From Ecuador to the UFC: ChIto Vera on Family, Immigration & the Immigrant Mentality

In Episode 14 of the ImmiGreat Podcast, Richard Wilner sits down with Chito Vera, UFC Bantamweight contender, ranked in the UFC's top 10, and the fighter with the most finishes in UFC Bantamweight history. But this conversation isn't about the highlights or the submissions. It's about the story behind the fighter.

Chito left Ecuador not because of a dream to become a professional athlete, but because his daughter needed a doctor who was in Los Angeles. What followed was one of the most honest and moving accounts of the immigrant experience you'll hear: sacrifice, uncertainty, longing, and ultimately, a family built in a new country the right way.
In this episode, Chito and Richard discuss:
👉 Growing up in Chone, Ecuador
👉 Becoming a young father and husband, and the moment everything changed with his daughter Anna's diagnosis of Moebius Syndrome
👉 Leaving his family behind in Ecuador to train in the U.S. and the doubt that came with those lonely weekends
👉 How the UFC's P-1 athlete visa works
👉 Why his team made the switch from a P-1 to an O-1 visa for extraordinary ability 
👉 Moving his entire family to California with $6,000, no social security, and no plan 
👉 How he ultimately obtained his green card based on extraordinary ability as an athlete
👉 What permanent residency has meant for his family, his daughter's education and medical care, and his peace of mind
👉 The immigrant mentality 
👉 Walking Paris Fashion Week, Stone Island campaigns, and how one organic relationship led to another
👉 What becoming a U.S. citizen would mean to him and why he's working toward it

Chito's story is a reminder that doing things the right way is rarely the easiest way. But it is the way that lasts.

Have immigration questions? Contact Wilner & O'Reilly:
Website: www.wilneroreilly.com/contact
Blog: www.wilneroreilly.com/blog

The ImmiGreat Podcast, hosted by Richard Wilner, brings you real conversations about the real immigration experience from the legal process to the human story behind it. Each episode is designed to inform, inspire, and remind you that you are not alone in this journey.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Cheeto Vera is ranked in the top ten of the UFC Bantamweight division. He has the most finishes in UFC Bantamweight history. He has fought more times, spent more time in that cage, and attempted more submissions than any bantamweight in the history of the organization. But none of that is why we're here today. We're here because behind all of it is a man who has spoken openly about something most fighters never have to think about the immigrant mentality. That chip that doesn't come from a loss or a bad camp or getting slighted by a promoter. Instead, the chip that comes from leaving everything you know behind because you know you had no other choice. Cheeto left Ecuador for a reason that had little to do with fighting and everything to do with family. And that reason shaped every single thing that came after it. Cheeto, thanks for uh thanks for spending time with me today. Means anytime.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Anytime, amen.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

So let's start at the beginning, take us back to Chone, Ecuador. Let's talk a little bit about what childhood looked like and felt like and things that you may have had, didn't have, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Well, I would say very, very happy childhood. Um lot of time spent in the farm. Um just, you know, what it looks like vacation, like spending time in the farming was like, you know, the employees would pick me up. We would like get the cows together, like milk the cows, bring the meal back to the house. Um since going, you know, we don't had horses on stables. They were like work horses, so they were like on on the wild. And then we would have to like go, like climb a little mountain with a with a banana, like to make them come to you, then you know, lace them up and ride them back to the house. And I mean, for a lot of people, you know, like now that I'm older and see kids now, you're like, hey, you want to go camping? They're like, no, they're you know, they're locking an eye. But for me it was like my dad would say, You guys want to come to the farm? Because he he will go to work regardless. And for me it was like, oh yeah, let's go. Like, that was like the coolest thing in the world to me.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

So good way to grow up.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

It's amazing. Like, I remember like just jumping from like huge bridges to the river, riding the horse until like I couldn't go longer because I was scared I was like too far from home.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

And you know, the other people in in the farm will tell like, hey, be careful, the sun goes down, the animals come out, and stuff like that. So I would ride sometimes an hour to the left, and you know, it was safe, all families, but each farm is like so many acres that in order to get to the next farm is like 20-30 minutes. And I love it. I I mean I still want to go back to that kind of living one day, so and then that's in the farm side. Then we would we go back to Chon and you know, all my cousins, we all live like pretty close to each other, so pretty together and big support.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Entire family family environment.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

