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A Heart For Community Fuels Brad Eubanks

Posted: Nov 8th 2023 By: Stacie Boston

A sense of community is something that Cherokee Nation citizen Brad Eubanks takes pride in through all aspects of his life.

Whether he’s helping children through his job at Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare, walking to shed light on domestic violence against women or turning into his wrestling-persona “Fuel” to perform for a cause or to provide joy, he does it all in the name of community.

For his efforts, Eubanks, of Hulbert, was named as the 2023 Cherokee Phoenix Seven Feathers Community award winner. To be considered for the award, Eubanks had to be nominated.

“It was so funny. I was sharing it. I was like, hey, nominate your people. Well, I guess there was people nominating me,” he said. “I just see stuff and I just do it because ... I want to help out. But being nominated for doing this stuff, it’s like, that’s cool. That’s what this feels like. Doing that stuff, I guess it matters to people. It just feels special.”

Aside from finding “community” through work, Eubanks founded United Wrestling Entertainment in 2009 as a way to bring professional wrestling to the Tahlequah area. Shortly after, he noticed people in the community looking for ways to fund-raise and began incorporating it into the shows. Since, UWE has raised approximately $68,000 and helped fund-raise for local schools, churches and children battling cancer.

“I was like, hey, that could be pretty cool. You give back even more than what we’re doing because what we’re doing is dangerous and all but I mean, we could give back even more. So, we can help some people in our community out,” he said. “With our wrestling company, we love going out and doing fundraisers. We’ve helped out so many different individuals and organizations.”

Around this time, Eubanks also started taking part in the Help-In-Crisis “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event. His participation eventually led him to helping create the event’s theme and shirts. He now serves on the Help-In-Crisis board of directors.

“I thought it was just so awesome, how a big, giant group of men walk just for one mile, just to kind of have a glimpse into what it’s like walking in a woman’s shoes … It’s a symbol of standing up against domestic violence and sexual assault. I was becoming a dad, and I just thought it was great. I participated every year,” he said.

As for those looking to get more involved in their community, Eubanks suggests people get out of their “comfort zone.”

“Get out of your comfort zone. There’s something bigger than what we’re just doing. I think that bigger thing is to just try to be that guiding light in your community that you need,” he said. “The feeling of being able to help somebody in the community or an organization is the best feeling in the world. Don’t expect to get anything back because that’s not what we’re doing it for. We’re just out there to help people.”

Winning the award, Eubanks said, is a “huge” honor.

“I mean, people are chosen by their peers. But another thing too is the Cherokee Phoenix is our newspaper. It’s from the people and it’s one of the oldest, I guess you could say oldest, but I would say more of the most prestigious things that we have ... to take as our own,” Eubanks said.