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We cover the sport of CrossFit from all angles. We talk with athletes, coaches and celebrities that compete and surround in the sport of CrossFit at all levels. We also bring you Breaking News, Human Interest Stories and report on the Methodology of CrossFit. We also use the methodology to make ourselves the fittest we can be.
What is going on, everybody?
We have a special guest today.
Bailey Maraviglia will be with us in just
a minute.
From the gym to the screen, yeah,
we cover it all.
Midday motivation every time you press
call.
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Grab a plate, tune in now,
you part of the fam.
it's lunch time what's going on everybody
welcome to lunch with the clydesdale we
have a special guest today special show
bailey maraviglia is with us thank you so
much for joining us bailey thank you so
much for having me so i i became
acutely aware of you watching american
gladiator this year
And they showed your profile.
And I was like, oh my gosh,
I know her.
I've watched her.
Why do I know her?
And then it took research into my own
cobwebbed brain to figure out.
And then they showed you competing at
Syndicate.
And I was like, there we go.
Now the clues are starting to come in.
And I've covered every year of the
Syndicate.
Oh, wow.
Yeah,
that's actually how they found me for the
show.
One of the casting directors was watching
on YouTube and was like,
um i don't know how they like they
do their casting reach but like he was
watching it and was like we think you
would be a great fit um i saw
you competing in knoxville and i was like
oh there we go so yeah they like
like basically whatever footage i got from
that they recycled it i was like isn't
that funny i came full circle like they
just watched me at at syndicate and then
they're like you we think you'd be on
a you'd be great for this tv show
So I had to research everything to figure
out how exactly I knew who you were.
And then at that point I was like,
man,
I have enough stuff here that I should
have her on as a guest.
Because she has a very interesting past.
And then as I was kind of following
along,
I saw you did a xenon.
I saw it like you were competing in
the game season.
All of these things is like,
it just keeps piling up.
And I was like, she would be awesome.
And I,
I used to do so many interviews and
I've kind of taken a break from it,
but like,
you're really kind of my first one back.
That's exciting.
It's funny because I remember watching a
lot of your interviews and I have a
friend who's like very obsessed with your
show.
So like, I feel like it's,
it was like one of those like six
degrees of like knowing you guys and
everything.
So when you said like,
do you want to be on the show?
I was like, absolutely.
I want to be on the show.
Like, this would be so cool.
I just want to know though, who's,
who is the Clydesdale and who's the
cowboy?
Clydesdale.
Okay.
Yeah.
And he's not really a cowboy.
By process of elimination, no, not at all.
But he's from Louisiana with a weird
accent.
And Siobhan kept calling him the cowboy
because you could just picture him tying
up his horse out front.
He thinks I should have a cowboy hat.
He thinks I have a horse tied up
outside.
I'm at my office at work right now.
I definitely do not have a horse.
i don't i don't think of cowboys when
i think of louisiana is that like none
of us do either but here's the thing
here's the thing sebi doesn't leave his
house so he also has no idea where
cowboys actually live and he just kind of
figured he kind of pointed that pointed me
in that direction so it's it's pretty
precious like you're from the south you
must be a cowboy
Clearly it was a nice alliteration.
It goes with the show and yeah.
Yeah.
I can see that.
I can see that.
That's funny though.
I mean, you know, if it sticks,
it sticks.
Yeah.
So we're kind of known for going off
the rails.
We don't really have a format to the
show.
We just kind of go wherever the wind
takes us.
And so I,
I watch a lot of sports and I
watch Rich Eisen and he does this thing
at the beginning during a show called
celebrity true or false.
That's cool.
And so what I'm going to do is
things that I found out I figure are
interesting to me.
I'm going to ask you,
are they true or false?
I found them on the internet.
Let's find out if they're real.
Let's do it.
So the first thing is, Bailey,
are you a second degree black belt?
And did you in fact teach karate classes
early in your professional career?
Yes, I am.
And it's really funny that you say that
because technically like I can be asked
that,
but I'm not technically allowed to be
like,
I'm a second degree black belt because I
think at a certain point,
from what I was told at a certain
degree,
you're technically a registered weapon.
So like, you can't point it out.
I don't know if that's true or not.
That might be a truthful thing.
But I don't go around saying it all
that often.
But I am Yes,
I'm a second degree black belt.
And I used to teach karate for a
long time.
My follow up question is,
are you a registered weapon?
feel like at this point in my life
i i do feel like a registered weapon
like you saw me on american i know
this much you're toting around guns right
now so if which weapon or not you
definitely uh armed and armed and
dangerous for certain i get a lot about
that and i just go like this is
just genetics like i have worked hard but
it's just it's genetics too
so when you get like a second degree
black belt does it ever expire can they
ever take it away from you i don't
think it i don't think it will ever
expire and i don't think they could take
i don't think i can strip you of
a rank um if that was the case
there would be a lot of really old
men out there who are not in the
degrees like the martial arts world is
Icky.
So I would have to probably have done
something really,
really bad to get my rank strip.
I don't think you can necessarily,
I know that you can't you can't rank
up unless there is somebody higher than
you in your in your style.
And like, sometimes like,
because it takes like, let's just say,
for example, in myself, karate,
there's nine there's nine ranks of black
belt.
And so
let's say you're an eighth degree black
belt, you're probably pretty old.
You have to find somebody who's a ninth
degree black belt to promote you.
