Since retiring from professional hockey in 2010 with some concussion related collateral damage, Riley has embarked on a quest of holism, healing and alternative/natural medicines. Riley decided to take a different approach with his own personal wellness and began using plant medicines like cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms with intention and then mindfully integrated them into his healing journey.
Riley became a student of life, committed to personal development and spiritual growth. He began attending classes through the American Institute of Holistic Theology which opened his mind to massive change. Riley studied different philosophies and perspectives on nutrition, exercise, recovery, plant medicine and overall wellness - all of which he uses in his Cote Culture Mindfulness Practice that helps people become more aware and in tune with themselves and ultimately increasing quality of life.
"I gave the game all I had. I poured my heart into it. I left it all on the ice. At the same, I didn't pour enough mindfulness into it and life eventually kicked me in the ass and taught me a few powerful lessons."
The game of hockey has given me so much and I am beyond grateful for it as I would not be where I am today without it. The road I chose to fulfill my childhood dream was by no means an easy one. It challenged me in many ways. Physically, emotionally and certainly spiritually. I eventually realized the life I was living wasn’t aligned with my divine being and I needed to take action. I needed to be accountable and I need to change my path. It began with putting a premium on self respect and self discovery. But more importantly I realized it's about helping others find health and wellness.
We have been systematically and fundamentally mislead, which in turn has created so much suffering. Our choices and daily behaviors not only define us, but promote growth and healing or disease and decay. So the most important lesson I've learnt is that we are in control of our own destiny. Nobody else. It’s simply the universal law of karma. We get out of life what we put into it. From the food we eat to the people we surround ourself with to what you let into our head space. We must manage our self talk and make sure it’s positive, as we become what we think. Our subconscious mind accepts anything we let into it where its truth or its lies. And what ever we feed it daily is what we believe to be true. I realized the overall focus was nothing more than mindfulness and awareness and that inspired the creation of Cote Culture.
- Riley Cote
Riley is a former Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and formerly an assistant coach with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played eight years of professional hockey including 4 in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and was mainly known as an enforcer. Undrafted after completing juniors, Cote was a walk on to the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp in fall 2002. He impressed the Leafs staff, signed a one-year contract, and was assigned to the Leafs Central Hockey League affiliate, the Memphis RiverKings. While called up to the St. John's Maple Leafs, Toronto's American Hockey League affiliate, a few times during the 2002–03 season, he spent most of his rookie year with the RiverKings and was with them when they won the CHL championship that season.
Not re-signed by the Leafs, Cote was signed to a two-way contract by the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and entered the training camp for their NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in fall 2003. Columbus released him and he returned to the Crunch. An eye injury caused during a pre-season scrimmage resulted in Cote being assigned to the Crunch's ECHL affiliate, the Dayton Bombers, for much of the 2003–04 season.
Cote was recruited back to the RiverKings for the 2004–05 season but was offered a try-out contract by the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms just before the season began. The Phantoms extended his contract twice through the season and Cote eventually spent the entire season with Philadelphia, accumulating a team-leading 280 penalty minutes in the process, and helped the Phantoms win the Calder Cup as league champions. Shortly after the season ended, the Phantoms signed him to a one-year contract. After participating in the Philadelphia Flyers training camps in the fall of 2005 and 2006, Cote was signed to a two-way contract by the Flyers in 2006–07. Early in the season, he was assigned to the Phantoms and shortly after suffered an ankle injury that kept him from playing for two months.
Late in the season, Cote played in his first 8 NHL games with the Flyers, making his NHL debut on March 24, 2007 against the New York Islanders. Cote was recognized for his contributions to the community when the Phantoms named him as the team's 2006–07 Man of the Year. Cote was re-signed by the Flyers to a one-year contract for the 2007–08 season and made the team out of training camp. On July 2, 2008 the Flyers announced they had signed Cote to a three-year contract extension.
Riley retired on August 9, 2010 and was named an assistant coach of the Adirondack Phantoms.