Every now and then, Dustin “Dirt” Cooper enters literal cages with the intention of letting others know they have ways to escape their own figurative ones.
Cooper, 39, is returning to a cage next weekend, in fact. Under his “nom de cage” of the Mountain Warrior, he will confront opponent Michael Shearer, of Dunn, North Carolina, in a light heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts cagefight contest on Saturday, May 13, in Bridgeport.
More than seeking a cage title, an ostentatious belt or personal glory, however, the Marmet native, now a resident of Cadiz, Kentucky, will be throwing punches, kicks and parries to build awareness for his Mountains of Hope Outreach ministry (although he still hopes to emerge triumphant).
Cooper founded Mountains of Hope with his wife, Jana, in 2020, drawing upon their circle of friends for support at the outset. “In the beginning, we started as the Ol’ Boys, a group of friends who grew up together, playing sports, competing, and then started to lose friends along the way to drugs and noticed how many kids they left behind,” he explained. “We realized we had our own talents and could use them to impact kids in our community, which led to the birth of Mountains of Hope Outreach.
“As Mountains of Hope grew, we realized we were battling more than just drugs; from mental health to poverty, it was casting a huge shadow on our people. There’s a lot of children growing up in homes where mental health and addiction is wreaking havoc and being passed down from generation to generation.
“The best way to fight is to get kids out of the house, help them find new hobbies and passions, and, most importantly lead them to Jesus Christ. We are doing that through sports, hiking, fishing, and other fellowship activities.
“Our sports outreach has been the area of the most growth and consistency, with my brother, Bill Cooper, coaching several teams and partnering with other organizations to provide registration fees for kids who normally wouldn’t be able to afford to play,” he said.
One outreach example is the free “Love and Diversity” events for children Mountains of Hope has hosted, at Kanawha State Forest in 2021 and Coonskin Park in 2022. The Coonskin “Love and Diversity” gathering was buoyed with support from agencies including Try This WV, the Food S.H.A.C.K., Active Southern WV, Celebrate Recovery @ River Ridge Church, Union Mission, the Booker T. Washington Community Center, and the Regional Family Resources Network.
A third “Love and Diversity” program is being organized for mid-July, Cooper said.
Friends step upOther individuals and organizations in the community are stepping up to support Cooper’s outreach efforts.
“One of our Ol’ Boys, Michael Cochran, who works for Prestera, has served as an expert in helping us reach out to individuals who are currently in the middle of battling addiction,” Cooper said. “We plan on expanding our recovery ministry as Michael has led the way. We look forward to other community leaders stepping up to join our cause.”
A Dunbar resident, Cochran spent his first 25 years in Marmet. He explained that he will help provide in-patient or outpatient recovery services to those who come to him through the ministry, personally, via the Mountains of Hope Facebook page, or other avenues of contact. His professional and personal involvement started after he, Cooper and some of the other Ol’ Boys spent a getaway weekend in Summersville, where they bandied around the idea of creating Mountains of Hope during downtime of their trip.
“My grandmother used to run the youth programs in Marmet — she was a town recorder — and we want to give back like she did,” Cochran explained. “We’re trying to start more basketball teams, and they want me to be a coach. ... Our main goal is helping anybody and everybody and to have a better lifestyle for themselves. A lot of people go through hardship, particularly now, and we want to show them that people still actually care about other people.”
“Another friend, Chris Holstein, has utilized his talents to help begin a Hope Happens podcast, where we highlight the current activities of the outreach, as well as what’s going on in the state of West Virginia,” Cooper said.
Originally from Hernshaw and a classmate of Cooper’s in elementary school, Holstein now lives in Cumberland, Maryland. He learned of Mountains of Hope shortly after the Coopers launched the endeavor.
“A couple of years ago, Dustin reached out to me about his nonprofit organization for families affected by the drug epidemic, the kids who had lost parents and those battling addiction,” Holstein said. “I personally never had to go through that, but I felt I needed to help.
“Being so far away, I thought the best thing I can do is collaborate with him on the Hope Happens podcast. It’s basically an easy way to stay connected with what Mountains of Hope is doing, be it events or other happenings. The guests are recovering addicts or those involved with a ministry dealing with addiction, to give hope with those with addiction,” Holstein said.
The Hope Happens podcast is presented on YouTube and Facebook, he added.
“Mountains of Hope is really Dustin, his wife and his brother. I play a small part in all of this, but I’m OK being a behind-the-scenes guy,” Holstein said.
Cooper’s brother, Bill, of Kanawha City, serves as director of the Marmet Recreation Center and coaches Mountains of Hope sports programs there and elsewhere. “I’ve coached for a long time,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for helping kids. Growing up, it was pretty rough for me, so I like to help where I can.”
Learning the MMA ropes
Dustin Cooper is a latecomer to the ring environment. He won his first bout, as a boxer, at age 37 at a 2021 Rough ‘n’ Rowdy MMA competition. He won his first MMA match last year in Harts over opponent Hunter Wilson.
“I’ve always been a natural fighter,” he said. “Life was hard for my brother and me growing up — our dad was in prison and our mom was an addict. People called my fighting skills a God-given talent. I thought the fighting thing would really inspire West Virginians and it has.”
He also shared the origin of his personal nickname since childhood. “I was always a rough, dirty kid, playing in the mountains, catching snakes. Mom would give me showers, and I’d turn around and get dirty again. My brother said, ‘Man, you’re dirt!” It stuck — and it’s been a good name for me.”
To fight professionally, Cooper trained (and still does) at a boxing center in Cadiz, and “I started mixing it up and sparring with MMA professionals and got good at it pretty quick.”
Cooper’s upcoming MMA match, dubbed “The Brawl at the Bridge” for dramatic effect, will take place at the Bridge Sports Complex, 400 Forrester Blvd. in Bridgeport, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $30 for general admission seats and $50 for front-row ringside seats, with other price points available. Tickets can be purchased at www.newlinecagefighting.com.
“It’s funny, but when I fight, more people gravitate to the cause,” Cooper said in a July 2022 Metro Kanawha article. “[Fighting] is something I could always do, and I want to try to utilize my skills to the cause.
“They let me preach after both fights, too. My motto as the Mountain Warrior has been ‘‘If you fight and bleed for what you believe in, others will believe.’
“I believe if we make the most noise, children in the darkest situations will hear there’s a team in place fighting for them,” Cooper said.
For more information about Mountains of Hope and its outreach ministry programs, contact Dustin Cooper at 270-206-5331 or dirtleecooper@gmail.com or visit the Mountains of Hope Facebook page.
