By Joey Johnston | The New York Times News Service
TAMPA, Florida—Martin Vergara, a mixed martial arts fighter, is living his dream. One day, if his skills continue to improve, he could realize some attractive paydays.
“It’s my passion and it’s my lifestyle,” said Vergara, 25, a Mexican-American who is among the first generation of his family to be born in the United States. “It makes me happy and keeps me sane. I see myself being very successful. At the same time, right now, I have a family to take care of.”
And that is his priority.
Vergara and his wife, Raquel, have two daughters, Maria, 6, and Emily, 3. Raquel once worked as a personal banker, but now stays home to raise the children.
“It’s a financial sacrifice, but we don’t want to just drop them at day care and miss out on so much time,” Raquel said. “You never get that time back. Time is more important than money.”
But money is needed, so Vergara also works as a trainer at Epic Boxing and Fitness, teaching boxing fitness and physical conditioning, and that was the foundation of his $47,500 income last year. If he continues to progress in MMA (where the fighters compete in a cage, using a combination of boxing, wrestling, judo and juijitsu), life could take a more lucrative turn.
He has two to three fights a year, and he is paid by performance, plus funds from sponsors and a percentage of the ticket sales. But right now, that doesn’t account for much of his income.
Things are looking up. There’s stability, no debt and a rental home for his family that was secured through one of his clients.
“Everybody wants a nice house, but I don’t want a mansion, not even a huge house,” Vergara said. “I just want comfort for my family. We don’t need a lot of material things. Maybe I’d like to take them on a nice family vacation, something like that.
“People say they’d like to win the lottery. I don’t think I do. Money can’t buy you happiness. That mind-set starts young. When you come from nothing or very little, you tend to appreciate everything you have. I’m more grateful for that than almost anything.”
Vergara’s parents, Ignacio and Gloria, immigrated from Mexico and raised five children, mostly in New Jersey before moving to Florida. His father was a truck driver, and Vergara sometimes accompanied him on long trips as he hauled cargo. His mother was a delivery person who had regular work throughout New York’s office buildings, including the twin towers.
“I can’t say we were comfortable because it was a constant financial struggle,” Vergara said. “But my parents did their best. Compared to where they came from, our life was luxurious,” even when the family living space was about 800 square feet shared by seven people, a small home attached to the Mexican restaurant they operated.
Vergara first met Raquel when they were in high school, working at competing fragrance kiosks at the mall. At first, she was suspicious of her business rival, but was soon won over by his kindhearted personality and ambition.
It has not always been easy and fun. In one of their first apartments, they could not pay the electric bill, so they ate Chick-fil-A by candlelight, telling their oldest daughter that it was a camping party.
“Money is not going to determine our happiness,” Raquel said. “I believe in Martin. We’re going to be just fine.”
Vergara said his parents opened his eyes and taught him “there’s a very big world out there. We have a lot of opportunity in this country.
“I feel I can do anything. I just happen to be a fighter. That’s what I know. We’re so much better off than most people. I’m young and have a beautiful family. I am living the dream.”