Stealth: From Army Brat to American Gladiator

[00:00:00] Intro: Welcome to Chilling With Ice with me, Lori Fedrick, or most of you know me as Ice from the American Gladiators. Thank you for joining me on this podcast where we're gonna dive in and go behind the scenes on the number one hit iconic show of the nineties. It's time to get up close and personal on what drove us to be gladiators, what challenges we faced, and how we overcame to reach all of our.

[00:00:28] Intro: I know in this first season, inquiring minds wanna know, was their drama fight hookups? Are we all still friends? What did we do in our personal lives? And how are we staying in such good shape years later? Well, stay right here and let's get into chilling with ice.

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[00:01:32] Lori: Okay, let's dive in.

[00:01:36] Lori: Hello everyone and welcome back to Chilling with Ice. And I know you've been watching and listening to the podcast and you know I have interviewed some amazing gladiators and today is absolutely no different. But there is a little difference here. And this difference is that this woman is from the 2008 reboot of the American Gladiators from N B C, and I'm super excited to welcome Tji Johnson Bridgeman, at Better known as Stealth.

[00:02:08] Lori: How are you doing today,

[00:02:09] Stealth: Laurie? It is so good to see you. I'm already thinking about all the experiences and memories we have from like, 10, 15 years ago. My goodness.

[00:02:19] Lori: Right? It seems so like long ago. So, to my viewers, my listeners and everything else, I mean, if they're all Gladiator fans, so of course they watched your reboot and I know they know exactly who you are.

[00:02:32] Lori: But let me catch 'em up a little bit and let's get a little backstory on you because I was reading about you. You're an Army brat, your dad was in the Army, and you decided to go into the Air Force. But give me a little backstory about you.

[00:02:45] Growing up as an Army Brat

[00:02:45] Stealth: So yes, I was raised in Army brat, which means I was born in Germany and then we, my, we went to Korea.

[00:02:53] Stealth: My mother's Korean, actually, my dad met my mom when he was enlisted in the Army, stationed over there. So I did a lot of overseas traveling before we even got to the States. And so we ended up in Louisiana and then I went to high school in South Carolina. And so one of the things I remember from my childhood is that we picked up and moved every two to three years.

[00:03:13] Stealth: And so that was a part of my childhood. So I think that was a big part of teaching me how to just be able to immerse myself in the different environments, how to make new friends and how to adapt. So that was a huge skill. But growing up in Army Bra, so number one, growing up with, as a child of an Army bra, plus my mom being crayon and, you know, Asian tend to have a reputation for being very critical.

[00:03:37] Stealth: I had a very strict upbringing. And so I like to joke around and say that my upbringing was actually more challenging for me than actually my time in the military, because for me, that was like a piece of cake compared to how my parents raised me.

[00:03:51] Lori: I bet. I mean, it's just like my, my girlfriend's ex was military and I see how he raises his son and I'm like, I mean, he's, instead of doing the old you're on, what is it, you're on restriction?

[00:04:04] Lori: It's like, no, gimme 20 pushups. You know, things like that. And I was like, oh my God, this is like, so strict. But yes, I've heard that. And that's, I mean, you, you're right. It's like adapting. You gotta learn to adapt so quickly because much. Was that, was that, Fun for you? I mean, or was it kind of like, ah,

[00:04:24] Stealth: I, I actually liked it. You know, I didn't miss it until later on when I, in my twenties and thirties when I met people like my husband, for example, who was born and raised in a small town here in Washington. Practically, his whole family lives on the same street. I mean, I mean, we're talking out in the country though, right?

[00:04:45] Stealth: So we're talking, they each have three to five acres each, but they literally live down the road from each other. And that's how he was raised. And so I don't have that experience where I can look back and find one town or city and say that, that was my hope. You know? And so, so I miss that. Like sometimes I look back and I'm like, oh, that would've been kind of neat.

[00:05:05] Stealth: But I just have to accept that I have the better of the other world, and that is being a world traveler and being able to adapt. So I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was really fun.

[00:05:14] Lori: See, that's awesome. And everybody wants something they don't have. You know what I mean? It always seems that way. So from your childhood, tell me a little bit how you, I mean, we talked a little bit, well not talked, but we emailed a little bit when you said enlisted versus the commission of an officer.

[00:05:31] Lori: Tell me the right, tell me how that worked. Because you decided to go into the Air Force, right? Instead of the Army. Now why the Air Force instead of the Army to set of curiosity?

[00:05:40] Stealth: Believe it or not, I mean, I'm sure my dad was joking, but my dad actually was the one so. You know, all my military peeps out there, you know, they're gonna totally laugh and appreciate this, but there's like a reputation that comes with every branch of the service.

[00:05:55] Stealth: You know, when you think of the Navy Seals and the Marines, they're the toughest, right? Oh yeah. Yeah. And then you've got your army grunts because the, the, the mission for the Army really was ground support. And so they're the ones like in Vietnam that were on the ground. And then you think of the Air Force and a lot of, you know, the Air Force of course supports aviation and all of our air to air combat and support.

[00:06:16] Stealth: And so out of all of those branches of service, you know, the Air Force tends to have, we call it chair force, but that we have the nicest facilities. Mm. And you know, we're probably, they would say we're the smartest being more aeronautical, but maybe not the most hardcore. Right. And I have heard that you have heard that, right?

[00:06:35] Stealth: So my dad, you know, so with that being said, like the Army bases weren't necessarily known for having the best facilities. So I remem you know, with my dad having, you know, gone through that when we were getting ready to decide what we were gonna do, he, I remember him joking around and say, y'all should go Air Force.

[00:06:53] Stealth: You know, you wanna live good y'all, but y'all should go Air Force now. Not just that, but you know, when I was in high school, my high school had a junior R O T C program that stands for, you know, reserved Officer training course. So it's a, it's a student cadet program that helps prepare students. That might wanna go to college and, and basically go into the military.

[00:07:15] Stealth: So I was in the Air Force Junior, R O T c. . So that was one level of exposure that I got. You know, I learned, you know, basically everything that, you know, had to do with the Air Force. Then I had my dad telling me I should go Air Force, and then my oldest brother gets it, admitted to the Air Force Academy.

[00:07:32] Stealth: And so it just, the stars were starting to align where I felt very pulled towards going into the Air Force. And so, one thing I wanna describe for those that don't know, when you think of, people get confused on what is the enlisted force, what is the officer force? So when you think of a corporation, you're gonna have your blue collar workers and that those tend to be the people that are the technicians.

[00:07:55] Stealth: And they're getting the job done. And then you have your white collar employees and they'll, those tend to be the people that are in management. You know, and your C-level executives. So in the military, You're enlisted force, they're gonna be the airmen and the sergeants and the chiefs.

[00:08:11] Stealth: Right. They're the ones that get things done. But then the officers, you know, we're gonna be ranked second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, Colonel General. Right. So when you watch the movies and you see, you know, people going off to the war and they're always saying, you know, the lts in charge, or you gotta report to the captain.

[00:08:29] Stealth: Those are the officers. So they're the ones that are in charge? They're the ones that are, they're leaders, they're the managers. But the enlisted force are the ones that get things done. And so my dad was enlisted in the Army. And the other big difference is to, to become an officer, you have to have a four year degree.

