MMA Fighting - Unpacking The Suitcase Kid | The Unreal Story Of One Fighter’s Search For A Miracle

Episode Date: August 19, 2021

MMA Fighting's Mike Heck brings you the story of "The Suitcase Kid" Eugene Aubry, an up-and-coming fighter from Philadelphia who seemed to be on his way to big things in the world of MMA before a senseless act of violence potentially took his dreams away. This mini-documentary dives into that tragic night in October 2020, his trauma-filled childhood, Aubry's tremendous drive and self-sacrifice, a selfless community having his back, and the hope for a miracle. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Instacart, you get groceries that over-deliver, like when you get groceries that are the same prices in-store. With no markups that select retailers, you get in-store products for in-store prices, and the only thing that isn't in-store is you. That means you could order in-store products at in-store prices while you're in sweatpants, in spin class, in stuffy work meeting, in anywhere but in store. So download the app today and get $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Service fees exclusions in terms apply. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Eugene Aubrey might not be a household name, but in the Philadelphia MMA scene, he was building a reputation as one of the hardest working up-and-comers in the area,

a young man who literally went all in on the sport of mixed martial arts, so much so that he was willing to go without food, family, and even shelter to make his dream of making it to the UFC a reality. As the path was becoming a little bit clearer, and things were starting to fall into place, tragedy struck. A senseless and seemingly random act of violence on a fall night in October 2020 may not have taken his life, but it took his ability to walk, and in most people's eyes, it appears to have cut an aspiring fighting career short.

While things seem impossible now, Eugene Aubrey, with the help of a giving and selfless community around him, is not willing to accept that fate just yet. This is a story about trauma, self-sacrifice, overcoming adversity, and hope for a miracle. I'm Mike Heck from MMAfighting.com, and this is unpacking the suitcase kid. The first time Eugene Aubrey came on my radar was in January of 2019, and it just so happened that New England promotion CES was putting on a Saturday afternoon show in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and I was able to get a last-minute credential.

The opening bout of CES 54 was a lightweight contest between Aubrey, who took the fight on a little over a week's notice as he faced Gil Penaero. The fight was crazy. Both men going back and forth in the opening round before the momentum and the tide began to turn in Aubrey's favor. He eventually submitted Piniero in the second round with a rear naked choke to improve his professional record to 3 and 0. My old editor at the time was telling me a little bit about his story, about how at times he was homeless, giving up stability, a place to live, even meals, in order to accomplish his goals in the sport of mixed martial arts. He went on to fight up two-way classes in August of 2019 against one of the top welterweight prospects in the country, a fighter set to compete on this season of Dana White's Contender Series in Solomon Renfro,

and he lost a close split decision at CFFC 77. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to crush the world, Aubrey wasn't able to book his fifth professional fight, and as things were starting to turn the corner and regional MMA was trying to get back its pulse, Aubrey got a full-time job at world-class mixed martial arts in the Philadelphia area. Things were starting to fall into place for the suitcase kid as he was awaiting his next opportunity to compete inside the cage. On October 22nd, 2020, just before 10 p.m., Aubrey took the train back to his apartment after a full day of training, coaching, and teaching at the gym. As he began his walk home, he stopped at his favorite local restaurant to grab a bite to eat.

It was closed, and Aubrey continued his walk. From there, his life changed forever. I was on 50 second in spruce. I just hit it right, and then somebody ran up behind me. I spun to see what was good. I felt a tug on my bag, and then I got shot. Basically, I got hit in the neck, point-blank range, and it paralyzed me from the chest down.

As he's down on the ground, shot in the neck clinging for his life, realizing he has no feeling in his legs, Eugene happened to notice an individual come out of an apartment building nearby, and with all the strength he could muster, he was able to get his attention. I've seen somebody come outside, and I yelled for him,

especially where I was in West Philadelphia, people don't typically come outside when you're a gunshot, you just stay inside. So for him to come outside and see what was going on, what was that? That was awesome, because it gave me the opportunity to get his attention, and then he called the police.

I basically realized at that point, I was paralyzed. I already knew. So when they asked me to get up, I'm like, look, I can't. So they threw me in the back of the paddy wagon and then drove me to the trauma center. To this day, Eugene Aubrey has no idea who the good Samaritan is that saved his life. From there, Eugene was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

in critical condition, with no other options ahead of neck surgery, he was placed in a medically induced coma, pumped with paralytic so that there would be little chance of irritating the base of the area where the near-fatal bullet entered. The operation was successful, and Eugene remained in a coma for a little under a week. It took a few days for the fogginess to fade away, which was then replaced by confusion, fear, and eventually acceptance. I didn't really start getting my bearings on what was going on until about three days after my birthday. So about 10 days after everything had happened,

that's when I started coming to a little bit more and understanding that I was in the hospital. But I would say probably could have been like five days, and then I remember getting put on like real heavy drugs, like amphemines and stuff. And it's kind of hard to piece together exactly how long. But 10 days I started understanding, okay, I'm in the hospital. I was shot and I remember.

