Many years ago I had a chance meeting with Reby Hardy (I think she was still Reby Sky back then) at a wrestling event at the Gathering of the Juggalos. It was the one year I was actually working for the festival and I was photographing backstage at their Bloodymania event. I was a wrestling fan as a kid so it was a really fun experience to photograph some pro wrestlers I knew growing up, it was just really dark in there so the photos weren’t much to speak of. (I would honestly love to do more wrestling documentary behind the scenes stuff.)  But the event was being run by this completely insane old school wrestler, like George “The Animal” Steele era and honestly it was a little bit of trauma bonding for everyone back there.

When I put up my post about the event several wrestlers shared it and I ended up following a few of them, one of those being Reby. For the next decade plus we maintained some sort of Twitter friendship. We only met for about 5 minutes but I felt like we were friends. We even exchanged Christmas cards and she helped me secure an exclusive interview with her brother in law for an article in the LA Weekly. (I guess at this point I should mention she is married to professional wrestler Matt Hardy, who with his brother Jeff were one of my favorite tag teams in high school.)

Anyway, last year when I got her Christmas card I noticed the return address was in North Carolina, and while I hadn’t moved there yet, I had been there to visit my girlfriend’s dad. Turns out they live about 20 minutes away from him which is only about two hours from where I live now. I figured one of these days maybe we would get to meet up if we were in her neighborhood. I finally decided that Halloween would be that excuse. I just got a car for the first time since mine was totaled in 2015 so I wanted to do a road trip and get you guys some spooky content.

Next thing I should mention in this post is that while her husband is a famous wrestler, she’s a bit of a celebrity in her own right. She wrestles too, but she was also a Playboy model, a dancer, she’s one hell of an artist, and she has millions of followers on TikTok. And the reason she has all those followers? Her absolutely insane interior decorating skills, and her youngest child, Goth Baby.

Goth Baby is Reby and Matt’s 4th child and the only girl and when she was born Reby got her a super goth crib and bedroom, and started dressing her like an adorable tiny vampire. Their whole place is so spooky and cool that I honestly couldn’t tell how much of it was decorated for halloween. Goth Baby (and the other kids) have a hidden school room that is full of bright colors but most of the downstairs is spooky as hell. I got to hang with Goth Baby and even took some photos of her dressed as a ghost jumping on a bouncy castle, that they just have casually inflated in their yard. 

The whole place was so amazing. I really should have taken more photos of just the house. Aside from all the spooky stuff, all the kids have their own custom rooms and they have a full arcade in the basement. There’s a large gym (of course) with all of Matt’s Championship belts and a ton of cool stuff from his career down there including about 100 action figures of him and his brother. I almost wish I was still a wrestling fan so I could have really geeked out, but just the collector/hoarder in me was obsessed with it all. I would love to see my collections on display like everything in their amazing house. Oh, and of course behind their house they just happen to have a huge barn with a wrestling ring inside it. 

I was only there for about two hours and we didn’t shoot a ton but the tour alone was worth the five hours in the car. It was also great to meet her kids. They are maniacs but they seemed so cool.  They wrestle too and I can’t wait to see what they are doing in 10 or 15 years. They already have a YouTube channel. Goth Baby seems super well adjusted and amazing despite what angry Christians on the internet would like you to believe. Oh, and that reminds me I need to plug Reby’s children’s book, Life of a Gothic Baby. 

Anyway, this post is way too long already so let me wrap it up. Thanks a ton to Reby for the hospitality and letting me take your photo. Happy Halloween everyone!

Click here to check out these Halloweeny photos of Reby Hardy (and at least two of her kids)!

 

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