[00:08:47] Stealth: Okay. To enlist in the, you know, military. Like you can go right into the military after high school and you don't have to have a college degree. You can just go right into the military. That's called enlisting. Okay. But if you go to college and then you wanna be an officer, that's called getting a commission as an officer into the military.

[00:09:03] Lori: Got it, got it, got it, got it. Okay. With that being said, did you still have to go through bootcamp? Yes. Yes. How was that for you?

[00:09:12] Stealth: So that was actually, again, really fun. I mean, it, it was hard. So I went to the Air Force Academy and in the summer before, and, and people get confused. So the Air Force Academy, west Point, the Naval Academy, those are four year colleges.

[00:09:28] Stealth: But they're military colleges. And so the summer before we start our freshman academic year, we go through basic training, cadet style. Right. And so it, it's pretty brutal. I mean, it's very psychological. mentally demanding. It's physically demanding. You know, you're getting yelled at all the time.

[00:09:47] Stealth: They're putting stress and pressure on you. I remember one of the things we had to do, and it's funny how the military has a reason for doing everything. So I remember one of the things we had to do was we had to tuck our chin in. Like I'd be standing at attention. And my chin is way back here.

[00:10:03] Stealth: And we got really good at it too, because guess what, when you're a fighter pilot, I don't know if you've seen Top Gun Maverick. Yeah, yeah. But when you're a fighter pilot, those guys are pulling GS and that means they're doing this in the airplane. So we laugh about how, oh my gosh, the Air Force, the military has a reason for everything.

[00:10:19] Stealth: And we thought they were just trying to be mean, but they were actually preparing us to be in high pressure situations.

[00:10:26] Lori: Interesting. Yeah. That's so cool. So from the military, where did you go after you were done?

[00:10:33] Life after the military

[00:10:33] Stealth: So I ended up getting commission as a second lieutenant. I did a little bit of recruiting for my first year.

[00:10:39] Stealth: I recruited, I was in the minority enrollment office, you know, when I was at the academy. There, you know, minorities were only represented 5% of the entire student body. And women were less than, I mean, women I think were about 18% of the student body. Wow. And so I went out to the East coast and I was going to different inner city schools talking to kids about their opportunities to going to the academy.

[00:11:01] Stealth: So I did that for a year, and then I became an aircraft maintenance officer. So this means that I was in charge of the maintenance of airplanes. And so I happened to be stationed, my first duty station was in Spokane. Washington at Fairchild Air Force Base. And we had the KC 1 35 area over fuelers.

[00:11:18] Stealth: So I actually got into body building when I was ch I, I was a cheerleader, believe it or not, at the academy. And that's when I got into lifting weights. And my, my coach was a body belter and we just were in awe of her physique. And I remember thinking, I wanna look like that. That's That's awesome. Awesome.

[00:11:34] Stealth: And so she had us lifting weights every day after practice for like an hour. I fell in love with body boating and lifting weights. And when I graduated I did my first body boating competition, which was all, and then I did my first fitness competition. So that's what got me into competing is I started competing while I was active duty in the Air Force.

[00:11:55] Stealth: But the problem is I was a maintenance officer, so I deployed a lot. So long term. I don't know if I would've been able to really be an I F BBB Pro and have the long career that I had if I hadn't have gotten out. So basically at the five year point, I was able to get out of the Air Force, and I decided, because literally that year I won the NPC 2001 Nationals earned my pro card, and I decided I wanted to pursue being a pro fitness athlete, and I wanted to see what life was gonna be like.

[00:12:24] Stealth: So my whole life changed in 2001.

[00:12:27] Lori: Oh yeah. Just like that. So now, were you into bodybuilding or were you into, when you were competing, did you go body building or did you go physique or bikini or what?

[00:12:35] Stealth: So I'm gonna age myself. Go ahead. So this is like 25 years ago. There was only three divisions. Yeah.

[00:12:43] Stealth: There was men's body building back in the day, women's body building, and then there was fitness. My very first competition, I did body building. Because I didn't even know anything about fitness and, and it's funny, I love telling people this. So my very first show in Colorado, there was seven women that did the women's body building, and I came in seventh.

[00:13:04] Stealth: Dead last because I didn't know what I was doing. I mean, I, you know, here's what happens a lot of times with competitors, we look good in our gym, right? Compared to everybody in our sphere of influences. And so we're like, Hey, I think I have a good body. Everybody's always complimenting me. I'm just gonna go ahead and do this show.

[00:13:21] Stealth: But I didn't. And, and back then we didn't have the resources that we have now. They didn't have a lot of coaches and videos and YouTube and all this stuff. And so I didn't even know that I should have put tan on. I just thought, well, I'm black. I don't, why do I need tan? So then I get on stage and all the white girls are darker than me because I'm the only one not worrying tan, right?

[00:13:43] Stealth: So the light is like washing me out, you know, I posed really cute. I had a great little Janet Jackson routine and I was in shape, but I didn't know. How lean I needed to be. So I wasn't down in and shredded, I mean, to the average person, they thought I was lean, but for competition I was okay. So I ended up getting last, but I remember stepping away from that experience like, you know, I placed last because I have a lot to learn about this sport, and if I wanna be more competitive, I'm gonna need to do some homework and really understand more about what's required.

[00:14:17] Stealth: And then show up and get that done. Yeah. So I always laugh and tell people like, Hey, I've won 11 champions. I've, you know, been competing for a long time. If you get last place in the beginning, you can only go up from there.

[00:14:31] Lori: That's a great story. I love that. and especially when you said, I'm not gonna date myself.

[00:14:39] Lori: I mean, when I was competing, it's like I still to this day, which is really weird, I'll have nightmares and I call 'em nightmares because like I'll walk on stage. And just exactly what you were talking about, I was the only one who never tanned. So being a white girl, I was having these nightmares that I, for some reason forgot to tan when I was walking on stage and I never dieted.

[00:15:03] Lori: And all of a sudden I'm looking at myself. I mean, these are nightmares. Okay. Oh, these are nightmares. Okay. Oh yeah, these are nightmares, but oh my God, that, I'm sorry. That's a funny story. That's an awesome story though. So tell me this, how did the gladiators find you or how did you find the gladiators?

[00:15:19] Getting into American Gladiators

[00:15:19] Stealth: Well, so, so I did that bodybuilding competition and, and then at that competition I saw a class of girls go out and they started doing all these flips and dancing and stuff. And I was like, what's that? And then somebody explains to me, oh, that's the fitness division. And I thought, well, that's what I should be doing.

[00:15:36] Stealth: I was a cheerleader. I can do flips. I'm gonna do one arm pushups, I'm GI Jane, right? So then I started competing in fitness. And I used to compete with Kim Lyons, and you might remember Kim was on The Biggest Loser, for several years. So she was already affiliated with N B C and her and I were friends.

[00:15:54] Stealth: And so I'm midway through my I F B B fitness career and you know, I travel quite a bit to LA and stuff. And Kim calls me up one day and she says, Hey, they're bringing back gladiators and I think you should try out. And I remember her saying, and they need diversity, hint, hint, right? And so, and, and I said, well, okay, when is it?

