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MarcusCyganiak's profile Marcus Cygy / 20, Male / Member since October 2008 / Last seen 25 days ago

As many of you know, my birth name is Marcus Cyganiak. I worked with TNA Wrestling for three years as a web developer, graphic designer, and writer. My real name was too long and difficult to comprehend though, so TNA advised me to come up with a pen name of sorts and that I did. I decided to shorten my last name Cyganiak into Cygy, and it worked wonders for me as I began to make a name for myself as a writer in the wrestling business.

Following my decision to leave TNA Wrestling near the end of 2007 to pursue schooling, World Wrestling Entertainment came knocking on my door. It was a simple phone call I received while driving to a local gym where I often lift weights. This simple phone call was no ordinary one though, it prompted me to flick on the hazard lights and pull over to the side of the road as I dove into this conversation with the WWE employer from Stamford, Connecticut.

I was told that the WWE had been actively following my work with TNA Wrestling. They were following all fronts from my web developing skills, to my graphic designs, and most importantly my writing. They wanted to hire me as a creative writer for the company, but that meant I would have to relocate out of Vancouver, Canada and down into Stamford, Connecticut. Was I ready for this move at just 18 years of age?

I thought long and hard about this appealing prospect and I went through lengthy discussions with my family. For the first time, I even asked my friends for their opinions on the matter, as I never did that in the past. I always kept my business life confidential and separate from my social life but I knew this matter had a much larger impact than any other opportunity presented my way in the past.

I would either go forth with the move into the United States and work for the WWE upon leaving my friends and family behind, or I would stay in Canada and do my schooling as planned. Being a fresh graduate out of Terry Fox Secondary School, I decided that education at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) was my safest bet as it could provide job security for me in the future.

That didn’t mean the WWE was out of the question in the future though. I kept in contact with them for about a year as they waited eagerly to hire me once I felt the time was right; however, once the global recession hammered the economy in late 2008, all chances of me working for the WWE were shattered. The company issued mass layoffs across the board from the personnel at their headquarters in Stamford to the on-screen performers each week on television. Had I been working with the WWE during this time, I would have been among the employees who were laid off.

That fact was okay with me though because I had already moved on from the wrestling business. I felt as if the wrestling industry was a hindering factor on my potential growth as a writer online more than anything. While I was going to school at BCIT in the marketing management program, I decided to write frequent blogs in a journalist form with regard to political matters such as the US Presidential Election, the economy, and wars across the globe, to softer toned subjects like sports. My blogs even offered a hint of life matters and experiences, but for the most part I kept my writing secluded to news reporting.

To start my blog though, I first had to decide whether I was going to remain as Marcus Cygy the writer that the wrestling business had made me well known as, or if I was going to start off with a new slate under a relatively unknown name – my real name Marcus Cyganiak. Desperately looking to sever all ties with wrestling at the time, I went with my real name and that setup the birth of MarcusCyganiak.com as my web address for the blog.

Starting in September 2008, my traffic was slow but the numbers progressed higher and higher each month with new records being set. Blogging for a solid seven months, I made a name for myself at MarcusCyganiak.com not only again as a writer, but also as an on-screen personality through my vlogs. It was through my blogs and vlogs where I also discovered my true direction in life. It was not marketing like I originally enrolled in at BCIT; it was more along the lines of broadcast journalism.

So during the height of my traffic in January 2009, I switched out of marketing management and into broadcast journalism at BCIT through some part time courses. I haven’t looked back since.

Once March 2009 came to a close, many readers and followers of MarcusCyganiak.com noticed my sudden halt in daily blogs. The simple reason was that I was burned out. I was burned out because I ran into an inevitable cyber wall that prevented any larger growth online. So you may be asking what two to three thousand unique hits each month would mean then? That means growth, but let me explain my case further.

Going under my real name Marcus Cyganiak at MarcusCyganiak.com was just poor judgment on my part from the get-go. About 90% of the time anyone tries pronouncing my last name, they fail. It’s to the point where I don’t even correct them anymore because I know they’ll continue struggling with it. When I was known as Marcus Cygy with TNA Wrestling, I never ran into that problem once. Cygy is simply pronounced as “Siggy.”

Through my own research, I have gathered that the most successful bloggers are ones who either have a short and easy name, or they have slotted themselves under a brand name that’s memorable. Eventually I was going to be short-listed because of my long web address and my difficult last name. So what did I do? I went back to being known as Marcus Cygy.

Instead of using my old MarcusCygy.com web address, which was used before MarcusCyganiak.com, I’m simply using Cygy.com – my own founded brand that I have slotted myself under. It’s a simple strategy that I have learned to use through research and it’s a strategy I hope any future aspiring bloggers use too.

Essentially, MarcusCyganiak.com has evolved into Cygy.com, making this the same website in theory but with just a different address, look, and feel. What will make Cygy.com enirely different from MarcusCyganiak.com though is the change in tone. Rather than my journalistic approach at news reporting in the past, you will be reading my thoughts and opinions straight up with no constraints. There won’t be any will to hold back an opinion because this version of my blog is going to be uncensored. Whatever is on my mind at any given time regarding anything and everything, you’re going to hear it!

As always, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support throughout the past five years. Without you, I would not be doing this right now. It’s your continued support that drives me in doing what I do, so thank you.

My Blogs

MarcusCyganiak.com

http://www.marcuscyganiak.com/

A man with a view translated into a voice with reason. Born as Marcus Anthony Cyganiak in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1989, and raised in Port Coquitlam, I was able to find…

Cygy.com

http://www.cygy.com/

The Cygy.com brand was founded by Marcus Cygy in 2009. Based out of Vancouver, Canada, this blogging website provides an uncensored view into topics of discussion regardi…