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I used to love this show when I was younger. Leila Ali and Hulk Hogan will be hosting this new season of AG. It will begin on Sunday, January 6th on NBC.
Meet the Gladiators:
GLADIATOR NAME Titan
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Four-time Mr. Universe Mike O'Hearn, 33, is the Gladiator team captain. He was cast as the first alternate in the original series — name: Thor — but never saw screen time. Though the 6'3'', 260-lb. (lifetime drug-free) bodybuilding legend could've walked into the finals in 2007, he insisted on trying out like everyone else — and set multiple Gladiator records including 35 pull-ups in 30 seconds. Jesus. ''He had nothing to do with it, but I think he was there,'' O'Hearn quips. Okay, even his wit is quick.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Joust. Hulk Hogan, who hosts the show with Laila Ali, calls that event ''The House Titan Built.'' Why? Titan's psych-out abilities. ''Yesterday, I set up as a southpaw,'' O'Hearn says, ''and the guy goes, 'Wow, you're a southpaw?' 'Absolutely.' When the countdown got to two, I stood up, reversed the grip, and then — bop. You gotta be smart. I didn't want to get my hair wet.''
GLADIATOR NAME Toa (which means ''warrior'' in Samoan)
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Tanoai Reed, 33, has been the stunt double for his cousin Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson in all his films. At 6'3'' and 245 lbs., Reed admits, ''I'm pretty ripped — for a Samoan, that is. We're known as big people.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Pyramid or Powerball. ''Because of my football background,'' says the former University of Hawaii defensive tackle, ''I love any full contact sports that require agility and strength.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''Toa does these crazy warrior dances, like the Haka, to channel his ancestral spirits. I'll stomp my feet. Slap my body. My blood will start beating to the drum of the islands. Then I'll let out a Samoan war cry, and that pretty much means it's on,'' he says. ''The competitors can't look me in the eye.'' (Did we mention he majored in psychology?)
GLADIATOR NAME Hellga
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Robin Coleman, a 34-year-old from Friendswood, Texas, (''It sounds dangerous, doesn't it?'') played basketball at the University of Houston, entered her first bodybuilding event in 1997, placed third at 2001's World Strongest Women competition, and became ''the biggest Figure competitor you've ever seen'' in 2006. She’s 6’1â€, 203 lbs., and oh yes, she’s got a 1,625-lb. leg press: ''We finally had to add a friend of mine sitting on top of [the machine] holding plates because we ran out of space.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Gauntlet. ''It's all about getting to pummel someone with the NERF toys... Tough and goofy at the same time is my preferred state.'' (That's true. She trained in improv at the Groundlings.)
THE MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HER? ''I'm a violinist,'' she says. ''And I own two miniature horses. How about that?'' (Nope: One of them is named Outlaw. Still badass.)
GLADIATOR NAME Crush
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION You might recognize Vegas' Gina Carano, 25, from Oxygen's Muay Thai reality show Fight Girls or Showtime's EliteXC cage fights.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Joust. (Or: ''The giant Q-Tips that we beat the s--t out of each other with.'') ''Sometimes in a fight,'' says the 5'8'', 155-lb. Carano, ''it's not necessarily who's bigger or who's stronger, but it's about technique. A girl with better balance can end up being a tougher opponent than the person who looks scarier.''
THE MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HER? ''I get told that I smile too much, and that's in the ring, too. I've gotten laughed at because people don't believe I do what I do,'' she says. ''If we're gonna take care of it, I don't see the point in being mean about it. I like to have fun, and I'm [fighting] for just that reason, so it comes out on my face.''
GLADIATOR NAME Justice
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Columbia, S.C.'s Justice Jesse Smith, 34, played basketball in Switzerland for four years before turning to modeling, acting — ''One of my friends was like, 'Big black bad guy?' That's you!'' — and the K-1 martial arts fight league. ''I'm 6'8,'' 290 lbs., twisted steel with beat-down skills,'' he says. ''I wear a size 17 shoe. I have a wingspan of 7 feet. Arms are 22 inches.'' Oh god. ''Yes, ma'am. 'Oh god,' is right.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Gauntlet. But if you do, hope you're the contestant who goes first. ''Because see, I'll get the kinks worked out, and the second guy will get it,'' he says.
MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HIM? ''I love my four-year-old French bulldog [bruno] very much,'' he says. Then laughs. ''I never thought that you could actually feel that way towards an animal.''
GLADIATOR NAME Mayhem
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Houston native William Romeo, who says his ''Hollywood age'' is 34 and his real age is 44, started kickboxing when he was nine years old — and went 34-0 in the K-1 fight league. He also dabbles in personal training and acting: He played a demon on Charmed and a Jamaican drug lord on Without a Trace.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Joust. ''I love to throw bombs at people's heads,'' he says. The laugh that follows makes you believe him.
MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HIM? ''I was in the marching band,'' admits the former drum team head. Also, he's afraid of what Siren will do if she catches him eating a cookie (again). And when he talks about auditioning for American Gladiators 10 years ago — and of the family members who supported him then and have since passed — he chokes up. ''I'm sorry I teared up on you,'' he says. ''Big 6'6,'' 240-lb. man...''
GLADIATOR NAME Siren
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Valerie Waugaman, a 29-year-old former state high jump champion and Ohio University volleyball player, became an IFBB Pro Figure competitor to stay in shape — and promote her Cleveland restaurant, Octane Café.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Hang Tough. ''I am the master of the rings,'' says the 5'9,'' 155-lb. Waugaman. ''It entails so much strategy. You always have a choice between two different directions. My goal is to at least make that first move towards [the competitor]. If they hesitate, I just stay on my rings and wait to see the next move. As soon as I'm close, I start to grab them. It startles them.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT '''Siren' fits both ways: I'm like the siren that lured the pirates into the bay, and I'm really loud. I'm moving my arms like, 'Whooo! Whooo!' I want to make sure the competitors can feel my presence.''
GLADIATOR NAME Venom
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Chicago's Beth Horn, 34, has been a gymnast since the age of seven — and weight training since the age of 15, when she had both knees reconstructed. (''I had a great doctor. I have great genetics. I just had to work on the muscles and keep them strong,'' she says. ''They're great.'' Those shoulders aren't bad either.) The 5'8'', 137-lb. personal trainer and Pro Fitness competitor is also the author of the nutrition and fitness book The Natural Way.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Wall. ''I get to literally sneak up on [the contestant] and attack, and I can't imagine how scary that would be — somebody chasing after you, going 40-feet high. I've seen people just sort of shaking up there.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''Venom is perfect for me,'' she says. ''I am sweet and friendly and feminine on the outside, yet I will strike at any given moment.''
GLADIATOR NAME Militia
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION At the age of 19, Cuban-born Alexander Castro, 37, took his father's boat to escape to America with three others. After a storm left him floating in the Atlantic for nearly five days, he was rescued by the U.S. Marines — which he joined. The 6'3,'' 235-lb. black belt has performed with Cirque du Soleil for 14 years, most recently a hand-balancing duet in Vegas' Zumanity.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Wall. ''They give contestants a seven-second [head] start, and then you see them just look at you, scared. They're climbing for their life. You can get them and drop them in the water, which is kinda fun.''
EVEN MORE FUN... The new event Earthquake, which involves wrestling on a moving platform. ''I was hanging to the Earthquake, and I overstretched the muscles in my arm. I'm a Gladiator. I injure but I keep working.''
GLADIATOR NAME Wolf
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Phoenix-bred Don ''Hollywood'' Yates, 37, grew up an athlete and an entertainer (he was doing Elvis impersonations in his grandfather's nightclubs when he was 7), but has made his living as a bullfighter for the last 23 years. ''I'm 6'4,'' about 235 lbs. I'm just a big beast that is designed for punishment.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... ''Any event. But the events where you have to come face-to-face and get hit by me, YOU DON'T WANT IT. When I come at you, I come 100 percent, and I come fast, and I come with my teeth...There's rules to the games, but there's no fluff and puff about this. It's brutal. It's vicious. And it's fun.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''When you see me, you'll understand where 'wolf' comes from. When I get excited, I tend to howl. I don't think they pulled the name out of a hat.''
