One of the things I love about having a blog of my very own ~ is that I get to choose to highlight all kinds of LDS Parents ! I have been so blessed to interview some truly fascinating parents, and some parents who are just like you or I. I love that about the Gospel, and how Heavenly Father works... we are all different and unique. We all parent differently. It is so perfect because we all have unique and different children. It's so amazing and just so very perfect. How thankful I am that we are all different, and that our children are all different and not cookie cutters. How boring would our world be ?
That is one of the reasons I was so excited to interview Brother Wilson. He is one of those unique people who have a passion for something that is just a bit well ~ different then what maybe I might choose and I love it ! Enjoy the interview and Happy Parenting ! ~ JL
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JL~ First of all, who the heck are ya ? :) Can you tell us a bit
about you, your beautiful wife and your cute as pie kids ? ( While on Instagram I saw a picture of his beautiful daughter Scarlett and what I thought was a beautiful baby doll she was holding.... turns out she was holding her sister, Adaline ~ they really are that beautiful! )
Westin and Jennifer Wilson
Scarlett and Adaline Wilson
( This is the pic where i thought Scarlett was holding a baby doll! They are just that cute aren't they ?? LOL! )
Westin ~ I am Westin Wilson. I am a Husband, Father, and Fighter.
However, being a Pro MMA fighter is not my day job. I graduated with my degree in Public relations (PR) and have done work for several companies using my experience in MMA and PR, which included helping run Mitt Romney’s charity event where he fought Evander Holyfield.
That was an amazing experience meeting Mitt and moreover seeing Evander Holyfield (a legend of boxing) enter a ring as if it were a real fight. I was ringside for the whole event.
However, my current day job is a business analyst for a Utah based
software company.
My wife’s name is Jennifer and she was born and raised in a small
town in southeast Oklahoma.
We have two girls, Scarlett Virginia who is 3 and Adaline Joyce who is 9 months.
My wife is a stay at home wife and esthetician. We lived in Utah for the last 5 years until last November when we moved out to Fort Worth looking for
more opportunities and to live closer to family.
JL~ Any cute stories about how you guys met, or proposal etc ?
Westin ~ Jennifer and I grew up together for a time. My dad worked for the
DEA so we moved around a lot. One of the areas we lived was McAlester Oklahoma where my dad was called to be the bishop and Jennifer’s dad was called to be the first counselor.
There have only been 3 women in my life who have whooped me growing
up: My mom, my older sister and Jennifer.
At a church activity we were doing a water balloon activity and Jennifer had just got a spray tan and was not participating (She had a school dance in a few days) I was 13 and she was 15. When people tell me not to do something it becomes really tempting to do that something so I decided to hit her with a water balloon
ruining her spray tan.
One thing led to another and I was face down in the groung getting pounded on by my future wife. My family shortly moved away and I lost contact with Jennifer. After several years she added me on Facebook and she looked a lot better than she did when she was 15. So I decided I would give it a try. We dated for about 6 months
and then got married.
JL~ What do you love and admire about your beautiful wife Jennifer ?
Westin ~ What I love about Jennifer is how important family is to her. She
constantly is trying to plan things for all of us to do. She really makes each moment I have with the family important. She also keeps me in line because I can be a little rough around the edges at times. She is constantly by my side through thick and thin through the ups and downs.
JL~ Westin where did you go on your mission ? Any spiritual stories you would like to share ?
Westin ~ I served my mission in Rochester NY Spanish Speaking. I was extremely
blessed on my mission and I learned if you ask the Lord to be an instrument in his hand he will use you. Even when you think it might be too much, He will provide a way to accomplish what He needs you to do.
JL~When you decided to marry, were you doing pro MMA stuff Westin ? What was your wifes reaction to her husband possibly getting hurt ?
Westin~ I started MMA in High school. My dad’s job moved us to Sao Paulo
Brazil and I could no longer wrestle so my dad offered to pay for me to do MMA. My mission was the only state in the US that MMA was still illegal and I did not do MMA for the 2 years on my mission and 2 years after. When we first got married I told my wife I wanted to get back into fighting and she told me to go for it. I would regret it if I did not give it a try.
My first fight was the main event of this amateur event. I fought
this 3-0 undefeated kid. It was the most damage I have ever taken in a fight but I beat the guy. After that I was hooked and I worked up the amateur ranks and turned pro about 3 years ago.
After my first 2 fights she stopped going to them. She stays home ( or in the hotel if we travel to a fight ) and just waits for my call or my little brother, friend or whoever is with me at fight night to call.
