It wasn’t easy for Rich Chou to leave his longtime role as Bellator matchmaker to pursue a new venture with Wimp-2-Warrior.
Just a few weeks into his new position, though, Chou is certain he made the right call.
Chou was one of the main behind-the-scenes players for Bellator for the majority of the past decade. His full-time tenure came to an end this past month when the opportunity to become Vice President of North American for Wimp-2-Warrior. The company puts forth a 20-week program that takes the everyday male or female and trains them to compete in an MMA bout.
The never-ending grind of working on the promotional side of a high-caliber organization like Bellator can be taxing, and after so many years, it was catching up to Chou. He was looking for an alternative that would allow him to spend more time with his two young children, and in kismet fashion, a compelling option came up.
“I knew with the hectic schedule and nature of the fight business, at some point I would have to transition out to focus on my family,” Chou told MMA Junkie. “This is something I thought would maybe happen further down the line, but things got accelerated when Wimp-2-Warrior approached me. They found me at a time where I was having these thoughts about wanting to focus on my family and slow things down a bit as far as all the travel and whatnot. They came to me with this amazing challenge of running North America.
“I sat down with my family and the timing and opportunity of it, it checked a lot of these boxes on a personal and professional level. I’ll still be working hard, and achieving the goals we want is not going to be easy, but it’s just a different type of work.”
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Chou said he gravitated to Wimp-2-Warrior not only for its current model but because of the opportunity for growth. He said he enjoys the task of being part of MMA on its most foundational level, and that comes from the gyms that help form the athletes who either train purely for passion and fitness or have greater aspirations built around glory and competition.
“Some people know Wimp-2-Warrior as this transformative fitness program, and it will continue to be that,” Chou said. “Around the corner in the very near future, we’re going to unveil a new plan that will build off of that and be a new layer. If you think you know W2W, just hold on. We’re going to show you a whole new side to this company that’s really innovative and really special. The goal is to help gyms, trainers and academies grow and become better, more sustainable businesses.
“They showed me a glimpse into the future and what the company is going to be and the opportunities I would get in the future as the VP of North America. There are tremendous opportunities. Wimp-2-Warrior is an amazing, life-changing program that revolves around martial arts. Getting the average person to train in martial arts is a noble, fantastic and amazing goal and mission. But the future of the company with helping gyms grow, helping the sport grow through innovation, technology, and media, is fascinating to me.”
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Although the future is exciting for Chou, he admits there were some challenges in leaving Bellator behind. He said he’ll still offer some assistance to the company in a drastically reduced role, but after a lot of thought and reflection, Chou said he knew it was time to splinter his ambitions into something new.
“It was definitely challenging to leave Bellator,” Chou said. “I had to think long and hard about it. Some soul searching definitely went into this decision and ultimately I felt strongly it was the right one, and a few weeks in I know it was the right opportunity. I’m certain of it.
“I’ll certainly miss Bellator. I had the best seat in the house for many years. But I think my passion (for) Wimp-2-Warrior is going to satisfy that void. It’s not like I’m going from being a Bellator matchmaker to selling insurance. I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to transition roles.”
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