[00:16:18] Stealth: She said, it's gonna be at Gold's Gym. It's in Venice. And I looked at the calendar and I thought, Hey, there's a, a, a figure show going on that weekend. And so I'm such an opportunist. So I decide to fly out to California. I compete and figure on a Saturday, and then on Sunday I go to Goat's Gym and do the audition.

[00:16:35] Stealth: And I made it through the first round. So speaking of the whole diversity, and let's talk Hollywood for a second, right? So I, let's talk Hollywood, you know, you know all about this. I make it through the first round and then we go to, I don't know if it was the second round or the third round, but it's when we go meet the producers.

[00:16:53] Stealth: Okay. And so I walk in, And that's where there's only maybe about 20 of us. But I remember distinctly that, that it was me and Alicia Marie, and, and a lot of people may remember Alicia Marie as a super, super famous, probably one of the most famous African-American fitness models we've ever had. She's been on the cover like a zillion times.

[00:17:13] Stealth: and I remember seeing her like, damn, you know, like, she's so famous. Right? Yeah. I thought she was like so famous compared to me. But we're totally different. I'm five two stocky and, and built and she, I don't know how tall she is, but she's tall and slender. And very fit. So we have to two totally different looks.

[00:17:30] Stealth: But I remember talking to her. And we both had this understanding like, we're both not getting picked. Like one of us is gonna be the black girl. Oh, the, the black female, the gladiator. And then I look and I'm like, okay, and there's probably gonna be one blonde, one redhead. Right. We didn't have any Asian girls there, but it, it was just, I remember looking and there was like two to three of every type.

[00:17:52] Stealth: Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I remember thinking like, alright guys, well we know that we're all not gonna make it in, you know, depending on what we're representing, but let's see what happens.

[00:18:02] Lori: Yeah. It was like they had to be politically correct, you know? Right. It was just like, yes. And that's Hollywood. Now what was your first round, I mean, what was your tryout like, your first round?

[00:18:12] Lori: What did you have to do?

[00:18:13] Stealth: Gosh. So at Gold Gym I remember doing, shuttle sprints. I remember doing pull-ups, to be honest with you. Those are the two biggest things I remember. Oh. And I remember having to be interviewed, so we had to be here. I

[00:18:25] Lori: think I was there. I was, I think, I think I was in, I was in sidelines kind of like watching what everybody was doing at the first round at Gold's Gym in Venice.

[00:18:34] Lori: And I was like, okay. Oh, that's really interesting, you know? Okay. So that was the first round and then you went into the second round. Okay. Same thing. And then you had the talk to the producers. Now I also read something that you did something that kind of grabbed their attention because you called to attention or something like that in your interview.

[00:18:53] Lori: Tell me about, what was that about?

[00:18:55] Stealth: So I walked into the room and I just remember, I remember wanting to pitch, actually I wanted the name Falcon cuz that's my alma mater for Air Force. So Air Force Academy, Falcons, I wanted the name Falcon. So I went in there and I really wanted to promote and elevate the fact that I was ex-military.

[00:19:18] Stealth: And actually in basic training, I actually was the female, pule Stick Oh Champion. Which is basically the Joice we did. Yeah, absolutely. The bootcamp. Right. And I was the female champion, you know, in my, in my basic training. And so I told them that, but I came into the room. And I think I was like, room 10 hu.

[00:19:38] Stealth: You know, I just used my command voice.

[00:19:41] Lori: That is so awesome.

[00:19:42] Stealth: The whole time I'm thinking, well, I wonder if they're gonna prejudge me because, you know, my insecurity was, I'm five two. Like that. I don't remem, when I looked at you guys' show when you guys were on, I don't remember anybody being as short as me.

[00:19:55] Stealth: And so, you know, we always do these things where we say, well, I don't know if I'm buff enough, or, I don't know if I'm tall enough, or, I don't know. You know, so I remember feeling that way and I thought, well, I'm, I'm tiny and mighty, but I'm gonna have to show them that I pack a whole lot of everything.

[00:20:12] Stealth: Power, energy, you know, everything. Intensity in this tiny little package. And that was my whole point when I went in there and it obviously worked. Did what?

[00:20:21] Lori: I mean, what was their response when you did that? I can only imagine because you know, producers can be so uptight, you know what I mean? Totally. When you walk in a room, it's like it.

[00:20:29] Lori: For those of you that don't know, it's like when you walk into a room of producers, they're all sitting there and it's like they might as well have their arm crossed like this, and they're just staring at you with. Absolutely no expression on their face whatsoever. So you don't know what they're thinking.

[00:20:42] Lori: You don't know if they like you. They don't smile. They don't, that's right. And it's so intimidating. Yeah. So I can only imagine when you did that, they just probably went, whoa, this, whoa.

[00:20:53] Stealth: And there was so much pressure. I mean, can you imagine the average person telling them you're about to walk up into a room with eight producers, or five to eight producers, they're all gonna be sitting at this long table and you need to pitch yourself.

[00:21:07] Stealth: Well, what do I say? That's up to you? Well, what do I do? That's up to you. But you better bring the energy, bring the personality, figure out a way to make yourself stand out and be unique. I remember thinking like, my gosh,

[00:21:19] Lori: girl, I don't know how you guys did it, because our process was so entirely different.

[00:21:24] Lori: You know, I mean, you guys had to go through like a hundred questionnaire, psych test, I guess, and all these different things. And if I would've walked into a room of producers, honestly, I don't know if I would've gotten the job. I wouldn't known.

[00:21:36] Stealth: How did you guys have to audition?

[00:21:38] Lori: Well, first of all, the first 13.

[00:21:40] Lori: Okay. So the very first 13 episodes and there was like, I think like three or four gladiators girls and guys, and they actually went and they chose them and there was like an audition for Zap, there was an audition for Nitro and And they have a, like a specific character. So if you had some type of an agent, they're like, Hey, they're looking for a character who's really fast and agile and the name is Nitro and you know, that kind of thing.

[00:22:07] Lori: It wasn't like an open call type of audition. So that was the first 13 episodes. Now when I came in, It was a little different. They had an open call and I competed against like 75 girls and it was like on the back lot of Universal. And we did the pull-ups and you know, we did the, the simulated kind of, Powerball.

[00:22:28] Lori: And then after all that was done, we had an on-camera interview. And then they went from 75 down to 20. From 20 down to 10, down to five, down to, they chose two of us. So, wow. That's what I'm saying. I don't know how I would've been if I had to walk in a room and pitch myself in front of eight producers.

[00:22:46] Lori: You know? I'd just been like, ah,

[00:22:48] Stealth: well you know what I find interesting about that? It, it's kind of like acting, right? Like at least what those first original people like Nitro, when they had these, they had the name already. Yeah. And they had an idea of the character that they wanted. For that gladiator, I think what was.

[00:23:04] Stealth: Intimidating and different for us is number one. you know, they were recruiting athletes and most of us, maybe except for Michael Hearn, right? Most of us didn't have any acting experience at all. Right? And so I remember, one of my struggles was not knowing what my character was because I wasn't sure.