I would say, yeah, in a sense that almost died, but overall it just kind of suck. You start understanding, okay, legs aren't moving. I would say no one gets shot, but it wouldn't feel as bad if it didn't take so much away. But it was crazy just being that close to dying. The biggest thing it took away in his eyes was an aspiring fighting career that included three straight finishes, two under the CES banner and the split decision loss, under the CFFC banner, two-way classes against one of the top 170 pounds in the nation. While most believe his only

professional loss will be the final time he fights, Eugene Aubrey is not ready to accept that. One of the more fascinating pieces of this story throughout my conversations with Eugene and people in his life stems from where his nickname comes from, the suitcase kid. What does that mean? Where did it come from? Eugene was able to give me the genesis of the nickname. It came from my grandmother who had passed. So she used to use it in a not nice way. So it wasn't like a compliment. It was more of an insult because my mom was very erratic and she would move around all over the place. So we would just bounce around Philly. And so she would get mad about it and she said, you and your brother ain't nothing but some suitcase kids. And that's what she would say. So then when she

passed away, I kind of like took it on as like a moniker. And I kind of turned it. I look at it as like not forgetting where I came from and just turned it into a positive. Pro fighter and renowned striking coach, Ryan Kaffaro, who works with the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Frankie Edgar, and many other high-level fighters in the tri-state region, saw the nickname as more of a sacrifice

to accomplish his dreams of making it to the UFC. Rather than have steady living quarters or even a meal at times, Aubrey focused all of his time on training and fighting. No matter where that led him on. certain nights. At one point he had a membership to a gym and just so he could sleep in the gym overnight and sneak under like a boxing ring to sleep. You know what I mean? Or sleep on the subway, do whatever he had to do. And I mean, it's, I guess that's where the actual suitcase kid moniker came from. Eugene's relationship with his parents has been a rocky one to say the least throughout

his entire life. He hasn't spoken with his mother in over a decade, while the recent tragedy has begun to rekindle the relationship with his father, Gene. The latter side had more to do with the career path Aubrey wanted to take, while the former is a much different story. Yeah, my mom, she just didn't take very good care of me. She just put me in a lot of bad situations. She bounced around a lot. She had suffered from really bipolar and her family, unfortunately from her time period, I guess they didn't believe a lot in just like mental health and things like that so they made it only worse but to go into deeper i guess she i mean it got bad i guess the worst it got was to the point where i was just getting locked in a room and fed one bowl

oatmeal a day and just beat on and like the only thing i was allowed to do was leave the room and just do a bunch of like she was just like had me clean the entire house and me like head to toe the whole crib and just beating on me while she's just doing it it's not it's nothing to do with it it matter how clean i made something I'm still getting snacked over the head. So it was just not a really good mental or physical relationship with my mother. Then put me in, like, dangerous situations. I mean, there was times where we were living with,

just strange sometimes because she wasn't with my father anymore. So we were living sometimes like strange men with really bad backgrounds. So it was pretty bad in terms of the overall, the point where I just got tired of it. And I just started grabbing, like, you know, Because as you're getting bigger and I'm more chorn and I'm, you know, becoming a man. It's like you get tired of that kind of stuff. So you start grabbing her hand and stop hitting me.

Stop doing this. Stop doing that. And they got at the point where she was escalated to the point where she's pulling knives on me. She's biting my hand where my fingers almost coming off. Like, it's just kind of ridiculous. She's a little crazy. But there's some good of it that I came. I mean, she told me how to work hard in certain ways.

Like, I mean, something funny. I guess this is more comical. she used to not let me take the bus to school. So when I was living in northeast Philly, when I was living off of Frankfurt and Loring, I was at a school called Austin Leehan, middle school, and she would not let me take the bus. She would make me leave late enough for the only way I get on time

is if I ran. And she'd like, better run your ass to school run. I swear to goodness, and I would be out, I would run. To the point where I would leave my textbook at school so I could be lighter and just run the school faster. With the mental and physical toll, his home life was taking on him, Eugene had had enough. Now remarried and living in a different part of the country, Bridget is in a much better place mentally. Although she still has to deal with some of the things she has done in the past, along with the regrets that she has,

and a relationship with her son that may never improve from non-existence. I was doing the best that I could, which was not good enough. I failed him miserably. I thought that I was giving him consequences, teaching him, and really all I was doing was being abusive. I was absolutely 100% abusive to my son. I live with that every day. It haunts me. I'm not the same person I was at 20 that I am at 48.