So like I would spend time on most of my aunt or uncle houses, and then both grandmas, I will spend time on houses too, like on the weekends, and he's pretty good childhood, like nothing nothing like you know, not rich, not like having a lot, like it's still chon, eh? Like it's not like a big city, but like you had everything you need. Everything you needed and only good memories from what I can tell. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Uh speaking of grandparents, I've heard you talk about your grandfather before in other other interviews that you did, specifically uh him taking you to rooster fights when when you were a kid. Is that when fighting sort of entered your your life?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

I mean, for a kid to be around that, you know, you see a lot of fighting, you see a lot of drunk people, you see a lot of like kind of madness, you know. Sometimes there's not there's no regulation. So it's just the people that bring their roosters to fight, and then they just put tape around the knives. So you can just tell the guy next to you, like, hey, uh 50 bucks and red beats yellow, and then handshake, and then if either or chicken die, some people is just bail, they don't wanna pay. It's crazy. So a fight with a star, and I just watch a bunch of that stuff, but I feel like you know, my grandpa and my dad always had like good advice, so even if I saw a lot of that, it wasn't like affecting me much. It was like, you know, you respect people. If you make a bet, you gotta like have your word for it, so at least you get some sort of uh good advice and integrity, but you know, it's still pretty aggressive for a kid to be around that. But I used to love it. Like I used to don't miss a Sunday. Like I would go all the time. And I like it. It was fun.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

What what point in uh like how old were you when when fighting entered your life?

SPEAKER_00 5:14

I would say like around between third and fourth grade, I will get on fights pretty consistently, like for fun. Uh, you know, you play soccer, you bump into somebody, somebody says, you know, F you, whatever, and then you next thing you know, you're fighting. I wasn't very good, but I will always be down for one. I wasn't too big, I wasn't as strong, I was kind of slow. And I was always small for my age, so I would have to pick the right guy. But sometimes you pick the wrong one. Most of the time I did pick the wrong one, so I get my ass kicked.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

We learned some valuable lessons from that. Um I don't want to spend too much time on on fighting, but obviously at some point after fighting and then and deciding to make it a a career. Um you're married, you you get married at a fairly young age, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Yeah, we did got married around 18 years old, if I'm not wrong. And then we had a kid at 17. So no, we got married after that because it wasn't right at Anna was probably two or three. So we did get married right away in a way, but uh we were pretty young when she was pregnant. We were still in high school, so we m if she would have been if her due date were like three, four months before of April, we would have been still in high school when the baby was born. So it was like almost perfect. We'd made it through the graduation and then baby came after.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

And let's let's talk about the baby because fa family is a huge part of this, and and and largely uh from from what I know and and knowing you for a little while now, a a big part of your your reason for coming to the United States. Let's focus, let's focus on on your your daughter a little bit. Can you can you speak about your your firstborn?

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Well, everything was normal until like few moments after she was born. So she was born and you know everything normal. Like nothing on the on the previous checks on the doctors, they told us like, hey, there's must be something wrong or whatever. Everything was fairly normal. But then when Anna was born, like 30 minutes after, we were like, we were like, where's the baby? Like they're not bringing it back to the room. And you know, questions are raising and in Ecuador, you know, you have your whole entire family in the room. It's not like here, like only one person can be there. Like we had like 20 uncles, 20 cousins, people were drinking, and the baby wasn't coming. So the pediatrician came in, and she was like, uh, well, there's an issue, we need to talk about it. And everybody just went silent. Yeah, the whole room went just quiet. And then she explained us, she's like, Well, she's born with a rare um condition, it's called Mobius syndrome, and then we were like, We have never heard that before. So people were just everybody was stripping. Then she explained us about the muscles in the face are not working because uh some nerves on not exactly the left or right side, but those nerves are not working, so the signal doesn't go, so she will never have an expression, blah blah blah. At first we were like just thinking the words, right? And then we're like, okay, we are in a messy situation, so then we spent probably like 10-15 days in the clinic to make sure everything was good and and all that. And then when we were able to go home, they told us about all these therapies that we can get, like, you know, facial massages to like help develop that. Um and we get every kind of therapy that we could at the time to figure it out, and then we start like reaching out to just to people on the internet to like figure it out how we can provide the best for her because this is a very rare um I would call it disease or syndrome, I don't know the specific terms, but it was like very like rare. So we start you know going to Google and to the internet, and this case can be more severe than others. So there's kids that grow without limbs or stuff like that. So we were just like trying to figure out what level of stuff she got, and at one point it was like, okay, it's just the face that doesn't have uh movement in the cheeks area, mouth, and in the in the front. So then we started doing all the therapy for that, and then years later we find out like the best doctor that practiced the surgery to pretty much create a smile. And the doctor happened to be here in LA, and our first meeting with him, we are remembered we did it from Ecuador, like we talk via Zoom, and then he explained us the surgery, give us the price and all that. Then years later, when I was living here in Urban, we called him again and we were like, okay, I think we're gonna be ready soon, we will collect the money and and do it.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