And then a lot of those people just
die.
So you have to go around and be
like,
I have to train with or under someone
who is of this rank in order for
them to decide to promote me.
And that gets really hard.
So it's like,
think about it as like a maybe like
a season ticket holder like you kind of
have to look but the opposite we're like
you get the season ticket especially for
like um around here like the Giants
because if you have season tickets uh for
like going to MetLife you're really you're
probably really old because the wait list
is so long so like somebody has to
die for you to go in but this
is the opposite where you're like someone
needs to stay alive in order to be
promoted
So like there's one ninth degree black
belt in the jungles of Taiwan and you
have to go
pretty much to get the okay we can
make a movie out of that yeah it
is like that it's very much like that
so like some people will like just be
stuck at a certain like rank and usually
it will take like a year to get
your year to get your first degree black
belt two years to get your second degree
black belt three years for your third and
so it kind of follows like a structure
like i know a lot of people think
about it like is jiu jitsu like it
takes a really long time to build up
in the rank so like once you are
past your color belts and you are in
your black belt then
you're pretty much sitting at your,
whatever rank you are for a long,
long time.
And like,
you don't actually end up being like a
teacher until like,
technically like I could teach karate,
right?
And like,
I can host like classes of ranks that
are under me, but I can't,
host classes of like other black belts
unless i was like a third degree black
belt and then i could be like a
teacher's teacher at a fourth degree black
belt so there's like rules and regulations
when surrounding that kind of stuff it's
pretty fluid now it used to be a
lot more strict but um yeah now i'm
thinking about it it's like a weird it's
a weird world martial arts really rip
world do you still practice
i don't no i don't and i i
had thought about like going into jujitsu
and i was like you know i'm like
i just i just don't want to be
like underneath like a person sweating on
top of me for like five six minutes
at a time like i really i really
don't have the patience for all that
especially like a toddler i'm like i
constantly have someone touching me and
i'm like i just don't need someone trying
to physically hurt me and sweat on me
that you know i don't need to go
pay for things like that anymore
It's useful to know, but I'm like,
I'm just not into this right now.
So check.
Bailey doesn't pay for sweaty men anymore.
I don't pay for men to come over
and sweat on me and put me in
a headlock.
I don't need that.
A lot of people do pay for that
privilege.
They do.
They do.
I have lots of friends who are in
jiu-jitsu,
and I remind them every day of just
the decisions they make.
Yeah.
So my co-host on this on my Sunday
night show is Carolyn Prevost.
And she is a, she dabbles in Taekwondo.
Actually, she was really,
really good at one point.
Um,
her letting out of aggression is like
beating up Bob, the dummy.
Do you ever do anything like that just
to like relieve stress?
Um, I have a,
I have a heavy bag in my garage,
um, that I will occasionally use, but, um,
I don't,
I don't go like out of my way
sometimes to use it.
Sometimes like I'll,
I'll start to like mess around with it
and I'm like, Oh, this feels pretty good.
But, um,
it's interesting that she's got that going
on with Taekwondo.
Taekwondo is such a beautiful form of
martial arts.
Like
We always used to make fun of that,
but it's like really sexy and really
finesse.
So especially someone like with her
background,
isn't she like a hockey player?
She is.
Yeah,
I feel like that's a really like Taekwondo
is kind of like the ballet of the
martial arts world.
Like it's really like lots of flexibility,
lots of like airtime.
It's really that's really cool.
If you go watch her videos on Instagram
of her beating up Bob,
there's nothing beautiful about it.
It is one hundred percent aggression.
Yeah, I'll go check that out.
I really I'll connect with her because I'm
friends with her fiance, wife, wife.
Wife.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I was I'll check that out because
I it's nice to like have those
commonalities like when we're all like,
oh,
we're all crossfitters and stuff like
that.
And then you kind of get into like
someone's past or like a hobby they picked
up and you realize like, oh,
I have more in common than just we
throw around barbells.
It's fun to figure out that CrossFitters
do stuff besides CrossFit.
It's kind of part of the methodology.
Play other sports.
That's true.
Yes.
I actually went back to a sport that
I was...
I don't want to take a true or
false question away from you,
but I went back to a sport that
I was doing in high school because I
had gotten the opportunity to coach at one
of our local high schools.
I used to pole vault
And one of my coaches was saying that
the high school that's here was looking
for a pole vaulting coach.
And I was like, oh man,
it'd be so cool to get back into
that.
It's so fun.
And I was like, but I'm so rusty.
I would love to just get...
involved again.
And I started picking it back up for
a couple months.
And I was like, whoa, I'm, I'm,
I'm thirty five years old.
I'm pole vaulting with like sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen year olds.
Their bodies don't feel like my body.
My body is toast.
Like I'd be there for like two hours
in this like pole vault gym and I
would come home and I'd be like,
there are muscles on my body that I
did not even realize I had.
They're so sore,
like just so incredibly sore.
Mark Phillips pole vaulting is so insane.
It is.
And like when you watch somebody who is
so good at it and like,
especially like if you're watching like
people going for like state champs or
world, not world records because it's,
they're pretty hard to break at this
point,
but they're like teenagers who are in like
college or obviously like the Olympics,
like watching those guys and girls is
incredible.
Just so incredible.
Pole vaulting is one of those things where
people say, you know, people talk about,
man, you know,
professionals make it look so easy.
