Mike Kinney

Mike Kinney (born March 16, 1982) is an actor, public speaker, and former professional wrestler, better known by his stage name "Cowboy" Gator Magraw. He lives in Minnesota with his family and earned a BA from Minnesota State University - Mankato and his MBA with the University of Phoenix. Mike is also a veteran of the Army National Guard. Mike began his professional training in 1998. In 2002, he attended the Midwest Pro Wrestling Training Academy to further his ability within the sport under Terry Klinger, Dan Schaffner, and Arik Cannon. He later would go to an advanced training camp with Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, and Les Thatcher. Notable accomplishments include an appearance on WWE programming in 2005 and touring with the Insane Clown Posse rap group and their wrestling promotion in 2007. Mike wrestled hundreds of matches throughout North America on the independent wrestling circuit until his retirement in 2007. Most notably, Mike gave a viral TED Talk in 2017 about his days as a professional wrestlers and the lessons he learned about himself during that time.