Profile of a Gay Ultimate Fighter

The New York Times has a great feature on ultimate fighter Shad Smith, who is a previous felon with 46 counts of assault and battery as a juvenile, and who is openly gay.

New York Times writes:

"I've been a fighter my whole life," said Smith, who is 35. He was born in Cincinnati, but his family moved to San Bernardino on his 8th birthday. They were poor. His father worked an assortment of jobs, including preacher and small-time professional boxer. He taught Smith and three of his brothers how to handle themselves and took them to the local Boys' Club for boxing lessons. They were the only white kids, Smith said, and the Latinos and African-Americans at the club teased them about their Midwestern accents.

But most of Smith's childhood fights took place outside the ring, on the streets and at his instigation. He used to wear his hair in a mohawk as a tribute to the professional tag-team wrestlers the Road Warriors and prowl the neighborhood looking for fights. "I was just mad-dogging everyone" — staring them down — "until somebody said something, and then I'd put my hands up and start fighting." He said he had 46 counts of assault and battery as a juvenile. "And that's 46 counts posted on me. Can you imagine how many there actually were?"

I asked Smith why he spent so much of his youth looking for trouble. I expected some sort of clichéd, though possibly true, explanation — a difficult childhood or a Napoleon complex. What I didn't expect him to say was, "You know, bro, the sexual-preference thing."

Smith is gay, and I know of no other professional fighter who is openly so. "I was always scared that my mom and dad would find out and wouldn't like me, and my brothers wouldn't like me," he said. "I was petrified, because I didn't want anyone to find out. And I would try to be the toughest person around. That way, no one would suspect, no one would ever say it, no one would think it."

Last update: 03-24-2008 15:21

Posted by Grey, on 03-26-2008 14:05, 1. CUTE! If you want, I can leave my number. I love a man who can keep his own.   » Report this comment to administrator Posted by Larry Dentinger, on 03-28-2008 05:01, 2. Lover Material! I grew up in a rough neighborhood, and ran with a tough croud, I really could not come out till I was able to move away. Seems we have one thing in common! Your boyfriend better treat you right because someone like me would love to have you!!   » Report this comment to administrator