The man known as “The Natural” has been doing his signature arm bar to choke an opponent in the UFC Octagon for a while now. Since he defeated James Toney during the opening round of his much-hyped heavyweight fight in 2010, it’s been more than 15 years.
Yet, at 62 years old, Randy Couture might just be having his biggest impact yet—in the wellness industry, and particularly for military vets like himself. It all began with a cannabis gum.
Couture is more open to sharing his personal life with me. About five years ago I discovered CBN Gummies.
Couture is now the spokesperson for a new type of marijuana product. He recently partnered with startup Active Brand THCv to market the trendy cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin, which, similar to CBD, isn’t marketed as psychoactive. Couture claims he fought his whole career without ever using cannabis. He now takes THCv or some other form on a regular basis.
He’s also tried other plant-based remedies. In recent years The UFC Hall-of-Famer has enjoyed several ayahuasca and psilocybin retreats, as well as other powerful natural remedies. To fully appreciate just how improbable it is for The Natural—a polished Army vet raised by a strict single mother—to be spearheading the alternative-medicine scene, you have to understand just how he got here.
Couture earned his nickname from his natural ability to excel at just about anything he did—sometimes with hardly any training. Couture’s MMA debut came a few months before his 34th Birthday, while most athletes reach their peak during the 20s. On that day in 1997, Couture needed just a few seconds to defeat Tony Halme, at UFC 13, during the UFC 13 event.
Prior to that, he was an outstanding wrestler for his home town of Lynnwood in Washington, winning a single state title during his senior season. After graduating from high school, he joined the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
Couture tried weed, just like many young people in their late teens. Lynnwood High did not drug-test athletes so smoking a joint every now and then was no problem. Couture’s camouflage for Uncle Sam changed all that.
“I was always impressed by the courage of those who serve in the armed services, and I wanted a piece of it,” says the man. “I was not into getting high or doing anything else like that. But I had no choice when I joined the Army.”
Couture was determined to wrestle, and so applied for the Army Freestyle Wrestling Team. Surprised, Couture was instead assigned to the Greco Roman team tryouts. Couture’s clerical mistake meant he was required to make a choice between auditioning right away for a new style or waiting an entire year for him to apply for the one that he knew his whole life.
Instead of waiting, The Natural jumped right into Greco-Roman—a variation of Freestyle without the leg takedowns—and quickly rose to the top. Couture was in the Army from 1982 to 1988, where he won many international titles. After being discharged on honorable grounds at age 25, he went back to school.
It was an important time for him. As a Cold War Veteran, I have never been in a war zone, unlike many other men and woman who, after 9/11, had actually had the fight of their lives. The Air Traffic Control School trained me for air traffic control but the majority of my service was spent in the Army wrestling.
Couture’s dominance on the mat earned him spots in Team USA’s wrestling squad at the Olympics of 1988, 1992 and 1996. While pursuing his degree in literature, Couture was a 3-time NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State University. After graduating, he continued wrestling and returned to his native Pacific Northwest as a coach at Oregon State University.
Couture enjoyed coaching, but also knew that he had a higher ceiling as a competing athlete. After 31 years, he quit the Oregon State job and trained full-time. He made his UFC debut in May 1997 at the age of 33. After winning a tournament with four other fighters, he became the Heavyweight Division champion.
Couture, like so many other places he has been before the UFC, was pushed to the sidelines and never given the opportunity to show himself. He claimed that promoters wanted to find fighters who had a diverse background in martial arts, so they put Couture at the back of their list. Does this sound familiar?
Three weeks prior to that beautiful spring day in 1997, the phone rang.
He says that his first fight was “100 percent adrenaline, and 100 percent terror at the same.” “I did not know when the day would arrive, but as soon as I had the opportunity, I wanted to take full advantage of it.”
The nickname “The Natural”, which was given to Couture after he won his third UFC title consecutively in the same year, came into being. Couture’s 14 year UFC career was legendary. He is the only athlete to have earned a place in sports hall of Fame. In the course of this journey, he also opened his MMA training facility in Las Vegas. He launched one of UFC’s best-selling clothing lines and ventured into acting, with roles in The King Of Queens, Hawaii Five-0 You can also find out more about the following: ExpendablesThere are many other TV shows and movies.
Yet, there was something missing. Couture was a “fitness fanatic” who spent years in what seemed like constant pain. He was unable to stay awake and slept little despite a healthy diet and a lot of exercise. The man wondered why he was struggling with his diet and exercise, if they were so important to living a long healthy life.
The answer to that question began a brand new chapter.
Couture, whose military career and fighting career were behind him, returned to marijuana during the pandemic in his teens for the very first time. CBN tried psilocybin to get some sleep when he was working. Next came the ayahuasca wilderness retreats. Next came the venom of the Sonoran Desert Toad.
Everything worked. All. Of. It.
He sleeps eight to 10 hours per night, and now he’s able to enjoy the days “without going down rabbit holes.” His son Ryan is also a former MMA professional and he now spends most of his time in Oregon visiting Aimee. Couture, who has three grandchildren in total between Ryan and Aimee, says that his better health allows him to enjoy every moment spent with them.
Couture said it was an easy decision when Active Brands approached him earlier this year about their THCv product.
He says that this product is different from other cannabis products because it has a more energetic effect than one of sedation. “We have these preconceived ideas that stoners are getting the munchies all the time, and you know, aren’t doing anything on a daily basis…Active’s THCv is the opposite of all of that, which was really intriguing to me.”
Couture spends his time with family when he is not riding his Harley Davidson Road Glide, or working to help other veterans. Couture’s Xtreme Couture GI Foundation holds more than a half dozen events a month around the United States, mainly motorcycle “Ride For Our Troops”, in which he spends a day riding and slicing it up with veterans in cities all over the country. The mega-gym of his family in Las Vegas also hosts at least fifty veterans each Friday to receive free training and socialization.
Plant medicine made it possible. His own health—perhaps as good as it’s ever been—has made his wellness journey reach much further than the self.
Couture says, “We are trying to help them get over their traumatic head injuries and PTSD.” The plant-based modalities could help stroke sufferers reclaim their functions and delay or prevent Alzheimer’s. The effects are profound. He says that psychedelics and cannabis made him feel “like you were shedding programming. You felt like you were shedding bad habits, old habits. “The veil comes off and you see through. What did you know? The Matrix “Was it a documentary instead of a film?”
Couture cautions that he is cautious about whom he shares his plant-based medicine with. Even though the scientific community has been increasingly supportive of cannabis’ and certain psychedelics’ benefits for treating PTSD. Couture jokes about how some people dismiss the advice, saying it’s from “someone who got hit in the head too many times.”
He says he wants people to know that there are other options to start off with before jumping to the toad-venom.
“I will always advocate cannabis, THC and CBD in their appropriate forms, with the proper terpenes.”
The Natural has suddenly found himself on top of an entirely new game. The guy is a real natural.