PEOPLE: Just gotta be me

Canada’s self-proclaimed TV face of MMA didn’t let the little matter of knowing nothing about the sport stop him from yakking his way to the top

Photo by RACHEL GRANOFSKY

Name: Adam Reid
Age: 30
Occupation: TV personality
Bio: Until recently, this cocksure downtown resident had been enjoying life as a pro table-soccer player, “travelling the world, competing on the national team. From ’98 to 2006 I was probably the highest-rated Canadian player on the international circuit, you know.” And then one day in ’06, he was watching what could only be a riveting match of Rock, Paper, Scissors on Off the Record [OTR] “thinking this is ridiculous. If an RPS champion can get on a TV sports panel, then certainly with a personality like mine there’s no reason why these guys shouldn’t give me a shot.” So he spent the next month relentlessly calling OTR until finally getting the right producer on the line, who, after hearing Adam sell himself—an activity our hero is clearly quite comfortable doing—“told me that if I look half as good as I speak, they’ll give me that shot.” Which they did, and before you could say “Aren’t I wonderful,” Adam had scored himself the prize gig of regular “sports” commentator on OTR, setting in motion the string of events that have since led to his becoming “the face of Canadian Mixed Martial Arts,” now that he’s the official fight correspondent for Warrior One MMA [W-1], apparently watched by some two zillion households every week on Fox Sports’ Fightzone.
How much Adam knew about MMA before getting his super-duper W-1 gig: “Zero, and if someone wants to judge me based on that, go ahead. But in two years I’ve totally caught up. You can just imagine how huge becoming the face of MMA is, bringing all my incredible energy to the screen, doing everything Joe Rogan does but with the Adam Reid touch. Now I’m the guy, the W-1 insider, Mr. W-1, the face of it, the same way Joe Rogan is the face of UFC.”
Something Adam partially attributes his incredible success to: Being voted 10th best local actor in the Mirror’s 2009 Best of Montreal poll. “It resulted in securing my new agent, Kim Vaincourt, which has been a real blessing. Her address is kimvaincourt@gmail.com if anybody wants to hire me.”
Something Adam is very excited about: The documentary Twisted Goals, coming out next summer. “It’s all about me, my life before becoming Adam Reid the actor/TV host, back when I was just a table soccer promoter/player. It opens with me being this table-soccer guy many people don’t like who dreams of being an actor/TV host. And by the end of it they’re showing me hosting on OTR, like, ‘This guy has made it, he really did it!’”
His advice for the countless legions who dream of someday becoming the next Adam Reid: “You know what? I’m no different than anybody else. Sure, I’m a very confident guy. A lot of people might interpret that as being arrogant, cocky, self-centered. But at the end of the day, Adam Reid is someone who’s worked very hard, he stands for what Montreal is all about, somebody you might not know yet, but you will soon. He’s versatile, has hosted everything from cooking shows to MMA, and quite the character: driven, ambitious, very much the proud Montrealer. Failing simply isn’t an option for him.”
Last book read: The JFK Conspiracy by David Miller. Musical preferences: Imogen Heap, Drake, Eric Price.
Words of wisdom: “Success is in the details.” ■

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