EXCLUSIVECelebrity Chef Andre Rush 'Faces the Fight' Against Veteran Suicide: 'We Need to Have This Conversation'
Celebrity Chef Andre Rush was fortunate enough to channel his emotions and PTSD into creating delicious tasting food.
While the 49-year-old found a therapeutic approach that works for him, not all veterans have the same outcome.
Chef Andre Rush was the White House chef for both former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
OK! had the opportunity to exclusively chat with Chef Rush — who rose to fame as the White House chef for both former President Barack Obama and former President Donald Trump — for a powerful conversation surrounding the chilling fact that military service members are more likely to die by suicide than in battle.
Additionally, veterans have a 50 percent higher chance of dying by suicide than their non-veteran peers.
These saddening truths are why Chef Rush has made it his mission and partnered with USAA and the Face the Fight Campaign to educate, provide resources and inform the world about veterans' struggles in an effort to combat the amount of souls who devastatingly take their own lives daily.
(OK! conducted this interview in September, when the country observed National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.)
Chef Rush served as Master Sergeant of the U.S. Army.
So, why is veteran suicide such an under-discussed topic at this time? Chef Rush connects it back to his horrific experience being inside of the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on September 11, 2001.
"I'll relate back to 9/11. I was there in Pentagon when the plane hit. I did a lot of different things that day and the days following. That was the day where I know I developed PTSD," the retired Master Sergeant of the U.S. Army explains, clarifying it was "the first time I wanted to get help, because I was with a bunch of guys that actually needed it."
He continues: "And when I did, they just asked me if I liked my job, and I knew what that meant as a soldier, as a leader, as a follower. And it was very, it was very hard and it built up for a very long time. And now here we are to the day where the topic still has stigmatic roses to it, but it is more open than what it was back then."
"Now, that USSA [established] Face the Fight with the Humana Foundation, it brings more awareness to the matter, which is the most important part about it," the 47-year-old explains.
Chef Rush partnered with USAA for their Face the Fight Campaign, advocating for veteran suicide prevention.
"It breaks down that stigma part, where the conversation needs to be talked about more. It needs to be open," he says, pointing out how the increase in conversation about the matter has even caused the U.S. Department of Defense to "take more notice" to the crisis at hand.
"Because you have these, I use the word powerhouses, that united together as we do things to bring awareness of this topic that was hidden for a while. Of course, people are opening up a lot more now, but we need to open up and have this conversation not on September or, you know, September National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but every day," he states, admitting he too needed this movement after keeping his pain to himself "for so very long."
Chef Rush details: "Usually a lot of other movements that try to bring awareness to suicide, they're all about this. I'll be very transparent. They're about themselves. It's like' we, we, we, we.' USAA, it's about us. It's not about them trying to do this by themselves."
"They partnered up with Humana Foundation to raise awareness. They're doing it together and not only together with these huge organizations, [but] from the biggest to the smallest — and that says a lot. They're not just going after huge corporations. They want the small guys to understand it as well. They're vetting each and every one to say, 'Hey, use this grant for the right reason.' And also with them saying, 'Hey, by the year of 2030, we're gonna cut suicide in half.' That's what we want to do. We're going to cut suicide in half by 2030," he declares.
The military veteran speaks out about his PTSD to show people they aren't alone.
"When I came out and said I had PTSD nationally, I had so many people contact me and say, 'Thank you for saying that. I needed to hear that. I needed to hear this guy in particular to say that to me.' It may be demographically or a niche part of it, but at the same time, whoever was affected — from man, woman to child — each and every person that it did affect can spread the word to each and every other person — and let them know that you don't have to be this big bad force," the Kitchen Commando star expresses.
Aside from fighting to prevent veteran suicide, Chef Rush was able to share some of his most memorable moments working as the chef for both Obama and Trump.
Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!
He tells OK! the "craziest" experience he had working for Trump involved his one-of-a-kind mac and cheese recipe.
"At one of the estate dinners, I made this mac and cheese that had seven different cheeses. It was a lot," he jokes. "It wound up being one of his favorite things. He literally fell in love with [it]."
Powered by RedCircle
As for Obama, Chef Rush says he was rather impressed with himself after the former POTUS went to him for advice.
"The most [memorable time] was when he asked me about fitness and fitness tips. It's pretty humbling when he'd come up to me [despite having] his trainers [that do] everything," the renowned chef concludes with a laugh.