My wife is very supportive of me fighting. She does worry, but knows
I have dreams and goals and wants to see me accomplish them.
JL~ Tell me about your cutie pie kiddos !!!! What are their personalities
like ?
Westin ~ Scarlett is 3 and she is fiercely loyal. If she knows you and accepts
you she is all in being your friend. But you have to earn her loyalty. She is very smart and loves princesses and dressing up. However she is not afraid to rough house either.
Adaline is the best baby you could ask for. She is always calm and
smiling. She is very giggly and loves to laugh. She is tough too because she has an older sister who is still learning how to be soft with a new baby sister.
JL~ What are some of the things you do to teach the Gospel in your
home ?
Westin ~ Right now our big thing is learning new primary songs and we make sure to pray often in the house. We always have Scarlett say a prayer and then we say another prayer.
Since we have young kids our family home evenings usually consist of a video from the primary kids section of the CHURCH WEBSITE and we try to learn a new song.
JL~ Funniest or grossest parenting experience .... and GO! Lol
Westin ~ We have been lucky to not really have anything gross. ( JL would like to insert here ~ give it time, Westin, give it time! LOL!)
JL~ Any sweet spiritual experiences with your daughters ? What are
some things they love about church or FHE etc ?
Westin ~ Scarlett loves to sing and dance so anything with singing and dancing. She also loves nursery. As far as spiritual experiences it's always heartwarming to hear her pray.
JL~ What are your schedules like... do you set aside specific times
daily for family etc ?
Westin ~ I get up at 6:45 head to work. Get home at 4:30pm and from 4:30
to 6:30 is family time. At 6:30 its time to train from 6:30 to 8:30 and then I come home and it's time my wife and I hang out.
Sundays we do our family home evenings and usually go to a park.
JL~ Westin ~ what will you do if one day your daughters beg you
not to fight anymore ? This is a hard one, I know.
Westin ~ It would be a serious discussion we would have as a family but I am not sure what I would do. It depends on where I am at in the journey as well. If I was competing in the UFC then I probably would not quit because I could do more good then just fight. If I am still on the regional circuit and no hope of moving up any time soon then I would consider it.
JL~ How does Jennifer handle your job ? From one wife to another... how does she not throw up at the thought of you getting hurt ? ;)
Westin~ MMA is not my full time job I am a business analyst during the days.
However she does not go to my fights. She is very much like the wife from the movie Cinderella Man~ she stays at home and waits to hear back from me or someone about the result.
JL~ Ok... my fave part of the interview lol. I don't know a lot about MMA ~ so I called someone who does ! My favorite MMA fan ~ my 73 year old Aunt ! She loves it and sure wishes they would wear the short shorts again... hahaha !!! LOVE HER ! Ok, she has some good questions for you!
Aunt Bon Bons ~ What is your best hold ?
Westin~ I have 2 submission wins by Triangle choke. Outside of that I have knockouts and TKO's.
Aunt Bon Bons ~ What class are you ?
Westin~ I have professional wins in 135 (Bantamweight) , 145 ( Featherweight ) and 155 ( Lightweight )
145 (Featherweight) and 155 (Lightweight)
Aunt Bon Bons~ How many hours do you train a day ?
Westin~ 2-3 hours a day
Aunt Bon Bons ~ Have you met any super famous fighters ?
Westin ~ Yes I have met many UFC champions and a few legends of the sport. I have this weird thing where I refuse to ask for autographs or pictures with them because my goal is to one day be just like them. So I try not to put them on a pedestal.
Aunt Bon Bons ~ What kinds of injuries have you had ?
Westin~ Broken nose several times. I've never had a black eye in my entire life. But my worst injury came in training a year ago. I tore my ACL and had to take a year off after surgery adn rehab. Then the move to Texas delayed my return even further.
Just a couple of the inspirational quotes you will find on Westin's Instagram (link below)
JL~ Back to me folks. I wanted to share with you a blog post that Westin shared on his Social Media the other day. I will have links below for you to follow him. This blog post he wrote sums up everything here in the best way possible. You can find the post HERE. Please go check it out.
Here are links to Westin's Social Media where you can follow his fights, his family, and his life. I sure am thankful he agreed to the interview ! I love the different aspect on parenting ! Thank you so much Westin! We sure wish you the best of luck in your future !
Westin Wilson Facebook : FB
Happy Parenting! Love, JL~