I have apologized profusely to my son. It's never going to be enough. I get that. Eugene's father says that he experiences ex-wife's bipolar episodes. As his son got a little older and a little braver, Eugene tried to explain to his father what was happening at home. And his father states he was forced to make a difficult decision. Mother's Day every day in the court system.

I went down there. Gene came to me as a kid, like maybe eight years old and was like dad. I can't take it at my mom's house anymore. She's abusing me every day. She was beating him if he told her that he loved me. So she would beat him. until he said, I don't love my father. That's how bad she was.

I went to the court and said, this is what's going on. They turned me into such a liar. And the reason being is that he was so afraid of what she was going to do, that he had to go in there and tell the judge, my dad's lying. My mom is fantastic. So forth and so on.

And so at that point, I knew I couldn't win. I couldn't. Me going down the court, spending all a bunch of money on lawyers, and the best thing for my kids, the time when I told Gina, as I said, look, as long as I'm in your life, she is going to torment the shit at him. And so I stepped back and said, listen, I told her and I told him, did you ever come to see me? I'm here for you. I said, but this is too much crazy shit for me to deal with

constantly. At one point, I had custody of Gene and Collins because she stabbed me. When asked about the stabbing, Bridget confirmed that it did indeed happen, while also stating that the relationship between she and Jean was a volatile one, to say the very least, and that there's two sides to every story. She would up the level. So if he up the level, she would up the level. To the point where she was putting knives to his throat. You know, all kinds of shit, threatened to cut his balls off when he was sleeping.

Like, just shit that you would never expect your mom to come out of your mother's hip mouth. Eventually, Eugene learned to fend off his mother's attacks. Life began to get more complicated, and she eventually called Gene to take his son. The next chapter of Eugene's childhood would begin, as he affected. put any relationship with his mother behind him for good, never speaking or uttering another word to her. It was also the beginning of a new love and a new lifelong goal. Much like a young Henry Hill wanted to be a wise guy in the opening scenes of Goodfellas, Aubrey saw MMA and fighting the same way. While most teenagers were likely dealing with the pressures of school,

being the popular kid, and finding a date to the semi-formal, Eugene's world was filled with how to get out of class, avoiding his father and true. officers and getting his education, not in the classroom, but in the School of Mixed Martial Arts. I was all in already. From high school, I didn't care about high school. I was leaving, like, I would literally go to high school and my PJs, go home by second period, go to pack my stuff, go to work, go to the gym.

I didn't care about school. I was like, I'm ready to work and go to the gym. So I want to do. I don't, wasn't for me. Like, I just said it wasn't my life. just for various reasons I think that's part of my mom's fault because that was one of the things that she used to just use to abuse me over is just homework schoolwork

and it had nothing to do with getting good grades is like this just weird controlling thing where it's just like he's just beating on me for hours about like sentences you know I can't like you know you use vocab words and you would come up with like sentences I don't like these sentences do them again

crumple up the paper beat on me spit on me just and do it again at hours it's something like the last hours and hours and hours and hours. So when you get to high school and someone isn't doing that to you no more to get straight to A's, I don't care about school.

That's not for me. It's already sucked all the fun out of wanting to excel academically for me personally. So fighting was a different outlet and that's the ground I wanted to take. As most fathers are when it comes to their teenage sons,

Gene hoped to see his son have backup plans, an education, steady employment, something to supplement his love for fighting. That wasn't the case for the suitcase kid Eugene Aubrey. At the age of 16, Eugene Aubrey began to build a reputation as one of the hardest working mixed martial artists in the region. Miles Lee, one of the top prospects at 185 pounds, saw that firsthand the first time he met Eugene, which began a friendship and a training partnership that has become something of legend in the Philadelphia area.

Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. But I love it because we got each other better, you know. And that's what made us really close because we both wanted the same goal. And our work ethic was really like, it was really like on the same level. I was happy to have him by my side and really, like, being him helping me and helping me do my stand-up and stuff like that got me way better. Eugene is like a different breed. That man, but he really worked hard. It didn't take long for Kaffaro to see the drive and hunger in Eugene. The first time we trained, he beat my fucking ass, just up and down the mat, across the mat, everywhere.

And I mean, I'm a pro at this point. You know, I have a decent record at the time. I think I was like, you know, four and two, something like that. I ain't on my way up. And I had a lot of momentum at the time. And I was like, who the fuck is this kid? What really stood out to me was his, he had no hesitance when it came to violence. Like, if you're talking about, like, sparring partners that are, you know, lo, like, is this okay?

No, like blasting knees, wearing knee pads, but I mean blasting them with like vicious intent. Like he clearly sparring him, he had a chip on his shoulder. And when you spar somebody who really wants to like take it to you, you can feel that. I would get anxiety about it going into sparring because we would go like to war, absolute war, like two days a week. And I would afterwards, I didn't train for the rest of the day because I couldn't because I was shot. I mean, the level of intensity and the level of like just roars. you could just tell.