The professionals did not make that look
easy.
That still looks incredibly difficult.
It looks really hard, right?
You're going to take off running with this
long ass stick,
jamming into the ground and use it to
level yourself up over this bar.
That's fourteen, fifteen,
however many feet is in there.
Oh, it's nothing about that looks easy.
No, no.
And it's happening so fast, too,
that you're just like.
You don't even realize how you got there
at a certain point.
It's like a snatch where you're like,
all of a sudden you're under the bar
and you're like, everything came together.
Hopefully I don't mess this up.
It's amazing the handful of games athletes
that were pole vaulters.
i know right i think like daniel brannon
that's actually how her and i became
friends we were sitting on a bus waiting
uh to go up to i don't know
like rich's woods one day and we just
were sitting on the bus for a half
hour talking about stuff and i we found
out that we were both pole vaulters i
was like you're a bull this is crazy
and then um the the guy who won
american gladiators was also a pole
vaulter and i was like
There we go.
And you just have this certain thing in
common with those people.
It's a very niche thing.
So when you see or meet another pole
vaulter, you're like, yeah, yeah,
you're crazy.
I'm crazy.
We're a little psycho.
And I didn't even know what it was
when I first got into high school.
And my brother was like,
you should try pole vaulting.
I was like, sure.
I have no idea what it was.
And I just showed up at that area
for practice.
And I was like,
we're going to go with it.
We're going to try it out.
And then
Ended up trying it out.
Absolutely loved it.
Became MVP.
Went on to like States and it was
it was so cool.
I mean,
I just love and I could always probably
go back.
But, you know,
like to the gym that's near me.
But, oh, man,
like talk about talk about just like body
awareness and stuff.
Like it's like when you're an adult and
you're like,
I want to do gymnastics and you're like,
this is gonna be a great idea.
But then you're like forty and you're
like, this was a terrible idea.
every year i tell myself i'm gonna teach
myself how to do a back flip and
then every year i'm like what if i
land on my neck wait right i literally
front flipped into my parents pool
yesterday and i was like please don't
break my neck yeah the pool the pool
and like the trampoline park is the only
place i let myself do it because i'm
like i can land on this airbag or
this this you know this foam pit not
a big deal yeah flat ground
I don't know.
Right?
I know.
You only get to land on the mat
if you get over the bar.
I would definitely die before I learned to
get over the bar.
There have been a couple of times where
like, there's a re-bend in your pole,
right?
So it's fiberglass.
And they go off of your weight.
So obviously like there's length and then
there's your weight.
So technically you should be on a pole
that's at your weight.
Like you need to be like if I'm
one forty five,
I need to be on a one forty
five pole technically to like compete.
But like I will train on like a
one twenty pole because it will give me
more rebound.
um there was a time where it must
have been like a one i mean and
this was back in high school so i
was much lighter but i was on a
much lighter pole and i i don't know
what happened i must have stuck it and
just like missed time my jump it re-bent
or it re-bent so much that the recoil
just happened in the ground and it
slap me all the way from my elbow,
all the way down to my hip.
And I have never had a bruise that
big in my life.
Like I didn't even get off the ground.
It just basically rubber banded me and
gave me the worst whip of my life.
And I've also seen people who have stuck
it's a, it's called like a,
there's a box, right?
So they've stuck the pole into the box.
They went to go bend the bar and
then it just snapped right in half.
And yeah,
they just backflip right on like,
tech usually it's like um like mats like
for the like a gym like a regular
cool mat kind of um but sometimes like
you're gonna run on concrete too so it
depends like yeah i've seen people not to
be able to take off and i've seen
people not get over i've seen a lot
of gruesome injuries come out of it so
that's always in your mind too we're like
don't don't this one up don't it up
yeah i i
You keep saying things that are, again,
taking me off the rails, which is fine.
I'm that person.
We won't even have a topic if you
have me on this show.
We don't have topics.
You are our topic today.
Don't worry about that.
You made the statement that you were on
a bus with Daniel Brandon and Rich's
Woods.
Yes.
That statement alone stops me in my
tracks.
There's a lot to unpack there.
I'm assuming it's one of those retreats
Rich did with like...
This was First Mayhem Classic.
I was at that too.
Yeah.
My God,
I've probably run into you a hundred
times.
I've been everywhere.
Like I'm the person who's like
perennially,
like I'm just at all these events,
but I like never make it to the
games,
which sidebar we'll get into that topic in
a second.
But I'm like at all of these things.
And I do try to make friends with
everybody because like I live in,
i live in like nowhere and so like
anytime i can get out to like a
big event like i want to talk to
everybody and be friends with all the
people and connect with them throughout
the years so yeah first mayhem classic it
was in like did we what happened it
was it was just before the world shut
down
exactly because i remember months before
the world shut down yeah right yeah
because i did that and then got my
ass kicked and then brought that energy
with me to norway like the next month
so like but everybody at that that
competition was so talented right so like
obviously um
Yeah,
I love to be in a place where
I get my ass handed to me.
I don't like to necessarily get beat all
the time, but like I like to learn.
So, yeah,
we're it's like we're on a bus.
The first event is miserable, right?
It's we're going to do a five mile
run.
up Pfeiffer mountain,
starting at the firehouse that Rich worked
at all the way up to Rich's dad's
house.
