The international day, held annually on Oct. 2, raises awareness about the importance of airway health with a worldwide webathon.
Asthma couldn’t stop wrestler/fighter-turned actor Randy Couture from becoming a champion and a Hollywood star. For that reason, it’s no surprise the multiple wrestling champion and star of The Expendables movie franchise has thrown his weight behind Global Airway Health Day, which is observed every year on Oct. 2.
“I was born with asthma so airway (health) is pretty important certainly to people like me,” he says in a public service announcement for the Foundation for Airway Health. The Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder and Hall of Famer encourages people to join the commemoration of Global Airway Health Day, which for the second consecutive year includes an international, hours-long webathon.
“Mr. Randy Couture knows first hand the importance of airway health,” states Dr. Howard Hindin, Foundation for Airway Health chairman. “He’s a wonderful example of what people can achieve by taking care of their respiratory health. His support of Global Airway Health is invaluable.”
Couture is an inspiring success story of overcoming a health condition to achieve his dreams and goals.
The Washington State-born fighter and movie star joined wrestling in junior high school and in his last year of high school won a state championship. He later served four years in the U.S. Army, moving up the ranks to become a sergeant in the 101st Airborne and managing to practice a bit of the contact sports he loved so much–wrestling and boxing. He also made the Greco-Roman wrestling team.
After his military discharge, the wrestler decided to try out for the Olympiads and three times he served as a U.S. Olympic wrestling team alternate and a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials.
While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in foreign language literature at Oklahoma State University–he is fluent in German, he was a runner-up in the North Collegiate Athletic Association multiple times.
He went professional in mixed martial arts with the UFC, becoming the first fighter to hold two championship titles in two different divisions and winning a total of six titles.
Along his wrestling career, the successful champ was bitten by the acting bug. He made a cameo appearance in the CBS show The Unit as a military guard and later as a fight commentator in the film Redbelt. Bigger roles awaited Couture. He co-starred in the 2008 film The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior along with Michael Copon, Karen David, Simon Quarterman, Tom Wu and Andreas Wisniewski. Two years later he played Toll Road in Sylvester Stallone’s 2010 action film The Expendables, part of a stellar cast led by Stallone that also included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Steve Austin and Mickey Rourke. He would reprise his role in two subsequent sequels. Other Hollywood credits include the heist thriller Setup, starring 50 Cent, Ryan Phillippe and Bruce Willis, and the action film Hijacked, alongside Dominic Purcell.
Couture has also appeared on Dancing With the Stars and the TV series Hawaii Five-0.
“What an amazing story of someone who has achieved so much by taking care of his airway condition,” says Sal Rodas, executive director of the Foundation for Airway Health. “He’s an inspiration to millions of children and youths around the world who face asthma and other respiratory issues.”
Using his fame for good, the wrestler and actor has done various public service announcements for causes dear to his heart, with one PSA raising awareness about the dangers of crystal meth.
Now the wrestler that has defeated the challenges posed by asthma turns his attention to airway health.
In the video for the Foundation for Airway Health, Couture says, “I want to invite you all to join us on Oct. 2 as we celebrate Global Airway Heath Day.”
Dealing with asthma and other airway conditions is a central theme of Global Airway Health Day on Oct. 2, 2021. Get your free tickets today at GlobalO2Day.org.