It was Tuesday, about 1:20 p.m. in Ventura, Calif, some 60 miles from Los Angeles. Walking around the corner to get to an area behind Knuckleheadz Gym, a reporter is hit by a sea of blue t-shirt-wearing boys and girls from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
They were there to see welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz, who was named national spokesman for the organization, which has 370 agencies nationwide and serves 250,000 youths per year. It’s a match made in heaven since Ortiz was abandoned by his parents as a boy.
In speaking with Ortiz, he seemed truly inspired about working with a company that is over 100 years old.
“It means quite a bit, man,” said Ortiz, of Ventura via Garden City, Kan. “Some of these kids, they’ve grown up just like I have – no direction, no guidance and just to be part of that, then hey, if I can be make a difference in somebody’s life, why not go ahead and do something?”
Hector Cortez is Chief Diversity Officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He said Ortiz became involved with the organization about a year ago, doing personal appearances at some of its events in the greater Los Angeles area.
“A little over four months ago, we had a conversation and he said, ‘I want to do much more,’ ” said Cortez, who is stationed in Philadelphia. “And he agreed to talk about being our national ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters.”
Cortez said 18 percent of the 250,000 youths represented annually by Big Brothers Big Sisters are Latino; nearly 70 percent in the Ventura County chapter are Latino. Cortez agreed Ortiz is a perfect fit.
“One of the things he says on tape is, ‘It’s not how you get knocked down, its how you get up,’ right?” Cortez said. “And our kids see that every single day. They get knocked down in school, in the community – sometimes by their peers – and Victor shows them you don’t have to stay down; you can get up.
“You don’t have to be a fighter, per se. You don’t have to fight with anger, because he (Ortiz) took his anger and channeled it and became a superstar. I think for the kids, ‘He’s just like us, he didn’t stay down, he got strong, he was able to get up.’ “
That indeed rings true for Ortiz. Not only did he have to overcome a terrible childhood, he had to get past his June 2009 technical knockout loss to Marcos Maidana at Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Ortiz appeared to give up the ship and made post-fight comments that put him a negative light.
“Anything’s possible,” Ortiz said, when asked about his motivation in connecting with Big Brothers Big Sisters. “I’ve been told my whole life I’m not supposed to do anything. Like, I wasn’t supposed to graduate, supposedly. According to statistics, I’m not supposed to be anywhere near the person I am right now.”