GLADIATOR NAME Stealth
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Army brat Tanji Johnson, 32, attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where she was a varsity cheerleader and a member of the Cadet Honor Guard. Post-college, she became an IFBB Fitness Pro. ''You can't stereotype elite athletes,'' she says, applauding the show's diverse casting. ''I'm 5'3,'' and in the old Gladiators, you probably never would have seen [me].''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Powerball, Gauntlet, Earthquake. ''I love anything where I get to forge my will against my opponent,'' says the 128-lb. Johnson. ''They have no idea how fast and explosive I'm gonna be.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT When the audience calls for her, she throws her hands up in a triangle — indicative of the Stealth Bomber. The only people she won't respond to? The competitors — even in the ladies' room. ''I don't make eye contact. If they know deep down I'm a nice person, that affects the intimidation factor.''
GLADIATOR NAME Fury
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Cornell University alum Jamie Reed, 30, earned Ivy League Championships in softball and pole-vaulting. The 5'8,'' 150-lb. NPC Figure competitor now works as a structural engineer in New York City, but was voted ''Most Likely to Be on American Gladiators'' at Newport High School in Oregon.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Hang Tough. ''The new one is over water, which actually lets you do some things that are unsafe doing over pits,'' she says. ''You're not concerned about how you're gonna fall.'' Tune in to see her ''signature removal process.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Fury is the perfect name for her — she always says she's ''furious,'' never ''angry'' or ''mad'' — even if her husband didn't originally think so. ''He said, 'Just pick a new name because I don't want to tell people I'm married to Fury.' You'll tell them that you're married to Fury, and you'll like it!''
Source
*****
I will be watching for sure!
Meet the Gladiators:
GLADIATOR NAME Titan
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Four-time Mr. Universe Mike O'Hearn, 33, is the Gladiator team captain. He was cast as the first alternate in the original series — name: Thor — but never saw screen time. Though the 6'3'', 260-lb. (lifetime drug-free) bodybuilding legend could've walked into the finals in 2007, he insisted on trying out like everyone else — and set multiple Gladiator records including 35 pull-ups in 30 seconds. Jesus. ''He had nothing to do with it, but I think he was there,'' O'Hearn quips. Okay, even his wit is quick.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Joust. Hulk Hogan, who hosts the show with Laila Ali, calls that event ''The House Titan Built.'' Why? Titan's psych-out abilities. ''Yesterday, I set up as a southpaw,'' O'Hearn says, ''and the guy goes, 'Wow, you're a southpaw?' 'Absolutely.' When the countdown got to two, I stood up, reversed the grip, and then — bop. You gotta be smart. I didn't want to get my hair wet.''
GLADIATOR NAME Toa (which means ''warrior'' in Samoan)
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Tanoai Reed, 33, has been the stunt double for his cousin Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson in all his films. At 6'3'' and 245 lbs., Reed admits, ''I'm pretty ripped — for a Samoan, that is. We're known as big people.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Pyramid or Powerball. ''Because of my football background,'' says the former University of Hawaii defensive tackle, ''I love any full contact sports that require agility and strength.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''Toa does these crazy warrior dances, like the Haka, to channel his ancestral spirits. I'll stomp my feet. Slap my body. My blood will start beating to the drum of the islands. Then I'll let out a Samoan war cry, and that pretty much means it's on,'' he says. ''The competitors can't look me in the eye.'' (Did we mention he majored in psychology?)