He's like, I'm here, like, he fights and he spars like you stole something. At the time, Kaffaro was not only making a name for himself as a fighter, but as a striking coach as well. Not only was he impressed with Eugene's ability to get the most out of everybody in the room, or just weed out the posers, but he also took note of Eugene's thirst for knowledge and making every second in the gym count. So when a former UFC lightweight champion was preparing for a big test, Kaffaro called on Aubrey, a then Orthodox for.

fighter to lend a helping hand. We actually used him to help Eddie Alvarez get ready for Dustin Porriere. So in three weeks, I taught him to be South Paul and the spar from Southball. And he went and gave Eddie Alvarez some of the toughest rounds of his camp, preparing for Dustin Porre either in the first or second fight. I can't remember. He would want to hit pads for like 45, 50 minutes straight. And when I say straight, I mean no rest.

He's like, no, no, we're putting gloves on it. And I'm not stopping. And I would just set a timer on my phone. and the only time we would pause is if I went to switch from like focus amidst the typads and I think once we did a 32 minute round nonstop take it as a compliment eugene but you're fucking psycho and if it's not worth his time he's going to let you know early by beating the dog shit out of you so if you're not like yeah if you I mean like I said this is all complimentary in the sense that like if you weren't there for work then you were not even worth his time like

don't don't come in the gym because I'll beat you down to the point where you never want to come back Eugene and Miles Lee would engage in marathon wrestling sessions, which became a thing of legend. They would show up at different gyms and would go off on their own, away from the classes to do their own thing. And it became a show that nobody could take their eyes off of. Me Eugene used to do that a lot. Sometimes we used to do it like an hour. But, yeah, we usually are like, oh, my gosh, we had, like so many awesome moments in the gym. Like, there been times that we did like four or five.

rounds of sparring, at that we did like 30 minutes, 40 minutes of wrestling, you know. Eugene's training room demeanor began to translate into his performances inside the cage. In his pro debut at CES 52 in August of 2018, Eugene Aubrey delivered a memorable finish that left an impression on current UFC welterweight, Sean Brady. He hit this guy with a flying knee. He came out, he had these like white, like gladiator shorts, like cut. He always had like some crazy shorts he would fight in. And he hit this dude of flying knee and finished him like super fast.

And it was, the whole crowd was going crazy. We were at the, uh, the 2,300 arena. And he blew this dude out of the water like in a minute. And that's definitely something that stands out in my mind. He, kids good, man. And like I said, he's, he had the potential to be in the UFC. And if he comes back from it, I'm sure that motherfucker will work his way back to where he was at, you know? Oddly enough, mixed martial arts began a potential foundation of a relationship between Eugene and his father,

while also being the main catalyst for the variability of where the relationship would end up. Eugene's definition of all-in was vastly different from his father's. While his father may have respected what Gene was doing in order to make his dreams come true, he wasn't a fan of how he was going about it. In fact, he believes all of that self-sacrifice may have hindered Eugene's development in the long run. But Gene interprets as the MMA life and following his dream. To me, I find that he had a lot of times where he's homeless. And it's no fault of my own.

It's not my fault that he was. But if you're, you know, he would just not work. And along those lines where I don't have any food. And I'm like, well, are you working? No, I got to put my hours in at the gym. To me, these things don't make any sense. They're not logical. They don't make sense.

a lot of people I know in the MMA business, they work, and they do MFA, and they train, but they're still, they still have more gene would sacrifice stability in order to continue training. And I think, in my opinion, and this is what he probably may beg to differ, I feel that that lack of stability actually held him back a few years of his development and his training. if he would have been more stable, if he would have had, there are times where he's given, he had an apartment in Norbert.

He gave up the apartment to be homeless so he could put him more time at the gym. These things don't make sense to me. And a lot of times that would upset me. And I would be like, yo, man, he would get mad and then we stopped talking with each other. Both Eugene and his father agreed

that their differing opinions on his fighting career and the sport of MMA was the ultimate downfall in their relationship. Eugene wanted to do things his way. While his father viewed things from, at least in his mind, a more realistic way of thinking. When Eugene wanted to drop out of school, out of the house he went. If he wasn't working and making money while pursuing his dreams, Eugene was shown the door. Eugene Aubrey sacrificed pretty much everything for his goals.

If people in his life, including his own father, went against those wishes, it only fueled his fire more. It became kind of like an F you. I'm going to show you that I can do this. Anyways, I don't care. I'm going to show you. And so, you know, and then it would, and then he would try to come back again, and then it would just hit the sand again. And then after it, I started getting too old for it, in my mind.