At some point, it it sounds as though you realized that through through the medical procedures that your daughter needed, that the United States and Los Angeles in particular was the place that she needed to be.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

And was there a point in your mind where you realized that through fighting, through coming to the United States, that that's in the best interest of your of your family?

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yes. Um, so I remember I fought in London and I lost for the I lost via decision, and I was kind of in a in a weird space. Like it was almost like, hey, we're we're gonna get rid of you if you don't win your next fight. And that was very early in my career. So I decided to just ask my manager if I can move in with him for a few weeks or months to find a gym here because in Ecuador I didn't have um like a full system to train. I don't had like much training partners. Like it there wasn't developed for this career. So I moved in here and then we just went around, we went to Vegas, to Arizona, to San Diego, to try places, and eventually we find a place in Urban that I stay for a lot of years training, and they also provide like a fighter house. So I started training there for a full year while my family was in Ecuador, and you know, teaching classes, cleaning the gym, all that stuff to survive here. And then whatever I make on the side, send it back home, but then I finally got a fight and move the whole family here without having like a plan.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Can can when you left Ecuador and left your family behind, can can we focus on that a little bit? What what was that like as a young as a young man, as a young father, as a as a young husband to to the the emotional side of well not necessarily saying goodbye, but sort of see you soon.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Yeah, it was hard. Like just like you know, I never thought I would do that for work. Uh I thought I would always be able to fight figure out a way to train back home, but there was a point that when you reach the limit, I need to come to the US and find the best training, the better coaching, and have the training partners. So when I moved here, it was like I was so the when I went from London to live with Jason, I came back home for like a week to pack. And that was like the see you soon, like the goodbye. And it was it was weird because Anna was growing up, but Anna was old enough to kind of understand, but Nacho was only like a few months old. So by the time I left, he kind of like didn't know me. So by the time I saw him again, he had no idea who I was because he would see me through FaceTime every day, but it's different. He don't know what's the difference because he's uh he he he was a he was probably two months old. So you know the weekends were pretty hard, like just training Monday through Friday, and then the weekends just like you're by yourself, and you don't know no one in the US. Like the only people I knew was people in the gym and my manager. So I would spend a lot of time with him in the weekends, like he would pick me up and take me to his chick's family's house, or he would take me to a dinner or whatever, because I had like I didn't I didn't even know when outside the gym. So it was it was hard and it was like an experience like I had never experienced before. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

The the those nights, uh, those weekend nights when you're all by yourself, I I imagine there's a uh moments, moments of doubt. Did I did I make the right decision coming here?