[00:23:26] Stealth: I didn't feel like being myself. Was gonna be enough. Now I remember watching, Gina Carrano, and I remember thinking like, okay, she got away with being herself. She didn't act all crazy. She didn't do anything. Like, she was just, I mean, she was so laid back, but so fierce.

[00:23:44] Lori: Dude, I was just gonna say that Gina, I remember being backstage and she, I, I, I had a conversation with her.

[00:23:50] Lori: I didn't know Gina until I didn't even know who she was, to be quite honest with you. Yeah, me neither Backstage. And you're like, oh my God, that's Gina m m a. I'm like, You know what I mean? So all I remember is watching her in interviews going, wow, she just is really not into this. You know, that was my thought.

[00:24:08] Lori: And okay, so you say laid back. I say, wow. She wasn't really into her interviews. And then she said, I hate these interviews, you know, I was like, oh, okay, I got it. That makes sense. Exactly. But at the same time, it's funny that they, they wanted you guys to actually kind of be a character, because in our original gladiators, this was like, I love this conversation.

[00:24:30] Lori: They didn't want really characters. We were ourselves and people were like, I was what you saw on, on Gladiators when it was me and competing and you know, some of the stuff that came outta my mouth, I was like, ah, I wish I would've been a little bit better at that. But I wasn't. But they just, it was like a, a free for all, you know, is what it was.

[00:24:48] Lori: Yeah. And then I read an interview, I guess you had with someone and you were, they interviewed you after an event and they went cut. And they were like, yeah, don't say that. Why don't you say so? I mean, if they would've said that to us, I mean, we didn't have anything like that. It was like Right, what you saw was real in the moment, you know, spontaneous, and that was it.

[00:25:12] Getting her Gladiator name

[00:25:12] Stealth: Yeah. So I remember after they gave me my name, And I remember getting the name, it was kind of cool the way I got my name. we, when we were in camp and we were scaling and practicing on the wall, you know, I was a really good climber and I was doing the, the rock climbing and you know, I was pretty fast and everybody was, I think somebody said like, oh, you're so stealthy, you're so stealthy.

[00:25:31] Stealth: You just zipped right up there. And then it stuck. So that's what they gave me and I remember thinking like, oh, I can deal with that. Like that's a cool name. Self bomber in the Air Force. So I thought that was pretty cool. But I remember specifically, I don't remember which producer it was, but they specifically told me, alright, so you don't smile like you are a badass.

[00:25:51] Stealth: You're the one that's mean, you know, it was funny cuz I was thinking like, wow, that's so. That's a part of me, like the military part of me, when you ask about basic training and bootcamp. So I went through it when I was a freshman, but ironically when I was a junior cadet, I ended up having the highest ranking position as a junior cadet during that summer program.

[00:26:15] Stealth: So I was the cadre for the class of 99. And I was very intimidating. I mean, people to this day, if they were in the class of 99, they, they say, oh, Tang s Johnson. Cuz we had to memorize each other's names back then. But I was very intimidating, never smiled, I can say that. I remember thinking like, okay, so they want that persona, right?

[00:26:36] Stealth: They want the persona that I sold them at the audition. But the, the I f BBB Pro, I mean, I'm a fitness competitor. Like I freaking dance and smile and yeah, I cheered. Like that's the other part of my personality. So I remember struggling with like, Okay, so I need to shut that down. Because they want this serious part of me.

[00:26:55] Stealth: And then half the time it was hard because some of the stuff was so funny. I just wanna chuckle half the time. But I was like, stay serious. Stay serious. Right,

[00:27:04] Lori: right. Now, was there any of the original games that we had that you wanted to do that you guys didn't actually get to do? Because they changed a lot of the games up, you

[00:27:16] Stealth: know, I never got to do assault even.

[00:27:19] Stealth: I mean, that was still in the new show, but I never got to do assault. See.

[00:27:23] Lori: Okay. So, okay. So let me ask you this. Was when you walked in the morning, was there a schedule of like, okay, you're gonna do this, this, this, this? Yes. Did they rotate the schedule or was it like, okay, you're good at this game, so you're gonna continue this game?

[00:27:38] Lori: Or was it like a rotating schedule?

[00:27:41] The New American Gladiators

[00:27:41] Stealth: I felt like in the beginning. Well, I, I, I distinctly remember this being a cool thing that I learned about Hollywood. So we're in Sony Studios and half of the studio was water. And the other half was dry. So they would set up for the whole day if you're doing joust over water.

[00:27:58] Stealth: So that's the swimming pool. And they'd set up the joust, you know, for logistics. We're filming joust all day long. And so that would happen on one side. And then maybe we're doing Powerball on the other side all day long. And so what a lot of people didn't realize is the schedule is, we're filming episode one and three and seven all in one day.

[00:28:19] Stealth: But just that event, this is why hair and makeup had to be exactly the same every day. Oh my. Because when one episode could have been filmed was, was most likely and for sure filmed three, two to three different days. Wow. Because it's all, it's like a movie set, right? So when you, I mean, I've never been on a movie set, but I can imagine you're gonna have, this set is set up.

[00:28:42] Stealth: You're not gonna set it up 15 times. You're going to film everything you need on that set. Scratch it. Set up a new set. And so that's how the schedule was. And so basically I'd walk in and if I wasn't doing joust at all, but maybe I'm doing Powerball, I might get on in the first episode and then get a 30 minute break and or an hour break or two hour break.

[00:29:04] Stealth: And then I'm gonna go back and film episode three, same event, different contestants, and then we just keep going. And then the next day we might be going in and we're doing the wall and we're doing hang tough. Right. So that's how they would change it. And I do feel that as we started filming, certain people started to really stand out as being good at certain events.

[00:29:27] Stealth: And so I noticed that they started, you know, really keeping those people sc. There were certain events that I felt like they rotated really well, but like, I felt like the joust, I remember it being a lot of, venom and a lot of crush, and a lot like a lot of the same people. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not gonna lie, you, you want me to tell you a secret?

[00:29:45] Stealth: Yeah. I dunno if you remember this, but I am not a good swimmer. Oh. And I was so afraid of water. Yeah, but how deep was it? it was, I mean, you know, it's a, it's a full size swimming pool. Like, it's, it's pretty deep. Okay. But, The thing is, is when we were auditioning, none of us knew how they were evolving the show.

[00:30:09] Stealth: We didn't know that. Now the events, half the events were gonna be over the water. So you should have seen what was going on inside of me. I bet We walk in and, and they're like, we've got great news. We're elevating, we're just, you know, we're taking the show up to the next level. All that half the stuff you saw back in the day, half that's gonna be over water.

[00:30:29] Stealth: And I'm like, I'm like, oh my God. You know? And I remember just like having to tell a couple of my, you know, teammates, like, okay, I've got a confession. I'm completely afraid of doing the joust and hang tough and like I just. Remember going through this. I mean, I was gonna do it. But I was like so lucky that they never casted me to do it, because I remember thinking like, okay, if I get hit on the Jos and I go down, I'm gonna take a deep breath and then I'm just gonna relax and you know how I'm, I'm looking at how far away the Jo Station is from the edge of the pool so I can feel comfortable knowing that I can doggy, paddle and swim to the side.