GLADIATOR NAME Hellga
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Robin Coleman, a 34-year-old from Friendswood, Texas, (''It sounds dangerous, doesn't it?'') played basketball at the University of Houston, entered her first bodybuilding event in 1997, placed third at 2001's World Strongest Women competition, and became ''the biggest Figure competitor you've ever seen'' in 2006. She’s 6’1â€, 203 lbs., and oh yes, she’s got a 1,625-lb. leg press: ''We finally had to add a friend of mine sitting on top of [the machine] holding plates because we ran out of space.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Gauntlet. ''It's all about getting to pummel someone with the NERF toys... Tough and goofy at the same time is my preferred state.'' (That's true. She trained in improv at the Groundlings.)
THE MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HER? ''I'm a violinist,'' she says. ''And I own two miniature horses. How about that?'' (Nope: One of them is named Outlaw. Still badass.)
GLADIATOR NAME Crush
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION You might recognize Vegas' Gina Carano, 25, from Oxygen's Muay Thai reality show Fight Girls or Showtime's EliteXC cage fights.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Joust. (Or: ''The giant Q-Tips that we beat the s--t out of each other with.'') ''Sometimes in a fight,'' says the 5'8'', 155-lb. Carano, ''it's not necessarily who's bigger or who's stronger, but it's about technique. A girl with better balance can end up being a tougher opponent than the person who looks scarier.''
THE MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HER? ''I get told that I smile too much, and that's in the ring, too. I've gotten laughed at because people don't believe I do what I do,'' she says. ''If we're gonna take care of it, I don't see the point in being mean about it. I like to have fun, and I'm [fighting] for just that reason, so it comes out on my face.''
GLADIATOR NAME Justice
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Columbia, S.C.'s Justice Jesse Smith, 34, played basketball in Switzerland for four years before turning to modeling, acting — ''One of my friends was like, 'Big black bad guy?' That's you!'' — and the K-1 martial arts fight league. ''I'm 6'8,'' 290 lbs., twisted steel with beat-down skills,'' he says. ''I wear a size 17 shoe. I have a wingspan of 7 feet. Arms are 22 inches.'' Oh god. ''Yes, ma'am. 'Oh god,' is right.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Gauntlet. But if you do, hope you're the contestant who goes first. ''Because see, I'll get the kinks worked out, and the second guy will get it,'' he says.
MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HIM? ''I love my four-year-old French bulldog [bruno] very much,'' he says. Then laughs. ''I never thought that you could actually feel that way towards an animal.''
GLADIATOR NAME Mayhem
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Houston native William Romeo, who says his ''Hollywood age'' is 34 and his real age is 44, started kickboxing when he was nine years old — and went 34-0 in the K-1 fight league. He also dabbles in personal training and acting: He played a demon on Charmed and a Jamaican drug lord on Without a Trace.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Joust. ''I love to throw bombs at people's heads,'' he says. The laugh that follows makes you believe him.
MOST UN-GLADIATOR THING ABOUT HIM? ''I was in the marching band,'' admits the former drum team head. Also, he's afraid of what Siren will do if she catches him eating a cookie (again). And when he talks about auditioning for American Gladiators 10 years ago — and of the family members who supported him then and have since passed — he chokes up. ''I'm sorry I teared up on you,'' he says. ''Big 6'6,'' 240-lb. man...''
GLADIATOR NAME Siren
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Valerie Waugaman, a 29-year-old former state high jump champion and Ohio University volleyball player, became an IFBB Pro Figure competitor to stay in shape — and promote her Cleveland restaurant, Octane Café.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Hang Tough. ''I am the master of the rings,'' says the 5'9,'' 155-lb. Waugaman. ''It entails so much strategy. You always have a choice between two different directions. My goal is to at least make that first move towards [the competitor]. If they hesitate, I just stay on my rings and wait to see the next move. As soon as I'm close, I start to grab them. It startles them.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT '''Siren' fits both ways: I'm like the siren that lured the pirates into the bay, and I'm really loud. I'm moving my arms like, 'Whooo! Whooo!' I want to make sure the competitors can feel my presence.''
