PhillyFit Magazine Q & A with Riley Cote

Q: What is the coolest thing you did this summer?
 
RC: “I put on my first Cote Carnival with all proceeds benefiting the Multiple Sclerosis Association (MSA). My older sister, Jaime (28), has been diagnosed with MS for eight years and it is the least I can do for her.  It was a great charity event held at Swanky Bubbles in Cherry Hill, NJ. Several of my teammates attended, as did our general manager, Paul Holmgren and our head coach, John Stevens.  The event was a huge success and raised approximately $17,000.”
 
Q: What are your favorite places to train?
RC: “I work out at the Virtua Health Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ and at New Jersey Martial Arts in Maple Shade, NJ.”
 
Q: What is your favorite form of training?
RC: My favorite all around training is mixed martial arts. You train your whole body and it helps with your full body strength and balance.”
 
Q: Does training in martial arts help in your profession as a
hockey player?
RC: “Absolutely. I got involved with it last year mainly because of my role as an enforcer with the Flyers.  Mixed martial arts helps with my conditioning and to improve my fighting. I want to be the best I can be and I think I am on the right path by my training methods. Any sort of edge I can get in that department is advantageous.  I used to take Karate and Tae Kwan Do but I have found that mixed martial arts involves more hockey-like situations with more hands on contact. I don’t train a lot in ground grappling or submission holds because we don’t do this playing hockey. I study the grip fighting and the stand up punching.”
 
Q: Aside from training in mixed marital arts, what is your favorite exercise?
RC “Dips.”

Q: Why Dips?
RC “Early in my career, I did more individual body group exercises.  I finally got away from that. I like dips because they are more full body strength including shoulders, triceps and chest as opposed to individual muscle groups. 
 
Q: How often do you train?
RC: “Five to six days a week.”
 
Q: How would you like to be remembered as a professional hockey player?
RC: “As a bad-ass (laughs).  I know I’m not going to be remembered as a goal scorer. I would like to be remembered as a fearless player who gave it his all.”
 
Q: Georges Laraques, regarded as the toughest heavyweight in the NHL, called you “pound-for-pound, the toughest fighter in the NHL.”  It seems like you are on the right track for being remembered the way you want.
RC: “A compliment like that coming from him is definitely a feather in my cap. Getting that said about me from the toughest guy in the NHL is pretty cool.  He fought some of the strongest who ever played the game; including Bob Probert, Tony Twist, Donald Brashear and a lot of others, so that compliment is significant.”
 
Q: Do you like to fight?
RC: “It might sound sick, but I actually do enjoy it.  The hardest part about fighting is ‘getting into’ the fight.  The build up is actually kind of nerve-wracking, but once the gloves are dropped it is a blast.  Nothing is more competitive than a one-on-one battle with an opponent. In a perfect world you win every fight but it doesn’t work that way when you fight 25-30 times during a season.”
 
Q: What does your diet consist of?
RC: “I eat tons of vegetables, raw foods, nuts, lots of fruit and brown rice.  I try to eat two to three bananas a day and I am a huge salmon and chicken fan.  I have done a lot of research on healthy foods in general.  It all stems back to what kind of environment you put your body in and what you eat.  Any kind of raw foods are the best form of food.  I try to keep my diet as simple as possible. My body strength is my money-maker and I have to give it the best fuel.”
 
Q: Favorite pre-game meal?
RC: “Salmon and pasta.”
 
Q: Favorite restaurant?
RC: “Capital Grille in Center City.”
 
Q: Favorite party place to hang out?
RC: “Cavanaugh’s River Deck on Delaware Avenue.”
 
Q: Favorite kind of music?
RC: “Anything by Bob Marley.”
 
Q: Favorite movie?
RC: “Goodfellas.”

For Information on appearances, please contact Jerrold Colton at (856)-782-8600