Transitioning from military to civilian life comes with its challenges, but one retired Army Master Sergeant is using his new-found celebrity as the “Buff White House Chef” to help other soldiers thrive outside the military.
A picture of Chef Andre Rush and his 24-inch biceps went viral on Twitter and catapulted him to international fame. Now he’s using the spotlight to help others. They call him Tiny. He does 2,222 pushups every single day. He is no average 45-year old from Mississippi.
“Never judge a book by its cover, everyone has a story,” said Rush.
Rush is a White House chef, baker, expert ice carver, motivational speaker and life coach. He spent 24 years in the Army serving in Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq. It was after that last deployment that he returned to his base working for top Army leaders at WestPoint Military Academy in New York.
Then one day he had a conversation that initially crushed his spirit but eventually saved his life.
“I always dove into my job 100 percent always doing countless hours,” he explained. “My General Superintendent pulled me into the office one day, sat me down and said to me ‘on a personal basis Andre you served your Country now it’s time to take care of you.’”
It was an offer to help cope with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Rush thought he was hiding well.
“I felt like he saw a chink in my armor but it was a realization that hit me.” But Rush, who recalls being very depressed and crying at home said he knew he had PTSD, “since 9-11.”
That conversation led him to the United Service Organizations at Fort Belvoir.
In their kitchen he found healing. Now he’s back in the kitchen using cooking as therapy to help other soldiers recover.
“To see him be able to be successful and push his message and mission and push others it really is awesome,” said USO Center Manager Casey Pizzuto.
But for all his success there have been dark moments like the suicide of his mentee Sergeant Wesley Durden in 2011.
“He was vicarious, great, brilliant. I put him on Food Network,” Rush recalled. “He had everything in the world going for him and I made sure of that; and me missing one call from him because I was helping other soldiers do exactly this, I took for granted, ‘I’ll call him back’ the next day when I got the phone call…um…he wasn’t ….um…I got the news.”
So, those 2, 222 pushups are for Sgt. Durden and the 22 service members who take their own lives every day.
“I’m trying to save a life while I’m cooking, or we can cook together and save lives,” said Rush.
The Chef continues his advocacy and outreach. He also just signed a deal for his own TV show called “Chef in the City.”
