LOS ANGELES — Adult performer Dick Delaware landed the lead in Axel Braun’s upcoming Hustler Video production “This Ain’t Terminator XXX 3D,” which will begin principal photography on April 24.
But before he embarks on what will be the biggest role of his 10-year porn career, Delaware will meet unbeaten Julian Hamilton at Rage in the Cage 158 this Friday night at the Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, Ariz., in a light heavyweight mixed-martial-arts fight.
The confrontation will be the first MMA bout in almost a year for Delaware, whose real name is Aaron Brink. Last April he submitted Jesse Varela in the Trilogy promotion in Arizona, improving his overall record to 25-21-1 in a fight career that began in 1998 in his hometown of Huntington Beach, Calif. He is 3-3 in his last six contests dating back to 2010.
“I’m excited about this fight man, he’s a tough wrestler but he’s not a power wrestler,” Delaware told XBIZ, referring to the local favorite Hamilton, who will be coming into the fight with six wins and no defeats.
Now 37 and in perhaps the best shape of his life, Delaware said he has been training in various places for Friday’s fight, including Ahwatukee, Ariz., and at Sky High Training in Big Bear, Calif., where he recently started his own fight camp called 2Xtream MMA.
“I want to be where I’m at right now,” Delaware said. “This is not going to last forever. This is something I’m blessed to be able to do right now. I like my chances. I could lose, anything could happen. If I lose, I’m still going to fight again next month and keep moving forward. Nothing is contingent on this fight. I’m a showman. The win is just a bonus.”
Delaware’s national notoriety increased for all the wrong reasons in 2009 when he and his wife were profiled on an episode of A&E’s Emmy-winning TV show “Intervention.” The series chronicled the struggles of individuals whose dependence on drugs and alcohol has brought them to a point of personal crisis. The episode involving Brink's substance abuse led to an intervention in December 2008. He had considered retiring from the sport of MMA in 2009, but he couldn’t resist the urge to compete again.
However during his most recent layoff from fighting, Delaware faced a new set of challenges to overcome. In addition to taking several months to clear up some lingering legal issues stemming from an assault charge, his mother passed away last July in San Diego, and he occasionally lapsed in his sobriety.
Then in February, Delaware said he saw something that shook him to the core.
“I had a life changing experience,” he said. “I saw a woman get hit by a car. I’ve never seen anyone be alive one second and be killed the next. It happened on the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. I was flipping out. I still think about it sometimes now.”
Delaware said that night snapped him back to reality.
“I was having some serious drug issues and I had checked myself into a hotel,” he continued. “A lot of people at the hotel saw this, and it happened right in front of a bar. I was dehydrated and I realized I needed something to drink, so I came downstairs to rehydrate and I walked out of the elevator and I looked up and before I could make sense of what was happening, I heard it and I saw her in the street. And I thought, ‘Oh my God.’
“She was in her late 40s, early 50s and she appeared to be Asian. It broke my heart. That poor woman. It was an odd feeling I can’t describe. I wasn’t disgusted, I felt like I wanted to puke, like I wanted to cry.”
Then he had an epiphany.
“Somebody else’s tragedy humbled me so much,” Delaware said. “I went back to my room, I was weeping. I said, ‘Please God, bless her soul.’ I used that person’s tragedy to persevere in my life. This woman was killed right in front of me. She was dead instantly, one minute — bang. It’s hard to explain, it was traumatizing.
“I said you know what, I’m going to die some day. … I took my last bit of money and secured my nest egg before I squandered all my inheritance away.
“I said I’m still going to be the best porn star I can be, but what do I have in this life? I need something to be motivated for."
And the rush of combat sports called him back. "I said I can do this again. I’m in my mid-30s. I looked at the drawing board and I looked at last year and said I’m batting .500 again," Delaware reasoned. "I’m a couple fights away from being a contender.”
He moved in with his brother Ryan in the mountains of Big Bear. He bought an RV, and a boat and some commercial diving equipment. Now for the first time he has a contingency plan. If his fighting career ends and the porn work dries up, “I can fall back on it. I can hop under that boat and scuba dive."
That’s more reason why Delaware is approaching Friday’s fight with a new outlook. Regardless of the outcome, in two weeks he’ll step into The Terminator's shoes for Axel Braun, who hand-picked him for the project.
“Aaron is a terrific performer and a gifted, committed actor who pours his heart and soul into every role,” Braun told XBIZ. “His magnetic, award-nominated turn as super-villain Electro in last year's ‘Spider-Man XXX’ proved that despite his past misfortunes and his struggles with addiction, he was able to find the strength and focus to get back up and turn his life around, and that's something that I respect immensely.
“He has the drive, the charisma, and the energy to take his career to new heights, and I am not only thrilled to have him in my movies, but most of all I am proud and honored to have him as a friend.”
Hustler Video Creative Director Drew Rosenfeld added, “'This Ain’t Terminator XXX 3D' and Dick seem like a perfect match. We are looking forward to working with him.”
Delaware said that Ira Wallace would be in his corner Friday night along with his younger brother Greg Brink, and that Xavier Perez-Pacheco helped him immeasurably during his difficult stretch. He’ll be sponsored by his other brother Ryan's Tat2Xtream tattoo shop and No Fear Energy Drink.
