Trevor Wittman: Elite MMA Trainer Joins Crusade Against Bullying

Trevor Wittman, the owner and head trainer at the Grudge Training Center in Denver, Colorado, is on a mission to make a difference—and not just inside the Octagon.

Grudge, which is home to some of the sport's finest athletes, including Shane Carwin, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt and Brendan Schaub, has quickly become one of the most sought-after mixed martial arts gyms in the world, and at this point in time, shows no signs of slowing down.

“Our gym has only been open for 15 months, and what we’ve done already is only the start,” said Wittman over the telephone. “We’ve got a great group of fighters. I turn down five fighters a week. We’re looking for the right guys—guys who are going to be consistent, be team-players, and like I said, come out with a positive attitude.”

Although Wittman is undoubtedly proud of his gym—certainly for good reason—the Denver native is ready to take on a much tougher opponent than anything the world of mixed martial arts has to offer, as Wittman has joined the crusade against bullying in his country.

“I was actually bullied because I was transferring schools so much, and I was so small. I was 4-foot-11, 92 pounds all the way up to eleventh grade, so every time I would move, I would always be the smallest kid in the school, so I was always getting picked on,” said Wittman, “It’s something that was going on when I was in school, and it’s still going on.”

In response to the problem, Wittman and his crew at Grudge have begun holding free anti-bullying seminars for victims of bullying every Saturday at their training facility in Denver.

To critics may who think that Wittman is only contributing to the bullying problem by teaching more kids how to mimic their favourite mixed martial artists, Wittman is quick to point out that his seminar will be far from just a self-defense class.

“One thing that we will be teaching, it’s not just an MMA class that we’re going to be teaching to these kids,” said Wittman. “I want them to have people to speak to, because if they’re not getting that at school, sometimes they need someone to talk to. To have an extra source to go talk to, I think it would be great for the kids.

“I want to find a councillor, someone that works with the law enforcement, and just all the trainers from the gym. Everyone’s been really cool on the idea, and everybody’s been wanting to help us out.”

Although Wittman and his crew at Grudge have just recently begun putting on seminars, the future is bright for Wittman’s idea.

“My short-term goal, we’ll do it consistently every Saturday, we’re going to set up a time just for this, and my goal is to build up some type of structure—something that works, that I do for six months or a year, or once I get a structure built, I want to go to other gyms around the country... my goal is to get every state in the United States to have three-to-four gyms doing the same thing we are right now off of our structure.”

As if working to rid his country of bullying wasn’t enough, Wittman recently took a swing at feeding the underprivileged in his hometown Denver.

“It was probably about two weeks before Thanksgiving, and my wife had one of her friends who was trying to get some turkeys to help out the Denver Rescue Mission, so we jumped on board and started Tweetin’ it and tellin’ our members,” said a passionate Wittman, “We had a good turn-out... my wife’s and my truck were filled to the brim and we took it down to the Denver Rescue Mission, and handed them out to the people out there. Man, that was great, it was a great feeling.”

As it turns out, Wittman’s Thanksgiving food drive for Denver’s underprivileged is only the beginning.

“That was our first time doing it, and with the response we got, this is going to be something we do on a continuous basis—whether it’s Thanksgiving, whether it’s Christmas, toy drives, whatever! We’re going to be doing all types of things like that.”

Not only has Wittman been able to reach the highest levels of his career, but he is also doing his part to make the world a better place to live in—a true role model.

Wittman, who enthusiastically describes his life as, “going great, having fun,” serves as a role model to not just those in the world of mixed martial arts, but all people, everywhere.