I just was like, man, I'm cool. So I was, I was honestly and be honest. If I didn't get shot, I would be comfortable with never speaking to him yet. That was my mindset. I was like, okay. And I'll just call him when I'm in the UFC. Like, see, Pops, I did it. I told you I'd do it.

And here I am. Although Eugene Aubrey was down in his luck, He was introduced to Shanine Moore, a mother of a training partner of his, who took him in no questions asked. She didn't need particulars. She didn't need a background. All Shanine saw was a young man in need. And that's all she needed to hear. And she did all she could do to help him out.

I didn't know what his circumstances or a situation was, like when I first met him. And then he had a situation where he needed a place to stay. And I was like, you can stay here. He left at one time and came back. And he needed a place again and staying. I was like, you can stay here. You know, I'll never see anybody out in the streets, but he's special, you know. And I think our relationship has grown over the years, whereas though he calls me Mom, Mom Dukes.

So, yeah. How does that make you feel? Well, it makes me feel good because I've always loved to see him fight. I know how determined he is. I know how driven he is. And he doesn't let anything in life stop him from what he wants to achieve. So I'm looking forward to him walking again. I'm praying for that.

With the COVID-19 pandemic doing damage globally, Eugene, 3-1 as a professional fighter, began trying to figure out his next move. Things were starting to fall into place as he landed a job in MMA, coaching and teaching classes as he was seeking his next fight. On October 22nd, 2020, Miles Lee began to notice that Aubrey wasn't as visible as he normally was on social media, and his gut told him that something was wrong.

He was right. And, you know, I was like hitting Eugene up, and it's just like he wasn't answering his phone. I went to his house and knocked on his door and everything, and he wasn't answering his phone. So I literally, I blew up everybody that was close to Eugene and his family to figure out what was going on. And I finally figured out around like 5 o'clock, around like 5 o'clock, around like 5. five or six o'clock and he got shot in the neck and it was gay, you know, it's sad because

for no reason, you know what I'm saying? It's just bum, this loser, just shot him for no reason, you know, and it's just, it's really sad. You know, every time I think about it, I get negative thoughts because it's like, what the fuck? You know, like, why? Eugene had a bright future, a really, really bright future in the sport of MMA. And it just, it just sucks to see that happen him, you know, it got me emotional a while. And it took me a while to actually like, I'm not, I'm not so, I'm never moved on from it. But, you know what I'm saying? I truly, but I truly believe that he's going to get better and I think he's going to walk again. It just gets me so angry because it's like, why? You know what I'm saying? Why? Why would you shoot this guy?

Like, what do you do to you? It was during a workout at a friend's house nearby where Kaffaro began getting word that Eugene had been harmed, but he wasn't sure to what extent at the time. What began as a rumor that a star pupil was jumped by some thugs on the subway, ultimately turned into a horrifying truth. My girlfriend literally says, well, at least he didn't get shot. And then we call the hospital, and they tell us that he's been shot in the neck and it's been paralyzed. And it was rough. I was an absolute shock.

I couldn't believe it. Yeah, I lost it pretty bad. I was pretty messed up over it. Eugene's father wasn't made aware of what happened until the following morning. His father told me in our conversation that there were certain times throughout the year where his mind would begin to race. And that leads him to shutting down distractions in order to get some sleep. One of the biggest distractions we all have, you guessed it, are cell phones. When Gene Aubrey woke up and turned his phone on, the alerts were over.

Text after text after text came in to the point where he couldn't keep up with them. Gene then realized his son was in the middle of the battle of his life. Worst thing to anybody could ever, as a parent, can hear is that your son is in the hospital and he's been shot and he may be paralyzed. And I jumped in a car, I called my boss and told him what happened and told him I'd be late. And I went down there. And at first they weren't going to let me in because Gene, he went out of him. He went out of his way to tell him, I don't want my dad here to see me.

And I don't know why, because he could have been, some of the procedures that he needed to get done. The people he thought were family, who he loved so much. And her my mom, my stepmom, and this is my sister and my brother. They wouldn't sign these paperwork. With more difficult decisions to be made, Gene made another choice in order to help and protect his son. Even against his son's wishes, Gene feels he did what he had to do. So three days in, they're like, look, he needs these procedures done. After what's the chance they're hurting this?

And it's about 10% chance that could kill him. And I said, well, fuck, I'll take that chance. If you get the blood clotting the lung, fucking 10%'s worth it because he's not getting better. He's not going to get his respirator. What's the fucking point? That's going to be a vegetable in a respirator? Let's do it. So I made a hard decision.

I said, fuck it. Gene gets, when he gets mad at me, he's like, you should just let me die on the respirator. But I had to do it. I mean, who wouldn't take that chance? Do you think I want him to stay like that? No. Eugene would go on to have successful surgery, and a few days later, he was out of his medically induced coma.