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Like a a lot of times I was like, should you just go back and just get a job and forget about fighting? Like in Ecuador you can do that. Like I can have a normal job and kind of like live okay. And you know, with the help of family and whatever, like is doable. But then I always told myself, like, if I come back, like and I just gave up, that would that would eat me alive, like the way I am and the way I think. I was like, if I just come back with no result and just try to get something else, if I give up now, I will keep giving up in every other stuff. So I was like, there's only one way to find out. So I'm you I'm just gonna go for. And you do it almost risking, like you can you can get a divorce in in that time that you're not home because you're not present, you're not even if you're doing the best that you can do to provide, it was a year, and a year is a long time. So I'm glad we figured it out how to like just be patient with each other and just this is gonna work. There's no there's no plan B, there's no other option, so we make it work.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

And at some at some point, the ultimate fighter Latin America materialized, came, came into being. That was before that was before.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

That was that was before. So I already did all that. So this I was already in the UFC when I did all this, but I did this because in the UFC I need more training. I need more I need to bring up my level because I don't had any background. I started training at 16, so it's not like I have this like 30 amateur fights, so I was pretty green. So I I need to make the move to get better and see if this was possible. And then, you know, that made me left home, try here, and even that there was no guarantees. Sure. Because you you just you can break your knee, you can tweak your neck, like career can be over any day, and you just know you just don't know when. So I just saw my family, let's let's hold her and let's figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

And you did.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Thank God I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

You know, uh uh just touching on the ultimate fighter in Latin America uh a little bit. Um uh last episode I I had the privilege of interviewing uh Rafael Cordero, who was a coach on your team, and he had nothing but kind things to say about you and mention, but for you, the team was getting his ass kicked.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

We lost every fight until my fight. Um it was like it was like a crazy experience because Burdoon was on his prime. He was about to fight for the title, and then he did brought like his whole team. That's how I get to know Victor Davila, Rafael Cordero, and you know, back then that team was like Jackson's MMA, they were like the most strongest team in the moment. So having those guys like on the everyday, like I remember the first time he whole meets for me. I was like, you were I was tripping a little bit. I was like, this is crazy. And they they took the the the show serious, they were like helping, they were like pushing us. It was uh it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

That's awesome. Love to hear it. So this this desire, this drive, and and as mentioned at the beginning, and as you've spoken about before, um the the immigrant mentality, I want your definition of that, not not mine. What what does it mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

I mean, I remember years, years ago, um Joe Rowan always used to talk about the term of immigrant mentality, about like people that come, like he was telling his story a little bit about like his family from Italy coming to the US and and how they had nothing, and then that made him have the desire to become huge, right? And then for him paid off. So I did took that war, I actually learned that war for the first time from him. So when I heard that, I was like it impacted me a lot in a way. Like I'm like, it's the same thing. I came from nothing, I left my family, I brought my family, and now I kept my family because when I moved here, I won a fight in Australia, and then that was like the fight that was like you don't win this year, cut. So I had more pressure than any other fight in my life until today, that specific one. And then you know I won the fight, but back then I was making it was probably eight and eight. So after coaches, flights to Australia and the IRS, I probably had I remember if I'm not mistaken, I had like six grand left in my account. I went back home, I packed my whole family life. We had like probably 15 suitcases with baby clothes, kids' clothes, toys, and I just moved here, and I didn't tell anyone I was moving my whole family. Like most people thought, like my coach at the time, my manager, they were like, Okay, they're coming to visit you, and then they will go back and then you stay another year here. And I was like, no, they're moving in. And then Jason was like, like, because you know, Jason is from here, so now that I'm older and I know the system, I'm like, you just don't move your family to the most expensive estate in the country. So he was like, he picked me up in the airport and he was like, How long do you stay in? And I was like, forever. Like, I'm not just spending another year here by myself. And then he was like, So, what's the plan? I'm like, well, get a house and go from there. He's like, you don't have uh social security, you don't have a residence. And I was like, well, I don't that's that's your job, manager, right? And then he was like, he he did what's tripping because now I understand why he was tripping. He's like, dude, you got like two grand in the pocket. So I I remember I had uh a Mitsubishi Montero back home, and my dad was like, I can sell the car for you, and it was like probably like five or six more grand. My dad sent me that, and then I had like close to 10k. So I remember we were like just driving around and it was 10 p.m. So he was like, well, today we can get an apartment. So we spent like a week on a holiday in, doesn't that had a kitchen on. And we were like, this is awesome! Like, but then after a week, I'm like, well, I'm running out of money in a hotel. Sure. So we went straight to Santa Anna and find a place that doesn't require uh much info.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

So I remember Jason took me, I remember it was in 17th Street, and we went It was a pretty gnarly place. Like there was a lot going on outside. Cops every day. People knocking on your door. Just it was just a lot. But we were like, this is it. Like, there's there's no going back now.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