And so it's like the,
the mountain is kind of the same as
where I live.
Like my, my parents live on a mountain.
So I'm pretty used to like running up
and down it, but on a road,
this was like trail through the woods.
It's raining.
It's January.
We have a
whoever makes it up there first wins,
you know?
And so it's like,
we had these assigned seats on the bus
and it was the first time like I
met Daniel Brandon and she was like,
obviously she was Daniel Brandon,
but she wasn't as like well known as
she is now.
Um,
it was kind of her coming out party.
right i think like that year like she
really like she she made it to the
games at the classic like she's so good
and i remember um talking to my friends
like just about how talented she was and
just how like insanely savage she was on
the floor because she's such a nice person
and like her and i just again like
just yapped about everything for like the
half hour we were sitting on the bus
and the bus ride over and everything so
yeah it's one of those things where you're
like it always pays to be nice to
people too because a lot of people are
so intense and especially they're like
really intense and focused going into an
event but like if you can kind of
just be like we're all humans and we're
here to like just have fun and do
the thing we love and kind of like
just be
nice to each other,
you're going to have a good time and
everything.
So I really appreciated that about her.
And every time we run into each other
at an event,
we always say hi and catch up.
So yeah, we talked a lot,
found out we were both pole vaulters.
She obviously did it when she was in
college too.
I didn't do it when I was in
college, but you still just have the same,
you know exactly what it's all about and
all that.
So it's cool to connect on those things.
So now we're to question two.
That's how we're in.
We're into question two.
All right.
True or false,
you occasionally work out with Clydesdale
listener Dan Church.
Yes.
Clydesdale listener slash Corey's unpaid
weightlifting coach.
That's what I was going to say.
That's my friend who I was like,
he's big into the podcast.
That's Dan Church.
Dan and I go way, way back.
He was like,
He,
I was the first competition I ever did
was on a team with him.
And two people at his gym,
they were hosting like an in-house or like
whatever gym was closest, like throw down.
And like, I had just started CrossFit.
I was probably like two and a half
months into it.
And they're like,
do you want to do this competition?
Like you are from the area.
So do you want to like,
we need another person.
I was like, yeah, sure.
Like I could do nothing at this place.
Right.
Like I didn't even have,
I barely had any movement.
Right.
Just was like, all right,
I'm here for fun.
So yeah.
yeah he um he helped me out a
lot after that with like coaching some of
my Olympic lifting and everything and um
yeah we've been we've been friends for a
long time he works out in his garage
and then when he needs to like do
any type of competition or the open or
quarters or something he'll come up and
then he it's always a good time it's
always good to catch up with him yeah
Yeah,
he's the one that texted me last night,
pronouncing your name,
your last name phonetically.
He's funny,
he's adorable because he makes,
he's definitely one of those people who
like he makes sure like things are like
in order like he's very organized when it
comes to that kind of stuff and like,
he's very good about helping people like.
He's he's a nurse.
So like his his job is to just
be like caring and empathetic.
He's funny.
He technically works in the same or he
did work in the same like hospital as
my mom.
And he'd be like, is your mom here?
Like, you know,
and like he'll just talk to her and
everything.
And, you know,
it's just really funny to have that.
But, yeah,
it's it's it's just a small world,
really small world.
Yeah, he's a great guy.
I met him because he identified as a
Clydesdale.
He is a Clydesdale.
He is a large man.
I went to watch him at the Masters
Fitness Collective a couple years ago,
and it was before she had knee surgery,
and she almost fell down the stand steps,
and Dan was there to catch her.
Oh, that's sweet.
That's nice.
Yeah.
So he's he's a great guy.
He is.
Yeah, he is.
He's a Clydesdale that can fly on his
hands.
yes yeah he's got some he's got some
really really good like he's got some big
strengths and he'll always i feel bad he
always talks like so much about himself
he's like i haven't done this i'm so
bad at this i'm like dude you don't
even have the equipment to do this stuff
in your house like you should like just
take your wins like every time he comes
over he's like i haven't had a muscle
up since last year when i did a
muscle up here and i'm like you're banging
out like ten like okay like this is
this awesome
Jay Burch says,
some of it is just pot-bellied Shetlands.
So the next thing I have for you
is, true or false,
you are addicted to Tim Hortons coffee.
Oh, I love Tim Hortons.
Yes.
I wouldn't say I'm addicted because that
would entail that I would go crazy.
If I am by a Tim Hortons,
I go to Tim Hortons.
There is like none around me, but okay.
So my family,
I have some family who live in Syracuse
and some family who live in Buffalo.
And when I went to go up to
Buffalo, I was probably in like November,
November,
or October, they were everywhere.
And I was like, this is amazing.
And I like download the app and I
was like,
I'm going to get the free donuts.
I'm going to get the free coffee.
This is amazing.
Like,
and then when we do travel up there,
there's like one,
like really far into like Northern
Pennsylvania that I always have to stop at
no matter what, like, I don't care.
It's like on the way up and on
the way back,
like I have to have it.
It's so good.
Like I'm so jealous of the, um,
like northern like the upstate new yorkers
and the canadians like i don't understand
i don't understand like we why i don't
have one like i'm really oh now that
you got me you got me going on
this i love i love tim horton so
good
So I live in Columbus, Ohio currently.
Don't tell me you'd be like,
I have one down the street.
Oh, we have a billion of them.
