Amara-Nia Nakato

Knee Up Nakato

## Early Life and Upbringing

Amara-Nia Nakato, born April 27th 2001 in Sagalo, Mali. She was born alongside her twin brother Adama, who unfortunately passed shortly after being born, leaving Amara as the lone child. About two months after being born, Amara's family had immigrated from Mali to the United States, ending up in what is now her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

### Growing up/School Life

Amara was rather introverted in her younger years, avoiding most conversations if at all possible, even with her own parents at times. This would continue into her elementary and middle school life, as she wouldn't really interact with any of the other kids and would never speak to the teachers. Nobody really understood why she did this, some questioned whether she was mute half the time, only for her to prove them wrong when she was made to answer questions in class every so often.

She did manage to make one friend in school, a jaguar girl named Makara who had eventually become her adopted sister. While yes she was still quiet and typically shy around others, she would actually have full blown conversations with Makara, which typically surprised anyone that knew her. The teachers just ended up pairing the two together from then on, since the jaguar got Amara talking for once. During this time she had also started taking Gymnastics, reason being she watched it on the Olympics once, and just kind of became obsessed with it. So her father paid for the classes and took her every week for the next seven years.

It had also been discovered, after her teachers and guidance councilors suggested taking her to a specialist, that Amara has Combined Type ADHD and minor anxiety. The Anxiety and introverted behaviors started to improve once she hit high school, though the ADHD would be her downfall at times, whether it was the impulsive and hyperactive behaviors or just the constant moments of getting distracted. Amara did work through it though, managing to keep a B+ average in her grades.

During her high school years, Amara would join both the cheer squad and the gymnastics team, her flexibility and athleticism proving useful for both as she would typically be the one being tossed up or flipped for the cheer squad, and the first one up in gymnastics events for the school. She had won 1st place medals in solo competitions, even bringing the school a few trophies for the team events. She had never been happier here, because she was doing something she loved.

After high school, Amara went to college to major in English and Philosophy, graduating top of her class. It was after college that she started having her own views on life, even creating her own personal philosophy that she still tends to follow and believe, she dubbed it the "Vulture Philosophy." She created a whole spectrum for it as well. On one end is those who wait for their opportunity, and strike when they see it. The other end however, are the scavengers, those who hop in after others do all the hard work for them or those who steal the opportunity from those who have waited patiently. (Side note, she also tends to get randomly poetic at times.)

> "Bring your gaze to the clouds above, You see two scavengers circling over head. Wings spread so far apart as they glide and soar, searching for their next meal upon the earthly floor. Vultures flying against the current, seeking their next opportunity, their next moment to rise" - Amara's metaphor for her philosophy
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## Introduction To the World of Wrestling

Amara has always had an interest in wrestling since about 4th grade. She would watch it late nights whenever she was supposed to be in bed. Anytime she was with Makara they would always imitate the moves on each other, completely ignoring the "DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" warnings they'd always plaster over the screen. She had already been doing gymnastics since 1st grade, so what harm could jumping off the tables or kitchen counters all the time do? Though of course she'd do that part when it was just her and her sister at home, since her parents both worked until about 9pm each day.

It got to the point where Amara and Makara would make up mini-shows in their shared bedroom, using a bunk bed as the top rope, cardboard titles and whatever they could find to use as props and wrestling gear. Though this has led to it's fair share of injuries for the sisters, being a mix of broken arms, concussions among other things. Yet they still continued.

Amara would watch many different DVD's, YouTube videos, and live broadcasts of various wrestling shows., taking a liking to all the high flyers and the strikers. She absolutely loved the speed of them all, and being a cheetah, that was something she could relate to. She continued to watch all the way to her college years, stopping after a while as she had found other interests for the time being.

## Finding UFW

In Mid-August of 2022, Amara had come across an online add promoting something called "UFW," location and all. Being the curious chee that she is, Amara decided to go check it out, and oh boy was that the best decision of her life. She very quickly realize the place was a wrestling venue like the ones she'd see on the tv. She had always wanted to see a show live when she was younger, and now being 21, she was actually seeing one for the very first time. And She loved every moment of it, the action, the violence, the wrestlers themselves. It was an absolute dream come true and she was ecstatic the entire time even once the show ended.

Though it should be pointed out during this time, she was homeless. So once everyone left, she snuck back in and just slept on one of the couches in the arena. In doing so, she would never miss another show either. Plus they had waffle makers and hotdogs, so she wouldn't be starving doing this either.

### Applying for the Job

In late August to Mid-September, Amara would apply to UFW, taking a huge chance on doing something she had no real experience in. It was all excitement while waiting for the application to process, but pure anxiety when waiting for the interview. Then on September 22, 2022 Amara went in for her interview, and the standard rounds of questions from the higher ups, she got in! She couldn't be more thrilled. She began her training a little while after, being taught the ropes and the ins and outs of Pro Wrestling. It was confusing at first, but eventually she started to get the hang of it, with a bit of extra help from those in the training facilities. Her training had concluded and after a bit of a break for the holidays, she awaits the moment to make her debut and make a huge impact in the ring.

### Debut and The Matches Following

On March 13th of 2023, Amara finally made her debut against Dazzle Flash! She was a little distracted in the beginning but focused long enough to finish the match, albeit in a losing effort, but she had so much fun doing it! Showing sportsmanship to Ms. Dazzle until the very end, even getting a hug out of the encounter.

Two weeks later on March 27th, Amara would face the Mean Yeen herself, Anna Somerset. The match would be in her favor only a little before the hyena would use her tactics to trick Amara's naive personality and get the upper hand for her victory. Even though Amara lost she still tried to show sportsmanship in the end, though that resulted in the cheetah getting kicked where the sun does not shine.

The Following week on the April 3rd Unbroken, Amara would be in the main event against none other than Prince Escamoso! A show of respect to start it off and everything was underway. A brilliant display of speed and athleticism between the two high flyers, but as well as the striking movements of Nakato. It was a back and forth battle to the end, Amara managing to get the 1-2-3 for the victory, and her first official win in UFW!