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04/28/2008
Georges St-Pierre – A Champion in and out of the Octagon
By Thomas Gerbasi
It was the biggest night of Georges St-Pierre’s life, and probably
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the most stressful. About to fight in front of over 21,000 countrymen at Montreal’s Bell Centre, the 26-year old was facing not only the man who beat him a year earlier, Matt Serra, but the high expectations of thousands of fans, as well as those of his family, friends, and himself.
But before he was called to the Octagon, St-Pierre turned over the spotlight in his locker room, and suddenly he wasn’t the most important person in the arena anymore. That honor went to a 16-year old named Michael, a former wrestler whose dreams were cut short due to a tragic accident that now confined him to a wheelchair.
“Go get him and bring the title here,” Michael told St-Pierre.
It was an emotional scene to say the least, and one that many pro athletes wouldn’t have agreed to so close to such a pivotal event in their lives. But when St-Pierre was contacted by the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation in Markham, Ontario, and told that Michael’s wish was to attend UFC 83 and meet his favorite fighter, St-Pierre, his manager Shari Spencer, and the UFC jumped into action without hesitation to grant the youngster’s wish. And meeting Michael gave GSP an added push as he walked into the Octagon to face Serra.
“He gave me a lot of motivation to win,” said St-Pierre. “He went through a very, very tough time; I can’t imagine how bad it is, so I consider myself lucky.”
There was no luck involved as St-Pierre dismantled Serra on April 19th to regain his crown, and now that he’s back on top, the Montrealer has the wheels rolling, not only to stay on top of the welterweight division, but to get his GSP Foundation up to full speed.
“It’s important for me because it’s time for me to give back to society,” said St-Pierre four days after his win over Serra. “I want to use my name, my credibility, and my stature as a professional athlete in mixed martial arts to help the young kids. I’m going to focus on the kids and the teenagers because growing up I had problems, and if I can help somebody who was like me when I was young, it will make their lives better. We’re also gonna help the sick children and be involved in a lot of causes. My foundation will not just be for something in particular; we’re going to be global and we’re gonna give to a lot of causes.”
Aiming to make an impact a variety of community interests and charitable causes, with a special emphasis on at-risk youth, the GSP Foundation
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began its work in earnest at UFC 83. A pre-fight party on April 17th raised $820 thanks to the work of UFC Fight Club members who designed a special GSP shirt for those who contributed $5, and the Fight Club also facilitated a meeting between St-Pierre and a fan who was stricken with terminal cancer after the UFC 83 weigh-in. Even the shorts St-Pierre wore in the Serra fight are currently being auctioned off, with his proceeds being donated directly to the foundation.
But St-Pierre’s charity work is far from done yet, as he will also be participating in the May 8th Toys for Boys event, which benefits the local children’s hospital in Montreal, and in the May 14th Air Canada’s Dreams Take Flight event, where he will be the celebrity host for special needs children flown to Disneyworld for the day.
Needless to say, St-Pierre doesn’t subscribe to the Charles Barkley adage ‘I am not a role model,’ and his actions shatter the stereotype of the ‘me, me, me’ pro athlete.
“It’s important for me to show a good example and it’s part of my job as well, so I consider being a role model very important,” said St-Pierre. “Plus, in life you should not be selfish. When you have an opportunity to give, you give. By giving to people, you will get back so much more, so it’s a good exchange. You attract what you are. If you’re a selfish or negative person, you will attract negative and selfish people to you.”
It's about him being a very charitable guy, like he had a guy in a wheelchair in his dressing room before the Serra fight, he holds fundraisers and donates it all.
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