While sure, there are blurry bits and pieces, it was a few days later when Eugene Aubrey realized what actually happened to him on that night of October 22nd, 2020. I didn't really start getting my bearings on what was going on until about three days after my birthday. So about 10 days after everything had happened, that's when I started. coming to a little bit more and understanding that I was in the hospital. But I would say probably could have been with five days. And then I remember getting put on like real heavy drugs, like amphetamines and stuff. And it's kind of hard to piece together exactly how long.

But 10 days I started understanding, okay, I'm in the hospital. I was shot. And I remember it. For about a month, Eugene couldn't speak because he was on a ventilator, unable to move his neck and unable to breathe on his own. In addition, he experienced swelling in his hands and fingers to the point where doctors briefly thought he might be quadriplegic. Eventually, the swelling went down, feeling came back in his fingers so he could type and text, and a speech box was put in to assist with verbal communication, waking up his vocal cords to the point where he no longer needed it.

When Eugene realized his father gave the doctors the go-ahead to perform the operation, Eugene's mind was still racing with the senseless act that had happened to him. According to Gene, it kickstarted an attempt to rekindle a very bumpy relationship, one that his father believes will remain in that state for years and years to come. He wasn't upset. Let's put that way. He couldn't say much because he was all drugged up.

But I asked him, I said, Gene, now that I'm here and I sign the paperwork, if you want me to not come back, I won't come back. I said, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. And everything was all right. And he said, no, no, no, you can come back. I said, all right, no problem. But every once in a while, he gets mad at me now. He even said to me two nights ago, he said, you wouldn't be fucking talking to me right now

if I wasn't fucking shot. We wouldn't be talking. He was mad at me about something. So it's true. We probably wouldn't be. And I even said to him, I said, if the shoe was on the other foot, as stubborn as you are,

you probably wouldn't have came to visit me. And he said, you know what he said? You're right. You're right. He probably wouldn't. You know what I mean? And it's sad that our relationship was out there.

You know what I mean? So I told him, I said, look, man, you're my son. I'm always going to be here for you no matter what happens. No matter how many people shit on you, what matter how down you get, I'm going to be here.

There's nothing that Gene Aubrey would want more than to have a 90s sitcom-esque father-son relationship with his son. Like most in his position, Gene is sad when he thinks about how things have turned out. With time comes wisdom and maturity. It's Gene Aubrey's hope that his son Eugene will find some semblance of peace with the horrible things he's experienced as a child and while seemingly much more difficult currently what he's experienced as an adult. In my eyes, personally, it's my hope that Gene Aubrey can get. get some of that piece to fall into his proverbial cup as well. I can't say that every decision that I've ever made with right, but I also don't make

unstable decisions. I've never in my life said, you know what? I want to be a baker so bad. I'm going to live on the fucking street. So I don't know, man. You know what I mean? But I think that we're always going to have this up and down relationship. We're just learning how to deal with it more that if we know we're getting on each other's

nerves, we just fucking ignore each other for a couple of years. You know, instead of, instead of harm and on each other, making it worse. According to Eugene, a suspect has been arrested in relation to the shooting, along with several others in the area. When I asked the Philadelphia police if they could confirm that information, they were not able to, just telling me that the investigation is active and ongoing. That's annoying. What? You're a muffler.

You don't hear it? Oh, I don't even notice it. I usually drown it out with the radio. How's this? Oh, yeah. Way better. Save on insurance by switching to Bell Air Direct and use the money to fix your car. Bel Air Direct, insurance simplified.

Conditions apply. Since his release from the hospital, Eugene Aubrey has been exercising, eating healthy, and trying to do whatever he can to improve his physical well-being, including a gesture from local students who built him a homemade standard so he could get to his feet at least four times a week to keep the atrophy in his legs down. If Eugene is able to get feeling down there again,

he wants to be better prepared for it. The next step is the beginning of a four-phase stem cell treatment where 400 million stem cells will eventually be injected into his spinal fluid. The procedure is quite costly. Although a GoFundMe started in his name raised enough money to get him financially able to receive the treatment. Currently, at the time of the release of this mini documentary, Aubrey is in Bogota, Columbia, getting the first wave of the treatment done

with a week's worth of procedures. While being able to walk again is something Eugene certainly wants to achieve, his top priority, no matter how slim the chances are, is to be able to start training and eventually step back into the cage. They've already had great results. There's things you can see on the page. I've seen a quadriplegic that couldn't move his arms, and he's using an electrical wheelchair,

and then he comes back and he's got a manual wheelchair. And it's over the course of time. It's nothing's like a quick fix, and it's slow recovery. It's still going to depend upon working hard, making sure I'm going to my physical therapist, making sure I'm exercise and all that stuff is important. If I don't do any of that, eating right, you know, everything goes into it to make it work.

