Salt of the Earth

For some, it’s hard to imagine that a MMA fighter could possess a calm, stoic and simply down to earth personality. Those traits are hard to find in general, much less in someone who routinely fights in a cage. But, that’s exactly what you get with Johnny “The Treeman” Curtis.

Curtis holds a professional MMA record of 7-2. Most recently, he took out Bobby Gurley at the 36 second mark of Round 1 on the M-1 Challenge XXIV card. Hours before his hand was raised in victory, I met the heavy weight combatant in the locker room. After a quick introduction, I sat back and casually observed Curtis and the rest of the fighters as they prepared for battle.

Everyone has their own pre-fight ritual. It varies from getting amped up and jamming to music, to hitting the mitts and jumping rope, even going somewhere quiet and meditating. Curtis just sat quiet at a table occasionally chatting with his corner men. I was amazed at how calm and relaxed he appeared. He kept this chill composure down the hall, up the walkway, and into the ring… all the way through the sound of the bell.

You might credit his demeanor to his years of experience on the mat. Curtis is no stranger to competition having wrestled from his freshman year in high school, through college and onto the U.S. National Team. But once you get to know him better, you realize this is just Johnny, this is his nature. He has a very serene aura about him, which immediately puts those around him at ease. If you’re thinking Curtis must be somewhat spiritual based on that description, you’re right. He begins each day reading from The Bible. And he does so with the intention of applying the lessons to his everyday life.

Born in Fairfax, VA, Curtis attended Fairfax High School where he began wrestling his freshman year. His football coach, who doubled as head of the Wrestling program, was part of the reason Curtis dawned a singlet. He gave Curtis a sort of analogy by saying “If you want to get from point A, to point B on land, take a car. If you want to get from point A, to point B on water, take a boat. If you want the quickest way to kick someone’s ass, learn to wrestle.” Curtis remembers this and laughs, but most likely he would have followed in his brother’s footsteps and joined the team anyway.

By his senior year, Curtis was ready to take the Virginia High School League 176lb title. Instead of coming away with the medal, he tore his ACL two days before the meet. The injury not only cost him to miss the Championship match, it meant he would redshirt his freshman year at the University of Virginia. Instead of moping around, he put his efforts into rehab and getting his knee and body back to 100%.

The following year Curtis transferred to George Mason University and once again, joined a wrestling team with his brother. During his time at GMU, Curtis compiled a 114-30 record and accomplished the following:

• 2-time All-American wrestler

• 2-time winner of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) wrestling tournament

• CAA Wrestler of the Year honors in 1992 and 1993

• 3-times - Qualified for the NCAA National Championship

• 3-time Virginia Division I state titles

• Northern Region Top 100 Greatest Athlete of all Times (#86)

Curtis, always humble, thought he did pretty well at GMU. But said, “I really got better on the U.S. National Team.” From 1996 to 2000 he competed in Freestyle wrestling and was ranked as high as #3. Meanwhile, teammates Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland favored Greco-Roman. As the sport of mixed martial arts was starting to get some attention, Curtis was trying for the U.S. Olympic team. Having come up a little short, he moved on and started another chapter in his life.

While pinning opponents at George Mason, Curtis earned his diploma studying Government & Politics. At one point that degree led him to an internship on Capitol Hill, where he quickly realized “cubical life” wasn’t his thing. So, after the Olympic trials were over in May of 2000, Curtis went full speed ahead with Freedom Tree Service the following month. This was a natural progression for him, since he had operated the business on a part-time basis since 1996.

That type of work always presented a challenge, kept him outdoors, and allowed him to work around wrestling. And although he didn’t say it, I believe that kind of hard, honest day’s work suits him perfectly. A few years later his brother joined the company, which has again provided Johnny time and flexibility to train.

Curtis was very busy that year. In addition to going full-time with his own business, he did takedown seminars for Dave Anderson at One Spirit Martial Arts. Before long the seminars led to more training of his own, and eventually the start of a fight team in 2007. Once Curtis gained approval from his wife to join the team, he got busy in the cage. The then 30-something Tree Man got off to a fast start knocking down his opposition and submitting them in the first round. The quick success and 3-0 record came fairly easy and soon Curtis was moved up to the Pro’s.

At the Smash MMA event, his first professional victory came the same way. Inside the Patriot Center on Curtis’ college stomping grounds, he won via choke in less than 2 minutes of Round 1. But, things changed and the next two fights didn’t go as well. Like any athlete, they tend to stay with their bread and butter. Although Curtis was working on his boxing, he never thought much about getting caught, much less hurt by a punch. The KO loss in his second fight, followed by a KO from current UFC Heavyweight Brendan Schaub in his third, made Curtis realize he needed to round out his arsenal and better protect his chin. (To his credit, a second torn ACL sent him to the canvas before Schaub’s hand connected.)

Since then, Curtis has racked up a 6 fight win streak and several of those because of his fists. In a post fight interview after M-1, Curtis was asked what’s next for the 40 year old fighter. He joked that he didn’t have much of a golf game, so he would just continue fighting and look forward to the next challenge. The interview ended and Curtis returned to the locker room much the way he left. No big celebration, no boasting… maybe a slightly bigger smile, maybe.

No one knows what the future holds for Johnny Curtis and his MMA career. Hopefully he will experience the longevity and some success found by his former wrestling teammates. One thing is for certain though, he’ll continue to do what’s worked all his life. He’ll put in an honest day’s work, train hard, be good to his family and most importantly to Johnny, let his faith lead the way.


