large university,” Van Kley said, “because I would have been forced to choose a major much earlier.”
The relationships Van Kley developed at Northwestern were also crucial in his journey to W.I.N. Magazine. Van Kley considers his friendships invaluable. In fact, he marks on-campus conversations as catalysts for deciding to work at W.I.N.
Perhaps the most significant way Northwestern helped Van Kley transition to W.I.N. was faith development. “My Northwestern education developed my faith to be able to hear God’s call,” Van Kley notes. So when God called Bryan Van Kley to become the publisher of a major wrestling newsmagazine—a job most people his age would consider too difficult—Van Kley listened.
In addition to his publishing duties, Van Kley covers six to eight of the biggest national and international wrestling events each year. That means that Van Kley has been on the scene for many of the greatest moments in the history of the sport, including Rulon Gardner’s historic upset of Alexander Karelin in the 2000 Olympics and Cael Sanderson’s perfect college career. After 10 years, Van Kley is still the publisher of W.I.N. Magazine and he still has his passion for wrestling, his Northwestern education and his faith in God.
