Court McGee is on his second life and we mean literally! The UFC welterweight, after all, died because of an overdose before he was brought back to life. But that was nearly twenty years ago. And since then the Utah native has been going strong, living clean, and winning at life.

Today ‘The Crusher’ is crushing at life. He has a loving wife and three beautiful kids (all boys) and is a professional athlete on the biggest stage combat sports has to offer. However, by the grace of god, the miracle of modern medicine, and the competence of first responders, ‘The Crusher’ would have been just another statistic.

Court McGee details addiction story

Court McGee had loving parents, a great extended family, and no real trauma in his life, unlike many drug addicts. However, his foray into substance abuse started with alcohol. While ‘The Crusher’ didn’t get addicted to booze, an injury in his youth changed everything. To deal with the pain of that injury, the UFC star started taking painkillers and as time passed, his dependency turned into addiction. What made matters worse was his financial situation. Because he couldn’t afford a steady supply of Oxytocin or other pharmaceutical painkillers, ‘The Crusher’ got into black tar heroin, which was much cheaper.

Until one day when he would take a heroin shot that would change everything. “When I shot up, it was a little too much or a little too pure, I just went ‘Whoa’ and then I went out,” McGee recalled in an interview.

‘The Crusher’ in fact was legally dead, his heart and pulse stopped for about eight minutes until the first responders brought him back. And this harrowing experience changed the UFC veteran. He quit drugs and decided he would make something of himself, embarking on his journey to winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and joining the biggest, most prestigious combat sports organization in the world. But for McGee, that pales in comparison to what the Utah native has been able to achieve outside the octagon.

Hope 361 Project and The McGee Project

Having been there in the deep, dark (and often deadly) embrace of drug addiction, McGee knows exactly how difficult, nigh impossible it seems to get over it. So with his second life, ‘The Crusher’ chose a novel goal- ‘crush drug addiction’. To this end, the TUF alumnus has started two organizations- Hope Project 361 and The McGee Project.

These are McGee’s ways to give back as these organizations help addicts and provide them with the resources and support groups they need to get on the long and arduous path to recovery. So close are these initiatives to McGee’s heart that he considers them the biggest achievement of his life, winning TUF notwithstanding.

“Man, nine years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I spoke with my first high school and I had a young kid come up to me struggling with addiction—that kid’s married, he worked on an Air Force base, he had a little baby, and he keeps in touch with me. And as soon as that happened and he came forward and asked for help, I had already won,” McGee would fondly recall in an interview. What are your thoughts on Court McGee’s inspirational journey out of drug addiction and into MMA glory?