[00:31:09] Stealth: Right. Wow. I mean, I dunno if they ended up finding out, and maybe they knew,

[00:31:14] Lori: but maybe they, maybe they found out maybe that was it. Yes. Now, did you feel like maybe there was like a couple favorites that they started to kind of gear a little towards more?

[00:31:25] Stealth: Like, I mean Absolutely. Absolutely. And, and you know what?

[00:31:29] Stealth: I will say, you know, part of the challenging part of that, that whole experience, when people ask like, how did you, like, you know, doing gladiators, like the work itself was phenomenal. It was so fun. It was like a super cool experience. You know, the challenging part was, again, not being sure what character you're supposed to be playing, not having the freedom to just say, Hey, I'm going in, I'm doing this event.

[00:31:54] Stealth: I'm just gonna be myself. So whatever sense of humor comes out, whatever comments come out, you know, like, you know, Gina was able to just like, she acted like she was bored. But then that she did became her persona. She was just laid down. I know she was bored. Right? Totally. Kinda like, you know, I'm just gonna like whip some people's butt on the Joss knock this girl in.

[00:32:13] Stealth: All right. Who's next? You know? Yeah. But then that became, but then that really stuck with her. And I remember being envious that she got to be herself, and, and that worked for her and it became accepted. Right. And I remember thinking like, I don't feel like I can do that. I don't feel like I can do that.

[00:32:30] Stealth: Like, I'm watching some people have really big personalities like, like Hollywood, you know, being the woof and he's howling. And I'm like, so when you're exposed to all that, just like in any other sport, you know, you're comparing yourself wondering, am I big enough? Am I cool enough? Am I interesting enough?

[00:32:49] Stealth: Am I entertaining enough? Right. Here's my take. That was, yeah, that was difficult.

[00:32:54] Lori: I think that if they would've let all of you guys have your own personalities and not tried to make you a character, It would've worked so much better. The only reason I say that. Okay. I'm glad you agree with that because it actually came across, the show, came across like they overproduced it.

[00:33:13] Lori: You know what I mean? It's like when I first showed up and I saw them, I mean, I thought Hulk Hogan, okay, first of all, Hulk Hogan. Do you know how many, many, many, many, many years that we fought people saying, we're not the w f we are real. It's not fake. And all of a, a sudden they bring in Hulk Hogan to be the host, and it's just like, seriously.

[00:33:36] Lori: But right. Besides that, when I heard him, like they'd go, cut, try it again. Cut. Try it again. I was like, oh my God. Getting through the intro was like a two hour process, right? To where Mike, Adam could have knocked that out in five minutes cuz it was, everything was off the cuff, you know? Yes. How he was.

[00:33:53] Lori: Yeah. But I think that if they would've given you guys your own personalities and you let you be you to where you could be that little badass, but yet smile afterwards. Right. That's cool. And it's not only cool, it's very sexy as well because it's like you could have gone out and just kicked some ass, had that stealth face on you and then just smiled afterwards.

[00:34:15] Lori: You know, it's like that's what makes a character. Right. And so I think that's what worked for Gina and they just didn't allow it with anybody else. Because that's what made it that way. And they're like, oh, that works. It's like, well, she's being herself. Right. Let everybody else be themselves.

[00:34:31] Lori: You know, I,

[00:34:32] Stealth: I would describe to people, like, for people who don't know what American Gladiators is, I would say, well, I wanna say it's a cross between, and I'm talking about my generation, w w e and m m a. You know, as much as I really wish it was more like m m a, see, what people love about m m A is it's real.

[00:34:50] Stealth: Yes. And it's raw. Yes. Right? Yes. I mean, it is just two people coming together, forging their will against each other, and it is a battle. Yes. And they, they are themselves. They show up as themselves. They're gonna be jerks to each other if they're gonna have good sportsmanship like they are themselves.

[00:35:06] Stealth: Yeah. And there's, that is entertainment. That's what p I think that's what people wanna see. So I totally agree. That I think that it, getting overproduced, it's kind of like you're watching it, it feels a little fake and you're just like, you know, and especially if people are comparing it to what you guys did.

[00:35:22] Stealth: Which was way more real. Yes. And raw. It's kind of like, eh, they tried, you know, just Mm. Not as cool as it was in the original.

[00:35:30] Lori: Yeah. And, and I think that's really the only reason why you guys, what you went, did you go two

[00:35:35] Stealth: I didn't get to do the second season cuz I tore my ACL in the first season.

[00:35:39] Stealth: Ooh. Ouch. Oh, it was terrible karma for me cuz the very first episode, the premier episode in Powerball, I tackled Jesse into the wall. The side wall, and she tore her a c l. Oh my God. And then like three episodes later, you know, I'm rolling down the pyramid and I tore my ACL two. It just woo right there on the, on the max.

[00:36:01] Stealth: Oh my God.

[00:36:02] Lori: Yeah. That, I'm so sorry to hear that. I actually tore a small meniscus. Thank God. It was just like small enough, small enough to wear. It could heal during the summer season, you know? Yeah. And I could come back in, but then again, I did it in the middle of the show and one of the producers said, if I see you hobbling, we're gonna pull you.

[00:36:18] Lori: And when they say pull you, that means you don't get paid for the rest of the season. Right. So I was like, oh shit. Okay. So I went to the doctor that day, shoot me with Cortisone cuz I've gotta finish the season out. And they're like, okay. Right. You know, kind of thing. But, no, I think it was, you know, anybody who's gonna be a Gladiator fan, they're gonna, they, they loved everything about it, you know, they loved the event, they loved you guys.

[00:36:42] Lori: It's just too bad that I think maybe it got in the wrong hands. Maybe. I mean, maybe NBC wasn't the production company or the, the network to do it because they overproduced it so much. That if they would've just let it be a little more raw and real. Yeah. Like we were talking about, I think it would've definitely last a little bit more.

[00:37:01] Lori: Yeah. But, was there any drama backstage with you guys? Because I know, I, I talk about the drama that we had. You know, I mean, we always called it the Nitro Show because it was like everything was about Nitro, you know? And so we were like, ah, it's the Nitro show. But I mean, you got, you were there a season, but yet you, I'm sure you got to feel a little bit something that was happening.

[00:37:24] Lori: Was there competition? Anything going like that?

[00:37:27] Stealth: Well, I will say, you know, one thing I'll say is I do feel like our group bonded really, really well together. You know, and I'm not just saying that like, I felt like a lot of us became really good, great friends. We cared about each other, and I felt like we, we struggled together too.

[00:37:42] Stealth: Because again, with all of us being new, and, and again, except for maybe Mike, And Gina, especially Gina. Gina was in a class of, I mean, even though none of us knew who she was, we weren't familiar with her fame status In the MMA world. it became very obvious how much they wanted her. I mean, we sat there and watched, you know, we had one of our girls that were on there.

[00:38:06] Stealth: She was an alt, she became an alternate. But the minute Gina signed her contract, which was like the day of the show or the day before, this other girl that we just spent all these weeks in training with was gone. Oh, that's sad. That's it. Sad. Just gone. That's sad. That's sad. And, and so it, it was sad. So I, I felt like we bonded and went through a lot of that insecurity together.

