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Lodune "The Vanilla Gorilla" Sincaid
July 18th, 2006
Interview by Gray
Photos
by Stephanie Nice/Brooks Institute of Photography
Vanilla
Gorilla graphic courtesy of Lodune Sincaid
  
This Saturday on iNDemand and Dish Network PPV is
WFA's "King of the Streets"
from the Great Western Forum
in Los Angeles, California.
The World Fighting
Alliance is boasting this
as "The Best Card In American History"...
and it's an outstanding card indeed.
One bout of interest features two of the
most entertaining MMA personalities out there:
TUF® Season One star Lodune "The Vanilla Gorilla" Sincaid
(9-2-0)
verses
Jason "Mayhem" Miller
(14-4-0).
NW FightScene got to chat with Lodune just after Mayhem stated
that he plans to be
voted President of Whoop Ass after this fight.
We wanted to bring you the response
from Lodune, a young fighter rumored
to be moving back to The Great Northwest soon.
What we ended up with
is a new friend, and an interview that gives us all some
inspirational insight
on the amazing life of this TUF star.
NWFS: Please tell us a bit about your childhood...
LODUNE: My most obvious memory is depression; my father and mother were both hospitalized. My Father used excessive alcohol during first their 2 years, due to deep depression. He used drugs and booze, and was very abusive. He was hospitalized for 6 weeks and put on meds. He continued having depression issues and went deep into depression every 3 months. He seemed very depressed and angry all
the time at home. He spent a lot of time with me and my Mother, who was also under a doctor's care. She was clinically depressed, hospitalized for months, put on meds, & was in therapy. After 10 years Mom filed for a split, but eventually went back to my father. My family was in turmoil constantly... Mom and kids beat, walking on egg shells. Always fearful, it was very volatile for our whole family. My Mom has been depressed most of her life. My Grandma was institutionalized when she was pregnant with my Mom, who was born in Psychiatric Hospital. My Grandfather and Grandmother were both hospitalized with mental illnesses. Uncles of mine were also diagnosed mentally ill. As a child I was very withdrawn and stayed to myself. I would work out excessively. Eventually I was put on Prozac. My Dad tried to throw me into sports, something he never could do. I rebelled, went into street fighting to become individual, and to crush my family pain. Eventually my parents divorced and I became very withdrawn and depressed... even attempted suicide. I was hospitalized for two months, and again put on Prozac. I left Minnesota, went to California and started to become the man I thought I could be. Now we are here... My point is we all have demons, but we don't have to follow our family history, we make our own path!!!
NWFS: Holy Cow Lodune! I really respect that you took such a stand for yourself.
Do you feel this is a direct reflection of your warrior spirit?
LODUNE: Like Joe Rogan once said, a bad upbringing makes for a great fighter,
so yes it does reflect my spirit.
NWFS: You spent some time living in the NW?
LODUNE: Yes, and I think I will be moving back to Portland in August. They train and drink up there
'cause it rains so much that you don't have many other choices. But the people are great and my sexy meter does good up there!
NWFS: What made you decide to compete in MMA for a living?
LODUNE: I fought a lot, but jail can take the cool out of that real quick. I went pro in 2000. I started with Gokor and Gene LeBell, and
Hayastan Fight Team. Now I just walk earth like Kane. I am a pro fighter because of the path I was born on... Warrior's Road.
NWFS: What would you do if you did not fight for a living?
LODUNE: I would do private fitness training. Come on, do you see me doing your taxes?!?
NWFS: How long have you been training?
LODUNE: I've been training my whole life, wrestled until 10th grade.
NWFS: How did you get on to The Ultimate Fighter®... What was the process?
LODUNE: They called me; I guess they were watching me for awhile.
NWFS: How has your life and career changed since being on The Ultimate Fighter®?
LODUNE: The show changed everything. It's great for me to get noticed, but I forget that I was on show and wonder how all these folks know me.
NWFS: Where did you get the nickname "The Vanilla Gorilla"?
LODUNE: I got the nickname in the Navy. I had a lot of black friends, and was at a black night club, and they said I was a gorilla in the mist... a Vanilla Gorilla and it just stuck.
Hell its cute, right?!?
NWFS: Miller says he plans to be voted the President of Whoop-ass after his bout with you. How do you respond?
LODUNE: That's funny. He can say what he wants. He is like a blender full of nuts and bolts, loud and aggressive... but pointless.
NWFS: What's you prediction for the Miller vs Sincaid bout?
LODUNE: I think the fight will be fun. It's just a fight, so I just hope no one gets hurt too bad,
and I hope the loser buys first round!
I see me and Miller having a stand up war,
that's where I want to keep it.
NWFS: How about the Matt "The Law" Lindland vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Bas Rutten vs Kimo bouts?
LODUNE: The Law and Jackson is a tough one to call. I am a fan of both...
but the big black man really wants to Break The Law
- so I can't call that one.
On Bas and Kimo... I'll have to go with Bas, I like his hairdo.
NWFS: What's one of the funniest experiences you've had in the MMA industry?
LODUNE: The funniest thing would be after the Bobby [Southworth] fight I had on TUF, I went to the loser house. I went to the gym and trained, then went to The Hard Rock and got sooo drunk I ended up leaving and sleeping in a bush on the strip in Vegas. It took me awhile to find out how to get back in contact with the people to come find me. Lucky for me, while I was at the club earlier I got cash for stripping at a bachelorette party. So I had a sandwich while I woke up in the bush.
NWFS: What's in your cd player right now?
LODUNE: Sublime's Greatest Hits. They rock. I'll be walking out to them on the 22nd.
NWFS: What are your favorite movies?
LODUNE: I always watch a funny one the night before a fight,
just to get my mind off the fight for awhile.
NWFS: What about you would surprise your fans?
LODUNE: People would be surprised that I love to cook and write poems.
Yes poems...
NWFS: Any remarks you'd like to leave us with?
LODUNE: Thanks for the love, and I hope you tune in to WFA - we are about the fighters.
You go to UFC you see UFC
T-shirts. You come wear your favorite fighter shirt at WFA...
they are about the fighter.
Also I heard the guest ref for Monkey Miller and me will be Jane Goodall.
NWFS: Thanks so much Lodune, we appreciate your time!
Best of luck Saturday!
Fans
wanting to wish Lodune luck should visit his MySpace page at:
http://myspace.com/lodunesincaid
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