🥋 Sundays with Cain – Episode 25 - A ROLL & RUMBLE Fight Co. Exclusive

Interview by “D-Man,” CTF Inmate Correspondent

(Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks)

Prison and Thanksgiving—now that is a difficult combination. Every man here misses his family and the chance to make new memories with them. And no day intensifies that longing more than “bird day.” The Thanksgiving meal here is usually not very good. I tried to prepare Cain for the worst. He didn’t want to hear it. In his mind, we were going to have a feast.

I told him how last year the stuffing was nothing more than soggy wheat bread. He insisted, “This year’s going to be different.” I reminded him that each year, the holiday meals have gotten progressively worse.

So we walked to chow on Thanksgiving night with two very different expectations battling it out. As we got our trays and sat down, I noticed Cain smiling. He looked at me and shook his head with a slow, satisfied, I told you so grin.

I’ll admit—it was a lot better than I expected. I dug into the mashed potatoes and gravy. Cain stared at me.

“Okay, so I was wrong,” I told him, much to his satisfaction.

Someone handed him a second tray, and he asked, “Have you tried the stuffing?” This was because I had guaranteed him, “It’s just going to be soggy bread.”

I was wrong again. It was yellow with seasoning and had minced carrots and celery. I think Cain ate three servings.

We also got pumpkin pie, mixed vegetables, a dinner roll, milk, and a slice of formed turkey ham. It wasn’t Grandma’s Thanksgiving dinner by any means—but it was better than advertised.

Cain and I sat in the day room that night, finishing up the interview as he polished off his pumpkin pie.

Cain on Thanksgiving

Among all the holidays, where does he rank Thanksgiving?

“This is my favorite of all the holidays. The immediate family coming together and cooking as a team.”

What’s your favorite dish to cook?

“The most important thing is the turkey. You cannot fuck up the turkey,” Cain says loudly, fully animated now. “I enjoy getting the turkey ready. I make Stove Top stuffing, then add onion, carrots, celery, and black olives. I boil the neck bone, heart, and liver with salt and pepper. I pick the meat off the neck and chop up the innards. Half goes into the stuffing, half into the gravy.

“I use the broth to make both the stuffing and the gravy. Then I stuff the shit out of the turkey. It reminds me of the guy from Scary Movie where he says, ‘Let me get my strong hand.’”

What do you think of when you look back on Thanksgivings past?

“My mom used to make a really good potato salad. As a kid, I didn’t realize how much work went into it. Now it’s my favorite. Thanksgiving is like a recap of the year—being able to look back knowing lessons were learned and growth was made.

“Oh, and you have to eat every bite with a little bit of everything. Cranberries, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, turkey—all in one bite. That’s the only way to eat it.”

Any other family traditions?

“After dinner, my kids split the wishbone.”

I’m sure this year, they all share the same wish: to have their dad home.

Cain’s Positive Male Role Models

Earlier in the week, Cain mentioned he wanted to talk about the positive male role models in his life. We’ve covered some of these men before, but he wanted to highlight them further.

“YES!” he said. “Let’s start.”

Coach Shawn Rustad

“Shawn Rustad helped me realize my limits—meaning, that there are none. He ran our high school practices more physically than most college teams. I’ve never been pushed harder physically or mentally by anyone, ever. He wanted you to find your breaking point.

“I will always remember two practices right before regionals my senior year. We were conditioning on a hill at Smucker’s Park, right next to our high school. Sprints up the hill, partner carries, marriage carries, wheelbarrows. Then hopping up and down the hill over and over.

“In both practices, I remember getting a ringing in my ears. All the colors got bright, the ringing got louder. Both times, Coach stopped the practice right when this happened. Later he told me, ‘I was gauging our practice on you. When you were done, the team was done.’

“He taught me mental toughness. He taught me how to be comfortable being tired. When we competed, he coached like it was life or death. He’d turn beet red screaming for us to fight. He’d yell in Spanish, ‘Chingón, güey!’ (You’re badass!) and ‘Corazón, güey!’ (Put your heart into it!)

“I wanted to match the energy he poured into us. I wanted to win for him.”

Would you consider him a brother or a father?

“More of a father figure. We’re still in contact. He was huge in my growth.”

Coach Thom Ortiz

“Thom and I are really good friends now. I’d say he has grown more than anyone I’ve ever known. When he coached me in college, he didn’t know how to talk to people. He’d cuss you out or talk down to you. His coaching could be ugly.

“At first, I thought, ‘This guy’s an asshole.’ But eventually I learned to listen to what he was saying, not how he said it. Once I did, I realized he was a great coach—his delivery just sucked.

“I use this lesson in my life now. I don’t get my feelings hurt by how things are said. I listen to what is being said.”

A memory you cherish?

“On one of our wrestling camps for high school kids, we stopped at Thom’s mom’s house. She made homemade fried hard tacos. Thom’s dad used to make him eat peas in them for vegetables. So Thom put peas in his taco and said that’s how he likes them.”

Anything else?

“For my bachelor party, I rented a Winnebago. Thom said he’d drive us—me, Bryan Stith, Brandon Phillips, Jeremy Mendoza, Anthony Ortiz, Steve Summers, and Thom. We drove to Texas for a week. It was like The Hangover. Thom insisted we needed a responsible driver, so we let him drive. But he kept turning around, talking to us the whole time. We only let him drive half of the first day.”

Would you consider him a brother or a father?

“Like an uncle. One of those cool uncles. He was a lot different back then—a lot. It brings me joy to see who he is today and gives me hope that anyone can change dramatically.”

Coach Javier Mendez

“Javier Mendez…” (Cain pauses a long time.) “In a lot of ways, I see myself in him. We grew up similarly. In fighting, we thought alike. When he coached, I instantly understood what he wanted. No questions needed. He is truly a master of technique and strategy. No one on this planet is a better teacher.

“Outside the gym, we spent a lot of time together. I told him everything—and still can. I never thought I’d meet someone as socially awkward as me until I met Javi. When someone teases him, he never has a comeback. He just says, ‘Shut up.’ Not his strong suit.

“But he taught me humility. He never trash-talked opponents. He treated everyone with respect.

“He has a warrior’s code.”

Did you ever spar with him?

“One time, technical sparring. He stopped and said, ‘We’re never doing this again.’ He’s really good, and I was stepping it up a little. He knew I might take it too far.”

Anything we don’t know?

“He gets dizzy really quick. One roll on the mat and he’s dizzy. One time at K-1 go-kart racing, after two laps he pulled over—dizzy.”

Anything off the record?

(Cain laughs hard.) “Javi was the 180-pound ISKA kickboxing champion in the early '90s. They called him ‘Thunder.’ In the gym, he has a photo of himself from that win. Hair wet and slicked on the sides, puffed on top. We used to call him ‘Thunder Mullet’ or just ‘Mullet.’ His only comeback was ‘Shut up.’”

Brother or father?

“Father figure. He’s Coral’s godfather. When I asked him, he cried, saying yes. It meant a lot to both of us.”

In Cain’s Words: What Each Coach Taught Him

“Shawn taught me to go within myself and know I have no limits.
Thom taught me to take ego out of communication and to listen to what people say. He also showed me that people can change for the better.
Javier taught me to respect everybody—those you love and even those you don’t.”

Closing Thoughts

That’s a peek into our Thanksgiving here at CTF—along with what Cain is thankful for: the men who shaped him both in and out of the gym. Men who didn’t just teach him how to fight—but how to live.

Make sure to check in next week when we find out who wins the CTF Soledad Super Bowl game, and when we revisit Cain’s last—and legendary—fight with Junior Dos Santos.

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