And it's not, it takes, it's over course of time, but they've shown results. To go from an electric wheelchair to a manual wheelchair, that's big. That's huge. That's gigantic. So no one's gotten up sprinting, but if I can just get that chance, I can get the opportunity to work myself back. Eugene remains positive. Recently, Eugene sent me a video of a paraplegic regaining partial movement after just two sessions, which includes leg mobility and the ability to do sit-ups.

To say it motivated Eugene Aubrey would be a giant understatement. If I can get back what this guy has, man, I'm going to push it into the next gear. That's all I need, Eugene wrote me. I don't doubt that for a second. I responded minutes later. What Eugene Aubrey has accomplished to this point, including getting some feeling in his lower back has been an inspiration to a lot of fighters in the area. Sean Brady has followed along on his journey and wouldn't be shocked in the slightest

if Eugene Aubrey did the impossible. He's mentally tough and, yeah, I mean, that would probably crush most people, you know, like, you're, you can't, you can't walk. But I see his videos of him, like, he's lifting and he's, and he's flexing and shit. Like, he's, he's hilarious. I love it, though, man. If you're going to come back from something like that, that's the mentality you have to have and he's definitely in the right mind space to have a miracle happen and if someone's going to do it

it's going to be him deep down Eugene Aubrey says if fighting is no longer an option he would ultimately be okay with that since there are avenues within the sport he could still take whether it be as a coach or as he's done since the incident commentary of course the ability to walk again in some capacity would soften the blow a bit when kaffar was asked if he believed Eugene would be content never fighting again his response, albeit passionate, definitely was not what I expected. Let's, you know, cut all the other stuff. His main goal is I will get back in that cage. That's his primary goal.

You can spin it whatever you way you want. He's like, I was put on this planet to fight people in a cage. And if I can't do that, then I don't know what I'm going to do. So we are shooting for a return to the octagon or a return to a cage as soon as he is well enough to return to training. I feel like just personally, just how much work. we've put in. Maybe I'm not okay with it. Maybe I'm the one that's like absolutely not because you know, we have put in so much work together. I told him multiple times while he's in the hospital.

I was like, you owe me a fucking world title. I was like, I didn't put in all this work with you for you to just get shot and dip on me. I'm like absolutely not. You owe me a world fucking title. You are going to put a belt in my lap and you are going to be my first homegrown world champion. I was like, I don't want to hear anything else from that. Because, you know, I've had the opportunity to work with some of the best in the world. But I would consider Eugene to be my first official, like, homegrown prospect from, like, early, early stages. I've been working with him since he was an amateur. So for him to aspire to world champion status, I really believe that he has the capability to do that.

So maybe he's okay with it, but I'm not. Other people in his life close to him, including Miles Lee and Shanine Moore, or Mom Dukes, as Eugene likes to call her, believe that Eugene Aubrey would be happy just being part of the MMA scene in some way, form or fashion. Eugene's father believes that walking, having bodily functions below the waist will make things okay in the long run. If he can live a somewhat normal life, be able to have a relationship with a woman that understands what he's going through, and is able to do what other adult males are able to do, Gene has confidence, his son will see the light of positivity. Eugene isn't ready to think like that this early in the recovery game, but his father is hoping for the best in that sense. But if Gene can't walk, and Gene is where he's at now,

and he doesn't get better, the stem cells don't help. He's going to be in a really, really, really, really dark place. And I don't know, I don't think he'll be okay with it. I just don't. I know like I said he his biggest thing is that he can get some some mobility

some more more of sensation I mean he's 25 years old man 25 years old he's pissing in a bag he has to take shit the shit

he's like what the fuck I have to live for I was an athlete at the top I could run 20 miles if I felt like and now I can't fucking get from one chair to another. So I kind of understand, you know, what he's going to do? But he's like, what am I going to live for? What do I can't have a girlfriend? Can't have a regular job? What can I do? So he is going to be tough for him. It's going to be tough. He could. Now, let's just say he starts

walking. Let's just say he gets to stand up on his own. Maybe he gets, you know, his bow routine back. He gets his, he can, he can, he doesn't have the cat anymore. Then yeah, I think that, you know, he can replace the MMA life. He could be a coach or he can train to other. He can train the the people, he can open his own place up, or he can go in as a support person and ringside and coach people. But in this situation right now, the way he is now, I don't know, I don't think you can deal with it. I dread the days the U.S.Cs are all. I dread the days when his friends are at him. Because his mood and the way he is is shit. Absolutely shit. Even though she doesn't have a relationship with Eugene, Bridget hasn't missed a fight,

or an interview that her son has done and found out about the tragic night in October of 2020 on a Facebook post. She may not be able to speak to him, but she owns up to everything she wrongly did in raising him and that she's proud of Eugene. I just pray for him every day to get better.