They used to be owned by Wendy's.
Okay.
And Wendy's corporate headquarters is here
in Columbus.
Oh.
So they used to have the like duos.
It was half a Wendy's,
half of the Tim Hortons.
Wow.
Then Wendy's sold them off.
And so all those have either...
been converted to just one of the two
or just shut down,
but we have a ton of Tim Hortons
and I think it's,
Don't hate me.
I think it's the worst coffee ever.
Whoa.
Do you think it's the worst?
I think Duncan is the worst coffee ever.
I give so much shit to people about
it because it's just as expensive as
Starbucks.
It doesn't taste nearly as good.
It's super inconsistent.
The employees are always really miserable.
I'll give you the last two points.
It's not consistent and the employees are
miserable.
Right.
Like,
I used to go to work at a
camp when I was like, eighteen,
nineteen years old,
and there was a Dunkin on my way
to work.
So me and my coworker were neighbors.
We would stop there and we would get
a dollar iced coffee.
I can live with shitty coffee for a
dollar.
I can't live with shitty coffee for five
dollars, though.
Like, that's that's where I draw the line.
Like,
I know what I'm getting into at seven
eleven,
but I'm paying like thirty nine cents for
the coffee.
That's, you know.
oh you mean to tell me at one
point you could get a baconator and a
cup of coffee a cup of tim horton's
coffee at the same place you could damn
that's incredible right like yeah talk
about living your best life right you know
you know what the most consistent coffee
is paper street paper street i've never
had it i've never had it and i
just i just met colin mertens in person
the other day so
his uh the hank his his blend whatever
his roast over there i just i just
emptied my last bag it is fantastic okay
yeah like all the gabe stuff is i
have not had a cup of coffee or
one of his cool you can't be that
far from like their main headquarters
where is their main headquarters it's in
new jersey it's in jersey oh
Like just south of New York City.
Their first brick and mortar store is in
Jersey.
Oh, I'm not.
One at Proven.
Yeah.
I know they've got the one at Proven
because they were talking about because we
were going to Starbucks and they're like,
Colton,
we'll just write paper sheet on your
coffee.
Yeah.
but um oh okay i'm gonna check that
out because i'm only an hour fifteen
outside of new york so like pretty much
everywhere in like i'm right on the border
of jersey like i could spit out my
window and it'll be in in jersey but
um yeah so it is true that you
are from you are from the greatest state
in the union new jersey pennsylvania oh
I live in New Jersey.
I like how she said it question and
she went New Jersey.
Is that what we're going with right now?
Hey,
you're either you either really love it,
right?
Or you really hate it because I was
born in New Jersey.
My family is from New Jersey and they
relocated a lot of them relocated to
Pennsylvania.
So you were actually born in New Jersey?
Yes.
See, I was born in Pennsylvania.
Where in Pennsylvania?
So western side.
Oh,
like between Pittsburgh and Erie in the
woods.
And actually,
I'm my wife and I've made the decision
we're gonna move back there for
retirement.
So Oh, look at that.
But yeah, love it there.
But I have been to the Poconos a
ton.
And that is a beautiful place to live.
It is very beautiful.
I was giving some of my friends a
really hard time about where they live in
Long Island.
And I was like,
there's no way you could pay me to
live in Long Island with how much it
costs.
Like my friend has a apartment that
they're paying for that is probably more
than my mortgage.
And I was like,
I know you guys have like your things
there,
but there's like way too many people.
Yeah, there's just way too many people,
way too much cost.
Like I can't justify paying that much
money just to be near a Trader Joe's.
And like their distance to get into the
city is like also the same as mine,
but just like with a lot more headache.
I don't know.
There's like some places in the world that
I'm like, why do you live here?
Why do you even live here?
My one of my roommates in college was
from Long Island and we would go up
there for weekends and just party like
crazy.
But yeah.
So I,
from Western PA all the way to Long
Island, right.
Oh my God.
Well,
I have a friend who he owned a
gym out in Long Island and he has
a girlfriend who was in Pittsburgh and he
would drive through all,
all through there.
And like, he'd,
he'd pit stop here and stuff.
And I'd be like,
I don't know how you're doing that.
He's like, the drive is not that bad.
It's only like seven hours.
I'm like, seven hours?
Like, no way.
No way.
I haven't even been out to Western PA
because I'm like,
that's a five-hour drive for me.
Like, that's going to be crazy.
I drive from my house to the office
and then twenty minutes to the gym and
then ten minutes, not even,
eight minutes back to my house.
That's about as far as I ever want
to drive if I can help it.
Right, right.
Yeah, I used to commute for work.
And I would just be like,
I am miserable.
I not want to do this anymore.
Like, I don't know how people manage this.
And then just be like, you know,
I'm gonna go out.
I'm gonna drive all the way across this
giant state, two states away.
Oh,
No, I'm not like a good,
I could probably drive with like,
by myself,
but I'm not a good like passenger princess
at a certain point.
Like I gotta be like,
we got like tops like an hour and
a half and I gotta like,
I gotta go get a coffee.
I gotta go pee.
I gotta walk around like.
Are you saying you're a control freak?
No, I have to.
No, no, no.
I like I either need to.
Well, yeah,
I need to drive or we need to
be driving an RV and I need to
be able to get up because like I
can't just sit there.
Yeah, no, I want to represent.
I get that.
