From clearing his parents' debt to dinosaur fossils, Georges St-Pierre reveals what he spent his first $1 million on
Georges St-Pierre has revealed how he made the first million of his career and what he spent it on.
In a recent appearance on the GQ Sports show 'My First Million', Georges St-Pierre said he made the first million in earnings with a UFC contract renewal ahead of his title defense against Jon Fitch at UFC 87 in 2008. Prioritizing his family and friends over everything else, GSP spent over $200,000 to pay off his parents' debt, buy cars for his family, support his sister for her education, and help his friends:
"The first thing I did is cleared all my parents' debt... Second thing I did, bought two cars for my parents. Japanese cars - Toyota... I bought myself a car as well, a Nissan Xterra. One of my sisters wanted to have a masters' degree to take care of her family and be able to free herself to pursue he dream. I gave her money every few months to keep rolling..." Georges St-Pierre said.
No amount of money can ensure performance longevity and skill development unless spent on the right things. Georges St-Pierre traveled the world to learn different aspects of martial arts from different schools of thought and bought a condominium that suited the champion's lifestyle and training-related requirements. GSP spent over a huge amount on skill development and degradation. St-Pierre is passionate about paleontology. He also spent a small portion of his earnings buying dinosaur fossils:
"I am really into dinosaur fossils. I love paleontology and I bought for say $20000... All kinds of different animals that used to live a long time ago," Georges St-Pierre said.
Georges St-Pierre's advice to young fighters
One of the primary reasons behind Georges St-Pierre's consistent success in the unpredictable sport of MMA is his drive to stay ahead of the curve. From a predominantly Karate striker in his early days to a dominant wrestler towards the end of his career, GSP was able to add new tools to his arsenal that enabled him to compete against three generations of fighters. GSP gave parting advice to young fighters in his trademark style and advised them to invest in themselves to stay competitive in the sport:
"When you start making money in combat sports, you have to keep in mind that it's very hard to reach the top but it's very easy to go back down. Make sure to invest on yourself. Becasue if you don't get better, the game will catch up to you. So you need to make sure that you invest on yourself - Get new knowledge, make sure you have treatment in order to recuperate better. So invest this thing on yourself," Georges St-Pierre said.