Best wishes,
 
-Pete
 
PS:  We are looking for sponsors that would support Johnny.  Stihl, Bermuda Chippers, Steel Cold Knives and many others would be a great fit.  Please contact me if you know someone that might be interested.

How to Become Rich

Most of my life I've dreamed about being rich.  Ever since I can remember I've always wanted to have enough money to burn... literally.  Over the years the definition of being rich has changed from Richie Rich, to P-Diddy rich to Bill Gates rich and lots of places in between.  Many of those in between places had more to do with having a rich soul vs. a fat wallet.  Depending on what was going on in my life at the time, I would stop and realize that money really wasn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. 


This is something I believe now more than ever.  The last year of my life has been filled with difficult lessons and financial hardship.  As a result, I've furthered my education on the value of money compared to the value of love, life and happiness.  And in case you're wondering, there's no comparison.  Money isn't worth nearly as much.


Despite these lessons or confirmations of my thoughts on wealth, my definition of being rich has changed once more.  This time it's changed forever.  Because now when I think of money, I'm going to think about "becoming Rich."


In my last blog I mentioned the loss of a co-worker and friend.  His name was Rich Conklin.  To me, he was a good guy who always kept a smile and seemed to enjoy life.  Even his work voicemail said "You've reached Rich Conklin with AT&T and I hope you're loving life."  Hearing it the first time caught me off guard.  I was surprised he had such a casual, friendly sounding voicemail.  I've known corporate America to be very stuffy at times so this was refreshing that no one in the company had asked him to change it.  I was also caught off guard by the wonderful positive tone in his voice.  Hearing it just made you smile.  My first message to Rich complimented him on the best voicemail I'd ever heard.


In addition to being a great guy with nice smile, it was evident Rich was dedicated to his family.  Nearly every time we went on sales appointments together he received a call from his wife, kids or someone having to do with them.  Over time I saw more of the bond they shared and wrote him an email before he left for treatment in Mexico.  I told him that "I didn't have kids but if I did... I would want to have a family exactly like him." 


It's a shame it took his funeral to show me just how right I was.  There were approximately 1000 people in attendance to pay their respects and say goodbye.  I've never been to a funeral that large.  It was amazing to see the amount of people who had been touched by him.  As we filed in to get a seat there were slide shows playing on large screens showing Rich coaching football and soccer, doing things with his family and as always, smiling. 


In addition to many kids and young adults coached by him, there were members of the community, members of church, co-workers and or course, his family.  He grew up in a large family having three brothers and three sisters (I can't even imagine).  The three brothers took turns speaking and entertaining the audience with stories of Rich from their childhood to their current relationship with his wife and kids.  Watching this was more than emotional for me, it made me take a look at my childhood, my brother and my parents.  Unfortunately our family doesn't even come close to the kind of bond the Conklin's shared.  I only wish we did.


It was evident the siblings stayed close even as they grew older and started families of their own.  They talked about holidays, get-togethers and playing sports with one another.  It reminded me of the current TV show Parenthood.  They made family gatherings look fun. 


One of the brothers talked about the "bucket list" he and Rich made as the cancer began to take its toll.  This particular brother had connections with NFL coaches, college teams and resorts.  Wouldn't everyone want a brother like that?  He talked about the trips they made to the Eagles game and locker room, visits at colleges and school games, and a great vacation at the Atlantis Resort.  Unless I completely missed what he was saying, this brother had the connections and income to treat Rich and his family.  So, he did.  How many families give that freely, that unconditionally?  Even in times of despair or hardship, I don't know many that would.


The brothers were a follow-up to Rich's son and daughter.  I don't know how they did it, but both of them spoke in front of everyone about the love they had for their dad.  As you can imagine tears were either falling or being held back by all.  Personally, I was a wreck inside.  I don't have the exact words to quote but his son said something like this:  "I was blessed to have a great dad who made me what I am today.  I know everyone says their dad is great, but I can say with 100% certainty... he was."  This was only a small part of what Christian said but for me, the most meaningful.  It meant so much because it took me back to the email I sent Rich.  I knew right then, that if I was ever a dad, that's what I would want my son to say and feel.  Christian's words could be interpreted on so many levels.  My take was that in their world, dads are great.  Probably his cousins and friends think the same of their father.  But the reality is, not all dads are great.  Many are from it.  And even fewer come close to being Rich.


Christian and his sister Morgan both talked about their father's legacy.  Each said that all he wanted was to be known "as Christian and Morgan's dad."  How impressive is that?  Does it mean that Rich didn't aspire to do more in his life?  No, I hardly think so.  It just goes back (again) to show what was most important to him.  His family was everything.


I'm pretty sure I won't have a chance to compare myself with Rich as a dad.... except to Chewy.  I never planned on having kids.  At this point I'd be a very old man attending Raylan's graduation (yes, I'd name him after the guy on Justified).  But I can be a father-figure to kids and young adults that I come in contact with.  I can try and teach someone right from wrong.  I surely could save them from doing the dumb things I did.  If nothing else, I can promise to give them a smile.


Whether or not I'll even get these opportunities remains to be seen.  But there are many things I can take from Rich to better myself.  For starters I can "love life".  I told my wife a few weeks ago at the gym that not every workout is a great workout, but all workouts are good.  The same philosophy should carry over to everyday life.  Not every day is going to be great, but all of them can be good... and they should be.  I can try to have the impact Rich had on so many people.  Even impacting a tenth of what he did would be quite an accomplishment.  I can be a great husband and value the time we spend together.  I can brighten the day of those around me by remaining positive.  Oh, there are many things I can do.  These are only a few that would help me become Rich. 


I challenge you to get rich too.


Best wishes,


-Pete