It's for for those for those listening that don't know, you keep mentioning Jason and Jason House of Iridium. Yeah, my manager has has been with you since day one, which is since my first fight. Which is really cool and really refreshing to hear because it's unusual, especially in today's day and age, where where a fighter can can spend so long with a manager, and it's really a testament to Jason and and to you for that matter. And awesome.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

We were together for a long time, and I mean we lived together when he had no fighters, when he had not even a bank account. So we have helped each other in a lot of ways, and he's been there for me the whole road.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

So let's uh let's focus a little bit on and coming here. You need visas at that point in your career, and and still to this day to a certain extent, the the UFC takes care of all the visa work for you. Do you do you can you speak a little bit about if if you recall, because the managers are largely involved in that, handling the P1, which would be an athlete's visa. For those listening, every fighter in the UFC in order to compete would traditionally have a P1 or or an athlete's visa. Parts of that case are filed here, and then ultimately you have to go to the US Embassy in in your home country in Ecuador to get that visa stamp in your passport. Can you speak a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Yeah, I mean that's the best thing about being in the gypsy right, or just having a proper job that they get a visa to for you. But when I moved in here, my whole family didn't have a visa. They came with tourist visa. And at some point, once they passed their time, they were needed to be attached to my visa. And I believe you have known mine since I got here, since the very beginning. So once they were attached to my visa, they can leave the country. I can leave the country. I can only leave if I have a fight. But every time I have a fight, I gotta stop by the Ecuadorian Embassy and get a stamp. Otherwise, I cannot come back.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

The US Embassy in Ecuador. What's that like? What it can you can you speak from your perspective about the added stress?

SPEAKER_00 24:31

I mean it's quite it's quite a hustle because every time I fought outside the US, I would have to either go to that country and find an Ecuadorian embassy.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Or US Embassy in London or a US Embassy in Japan. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

But for the most time, I didn't know that. So when I come back here, they would charge me like a few grand.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

At the airport.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

At the airport. So they would tell me you either pay or we send you back to your country. And I'm like, this is my country now. Like I have a house here. And they were like, well, you pay or bye-bye. So the stress is pretty big. And also when I used to go back home for work, I would have to go to the US Embassy and get a stamp again. And I remember one time I had something very important to do here in the States with my family. And I went from Guayaquil to Quito and I had no appointment. And everybody told me, like, don't go for no reason. I was like, I'm just gonna gamble. I'm gonna smile to the guards. They're from my country, they're gonna know me and will most likely like me. And I literally just asked one of the guards, can you grab any American and tell them that I need a favor and I need to be a stamp? Because the next available appointment was like three months after. And I was like, I spent already a year without my family. I'm not staying three months in Ecuador while they're by themselves in the US. So lucky for me, the guards went to pick up a guy, and then he came outside and said, What do you need? I was like, I need to get a stamp, and I need now my flights like later today. And the guy actually was cool. The guy was like, okay, come in. And then they stabbed me, and then they told me, like, will you do something first? I do whatever you want. So I did like a few videos about come to the embassy if you want a visa or or do it the right way. I was like, dude, I do I hustle for you right now because if they wouldn't stab me, I wouldn't be stuck for three months. And P1s are great for work, but you can do nothing. You can go anywhere, you can you can even purchase much more much things in the US. So you're here, but you're not really here.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

You're not you're not permanent. There's always that that visa issue hanging over your head. Let let's pull back the curtain on that uh a little bit. You you had the P1, which is the common visa for for athletes in in all sports. There's another type of visa called an O1, which is for people of extraordinary ability. P1s, you have to show that you're an internationally recognized athlete. The standard for an O1 is much higher. Do you remember going through that process when we went through it?

