If you’re from New York City, you’ve probably come across Subway Mania, an homage to ‘90s and early ‘00s wrestling culture. If not, you’re certainly no stranger to Jim the Gentrifier: a hilarious comedy sketch poking fun at the gentrifiers that can be found gracing the streets of El Barrio and across New York City. From subway cars and platforms to the streets of Spanish Harlem, Timothy “Tim Han” Rivera marries his two loves––wrestling and the train––by activating public spaces as the grounds for conversation, satire, and performance.

Three times a year, Rivera enlists a motley crew of cosplayers to adopt the roles of wrestling favorites, like the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin, to engage in public wrestling matches on subway trains and platforms. The phenomenon, which began in 2016 and has since grown to prominence, is the brainchild of Tim Rivera, a content creator from El Barrio, East Harlem. Bridging comedy, reenactment, and theatrics with a love for the sport, Rivera adopted W.W.E.’s WrestleMania to create his own stage: the ever-changing gladiator-esque arena of Subway Mania.

Growing up, Rivera and his family watched wrestling regularly in their East Harlem apartment, and as a little boy, quickly made the connection between the theatrics he saw in these televised matches with performances he saw on the train. Mariachis and show-time performers, rappers and spoken word artists, the subway was a world of its own. Experimenting with film and video production in high school, Rivera would go on to earn a degree in film from Brooklyn College years later. An artist, he coordinates the Subway Mania fights, records the performances, and posts them online. With a huge audience, these choreographed routines are spectacles for all straphangers to enjoy.

With his experience in curating Subway Mania, Rivera went on to create another viral sensation: Jim the Gentrifier: a comedy sketch series where Rivera adopts the role of Jim, a transplant in Spanish Harlem whose tone deafness and ignorance, while satirical in nature, is poignantly striking. We caught up with Rivera to talk about the forces behind Jim the Gentrifier, Subway Mania, and what El Barrio means to him.

*TIm and his mother. NYC, 1990s. Courtesy of Tim Rivera.*

A product of El Barrio, talk to us about your upbringing.
Growing up in Spanish Harlem was truly a blessing and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Living right across the street from the Puerto Rican festival was awesome. I went to school a few blocks away - everything was just home and it really felt like a community. So many mom and pop shops, especially toy stores! They knew who I was because I was a huge wrestling fan and my mom would buy me the wrestling figures when she could. I was always outside hanging out with friends; it felt safer and everybody knew who I was and who my family was. I knew them and their families because we either went to the same school or their parents went to school with my mom or dad growing up. Everything felt connected in Harlem. My community and the culture were some of my biggest influences.

As a content creator, one of your most notable sketches is Jim the Gentrifier. How was he born?
I came up with the concept for Jim the Gentrifier because I started to see things change not just in my neighborhood, but in New York City. Started to see new people come into the community, and you can tell they weren’t from here. So I just created a character based on real life situations. The interesting part about Jim the Gentrifier is that the character never stated where they were from or how they got to New York City or what’s their background, so it’s interesting to see how people react to it online. But online or in person, a lot of people love the character from all backgrounds. People stop me to take photos and have also requested me to do birthday shoutout videos or get well soon videos to brighten peoples’ day. The process was easy because I would recreate things I would see around the city. Jim is a guy who isn’t from NYC but lives in NYC and wants to be part of all cultures and activities. He visits new places like restaurants and takes part in any New York cultural moments…or, at least tries to.

Without knowing his background, so many people gravitate toward this character because of the subtext he represents. As a New Yorker, when did you first become aware of gentrification?
I feel like for me I started seeing more mom and pop stores close down, small businesses shutting down and new people moving into my neighborhood, which isn’t bad at all in my eyes. Things started to change though when rent starts to go high and apartments in your neighborhood where your childhood friends use to live at is going for $3,000 a month.

*Jim the Gentrifier by Roemel G / @roevisions. Courtesy of Tim Rivera.*

Through your sketch, many New Yorkers, and surely people from other rapidly-gentrifying parts of the country, feel seen. How do you personally navigate gentrification?
To me gentrification is bound to happen and can be viewed however we choose to see it. If people are moving into our neighborhoods we have to continue to spread the culture around and show how we do things in these neighborhoods. Sometimes it can be really hard though when businesses are closing and our own people move out the neighborhood but all I can do is continue to represent where I’m from, continue to be myself and spread the culture. I choose to tackle the issue through satire because comedy heals and can also help spread a message.

