Deztro the Eskimofo emerges from behind a curtain to a chorus of boos and jeers. A group of kids meet him, flashing L-shaped hand gestures and pointing their thumbs down. One boy hands him a folded-up note. It reads, “You suck!” Deztro chuckles and makes his way to the ring. The self-proclaimed “King of the North” has cultivated this twisted fandom for years.
This is a big night for the Eskimofo, known by day as Dez Loreen, the face of CBC North in the NWT’s Beaufort-Delta region. The Totally Arctic Wrestling promotion is launching its fifth year at the Midnight Sun Complex rec centre in Inuvik under the banner “Open Season.” Loreen, a founder, has been building a rivalry with his arch nemesis, Devin Shipwreck, also known as Devin Roberts, the regional superintendent of schools. Shipwreck took the coveted Cruiser Championship Belt from him. Tonight, the Eskimofo is determined to get it back.
It’s an almost emblematic goal in Inuvik, which has also been searching for ways to recover its mojo, having lost out on the wealth and security promised by Beaufort Sea oil and gas development in the 2000s. Fracking put a hole in the bottom of that boom before it even started, leaving the town of 3,000 with the byproducts of prosperity and few of the benefits. Since then, it has been exploring creative, if not always effective, paths to find its future, making it one of the more charismatic communities in the NWT.
Loreen may be the perfect ambassador. Born and raised in Inuvik, the 41-year-old has worn many hats, not unlike a town that has been experimenting with everything from energy innovation and the space industry to high-tech arts and crafts as it defines its identity. He’s dabbled in politics, serving as a town councillor and briefly campaigning for mayor. He performs stand-up comedy and produces films, including the horror short “The Slumber Party,” which won the Best Death award at the 2019 Dead North Film Festival in Yellowknife.
Earlier this year, his ambition took him to Toronto for a week at the Second City Theatre, after which he immediately auditioned for North of North, a new series set in Iqaluit that will air on Netflix, CBC, and APTN in 2025. Loreen made the shortlist but ultimately didn’t get the part. So, for now, he remains best known in Inuvik as the hometown heel. Not that he’s complaining. Totally Arctic has body slammed all expectations since Loreen founded it five years ago with his friend Wade Blu Gruben (a.k.a. Blu Wilder) as a natural progression of a childhood obsession.
Now a father himself, Loreen has not let go of that childhood obsession. He sleeps in a shrine to wrestling, with a wall of championship belts next to his bed. Posters of pilgrimages to WrestleManias across North America cover the walls and ceiling. Even the chairs come from wrestling events—when you purchase front row seats for WrestleMania, you keep the seat.
Totally Arctic is the world’s northernmost professional wrestling stable, and Loreen has spread its word far and wide. Many wrestlers who come to Inuvik from across the continent have been in the business for decades. “I wanted to be able to sit in the front row in my hometown and watch wrestlers from across Canada—and maybe bigger,” he says. “That was the plan. We would bring in main eventers who we could watch.”
For Loreen, wrestling is more than theatre; it’s a lifestyle. He routinely appears as a guest wrestler in circuits as far away as Florida; co-hosts a weekly wrestling podcast, which just celebrated its 150th episode; holds WrestleMania viewing parties; and produces short videos that mock future opponents. Even his vacations focus on the sport. Every year he travels to Florida for the Jericho Cruise, a sailing trip hosted by pro wrestler and rock musician Chris Jericho.
Loreen obtained the Cruiser Belt—a souvenir of his sailing adventures—only to lose it to Devin Shipwreck before a hometown crowd. “I have been chasing this Cruiser championship of Devin Shipwreck’s for a year now,” he says. “It was my most prized possession. Enough is enough.”
As the two rivals square off in the ring, the referee checks Deztro for hidden weapons. The last time these two fought, it was for the title of King of the North and the Eskimofo snuck in a set of knuckles, taking out Shipwreck with a cheap shot—the Eskimofo’s speciality. But this time, he’s clean.
After a series of locks, holds, and grunts, Shipwreck miscalculates on a leap from the turnbuckle and lands on the mat. Deztro seizes the moment, grabbing Shipwreck by the legs in a Boston crab, a power submission hold. Shipwreck passes out to the dismay of the crowd. The Cruiser Belt is the Eskimofo’s once more.
But Deztro isn’t done yet. Ignoring the referee, he brings a door out from backstage and places it in the corner of the ring. As the crowd screams in horror, he hoists the limp Devin Shipwreck over his head and throws him through the door. The King of the North wades back through the crowd towards a curtain, the kids who greeted him still booing and jeering. They demand justice for Shipwreck.
Before stepping through the veil, Deztro turns to the crowd and blows a kiss. The Eskimofo always gets the last laugh.