I've been following his interviews. I'm actually blocked on accounts. I have people sending me information just so that I have peace of mind to know that he is, you know, okay. And I know he's not exactly okay. but I'm so proud of the person that he is, the determined fighter. I am in all of him, his attitude, everything.

I'm just in all of him. And if anything, I love him very much. And if you could tell him, you know, the world, I own what I did. I own it all. I was terrible to him. And I'm so sorry for the childhood that he had. He didn't deserve it. I love him from afar.

I will always give him. I financially can. I will always be there if he's willing, but I don't blame him. I don't blame him one bit for him just closing me out. Bridget fully understands that there may never be a reconciliation with her son. She was then asked what she would say to Eugene if she ever got that opportunity. That I love him and that I'm proud of him and that I am so sorry for everything that he went through. and that I wish I could take it all back

and that I would absolutely do everything differently. A positive mindset and some incredible luck is on the forefront of Eugene Aubrey's mind right now. When asked if he knew the identity of the man who shot him, he said the police would not share that information. One reason for that, according to Eugene, was fear of retaliation. Another reason is that he was told it was a 17-year-old kid

that is attached to multiple shootings, even having the attempted murder weapon on his person when he was arrested. If in some way, Eugene Aubrey ends up face-to-face with the man who shot him, nearly took his life, and quite possibly stole his dreams and fighting career, he knows how he would approach the situation. Unfortunately, when it comes to the current times, the story of the suitcase kid is one of too many tragic Philadelphia tales. So they ask him why?

It's like it's crazy what's happening in Philadelphia sometimes. Like people are getting shot and they're not even trying to rob people anymore. It's just straight of gun violence. There's absolutely no reason. It's different if they took something from me. They didn't even want anything. It's different if I met them before and maybe there was an altercation. And I wouldn't look at him as being honorable.

But if there was at least a reason to be, upset it would make a lot more sense and it's just becoming a point where it's like they're feeling gta or something it's and people don't respond you know you change people's lives you really affect people so do you really understand can you comprehend what you're doing you know kind of crazy right so i just ask them why could you ever forgive them they i got based on my health i got to be honest you know it took a lot for me it's a lot If I get better, the more better I get, unless I don't care. The story of the suitcase kid is one of the more unbelievable stories I've ever heard in my life, in or out of MMA.

The amount of difficulty life has presented Eugene Aubrey, although some of that was due to his own drive and self-sacrifice, would be insurmountable for a lot of people. As Eugene makes this drive towards the impossible, if you would like to support his journey, you can head to his GoFundMe page, which you can find on MMAfighting.com, or you can search for the suitcase. kid and you can make a donation there to help out with these costly treatments. For all of us, at MMA fighting and within the MMA community, we wish Eugene Aubrey the best on this long road back. I would like to thank everybody who helped out in telling the story. First and foremost, I want to thank Eugene Aubrey himself for giving me the time to interview him multiple times

and allowing me to run with the story from all angles. I also want to thank Sean Brady, not only for his interview, but for getting me in touch with people who know Eugene well. I want to thank Eugene's dad, Gene, for giving me the opportunity to get his side of the story. I know it wasn't easy. I know it didn't happen right away, and it took some convincing, but it meant the world that he gave me the green light. In addition, I want to thank Eugene's mom, Bridget, for not only calling me back and being so open about what happened during Eugene's childhood, but taking ownership of it as well. She seems in a great place these days, and I hope she and Eugene can speak again. I also want to thank Ryan Kaffaro and Miles Lee for giving me the fighter side, the training partner side.

telling me just incredible stories about Eugene in the gym and in the cage. I also want to give a big shout out to Shanine Moore, or Mom Dukes, as Eugene calls her, for giving me the time and allowing me to listen to her share stories about Eugene, especially since I wasn't able to get the family side of the tail right away. Lastly, I want to thank Sean Al-Shoddy and Stephen Morocco for giving me the confidence to get out of my comfort zone and do something that I've never done before. With that, the story of the suitcase kid continues on, and we will certainly provide updates as we receive them. Thank you for listening to unpacking the suitcase kid, an MMA fighting production.

He always liked doing a tribute to Eve Edwards, so he would take a snack up on the scale, be it a honey bun or a muffin or something, and he had a muffin, and his opponent goes, can I have a bite? He goes, no, you can't have bite my fucking muffin. And then I think he put that in a hashtag in one of his photos at the time. It was like, hashtag, no, you can't have a bite. You're some shit like that. So just that kind of, the guy he thought was the nicest guy in the world and he was just like fuck you get out my mom to the box media podcast network