Like, yeah,
we'll drive to Houston from here.
And it's about four and a half,
five hours,
but we'll make three stops on the way.
yeah right like you have to have like
your designated places where you're like i
know i i'm gonna look forward to doing
this and like i'm going to know i
know i'm gonna get out and like that's
gonna make this trip more digestible for
me yeah yeah i don't mind driving i
will i will ride out but we gonna
stop i have no problem doing that you
ever stop at like a bucky's like oh
dude
Who hasn't?
I'm actually contractually obligated to
stop at every Buc-ee's I run across.
I was going to say,
if someone's just driving by,
they're like, no,
that doesn't look like it's for me.
I'm like,
you don't look like you're for me.
We're not friends.
If you can physically drive by a Buc-ee's
and not stop,
I don't need you in my life.
No, you have to be a sociopath.
My only beef with Buc-ee's is there's as
many people in a Buc-ee's as there are
in Long Island.
That's it.
Generally speaking.
Generally speaking.
You're so right.
It's so crowded.
There's one three hours from me going
east, basically in Biloxi.
The closest one in Texas to me is
in Baytown,
but they're building one in Lafayette,
which is about an hour and fifteen minutes
away, and that's a fucking problem.
I was going to say, you're like,
I can handle an hour and fifteen for
a buck.
You know how many friends I have in
Lafayette?
I'm going to see Robbie today.
Oh, are you?
I was like, yeah, breakfast.
I'm going to bring home ten brisket
sandwiches.
Breakfast brisket tacos.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, it's a problem.
How can a gas station make barbecue that
good?
They have a centrally located smokehouse.
So I looked this up.
They have a centrally located smokehouse
where they make all their brisket.
That's how they achieve the consistency.
They'll vacuum seal them.
And then when you see them,
brisket's coming out on the board.
everybody yells it whenever it happens
it's because they've whatever process they
have to warm it back up is finished
and they'll bring fresh brisket out on the
board and it's because it's been vacuum
sealed and whatnot i do we looked it
up uh my last trip to actually to
houston to figure out because i was like
this makes no sense they're not they're
not there's not a big smoker at every
single bucky's you run across but that
would be really cool though someday they
got the money
Yeah, a hundred percent.
It could happen.
They pay their employees an absurd amount,
absurd amount of money for what they do.
Oh, I'm sure.
Oh, I'm sure.
AccuBlackDragon, I feel bad for you.
A UK person doesn't have buckies.
No.
Oh, no.
They don't have anything out there.
Well,
I should say that they do have things.
I've never been to the UK.
They do have things.
They got like buildings and stuff and
roads.
It's fantastic.
A big clock, I think.
There's a giant clock somewhere.
There used to be a bridge,
but now it's in...
So last true or false.
Okay.
You started your professional career as a
graphic designer.
Yes, that's true.
Yes.
I'm waiting for some, a fault,
like a false thing.
Like I'm waiting for you to come out
of like left field with something.
You're standby.
Well,
the reason I had to ask that is,
so I was so excited about the,
are you looking for a designer?
If anyone's hiring, I'd like a job.
Well, don't you own an affiliate?
I do.
Don't I pay me?
If I own an affiliate,
me would be the first person that would
pay.
I'm just throwing that out there.
Oh, like me,
me is like the last person that gets
paid.
I know that's,
I know that's actually how it works.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
my the reason i asked that question about
the graphic design is i was all proud
of my thumbnail and i sent it to
you last night and i'm like and then
afterwards i was like oh my god she
was a graphic designer she probably
thought well if you just move this here
and move that over here no i thought
it was so cool i loved it and
i might put up on my story my
so my best friend and i have a
obviously a best friend relationship and
she'll be like that doesn't look like you
and like i know she's gonna say something
like i know she's gonna say something like
like kind of witty.
And I have to get ahead of her.
And I'm like, yeah, it's much less ugly.
And then she hits me with a, no,
you actually look more beautiful in
person.
And I'm like,
that was not where I thought you were
going with it.
Because usually she'll just be like, yeah,
you ugly bitch.
i thought we were roasting each other what
is happening right now i know there are
some times where like i get really caught
off guard and like i i will get
roasted when i don't think i'm going to
and then or she'll compliment me when i'm
like i have to like be on edge
like what are you trying to do here
but i thought it was really cool i
loved it i really did
So I,
everything on our show that advertises our
show is in a comic book style.
And so people like,
like their comic book version of
themselves and some people do not.
And so it's always this like trepidation.
Do I, do I share it?
Are they going to like it?
I've had people like say,
can you change that please?
I did have someone be like,
look at that dunk.
And I was like,
it's pretty accurate though.
Yeah.
No, no, no, that's the scale.
They got it right.
The artist got it right.
Do you want to talk CrossFit Games season?
Yeah, we can do that.
Or American Gladiator first?
Let's start off with the bad stuff first.
Let's start off with the CrossFit Games
season.
Okay, CrossFit Games.
First, I want people to know,
you were a podium winner at the CrossFit
Games.
CrossFit Milford.
You came in second, two thousand fifteen.
I have to know because Rich's team was
not in the lead going into the final
event.
What are and I'm an old school nerd,
so it's just me like having watched that
in person,
like what was going through your head?