SPEAKER_00 27:25

Yes, I did remember. And I remember getting getting kind of upset about like the questions because they were like, can you prove that you are somebody? I'm like, how I prove you how you say they were asking for like highlights of my fight, they were asking for like link of interviews, they were asking for like a lot of things, and I was like, what about being a good citizen? What about pay taxes on time? Since I remember I paid taxes here since before I lived here, and I also remember I'm like, no criminal record. Max thing that I had ever was a spinning ticket for like 20 hours. So I was like, can we focus on that and give him my being a good guy? Yeah, give him my green card.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

So now you it was like you want proof of fame, but I can be a piece of shit, or you want me to be a nice guy doing the right thing and just give him my papers, but we had to go through the whole process.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Being a good guy is an important part of the process because if if you're a bad guy, even with the fame, you could be disqualified from the visa process and the future green card process because of criminal offenses, which thankfully you don't have because you're a good guy. Um I don't know if you remember the why we changed from one visa category to another, and that was to to You explain me, but what was it? It was to have a foundation to ultimately pursue permanent residency or a green card. That's why we switched from the P1 to the O one, because P1s don't allow you to have that intent to stay in the United States, whereas an O one does. But at some at some point, your family's here, fighting, careers going great, and you decide that this is Ecuador's always going to be home or a home, but here in the United States is your is your home base. Can you can you speak a little bit about that mentality of deciding that the the best future for you and your family is here?

SPEAKER_00 29:27

I mean, it is here because I get everything I need so I can perform while I fight, and also I can provide for my kids like good education, they can speak both languages, they can have an access for for better jobs or for whatever they really want to do when they do grow up. And then for Anna, the the public school offers uh a good uh special program so she can have you know like an assistant and someone that helps her with everything. There's there's there's pros and cons, right? Because in Ecuador, I'm able to get a speech therapist, a writing teacher, everything on a call. They will come to your house and do it. In the US for that, it's almost like that's like the difference of like a third world country and the first world, right? I call for a doctoral appointment here, it's gonna be in six months from now. In Equal, you just call a private doctor and you can show up that day. So you got the pros and the cons of both countries, but as is now, you know, they're getting the best they can and they have access to a lot of things. Like if Anna needs to get checked out or whatever, I can find someone to provide that or stuff like that. But they're getting the best they can here, and you know, there's this is a country of many opportunities. Like I sometimes when I see people in the street and they're not ill or sick, I'm like, you can be making any kind of money if you actually want to work, but that's up to you, right? Because there's opportunities to do anything here.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

It's a beautiful thing. The the uh back to the immigration process for a moment. The I I find uh opportunities come if we call it doing things the right way. Doing things the right way doesn't mean it's without struggle, it typically is with struggle. And people people have a tendency to to say, man, you're so lucky. But and when people say that, it kind of bugs me because they don't realize the hard work that you have to put in, the sacrifices that you have to make to create that luck. Through those sacrifices and successes that come along with the sacrifice, you are ultimately able to become a permanent resident of the United States to get your green card. That green card was also obtained based on your extraordinary ability as an athlete. Can you speak a little bit as to how, if at all, having that green card has has changed your life?

SPEAKER_00 32:07

I mean, it's a privilege because without a green card, and yes, I'm an athlete. I have the privilege of that, but I can get fired from the UFC any day. I can not be with them anymore. Them that B1 makes me just another person with no papers in the US, right? So yes, I'm lucky, but also yes, I work hard to maintain that look, but I mean the the best way to do it, I I know we're in times like there's a lot of um chaos and drama with immigrant stuff, and you know, there's people that have an opinion about this and people have an opinion about that, but you can always do it the right way. It's not gonna be easy, it's not gonna be fast, but if you put in the time and figure it out how to get it, I'm sure you will get it because even without papers, you will find a job here. I have many friends that work.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

Could could you could you do you think that there's a connection between that that drive, that doing it the right way, that working hard, that sacrifice and the immigrant mentality that you spoke of earlier, sort of not giving up?

