CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Adult performer and professional fighter Dick Delaware will be back on national television tonight when A&E’s “Intervention” re-airs his episode with an update on his condition.
Delaware, whose legal name is Aaron Brink, originally appeared on the Emmy-winning reality show about substance abuse on July 21. Footage from that episode, titled “Aaron & Andrea,” was taped in December 2008, the last time he used crystal meth.
“Intervention” profiles people whose dependence on drugs and alcohol has brought them to a point of personal crisis. Each episode ends with a surprise intervention that is staged by the family and friends of the addict. Brink’s intervention was conducted by specialist Jeff VanVonderen and set up by his ex-wife, Cassandra Cruz, who is also an adult performer.
Now Brink is clean and resides in a sober living house in the San Fernando Valley. He is performing in sex scenes again and is also in the final stages of training for his first mixed-martial-arts fight in 2 ½ years on Oct. 17 in Tulare, Calif., located about 40 miles south of Fresno.
“They’re going to air the original show tonight and then do an update that I have a fight coming up and that I’ve been clean off meth [since the show was taped],” said Brink, who immediately checked into the Pasadena Recovery Center after the intervention that was captured by A&E’s camera crew. Upon leaving rehab in March, Brink relapsed with marijuana use and not long after went back to rehab for a period before moving into sober living in July.
The 34-year-old native of Huntington Beach, Calif. now is giving his pro fight career another chance, almost 11 years after he first stepped into the cage.
“I’ve been working out and training every day and I’ve added some sprints to my regimen,” Brink said. “I’m also watching my diet. For breakfast I used to do a bong rip and eat Carl’s Jr...”
Brink said he didn’t know he was being taped for “Intervention” last year when the camera crew came to his apartment. “My wife had told me, 'they want to do a documentary on you because you’re a pro-fighter who is also a porn star.' And that they wanted to interview me and come film me in my home,” he recalled. “My addiction had gotten out of hand and I did some things on camera. Something made me do it.”
Brink is seen smoking pot and injecting meth into his arm during the episode. In hindsight, he said that he just wanted to “get loaded” and didn’t care that the cameras were rolling. During the intervention, Brink’s mother, two brothers, former fight manager and wife all urged him to seek treatment. Brink was told that he was going to a hotel to film an interview for the documentary when his family surprised him.
“I’m really grateful I did it. It’s changed my life,” he said, noting that rehab "isn't a magic wand" and that he is working on “being a reliable person.”
While in rehab, Brink met Scott Kari, the younger brother of his current head fight trainer, Ron Kari, who is also his program sponsor with 23 years of sober living himself. Kari coincidentally also lived in a house that was used for a porn scene in which Brink performed.
“I’ve been around this fight game a lot of years and I have a lot of respect for Aaron. He’s a scary fighter. Then when I saw him filming in my backyard one day it was even more scary,” Kari joked.
Brink said having his sponsor as his trainer is “like living at work. He’s my trainer and also a dear friend.”
The 6-foot-3, 226 pound Brink will be facing Anthony Ruiz in the heavyweight co-main event at Pure Combat: Fearless at 7 p.m. at the International Agri-Center. Brink is listed at 21-18-1 by the pro fight website sherdog.com. Ruiz, who is the Pure Combat 205-pound title holder, is 22-13 in the past six years and recently KO'ed Gan McGee, who defeated Brink in 1999.
“The guy’s a fucking animal,” said Brink, a veteran of UFC, King of the Cage and several regional fight promotions. “He’s like a zombie fighter. He’s going to keep coming and coming and he’s not going to get knocked out with one punch. I’m expecting it to go three five-minute rounds.”
A camera crew from "Intervention" will be at the fight gathering footage for another update on his progression.
Meanwhile, the performer known as Dick Delaware shot a scene for Lethal Hardcore this past Saturday and on Tuesday is booked in a boy/girl for Combat Zone. Delaware, which is the name of the street on which he was raised in Orange County, has performed in over 300 movies since breaking into porn in December, 2002.
For tickets to Pure Combat, email [email protected] or visit purecombatmma.com.