Because I'm hoping you're over it ten
years later.
oh yeah i mean i'm are you though
um that was a that was a very
interesting year right that was the first
year that i ever got to compete at
regionals and never got to compete at the
game so i was like really spoiled going
into my next couple years because i was
like
well the first time I I competed I
went right to regionals and the first time
I went to regionals I went right to
the games and the first time I went
to the games I was still on the
podium so like there's only up from here
and the only up is first place so
um that kind of that messed with me
a lot but um yeah I was on
the team with CrossFit Milford it was
really fun training that year I was
full-time working um I was working at NBC
Sports at the time so I was like
know young getting my training in the
morning working all day getting my
training at night like that was my whole
life basically and we just kind of went
in and it was across the mill for
its first time at the games or sorry
technically no i think like they went in
like or something like that or
when it was like the ranch and stuff
but um went there yeah it was like
the first year that like rich stopped
being the individual and now rich is the
team and he had you know like i
just remember like it was like ellie and
um matt and oh god who else was
on the team that year they had the
masters athlete as one of the lauren yeah
lauren um i forget who else um kristen
um so yeah it was it was definitely
like one of those things where like the
team was super fit
We had a fit team.
NorCal,
that was the year that Jason Kalipa was
at the games.
Miranda tore her knee up.
That happened right next to me.
Because NorCal was crushing that games.
And then all of a sudden,
now they're out because Miranda gets hurt.
Right.
So it was wild.
Yeah.
And like that was also like Tommy
Hackenbrook was with you.
And at that time I had gotten cast
for Stone Cold's Broken Skull Ranch.
So like I was supposed to fly out
the week before the games to film that.
And I had said like, hey,
I can't do it.
Like, I don't want to get hurt.
And I was talking to him about it
because he was the winner for the one
season.
The legend.
Yeah.
yeah and they were doing like this whole
reunion thing so he was like you know
you made the right choice because like i
watched people do like three hour grapples
and i watched people like have to go
to the hospital for like broken legs and
stuff so i was like okay cool like
so we got to like connect with that
but it was crazy like it was like
yeah you norcal mayhem and then we were
just like in the mix of just like
we're just we're just a team from random
Connecticut,
like and I remember it started off like
pretty bad.
It was like a swim event and a
worm in the beach and it was pretty
bad.
And then I think like we started to
like chip our way back up.
Everybody on our team was like really fit,
like very good endurance.
We had like Kalina Ladaris on our team
and she was just kind of like the
She was very much like Sam Briggs,
like where she was just engine,
all engine.
And everyone was super well-rounded.
And I think like our main break was
that we won.
It was kind of,
it was like a worm squat and then
like a run through the stadium.
And we were like neck and neck with
NorCal and they're right next to us.
And it was just like,
that's when we started to get like a
lot of momentum and then made our way
up through the weekend.
Obviously,
like we were like in like a high
spot and everything.
I'm pretty sure at the time,
even before Miranda got hurt,
like we were like third place.
So we like we're just edging out you.
And then, yeah, they got hurt.
It was like a clean and jerk workout.
I didn't even see her like I didn't
see what happened.
Thank God,
because I would have probably gotten so
spooked.
apparently like she dropped the bar and
then like that's when her acl just like
tore it was wild it was so wild
and then i remember they kept going like
they were allowed to keep going without
her and they still did really great
without her like it was their team was
so incredibly fit the only thing i will
say is that like i've heard her talk
about it and they'll be like we should
have won the games like well
you'll never know.
Like, so, you know,
but we also felt like, I mean,
we never felt like we should have won
the games,
but there was a point at the end
of the weekend where they just kept
throwing events in and we were like,
is this going to stop?
And then eventually it was sort of like,
no,
I think this is like one of those
things where like mayhem was in second and
we were in first and they're like,
we can't like, this is my conspiracy.
might upset people,
but they wanted Rich to win his first
year as a team.
So like the last event,
the last event should have been the last
event, but then they were like,
wait a second, wait a second.
We're going to do like a hundred worm
cleaning jerks and that's who will decide
the winner.
So I'm not mad about it.
Cause it's over, but.
So where, where do you have the metal?
It's in the gym.
It's in the gym.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I have it hung up in the gym.
So then my credit card that year,
that was good though.
Outstanding.
Yeah.
Fast forward.
Ten years to today.
You,
you decide you're going to do the master's
division.
I don't even know how that works.
Like you just start the open and you
just kind of see where you land.
And then do you decide,
or did you decide prior to the season?
So I knew that this was my first
master's year.
And I was like, OK,
I'm going to go all in for master's.
I'm not really even going to mess around
with individual this year.
And so I'm always sick for the open,
no matter what.
So it's always just like a just do
your best and move on.
So I was sick for the open,
still coming off of being sick for
quarters, and was like, OK,
as long as I can just make it
through and be healthy and then push it
for semis, then I'll be OK.
So I had already gone on with, like,
luckily, because the Masters was, like,
the first week.
And I was like,
I'm only going to dedicate myself to the
online because there was a lot of
traveling happening for me this summer.
I didn't want to go.
Like, you guys know Jess Kresmian?
Yes.
She's like, okay.
that poor girl she did like three
back-to-back weekends to try to qualify
and i was like god bless this woman
like she's a mom she's a master's athlete
like she's traveling everywhere i mean i
felt so bad she was like my body
is just not where it's at like at
the end of this and i'm like i
understand because that was my goal was
like i got invited to legends i got
invited to magic city
i was like i'm not gonna go take
my chances and fly out spend a bunch
of money and maybe don't qualify for like
these things like i'm just gonna put all
my effort into the online semis so i
forfeited those did the online semis
everything was good and then it was like
one of those things of like i i
qualified i
qualified.