SPEAKER_00 33:25

And we all have that because we all come from a place that we're looking for a better, a better life, a better future, but there's a lot of in-between sacrifice and failure that will have to happen in order to get there. And I do believe that most people can get it done and get it figured out if they go all in on that. And then going back to like, yes, I do know and I'm friends with a lot of people that came here and they overstaid by accident or they overestay because they don't want to go back and they feel theirs are better here. And most of them had made the money working as in a restaurant, in construction, in whatever, to get a lawyer to figure it out. Because if they find out that you're making the money to go and do it, and if you have no like record and you have just do most things right, you will get it, you will get it done. There's a way to do it. And I know people that have done it, so you can definitely do it the right way. It's gonna be a little harder, but then you're gonna be set forever.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah, it can never be taken away from you if you do it the right way.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Yeah, you're a permanent resident, green card holder, citizenship's ahead of you in the future. We'll talk about that in a minute. You you you live here, uh you fight here, you're raising your family here, but Ecuador's on your chest. Ecuador, every single time you walk out, uh how can you speak a little bit about holding uh being true to to both identities, to being a permanent resident here, living here, and being from Ecuador and maintaining that that connection to your home country?

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yeah, like I'm I'm very grateful uh for this country, for the opportunities that I have had to provide for my family, in fighting and outside fighting, but also Ecuador is everything to me. Like from showing the new generation and kids that you can do things through hard work and to keep on my chest the the country that give me the give me the heart and and the right route to just keep moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Can you speak a little bit more about that? For example, uh uh young kids in Ecuador who follow you, who look up to you, who tune in to to watch you fight. What what do you want them to take away from that? Not the not the highlight reels, not the submissions, not the knockouts, not that. What's the what's the real message underneath it all that you'd that you'd like them to take away from it?

SPEAKER_00 36:15

I feel like the right message is always like whatever you are really passionate about it, doesn't matter what it is, if you keep the path and just keep trying to get it, if deep down you really, really love that and desire that, it will happen. It's not gonna happen in a day, in a month, in a year, but it will happen. If you just want it for the money or for the fame, then initially you never really want that specific thing, but if you put everything and you fail and you keep trying, it will happen. There's there's always something good at the end of the tunnel if you just keep trying to find the light at the other side. And that's where I I I actually I always talk about that. Like if you really want it, doesn't matter how many chances you have to take in order to get it, and eventually you will get it.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

For those whether from Ecuador or elsewhere outside of the United States or or or even people here, but people who don't fully feel American, maybe they're not citizens yet, and and and they're permanent residents, is there, but but you can't go back to your home country, wherever that may be. Is there is there any advice, any, any takeaways from what you just said or something else that that you want them to know?

SPEAKER_00 37:40

I mean, if you can go back because you won't be able to come back here, and here is what you really want, I mean there's there's always a way. There's really always a way. You just gotta keep looking for it. Um first of all, stay aw- stay away from trouble, because that will set you off right away. But other than that, if you keep trying, and doesn't matter in how you're trying, because there's always that in this country there's always a job available. If you keep trying, you eventually will get it either through the job or whoever owns the job knows somebody that can help you putting that together, but you you just gotta keep knocking doors and eventually one's gonna open. And sometimes they don't open. Sometimes you gotta kick them and you gotta keep trying hard and keep trying to figure it out. But if this is what you really want, the the answers are right there. You just have to keep on looking for them.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

And you you mentioned the importance of staying away from trouble. That that's that's a very important concept, especially on the road ahead to American citizenship. That's a that's uh perhaps a goal, uh, uh a box that you haven't checked off yet, and and a door that hasn't been opened yet because you haven't had your green card long enough. Right. A couple years down the road. What does as you think about potentially a future of becoming an American citizen, is that something that you that you want? And if so, why? What what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 39:17

I mean, if I've been here this long, I've been here probably around 10 to 11 years. So if I'm gonna keep living here and keep raising my kids here, why not get um a blue passport, right? Those are pretty pretty strong, so yeah, might as well get one. And if I've been you know doing everything right and just been keep working my way up to you know from the P1 to the O1 to the green car. I mean if I'm not leaving in a few months, might as well get it. And like once you get it, you can go back to not getting. So just just keep doing the right thing and then eventually it will happen.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Love it. Uh a bit off topic, and then we'll come back to it. You know, your your social media for the most part is is packed with with fashion. You how did how did that materialize? Have you always been a fan of fashion? I mean, for those that don't know, you've walked in in Fashion Week, Paris, Stone Island, all of these types of things. How did how did that materialize? Have you always been a fan of that world?

