Edith Labelle, Canadian Fitness Beauty, UFC Ring Girl, Survivor

Tales from having life wrapped around your beautiful finger until it turns into a tigress by the tail.

The promise and bloom of youth packs a square one two punch that seems packaged and boxed with the label unbeatable.

Until life throws you a curve.

In this life, please get ready for your meeting with lions, tigers and bears outside of the high safety fences at the zoo.

It happened in a surprisingly effective Canadian film that caught me off guard with both its simplicity and brutal rawness that packed an emotional impact.

fciwomenswrestling.com article, IFC Films photo — fciwomenswrestling.com article, IFC Films press photo

Backcountry is a 2014 Canadian horror film, written and directed by Adam MacDonald, and loosely based on the true story of 30-year-old Jacqueline Perry and Mark Jordan in the back country of Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, North of Chapleau, Ontario in 2005, events for which Mark later received the Star of Courage award from Governor General Michaëlle Jean.

Now for the power of youth and her omnipotent Pollyanna naivety. The pros of movie reviews at rogerebert.com provide us with the punch for the sucker.

“When I was a kid, this was my favorite place in the whole world.” That was the boyfriend’s utterance. The reviewers continue. “Under normal life circumstances, this is a harmless enough utterance. In a motion picture in which the place is a national park that the ostensible hero insists he remembers so well that he refuses the offer of a map from a ranger upon arriving, it is a nearly certain indicator of not-to-be-favorited events to come.”

Ah, the back country of Canada. Growl!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fitness beauty Edith Labelle is from Canada.

She’s young, gorgeous, sparkling bright, sexy and popular. She also had the power of youth and omnipotence on her side.

We could talk in glowing adjectives all day but Edith is humble and practical so she explains her biography effectively at her very nice site theofficialedithlabelle.com. “Canadian born Edith Labelle has been modeling since 2002 for various fashion houses and designers throughout North America including; UFC, Men’s Fitness, Fight Magazine, and Headrush Clothing.

She is also a spokesperson and model for health and dietary supplement companies. Early on in Edith’s career she was approached by the now defunct TKO Championship Fighting. TKO fighting is a MMA organization based out in Canada where she became a ring-card girl. Enthralled by combat sports and eager to perform on a bigger stage, Edith applied to the UFC as a ring-card girl, which she later became.

She became the first Canadian woman to occupy the UFC title.

Edith made her first appearance in the internationally recognized octagon in November 2007.

Her association with the UFC opened the flood gates for many opportunities for Edith including print work and corporate sponsorship.

Edith has become a favorite “pin-up girl” for fitness enthusiasts and combat sports fans everywhere. Edith now lives in Denver, Colorado.”

Okay class.

Why are the two sentences above in dark quotes? Do you hear a Canadian bear in the distance sniffing?

First off, based upon her hard work, creativity and self-determination, wonderful things came her way when she was very young. (Yes yellow caution sign ahead).

Things were incredibly wonderful as they should be and Edith had legions of fans. How can you not like looking at a sweetheart like her?

Now the bear is getting closer.

This writer doesn’t have the heart to say it so I’m going to hide behind a tree and let those close to the situation do it for me.

In 2009 the informative site mmafighting.com provides narration and the sound boom. “Last month, fans of former UFC Octagon girl Edith Labelle were disappointed to find out that she was no longer working for the organization. Many questions surrounded her departure, but few answers were made available.”

Here was Edith’s version which we don’t question. “After the UFC Expo and weigh-ins [at UFC 100], I went to dinner,” she said. “Then I attended some of the pre-parties with some of the UFC management, some of the Octagon girls, some of the fighters. And then I started to feel ill — I wasn’t feeling good. So I decided to go to bed. I really wanted to be in good shape for the next day, obviously. Then I started to feel worse throughout the night and the next day.”

Okay. Now for the UFC’s version.

After missing a major event she was let go a few days later because rumor had it that she was hung over from drinking too much.

What’s the life lesson?

The person who writes the check has the last word.

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak……Thomas Carlyle

For most of us in life who don’t walk the pathway of the union protected job that practically guarantees us a nice retirement, the house paid off, vacations at theme parks (where the bears still growl but are fake) and almost complete avoidance of lions and tigers too.

There’s typically one problem with that little cuddly cub equation.

You never really find out how far you can go in this short life because you’ve never been tested.

For Edith the naïve bloom of youth has been bear scratched off.

Question?

Well you already know, especially for those of us who have taken risks, gotten flattened by life and ran upon a Canadian bear with claws sharper than the most efficient razor blades at Gillette.

Now that you have been knocked down……………..what are you going to do about it?

According to mmafighting.com, “Next for Labelle, she will star in a Web series produced by a Montreal-based production company, Movie Seals, where she will play a super heroine. No release date has been announced. The French Canadian plans to do more acting and fitness modeling in the future, and hopes to land some kind of hosting gig in the MMA world. She says her new official Web site, EdithLabelle.ca, will be up and running shortly.”

She has also appeared in a MMA Candy video.

fciwomenswrestling.com article, youtube photo maxresdefault — fciwomenswrestling.com article, youtube photo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA83Rgxj6VM

How do her fans feel about her? We will always love her. The respected news source nydailynews.com says it best. “Although she no longer models for UFC, Edith Labelle will always be remembered for her incredible body of work.”

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.….Samuel Johnson

The informative site collegetimes.com also shares, “A Montreal native, Edith started modelling when she was 20-years-old and became the first Canadian to become a UFC octagon girl in 2007. She was the featured ring girl in the video game “UFC 2009 Undisputed.” She also appeared in the movie “Recon 2023: The Gauda Prime Conspiracy.”

In the previously spoken of penetrating film Back Country, there was a female survivor who lived due in part because she reinvented herself, didn’t blame her imperfect partner, found her courage, improvised and persevered.

For emphasis, she forgave him and looked within herself to emerge from the darkness.

We look forward to Edith’s future with great anticipation because there is no doubt in our minds that based upon this Canadian Princess body of work that one unfortunate incident will not define her.