[00:38:27] Stealth: Yeah. Because there was definitely that feeling, almost like a desperate feeling of like, Look, we are not the cast of friends. Like, we're like almost like nobody. Yeah. We're like at the bottom of the, we're the talent. Sure. But we have not established ourselves, you know, as long-term assets. And I remember having this sense of, you know, we are here in a limited time to prove ourselves.

[00:38:51] Stealth: And if it doesn't work out, we very easily won't be here. Cuz they are showing you right now how cutthroat they will be. Oh yeah. And how fast they'll get rid of somebody and replace 'em. So I just remember us bonding through that. Yeah. So I never was part of any drama. I just remember. I've always been one to advocate for myself, and I can, and I, you know, it's a strength of mine to be professionally confrontational, so if I don't like something or if I don't think something's right, I tend to speak up.

[00:39:21] Stealth: And so I, I don't remember what it was about. Maybe it was our, our pay or food or the way they were taking care of us, but I remember something I didn't think was right, whether we didn't get enough rest or they weren't giving us enough food. And I wanted to say something and I remember Mike. And a couple other people being like, Taji don't.

[00:39:39] Stealth: Same thing. You know? Cause they didn't want me making the group look like a bunch of complainers. Yeah. Right. And so I just remember that was like the only thing I remember feeling like you're like really? You know, I wanted to, you know, respect that and understand, but I also was kind of like, don't be a chmp.

[00:39:57] Stealth: Yeah.

[00:39:58] Lori: It's interesting cause I remember after there was a couple parties that when you guys had your rap parties and I went to one of 'em and it just so happened I was standing at the bar waiting for a drink and the producers standing next to Gina and you know how you can And I remember listening to the producer going, I'm gonna make you the biggest star you've ever been.

[00:40:19] Lori: And I just kind of like heard it outta the left hand side of my ear. And I was like, Holy shit. This is how it works. Yeah. This is how Hollywood works, you know? And then the next thing I thought, I didn't think anything of it. And all of a sudden, the next thing I know, I'm like, she's in movies and she's doing this.

[00:40:35] Lori: And I was like, oh my God, that's insane. You know? I was like, why didn't I pick up mma? If I've known that's where my career was gonna go, it would've been awesome. So after the show, tell me a little bit about, okay, so you tore your A C L. Okay, so you didn't get to finish the second season, right? Or you didn't get into the second season.

[00:40:57] Lori: What did you do after Gladiators? Where'd you go? Tell me about your life.

[00:41:01] Life after American Gladiators

[00:41:01] Stealth: So that was a really, that was probably one of the hardest. Seasons of my life, because up until that point, you know, I, I did the military thing, then I became a pro, and 10 years into that, you know, I'm climbing the ranks, but then Gladiator happens and it's this new shiny toy.

[00:41:19] Stealth: It's something that I've totally never been exposed to, and there was so much promise, like remember we thought that there was gonna be season after season. We thought we were about to go on tour. Like I was prepared for my life to change. Yeah. It was like, well, I was an I F B B pro, but now I'm gonna be on a tour bus going city to city, doing this, beating people up on the weekends and like it's gonna be great.

[00:41:42] Lori: That's right. I do remember that now that you mention it, that they did say that you guys were gonna go on tour. Right, right. I totally forgot about that. Yes.

[00:41:50] Stealth: Okay. So I, what I experienced is what I think a lot of athletes experience when they have this big dream and they, they make it to the N B A or the N F L and then they freaking get hurt like in their first season.

[00:42:03] Stealth: You know what I mean? Like that, that's what I felt like I lived out, you know, it was so exciting. I got hurt. And then honestly, because people don't understand, how the flow of the filming works. You know, I was injured with the torn a c l for a lot of the first season, so luckily I had a few episodes that I was able to film before I got hurt.

[00:42:24] Stealth: But the rest of it, you know, you might still see me in episode eight, but that's only because we filmed it on day two. Right. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, totally. And so I just remember being a standard buyer. And then even the stress of, I was so in a hurry to recover from my a c. I was so ambitious.

[00:42:42] Stealth: Like the doctor would say, oh, it's probably gonna be a year before you can tumble. Or, you know, nine months before you can run. And I'm like, I'm gonna be running in six months. Right. I'm gonna be doing flips in nine months. You know? And so when I didn't make it back to season two and then the show didn't even last after that, there was this buildup of, oh, I thought my life was gonna go in this direction.

[00:43:05] Stealth: Now it's not. So now what I remember moving from Seattle to San Francisco, moving in with my sister cuz she was like, you can live with me. You don't have to pay me rent. Just figure it out. Because I needed like six months to just like, figure out what the heck am I gonna do. Because I had put so much of my eggs in this basket that didn't work out right.

[00:43:26] Stealth: And so that, that was probably a time of depression, self-discovery, really trying to reestablish what my identity and my purpose was gonna be. What, what I ended up doing is coming back to Washington, continuing my career as an I F B B Pro. But that's really when I launched. A lot of my entrepreneur businesses within the fitness industry.

[00:43:46] Stealth: So this is when I launched a team. I started coaching the largest women's team in the state of Washington. This is when I started promoting shows. This is when I started judging. And then I just got my fire back. I lost my fire for competing a little bit because going to the Olympia just didn't seem like a big deal compared to being on n NBC on Monday.

[00:44:05] Lori: Right, right. Exactly.

[00:44:07] Stealth: And that took a little while to get that fire back. Yeah. Like, okay, I'm not on n NBC anymore, but I am competing on the biggest stage in the world. In this sport called fitness. Yes. And let's see what I can do with it. And so then I ended up having a, you know, extending that career for 10 more years.

[00:44:24] Stealth: And then I retired in 2016 after 18 years of competing

[00:44:27] Lori: dude. Oh my God. That is like amazing. So, Everything happens for a reason. You know what I mean? It's like you going through that, that that little, you know, I call it like a little valley, you know? Yeah. The hills and valleys we go through, you go through a little valley, and you're right.

[00:44:44] Lori: I think every single person, no matter if you're on television for five minutes, 15 an hour a season, you go through that little depression at the end. I mean, I went, I went through it for an entire, I mean, it felt like a year, you know? After the show ended, I was just like, oh my God, what am I gonna do now?

[00:45:01] Lori: I have like no clue. And you know, like you said, you kind of go through the, the, who am I? What am I doing? What do I wanna do now? And I mean, most likely, let's say that you went on tour, your life would've been completely different. You might not have started the businesses, who knows. But it's like what you've done is so amazing, and I've seen some of your Instagram posts and you're, you're speaking with women and you're empowering.

[00:45:26] Lori: And it's just the coolest thing in the world to watch because we need so much of that in the world today. You know, young girls, I, I don't even say, I don't wanna wanna say Young girls Tang, I'm talking to like women my age. Right. We still need all that encouragement, you know? Right, right. And especially nowadays.

[00:45:44] Lori: so I, I am just so proud of you and what you've done, and now you're promoting, you have your own show, and this is your second, your second year for your own show, right? Cause you had the first one in 22.

