Shane Kruchten Q&A: Purple Heart Recipient, Endless Cardio and Fighting MMA debut at Heavyweight
Shane Kruchten has competed in several of the top mixed martial arts promotions in the world. But the road to get there wasn’t always easy for this Marine Corps Purple Heart recipient. Kructhen had to battle through both injuries and health issues to trim down from heavyweight to featherweight. “The War Rhino” caught up with Tony Reid of MyMMANews.com in the interview below.
Tony Reid – Clearly cardio is a huge factor in the cage. Your cardio is off the charts. You do more during your downtime than most people do at the height of their athletic endeavors.
Shane Kruchten – “Cardio is not a joke for me. I run 40 to 50 miles a week. Injuries really were a plague for me for a while. There were injuries that weren’t related to doing stuff like that. I was able to link up with Team Semper Fi. I am a Purple Heart recipient out of the Marine Corps. The team really picked me up and showed me the ways. I got awesome coaching from those guys. They showed me a whole new world. I have always been an avid runner. Getting on the bike and swimming was another thing I needed to put in my arsenal. I just blink out and go for it. I guess I am too stupid to stop sometimes. That’s my worst downfall but it’s all good.”
Tony Reid – You are a Marine Corps combat veteran. With all the trials and tribulations you fought through in combat, what an experience to have in your back pocket in terms of fighting and competing in Mixed Martial Arts today?
Shane Kruchten – “My training partners and the other amazing people I have in my life have protected me and pushed me to be a better person every day. I have been afforded this opportunity that not many people have. I have a tattoo down my back of the nineteen men I served with that never came home. To be able to carry those names into the cage every time and have them and their families live vicariously through me, to have that backing, the backing of the military, getting punched is nothing compared to getting blown up. I can tell any reader that.”
Tony Reid – Your entry into MMA came when a guy stopped you in a bar parking lot and asked you to take a fight. Can you share that story with us?
Shane Kruchten – “I went to a bar and my buddy said we should go to the back of the bar and watch these fights. They had a cage set up. I was 262 pounds at the time. I had no idea what MMA was. I knew boxing. I was an avid Mike Tyson fan. I walked back there and sat down with a beer in my hand. A guy walked up and offered me a bar tab and a chance to get in there and fight. I got in there drunk and fought in a sanctioned MMA fight and won.”
Tony Reid – Do you wonder what course your life would have taken had you turned down that fight that night?
Shane Kruchten – “I do. What if I would have lost? Would it have been too disheartening? I never say no to anything. That is my mentality. I have fallen on my face sometimes when I have said yes to stuff. At the same time I have never stopped saying yes. One of my good friends has adopted that mentality. He tells me how much he loves life. I called him one day. It was 3 in the morning. I asked him if he wanted to go to Cuba. He said sure. I booked tickets the next morning and took my best friend to Cuba. I just love adventure. I never let somebody or something hold me back. I will always find a way. So many people say all the things that they wish they would have done in their lives. I don’t have those moments. I need to slow down. I have those moments. I am doing too much. I haven’t hit my breaking point. I have been very blessed in that realm. I have been able to show my daughter an amazing skill. That little girl and my fiancée run my life. They me wrapped around their little fingers. My daughter already realizes you don’t say no, you just go. I love that about her. It’s cool to be able to pass that on to future generations. That’s how the world needs to be.”
