CAS CONNECT 2014

Randy Couture is busy as ever today, wi th a career that involves act ing, broadcast ing and entrepreneurship. 5 Current OSU head wrestling coach John Smith made a huge impression early on, largely by how he pushed himself competitively. “I walked into the wres- tling room on my recruiting trip in 1988, and I saw John Smith and Kenny Monday in there training, putting the time in and doing the work,” Couture says. Smith had just wrapped up one of the great collegiate wres- tling careers in the 134-pound weight class and would soon win his first gold medal at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul. He became head coach of the Cowboys wrestling team during Couture’s senior season in 1992. “I learned in the Army that I could compete at that level, and I learned at Oklahoma State that I could win at that level,” Couture says. He’s been winning ever since but is quick to point out his physical prowess only tells part of the story, especially in regards to the sometimes misunderstood UFC. “It’s a thinking man’s game,” Couture says. “It’s not just physical brawn; it’s kinetic chess in just about every sense. You have to outthink your opponent in a physical way and that takes a lot of disci- pline and dedication.” While his coaches and contemporaries such as Chuck Liddel or Tito Ortiz have pushed him and helped shape his career, Couture looks to home for his most important inspiration. “I think the biggest influence in my life has always been my mother,” he says. “As a single parent, with three kids, she demonstrated the work ethic that she instilled in us three kids and is one of the things that allowed me to distinguish myself from all the others. “It boils down to being able to put yourself out there and do the work.” Couture is “out there” in a whole new way these days. In addition to The Expendables 3 , he has starred in two proj- ects for the Spike TV channel, a film called Fight Master and a series called Gym Rescue . He also has a cameo in the action-comedy, Stretch , which stars Ed Helms and Jessica Alba, among others. It is a different role for Couture, and he seems especially excited about it. “I’ll be interested to see if anyone even recognizes me in that one but it’s a fun movie,” he says. “You do some things you would never do in real life,” Couture says of acting, “but you still have to kind of twist that around in a way so that you can relate to it and tell the truth. If you’re not telling the truth, nobody is going to buy it.” Apparently audiences and producers are buying it indeed, for Couture’s career is on an upward swing. The Expendables franchise has given him a high-profile plat- form and put him in contact with some of the most success- ful movie stars in the business. Aside from enjoying a behind- the-scenes interaction with “Rocky” and “The Terminator,” Couture observed and sought to learn from the best of the best, just as he did in wrestling and MMA. “They know their industry, they know their audience, they know how to succeed, and that takes a lot of hard work and dedication to what they do.” That could easily describe Couture’s path to becoming a UFC champion. It took hard work, dedication and keep- ing his failures close enough to be used as motivators instead of inhibitors. It began when he started wrestling as a child; those values continued to grow as he did. He spent six years in the Army, includ- ing three in Germany where he honed his wrestling skills enough to earn a recruiting visit to OSU. “I knew the first week I rolled into Stillwater, I’d made the right choice,” Couture says.