The story of summer Netflix hit "GLOW" only could happen in Los Angeles in the 1980s.

Unlimited spandex, an out-of-work soap actress and music from the Go-Go's highlight the 10-episode series based on pro-wrestling franchise Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

But Southern California isn't where GLOW was born.

Park Tudor High School alum David McLane first tried to make it happen in Indianapolis.

"I went to several workout gyms up on Keystone Avenue to put up posters to look for women wrestlers," said McLane, recalling his hometown in the '80s. "They immediately threw me out. A family friend said, ‘If you want to start this, you have to go west to L.A.’ He was right.”

After making the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling a reality in 1986, McLane landed roller hockey and polo on ESPN's schedule. Today, he has returned to the dream of mainstream success for women's wrestling.

"It's my favorite occupation," he said.

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McLane always knew the male version of pro wrestling worked in Indianapolis. As teenagers, he and Scott Romer launched a Dick the Bruiser fan club to celebrate the iconic tough guy who grew up in Lafayette.

Romer and McLane eventually worked for the World Wrestling Association co-owned by the Bruiser, also known as former NFL player William Afflis. Romer portrayed pot-stirring manager Saul Creatchman, and McLane served as TV host and announcer.

A match between Candi Devine and Princess Jasmine at Tyndall Armory, 711 N. Pennsylvania St., inspired McLane to suggest a women's league within the WWA. Afflis, who died in 1991, didn't see the idea as a winner.

"Women’s wrestling was thought of as the popcorn match or intermission match, a time to go to the restroom," McLane said.

"GLOW," starring Alison Brie and Marc Maron, takes a fictional peek inside a true pop-culture curiosity of the Reagan era.

McLane, a 1980 graduate of Indiana University, is now focused on WOW: Women of Wrestling. It's his third or fourth attempt to make women's wrestling a sustainable winner.

"In meetings, we’re no longer asked, 'Is it oil or mud wrestling?' That was a consistent question," McLane said. "It just switched about a year ago."

The modern-day WOW follows McLane's founding of GLOW, POWW (a 1987 Indianapolis-based franchise formally known as the Powerful Women of Wrestling) and a version of WOW that debuted in 2000.

McLane has no connection to the "GLOW" series on Netflix, but he said the show's success should help the future of WOW. His partners in WOW are Los Angeles Lakers President Jeanie Buss and the MGM Television and Digital Group, which plans a "WOW" TV show in 2018.

"The vision was always to see women’s wrestling treated as well as, if not better than, men’s wrestling," McLane said. "The drive now is still to see that. It hasn’t happened yet, but I think we’re on the verge of finally doing it."

The original "GLOW" TV series, described by McLane as "loud, bold and in your face," became an unexpected hit in syndication.

The show aired in 200 cities, and cast members appeared on "Married With Children," "Donahue," "Family Feud" and in the pages of Playboy magazine.

McLane brought pro-wrestling credentials to the company. Matt Cimber, a director known for 1970s blaxploitation films, supplied campy storytelling, and Las Vegas casino owner Meshulam Riklis supplied the financing.

Documentary filmmakers Brett Whitcomb and Bradford Thomason remembered the "GLOW" series and made the 2012 film "GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling."

Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann, creators of the "GLOW" Netflix series, have credited the 2012 documentary for sparking their interest in McLane's brainchild.

McLane, however, declined to be interviewed for the 2012 documentary. He said Whitcomb and Thomason didn't present a clear direction of their plans for the film.

"I didn’t want to participate in something that could tell the wrong story," McLane said.

By focusing on camaraderie among cast members, the film earned McLane's approval. A segment devoted to the health struggles of GLOW star Emily "Mt. Fiji" Dole made the movie "a touching story," McLane said.

"It gave it the breadth it really needed," he said. "I loved it. I thought it was well done.”

McLane, who sold his interest in GLOW to Riklis two seasons into the original show's five-season run, isn't represented in the Netflix series.

Comedian and high-profile podcaster Maron portrays Sam Sylvia, a B-movie director patterned after original "GLOW" director Cimber.

McLane's enthusiasm for wrestling isn't forgotten by Lauri "Susie Spirit" Thompson and Angelina "Little Egypt" Altishin — Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling who acted/competed in the show's first two seasons.

"David's the straight man, but he’s ever the optimist who doesn’t even realize the chaos going on around him," said Thompson, who became a Las Vegas-based entertainment attorney after her wrestling career. "That’s the character he played. In real life, he’s that way, too."

McLane, known for wearing a tuxedo on camera, recalls being bodyslammed more than once by Mt. Fiji.

"You can tell by talking to Dave that he’s an honest guy," said Altishin, now a real-estate agent in Atlanta. "He was one of the girls. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. He was in the ring with us. He was taking bumps if he had to take bumps. He was doing skits. We loved David."

Thompson's introduction to the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is similar to what's experienced by characters on the Netflix series.

Then a dancer in the "Folies Bergere" revue at the Tropicana casino in Las Vegas, Thompson showed up for an audition and was confused when McLane and Cimber showed a video of women wrestlers from Japan.

"I got up to leave and said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m an actress, not a wrestler,’" Thompson said. "They chased me to the elevator and convinced me to come back."

The original "GLOW" series featured comedy, dancing and rapping as key elements, which were not necessarily part of McLane's vision for the show.

His commitment to athleticism is reflected in an anecdote about the first cast member hired as a Gorgeous Lady of Wrestling: Jeanne "Hollywood" Basone.

At an early training session, a veteran wrestler asked, "Can anyone ram your head into the second turnbuckle and then flip onto your back?"

Basone, who continues to make headlines as a hotel "session wrestler" for hire, raised her hand to volunteer.

“To my shock, she did it on the first try," McLane said. "I slapped the mat and said, ‘You’re hired!’“

McLane said he's happy the roster of WOW employees includes two Indianapolis natives: writer/announcer Stephen Dickey and cast member Samantha Smart, a combative librarian.

And he expresses no misgivings about being left out of the "GLOW" story at Netflix.

"It’s great for the performers," McLane said. "It’s great to pay homage to GLOW as the starter of the revolution of women’s wrestling. I’m very fortunate to still be friends with most of the original cast."

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.