[00:45:55] Stealth: Classic actually, I co-pro promoted with another promoter starting in like 2007. Oh wow. And then I got my own in 2015, so this will be my eighth year.

[00:46:07] Lori: Oh my god. Okay. That's so, love it. Amazing.

[00:46:11] Stealth: Thank you. I mean, it's gotta be, I wanna say something based on what you were just saying about identity. So based on those experiences, like what it was like for me when I wasn't a gladiator anymore, what was it like for me in 2016 when I retired from competing and I wasn't an I F B B pro?

[00:46:29] Stealth: I actually, you know, anytime you know exactly where you're going after that Usually your transition is okay. But I thought I was gonna go straight into being a mom. I got married to my husband, Brandon, got pregnant, had a miscarriage, went through a couple years of infertility through I V F. And here I am now and you know, we haven't had any kids in addition to the kids that he has.

[00:46:51] Stealth: So I spent another several years being depressed because I thought I was going to become a mom. And that didn't happen. And so what I've learned through my multiple periods and seasons of transition, Is that the only way to survive is to build a foundation for your identity that's rooted in who you are and your strengths and not your job, and not your role.

[00:47:14] Stealth: So I have now accepted that my role and my work and what I do for a living is probably gonna constantly change maybe every decade or or so. But what I've learned is who I am at my core. Like for example, one of my strengths is leadership. Another strength of mine is appreciation of beauty and excellence.

[00:47:34] Stealth: So that's why I'm a very good event planner. That's why I'm all about the detail. There's certain things about me that are really unique that are my strengths. And if you notice everything I've ever done, the creativity and fitness, the leadership in coaching women, the, the attention to detail and, and developing excellence and putting on great events and experiences.

[00:47:55] Stealth: My role keeps changing. But actually who I am hasn't changed. I'm still the same tang. And so now I think that I can be more prepared. If I was to lose something again, yeah, I'll be okay, because I won't lose myself. Right. I'm just losing that job. But most of us don't even realize that when we're going through that first transition, where we lose something.

[00:48:17] Lori: It's, it's, what you just said is just so empowering, and if so many women and so many just people in general can just hold onto that, and you're absolutely right who you are at your core, that your identity is just the biggest part of it. Because you're right, seasons come and go, that's jobs will. Right.

[00:48:35] Lori: Come and go. That's, you know, and you're gonna reinvent yourself and reinventing yourself doesn't mean reinventing, like you just said. It doesn't mean reinventing who you are at the core. It just means maybe outside here. You know? And you're just the most amazing, beautiful, strong, empowering woman.

[00:48:51] Lori: And I just. I commend you and, and what you're doing is just amazing and thank you so much. It is so cool. Oh, thanks Lori. It's so cool. Thank you. I am you so happy that you came on my podcast today because it's, there are so many people out there and, and that are Gladiator fans, but yet just, I mean, you're, you're a woman of empowering and that was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to bring you on here as well.

[00:49:16] Lori: we just need that in our now. We just need it out there. You know, we need,

[00:49:20] Stealth: I appreciate the opportunity because one of the pains that I always had is that, My time with gladiators, I felt was so short-lived because I got injured, right? And so I hold onto the few shows, the few experiences that one year, and I just appreciate it and I celebrate it.

[00:49:40] Stealth: But I did struggle with the insecurity of, I, I just didn't get to have that longer experience that a lot of my teammates had. You know, like I went on tour with, armed Forces Entertainment last year with, Beth and with I saw that. I saw that, yeah. That was so fun because for years I used to like, I was really hurt that I never got asked to be on, to go on these u tours.

[00:50:04] Stealth: I mean, I'm former military. Yes, I, of course I would wanna go and support the troops, but then when I look back, it's like, but you know what, Tanja, you weren't one of the stars. You, you got injured and you weren't in as many episodes and you didn't get to develop your character the way Venom did and the way, you know, militia did, and Michael Hern and Titan and all that.

[00:50:23] Stealth: And so, I had to understand that. But even when I went on tour with them, you know, I remember feeling like, man, I feel like, you know, compared to how much experience they got Through the show, mine was like a snippet. And so it means a lot to me to be able to come on your podcast, even talk about it.

[00:50:40] Stealth: Because that's something that a lot of people deal with, whether it's in sports or sports as a musician, you know, you get into something that you love and your time is short and what do you do with that? How do you celebrate that instead of looking back with regret?

[00:50:54] Lori: But here's the thing about that, and I'm gonna tell you a little secret.

[00:50:56] Lori: It's interesting that you say that, you know, maybe your time was cut short, but us original gladiators, when we see the 2008 reboot gladiators going on all these US tours, do you realize we sit back and go, wait a minute, how come we're not being asked? You know, that's right. But here's the thing in Hollywood Outta sight, outta mind.

[00:51:20] Lori: It's, yeah, relevance. So it's, if you are not in that five minute, 10 minute segment and you're not relevant right now, nobody wants you, you know, and so I had to come to grips with me, my ego, who I am, and go, okay, I had my time in the limelight. You know, I d and I had the struggle. I I was right there with you.

[00:51:42] Lori: I had the struggle with who I am, and I had to fi figure that out and keep reinventing what I wanted to do. But when we saw that, we were just like, wait a minute,

[00:51:54] Stealth: you guys are the original.

[00:51:56] Lori: Right, exactly. But you know, it, it is what it is. And that's, you just kind of do that, but your time that you had and you got to go on the tour and everything, that's amazing.

[00:52:07] Lori: You know, we actually, our documentary's coming out on the 28th of next month, so we have a Netflix documentary coming out June 28th. We got have five park series. Which is very exciting. But then again, our team got split T oh, half the half the team went to espn. And so they're doing espn n the, the, the coming up like next week.

[00:52:28] Lori: And then the other half went to Netflix. And so it's kind of sad how that happened, you know? Okay. How the team, but it's politics and And that's Hollywood and that's just the way it is, unfortunately. Right, right. But now this, I'm gonna actually get this podcast out next week. So your classic is, is it June 24th?

[00:52:47] Stealth: It's June 24th.

[00:52:49] Lori: I have to ask you, you have a wellness division. What is wellness

[00:52:54] Stealth: that? Yes. Oh my goodness. And, and you know what, I wanna say this too, Lori, because like for me, If I was involved in the leadership of the the second coming of the show, for me, I would've involved the original cast as much as possible.

[00:53:10] Stealth: Yes, it was cool that they brought you in the, and that they had Nitro, you know, train us. I thought that was really cool, but there just would've been like all those times we went to red carpet events and did all those parties. I would've had the original gladiators there. With the new ones, there just would've been a lot more intermingling.

[00:53:28] Stealth: But again, Hollywood may not care about relevance, where I'm more of an old soul, where I really l you know, have an appreciation for the pioneers and for history. And even to this day with body boating, I'm trying to teach that to the younger generation. So when I do thank you seminars, and even on my, on my, Instagram page for my show, I will educate people on the evolution of body building.

[00:53:52] Stealth: Yeah. It started in 1946 when there were only one div, one or two divisions, and now we have like eight. So let me tell you what wellness is.

