Packing A Heart Even Bigger Than His Punch

With the same passion he brings to the octagon, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture supports veterans with his Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation

Photo: Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation

Up until a month ago, all I knew about the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting was that 1) “tapping out” was the equivalent of “For the love of Pete…Uncle already!”, 2) there was a suspicious-sounding move called a rear-naked choke, and 3) the one fight I’d “seen” on TV had been spent with my eyes buried in a sofa cushion (I know…lightweight). But upon hearing of a certain athlete’s efforts to support U.S. veterans, and having never featured an MMA fighter on Hugbacker, I couldn’t wait to speak with him. I picked up his book (a great, candidly-written account of his life), got a crash course in UFC 101 by a few friends, and was ready for a chat with Randy “The Natural” Couture about his Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.

Photo: xtremecouturegifoundation.org

Couture took some time last week to chat with Hugbacker about his foundation, which was  formed to “honor the veterans of America’s armed forces” and especially “to raise money and awareness for those wounded in action and their families.”

HB: You were in the military, which must’ve played a role in your wanting to support the troops. But how did the foundation actually start?

RC: I wore the uniform for six years, and although there was no war going on at that time, I obviously learned and experienced a lot, especially in terms of discipline as it translates to fighting and MMA. I also had the opportunity to get involved with some military organizations, and got to visit Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. I saw the wounded soldiers, visited and talked with them. The sacrifices they make are tremendous, and I wanted to address the questions and concerns they have when they come home…like, how are they going to be able to get on their feet? That spawned the idea about raising awareness through a foundation.

HB: How does the foundation go about finding the veterans who need help?

RC: Well, that’s often the challenge. Walter Reed has been helpful in identifying families in need, which has been great. But with patient privacy and other sensitivities, it can be difficult. We just try to reach out with visits and our events to raise as much awareness as possible and also stay aware of opportunities to help out.

Photo: MMAmania.com

In 2006, Couture and another fighter, Rich Franklin, traveled to Iraq to visit soldiers, escorted by his old unit, the 101st Airborne Division.

HB:  What was that trip like for you?

RC: We went to four or five FOBs, [forward operation bases], got to meet a lot of soldiers, put on clinics, seminars, did meet-and-greets. So many of them are UFC fans–they were pretty excited we were there. But even more important, we got to see what they go through every day. They’re over there for us, away from their families. It was an incredible trip.

HB:  What are some of the events your foundation has thrown?

Photo: xtremecouturegifoundation.org

RC: We’ve had two poker tournaments. The first was at the Hard Rock, and the most recent one was at the Golden Nugget. Several professional poker players have been extremely supportive and helped us out. We raised almost $40,000–it was fantastic. We also hosted a golf tournament in September that went really, really well. We got a lot of niche support from different MMA organizations for that. One neat thing that happened there was that some disabled vets from the Vietnam era volunteered to step up and work, and they were so appreciative of what we’re trying to do now with the guys coming back from the war. It was such a cool experience to be around them.

HB: Didn’t you also have some kind of paintball event?

Photo: xtremecouturegifoundation.org

RC: Yeah! We did a combat weekend in Mesquite. And it was so interesting because fighting/MMA is kind of this subculture. And so is paintball–it’s very competitive. So we had the experience of seeing these two lifestyles mesh. The G.I. Foundation was a really good fit for their mentality. We raised some money and had a great time.

HB: Any upcoming events?

RC: We’re looking at hopefully doing another poker event in May, here in Vegas. There are other ideas we’re tossing around and are always trying to be creative with it. It’s fun to do these things, and especially fun to be able to give out a big chunk of money.

Photo: The Facebook Advertising Guy

Outside of the foundation, the father of three also made a huge show of support to autism awareness this past August, hosting the “Natural Understanding” event in Portland, OR. The event benefited the Autism Socieity of Portland and included a fundraiser right after Couture’s fight against Antoinio Rodrigo Nogueira, as well as a private brunch the next day.

HB: Sounds like you, along with so many others, have been touched by autism.

RC: Definitely. A close family friend of ours has a son with autism. His name is Ladd; he’s a great kid and close friends with my son, Caden. It’s been amazing watching them grow up alongside each other. I just saw Ladd this past weekend. We hung out, took him sledding, had a lot of fun. I’ve seen some of the challenges associated with autism and wanted to help out, so we had the event with dinner, a silent auction, and raised some pretty good money.

With our chat coming to a close, I asked some random questions of the UFC champ.

Photo: xtremecouturetv.com

HB: Where is one place where you haven’t been that you’d like to go?

RC: Hmm, that’s a tough one. I’ll say China.

HB: I know how committed you are to good nutrition. [Couture leans toward a heavily alkaline-based diet.] But what’s your favorite splurge food?

RC: [Laughing, and with no hesitation.]  Chocolate chip cookies.

HB: Favorite music?

RC: I like a lot of different things, but I guess at heart I’m pretty much an ’80’s rock guy.

HB: If you weren’t a fighter and your career could have nothing to do with athletics, what would you do?

RC: I’d probably be teaching German. That was my major. I was originally going to be a high school teacher. [Couture received his degree in German from Oklahoma State University, where he was also an All-American wrestling champ.]

Although the high school teaching gig didn’t quite manifest, it looks like an acting career just might. Couture has a slew of television show and movie appearances to his credit, and can also be seen in an upcoming Sylvester Stallone action flick, The Expendables, due out next summer.

As for fighting, Randy will take to the cage in Las Vegas at UFC 109 with opponent Mark Coleman on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 (Super Bowl Eve). I promised my new friend I would watch the bout–this time with my eyes open.

Photo: watchkalibrun.com

Much thanks to Val and Scott at Xtreme Couture for coordinating the interview, as well as to a few people who schooled me on Randy and the UFC: my brother Craig, his wife Loretta, and my all-UFC-knowing pal from Montreal, Danny.

And special thanks to the warm and gracious Mr. Couture for taking time out for a chat, and huge kudos for his awesome efforts in rallying support for our veterans!