SPEAKER_00 40:34

Um, I mean, I have always liked like good clothes, and for the most part, I grew up pretty cowboy. So jeans, uh a long-sleve polo and boots, but I didn't know that was fashion in some other parts of the world. So um I did grow up like that. I used to wear boots everywhere with blue jeans and uh and a two-ton polo, and they're pretty sick. So um it really almost happened by almost by asking. Like I was I wasn't never like I didn't grow up dreaming about fashion or brands and stuff like that. I always like skating and surfing, and for the most part the big brands in a way go to that model, kind of like copying the not copying, but implementing the lifestyle of a skater or or a surfer. And once it grew up and I started like winning big fights, for some reason I was almost getting pulled to that side. Like I would met an owner of a brand, and then we will have a conversation, and next thing I know, I was doing a photo shoot for that brand. And then one thing takes to the other, and then one day I received an email if I wanted to walk out on the on my friend, we're friends now on Willie Chavares um fashion show in New York, and I was like, Yeah, I know the brand is pretty cool, it's super Chicano and stuff. And they make good stuff, and then they they sent me an email and I was like, Yes, I do it. And without knowing how big it was what I was doing, because I was kind of like from the outside, like everybody was hitting me up. It's like, are you walking the show? And I was like, is that big? I didn't know it was that big at the moment. And then that took to the next thing, and then they took me to Paris. And then in Paris I get to met the owner of Stone Island, and it just organically happened. Like we we met for dinner one night, and you know, we break bread, we talk life and everything beyond and above, and the next morning it's like, hey, you want to be in our next campaign? And I was like, sure, like I'm down, I love the brand. Like I know the brand is very good, so why not? So and it just, you know, you know, those big campaigns lead to magazine shoots, and then that other shoot, like, so it's like you just kept met I just kept meeting like someone that owns a brand and we like each other, and then it's like, hey, you wanna do a shoot with us? And then I'm like, cool.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

It's a beautiful thing, man. I'm I'm a firm believer in in these organic relationships being created and then positioning yourself just just through being a genuine guy, and one thing leads to another and and and opportunities present themselves if you do it right.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

I would never thought I would be doing this. Like I always knew I want to fight and I wanna get to a title shot, and then if that doesn't work, work my way to another one and just keep trying to figure it out what's the best way just to win. And then that just have led to one thing and to another and it's I mean it's It's amazing. I never know that a guy from Chone will be walking in Paris fashion weeks.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

So it's wild when you when you look back and and think about it, which which really um it I mean it leads me pretty much to my last question. This kid from Chone who who packed a bag to come to America because at the end of the day your daughter needed a doctor.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

And if that if that kid then could see you today, what do you think he'd say to you?

SPEAKER_00 44:34

I mean, I remember like I always have this memory of me being on a swing in my house in Chony, and I was probably between two and four. And I used to like like to go by myself and just swing, and I would make a move in my head. And I always told myself you're gonna be somebody. I didn't know what. I never thought, I never had a dream, but I always thought I would be somebody. And looking and thinking about my dad, I was like, I'm gonna be the sickest cowboy in town. Like I would have cows, horses, a huge farm. And then I would always repeat that to myself. I'm I'm I'm gonna be somebody one day. And if that kid would see this, he would be like, I told you so. But like it sometimes when I look back and I see the things that I have achieved and on the on the rooms that I have been, I sometimes I go like I would never thought I would be in that table that day. On with that people, or knowing the president, and being friends with the president of my country and stuff like that. Like it's just it blew it blows my mind sometimes just thinking about like, oh wow, like I can I can text him and say I hope you're well, Pressi, and things like that. And then get a reply like how you been, how's training, blah blah blah. So to that, to I'm getting getting to meet most of my idols too, like that makes me like just look back and be like, wow, like I'm I was on Face End with this guy the other day, and when I was a kid, I thought I would never be in the same country as this person. So it's it's pretty it's pretty crazy what life can do if you keep trying and just put everything out there.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Man, you have a you have a great story, Chido. It's uh it's an honor to to know you, it's an honor to could to to consider you a friend. Likewise. And and like I said, man, I I really appreciate your spending time with me today and sharing a bit of your story with with people who are willing to listen and the advice that you've had to give.

SPEAKER_00 46:52

Anytime, boss. Anytime. Thank you. Thank you.