Now a few years old, how do people continue to relate to Jim?
It’s actually really funny - you got people who laugh hysterically and then you got some people who are just confused - which makes it even funnier because they don’t even know that it’s a skit, which helps with the content. Overall people that are from NYC and not from NYC love my work which is amazing because at the end of the day, it’s a character and a skit so it’s just meant to bring joy to people. Never know, those 90 seconds of a Jim the Gentrifier skit can help someone out through the day and get their mind off of things.

Whether highlighting public housing, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, or bodegas, your skits always point to quintessential NYC experiences. How do you choose who and what topics you’re going to explore, and why?
As a kid I always went to the PR day parade & festival. The bodega is a everyday thing until this day. On public housing: I grew up at my grandma’s house. She lives in the projects, so practically being there everyday after school until my mom picked me up, you remember the little details. So I love to add those details in my skits to bring quality to my work and to also connect with the audience. Personally I love all my sketches, but I think the most fun was shooting the Puerto Rican Day festival in 2023. There’s so much happening in this world and I just want people to enjoy my content, smile, and laugh.

Before there was Jim, there was Subway Mania. When did your love story with wrestling begin?
I always loved wrestling since I was a kid! Whether I was watching it on my tv, playing with my action figures or playing video games, wrestling was everything to me.

A kid who came of age in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, that era of wrestling had a huge impact on the Latino community.
The ‘90s and ‘00s wrestling was super fun. Watching wrestling with my family growing up was something we’d bond over even when it wasn’t on tv. Throughout the days I’d hear my mom saying “Hey Yo” just like Scott Hall or her saying “Yo Yo Yo let me speak on this” like Konnan. Or even my Dad talking about how he was a fan of Carlito because he was from Puerto Rico. Wrestling was and still is a huge part of my family.

*Tim opening up W.W.E. presents on Christmas. Spanish Harlem, 2000s. Courtesy of Tim Rivera.*

How did Subway Mania come to be?
My mom got me a WWF Replica belt for my high school graduation so I wanted to do a skit with it. I thought of my boy playing The Rock and posing on the corner of the seat inside the Subway holding the belt would be hilarious so then I decided to write out a skit. We filmed a whole promo about me as XPac and him as The Rock were gonna fight at “Subway Slam” for the belt and It was supposed to be one video and that was it. But that went viral and people were saying “so where’s the match?!” And I’m like, We are not wrestlers how are we gonna wrestle in the train?! But we did and I just kept coming out with new concepts for matches every video and it’s been an amazing journey with Subway Mania and has led me to so many cool moments and opportunities.

What was the moment when Subway Mania took off?
Honestly it’s been so many moments for me but when ASAP Rocky told me to bring Subway Mania to the Barclays Center. 20,000 people in attendance for YAMS DAY in January 2019. That was truly something special for me. But last year in 2023, Triple H came into the place I was working at and already knew about Subway Mania and who I was. That was special because one of my favorite wrestlers growing up now knows who I am, and has watched my work, my creation, which is truly an amazing feeling. On top of that, it’s Triple H: the man who runs the show. So that was huge for me.

*By Quirico Ferreras Diaz / @uncntrldmedia. Courtesy of Tim Rivera.*

Why did you choose to activate the subways for these performances, versus let’s say a park or other public space?
Because the subway is a special place. Anything can happen on the subway: dancing, people selling candy, singing or rapping. I thought, Why not a wrestling match inside of a moving subway? I’m sure I can do it. And on top of that, I think what makes it challenging but fun is changing up the matches. So for one match, it might be a ladder match, then a royal rumble match then a hardcore match. So many matches and different storylines we can tell on one subway train! It shows how creative I can be and it also gives people that ride the train a one of a kind experience.

Both Jim the Gentrifier and Subway Mania are creative works that unapologetically take up space. What does it mean to you to bring your art to the public in such a visceral way?
I thrive off of performing in public places. It’s just something about seeing people’s reactions to my skits when I’m performing it live that just gives me life. It’s New York City: where you can have a full blown wrestling match inside of the subway, but have someone sitting right in the middle of it and not bat an eye. That’s what fuels me. Everybody is in their own world, and human interaction is awesome no matter the outcome. A lot of the times when people see me in character, no matter what skit I am filming, it brightens people’s days. And, it also catches their eye, allows them to learn more about what I do, and they eventually become supporters of my content. They can say hey I saw him film this exact skit! It’s truly important to me and a key component to my content.

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