[00:54:00] Lori: Hold onto that thought for a second. Okay. My very first like person that I ever watched that made me wanna get into bodybuilding, this is going to really age me, Rachel McCleish.

[00:54:11] Stealth: Oh, exactly.

[00:54:12] Lori: Okay. It went Rachel and then it went, Corey, and then, I mean, and then I actually got a call,nine time. Linda Murray.

[00:54:20] Stealth: Yeah, I was about to say Linda should have Linda on here.

[00:54:22] Lori: Well, I will. Linda had me on her Wings of Strength and they have that.

[00:54:26] Lori: So Ray and I Zap and I went and did an interview. So I want Linda on my podcast, but it's like just the evolution of all these people, you know? That's right. And thank you for saying that about the original GLAD Eats. We were all wondering the same thing. We're like, why don't they have us like just a, like a little debut of a coach here, a little debut here, because that's the nostalgia that people wanna see and it would've just made such a little difference, you know what I'm saying in the show, but Exactly.

[00:54:52] Lori: N NBC wanted nothing to do with us whatsoever. They were like, this is our show. This is all new. I don't think it had anything to do with Johnny. You know, because Johnny's pride and joy was his brand of American Gladiators. Right. But we were, we were all sitting back wondering the same thing going, wow.

[00:55:06] Lori: You know, all these reboots, they do, they always bring back an original just for like a little moment, you know?

[00:55:11] Stealth: But they, well, I, I think they are missing out on, they totally missed it because why do you think people like to watch documentaries? Why do they like to learn about nostalgia? Let down did they?

[00:55:22] Stealth: Exactly. They love it. Exactly. And even for me, like for example, one of the things that made my Olympia experience special, so speaking of Linda Murray, she's one of my favorite people. She's awesome. Every time I would go to the Olympia, I would run into her at the expo in the bathroom, you know, backstage everywhere.

[00:55:41] Stealth: And we developed a friendship and, and I just remember just being so grateful that I had an opportunity to be mentored by her. To have a conversation with her, to be in her presence and just share in her kindness, her glory, her history. And that made my experience special. I didn't just go to the show and compete, but it's what I got to experience, who I got to talk to, who I learned from.

[00:56:07] Stealth: What I experienced. And you can't do that without history. Yeah. And so when we neglect to promote our history, I feel like we're robbing our new generation of that piece of the pie that could really richen their experience

[00:56:19] Lori: 100%. So what is wellness?

[00:56:21] Stealth: Okay, so wellness is our newest women's division.

[00:56:24] Stealth: Okay. With women's division, you can either do body building, which is the very muscular, symmetrical, everything needs to be proportionate. Then there's women's physique, which is the new version of bodybuilding. we don't do closed fists, it's open hand barefoot, but it's basically meant to be a not as big and as muscular version of women's body building, basically a more mainstream version.

[00:56:47] Stealth: Then there's fitness, which is all the girls that do the gymnastics, handstands, pushups, all the badass fitness stuff. And then there's figure, which is the same body as fitness, except just the muscles with the X frame symmetry. And then there's bikini, which is a lot more slender, but the best blue she'll ever see in your life, you know, are coming on these bikini bodies.

[00:57:10] Stealth: Now, here's what would happen. A lot of women, not a lot, specifically, especially in Latin America, like our Brazilian women, Latina women, Naturally and genetically there are women that are built where they just carry more muscle. And weight on the bottom half. And so when these women, these Latinas and Brazilian women were trying to do bikini, they were killing themselves trying to bring their legs down to match their upper body so that they would stop being towed.

[00:57:41] Stealth: Your butt's too big. Your quads are too big, your legs are too big, you're just too muscular. So wellness is the one and only division that does that is not proportionate. In fact, wellness is a bikini upper body with a figure lower body. Okay. And I even like to say, when you see the girl in the gym who slender up top, but she's got, she, you call her illa.

[00:58:09] Stealth: Or you're just like, whoa, you got butt, thighs, legs for days, but I'm not talking fat. I'm talking like, whoa. Yes. So much muscle. Yeah. That's what wellness is and it interesting. It's taking off now the thing is, is not every woman's genetics support that body type. But for the women who does it is amazing.

[00:58:29] Stealth: It is amazing.

[00:58:30] Lori: So have you found that some women try to cheat and go buy that little. Butt.

[00:58:40] Stealth: I mean, you know what, I'm probably more naive because my husband tells me all the time, he's just like, she's got butt implants. And I'm like, really? You know, I, because I'm, I'm, I've been privy to seeing and knowing so many women who have amazing physiques that they've actually earned. That it's harder sometimes for me to, to actually just immediately think that it's not the case.

[00:59:02] Stealth: But yes, that definitely exists. Yeah. I mean, there's some, I've seen that I'm like, oh my God, that's ridiculous. Like that doesn't even work. Exactly.

[00:59:08] Lori: Exactly. It's like you spent money on that. I think I'm the only white girl in the gym that has a booty. Genetically. My mom has one. Oh my God, it's so funny.

[00:59:23] Lori: Tan. Angie, thank you so much for coming on. I know I have a short time with you today, but I could sit and talk with you for hours, you know, and Thank you. I so appreciate it. And I mean, I wish that I could get up to Washington and watch your show. I mean, it's, Aw, it just sounds amazing,

[00:59:38] Stealth: you know? Well, you know what?

[00:59:39] Stealth: I will have a live feed, so, or or what do you call it? A live stream, so, oh, beautiful. It's June 4th and it's tj classic.com, or if you're on Instagram npc, which stands for National Physique Committee, np, C T J, which is standing for Tanja Johnson Classic. So you can check out more information, but we will live stream it.

[01:00:01] Stealth: If you're in Washington, come see it in person. But it is gonna be a great inspiration for all the divisions, for anybody wanting to get in shape or anybody that just loves the body boating industry. Oh my God.

[01:00:12] Lori: It's gonna be an amazing show. I'm so happy for you. Thank you. You have done so much, and I know you're not done.

[01:00:19] Lori: You've probably got an entire bucket list that you wanna do in your life, and I just find it amazing. So thank you so much for being on the podcast today. And by the way, where can they, besides your show, where can they find you? Tell everyone Oh.

[01:00:33] Stealth: So they can find me on, Instagram, mainly at official Tange Johnson Official Tangy Johnson.

[01:00:40] Stealth: That's it. T a n j i. No, g j I love it.

[01:00:46] Lori: Thank you so much.

[01:00:46] Stealth: Thank you everybody. Thanks for watching.

[01:00:48] Lori: Thank you everybody. And I need to give a quick shout out to one of my Patreons today, and that is to Martin Nelson.

[01:00:57] Lori: Thank you so much for being the OG Gladiator on my Patreon account, and, if anybody you don't know where that's at, that's patreon.com/chilling with ice. And thank you so much for watching and listening. And until next time, see you later.

[01:01:12] Outro YT: Thank you so much for listening to Chilling with Ice, and don't forget to hit that like button. Subscribe and share wherever you listen to your podcast. Remember to follow us on Patreon and YouTube at Chilling With Ice and on Instagram and TikTok. You can follow me@lori.ice dot Patrick. I look forward to chilling with you next time here on Chilling with