GLADIATOR NAME Venom
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Chicago's Beth Horn, 34, has been a gymnast since the age of seven — and weight training since the age of 15, when she had both knees reconstructed. (''I had a great doctor. I have great genetics. I just had to work on the muscles and keep them strong,'' she says. ''They're great.'' Those shoulders aren't bad either.) The 5'8'', 137-lb. personal trainer and Pro Fitness competitor is also the author of the nutrition and fitness book The Natural Way.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Wall. ''I get to literally sneak up on [the contestant] and attack, and I can't imagine how scary that would be — somebody chasing after you, going 40-feet high. I've seen people just sort of shaking up there.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''Venom is perfect for me,'' she says. ''I am sweet and friendly and feminine on the outside, yet I will strike at any given moment.''
GLADIATOR NAME Militia
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION At the age of 19, Cuban-born Alexander Castro, 37, took his father's boat to escape to America with three others. After a storm left him floating in the Atlantic for nearly five days, he was rescued by the U.S. Marines — which he joined. The 6'3,'' 235-lb. black belt has performed with Cirque du Soleil for 14 years, most recently a hand-balancing duet in Vegas' Zumanity.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... Wall. ''They give contestants a seven-second [head] start, and then you see them just look at you, scared. They're climbing for their life. You can get them and drop them in the water, which is kinda fun.''
EVEN MORE FUN... The new event Earthquake, which involves wrestling on a moving platform. ''I was hanging to the Earthquake, and I overstretched the muscles in my arm. I'm a Gladiator. I injure but I keep working.''
GLADIATOR NAME Wolf
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Phoenix-bred Don ''Hollywood'' Yates, 37, grew up an athlete and an entertainer (he was doing Elvis impersonations in his grandfather's nightclubs when he was 7), but has made his living as a bullfighter for the last 23 years. ''I'm 6'4,'' about 235 lbs. I'm just a big beast that is designed for punishment.''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HIM IN... ''Any event. But the events where you have to come face-to-face and get hit by me, YOU DON'T WANT IT. When I come at you, I come 100 percent, and I come fast, and I come with my teeth...There's rules to the games, but there's no fluff and puff about this. It's brutal. It's vicious. And it's fun.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ''When you see me, you'll understand where 'wolf' comes from. When I get excited, I tend to howl. I don't think they pulled the name out of a hat.''
GLADIATOR NAME Stealth
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Army brat Tanji Johnson, 32, attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where she was a varsity cheerleader and a member of the Cadet Honor Guard. Post-college, she became an IFBB Fitness Pro. ''You can't stereotype elite athletes,'' she says, applauding the show's diverse casting. ''I'm 5'3,'' and in the old Gladiators, you probably never would have seen [me].''
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Powerball, Gauntlet, Earthquake. ''I love anything where I get to forge my will against my opponent,'' says the 128-lb. Johnson. ''They have no idea how fast and explosive I'm gonna be.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT When the audience calls for her, she throws her hands up in a triangle — indicative of the Stealth Bomber. The only people she won't respond to? The competitors — even in the ladies' room. ''I don't make eye contact. If they know deep down I'm a nice person, that affects the intimidation factor.''
GLADIATOR NAME Fury
ROAD TO DESTRUCTION Cornell University alum Jamie Reed, 30, earned Ivy League Championships in softball and pole-vaulting. The 5'8,'' 150-lb. NPC Figure competitor now works as a structural engineer in New York City, but was voted ''Most Likely to Be on American Gladiators'' at Newport High School in Oregon.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MEET HER IN... Hang Tough. ''The new one is over water, which actually lets you do some things that are unsafe doing over pits,'' she says. ''You're not concerned about how you're gonna fall.'' Tune in to see her ''signature removal process.''
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Fury is the perfect name for her — she always says she's ''furious,'' never ''angry'' or ''mad'' — even if her husband didn't originally think so. ''He said, 'Just pick a new name because I don't want to tell people I'm married to Fury.' You'll tell them that you're married to Fury, and you'll like it!''
Source
*****
I will be watching for sure!
/emoticons/