I ended up in fourth for a masters
and the semis.
And I got the news on,
it was like the Saturday before like the,
everything had like, um,
later board locked.
And they were like,
you didn't complete the standards of the
power clean for the the tie break of
that like deadlift workout like every all
of my videos were good everything was fine
i was killing myself this whole weekend
and they were like yeah
And I was like, oh my God.
And I had so many people like reaching
out to me that were like,
and I had posted obviously like what I
did.
I was like, you guys be the judge.
Like you tell me what you think.
I think every rep looks the same.
They said half of my reps were garbage.
And half of them were good.
And I had done my whole like appeal.
I had done like the whole like this
is what happened.
I typed up my whole thing like and
they were like, yeah, sorry,
they're garbage.
And I'm like, fuck.
And so I'm, you know,
I'm not even bothering like I'm like my
heart's broken.
I'm crushed.
I'm crying.
I like just, you know,
I got friends who are like, well,
this person didn't do it right.
And if they're going to do this,
they're going to do that.
And they were reaching out to CrossFit and
everything.
And I'm like, you know what?
It's not going to it's not going to
help.
It's not going to change like one.
I should have had my camera angled a
little bit different because maybe then it
would have looked different too.
Like that's just the way my body is
structured.
Like, you know, three,
what a weird movement to have as a
tie break.
Because like,
there's a lot that you could just,
it should have been a clean and jerk
in my opinion,
but it's a lot easier to judge.
Right.
And so were they saying your elbows
weren't coming through?
No, they said my knees were soft.
I had soft knees.
Yeah, I had soft knees.
I said, this is just my legs.
But it wasn't meant to be.
It took me probably, like,
a week or two to, like,
come to that conclusion.
And I had, like,
a lot of friends who were like,
you know what,
just focus on this other stuff.
You know, and so...
I accept it now.
Whereas like before I'm like,
I'm going to de-affiliate.
I'm not going to do,
I'm not going to pay CrossFit for
anything.
I'm not going to do this anymore.
You know,
like had my like pity party and stuff
and everything.
And yeah, it didn't, it didn't work out.
I mean,
it's not the first time I've gotten like
penalized for things,
but at the same time,
I just hate the fact that like,
we have to have like,
two judges who were there and like I
had my judge telling me like you need
to lock out and I was like you're
right I need to lock out so then
I started correcting it but then even like
the corrected reps they said weren't right
either so I'm like what's the point in
having two people on two different angles
seeing what I'm doing they're dictating if
it's good or not I then have to
leave it up to the public to dictate
if I did it good and then I
have to leave it up to the powers
that be like
In what universe is that right?
I could have just went to an event,
qualified,
and then done with one judge there.
And had a lot more fun.
Magic City was a blast.
I know.
I know.
And I really debated on going there and
was like, oh, that would be so cool.
And yeah, I just, you know what?
Mistakes were made.
Mistakes were made on that.
So like I understand everything that
you're saying and thinking.
The problem we have in this sport is
so many people cheat.
So many people cheat, right?
So to say you had two judges, well,
other people have two judges and they let
them get away with everything, right?
So your hands are tied on how you
do it.
Then it's just the opinion of the person
watching your video that time.
right that's the thing i feel like there
should be like a board like because what
i might think are bad reps you might
think are good and you might think are
good right and so like i kind of
feel like it has to be like the
same thing as like judging weightlifting
like you have three judges and like some
are gonna give you a red light and
some of you gonna give you a white
light right and like it depends on what
they're seeing so yeah if you have like
that one person who's just like yeah this
is not good or
Or you just have a person who like
doesn't know if it's good or not.
So they're just going to say it's not
good.
Like I had the same thing happen this
weekend at Xenon where I was making,
I was doing chest or pull-ups and I
was getting no rep.
And I stopped, I stopped.
I go, why?
Like,
why are you giving me the no reps?
And she's like, well,
you're coming up short.
And I'm like,
Okay.
And so then I'm like, she's,
she's looking at it from this angle.
So maybe it does look like I'm coming
up short and I'm like,
I'm just going to try to rip it.
And then as I addressed her on this,
she didn't give me any more no reps
after that.
And I was like,
all the reps are the same.
So it's like,
kind of comes down to like,
oh,
should I just say something for the sake
of saying something at that?
Or do I really believe that these were
good or anything?
So I don't know.
There's a lot of it's very subjective.
Judging is still subjective in our sport.
It's not as objective as I feel like
it should be.
I think people get really scared because I
don't mean to name any names,
but there's people out there who obviously
have a
big grievances on judging in the sports.
So they just kind of like double down
on like, Oh, I should just,
I just should hammer them with no reps
type of thing.
So I don't know.
It's, it's very subjective.
So I was a judge during the regional
days and I, and I would,
and I would say that it's hard.
Ninety-nine percent of the judges are not
malicious about anything.
No, no, no, no.
The best job they can.
But I will say like, because of, um,
the way that CrossFit is structured,
it's season now.
Yeah.
We're getting thin in the number of people
that are available.
Well, that, that, and like, they don't,
they don't allow more people to come in.
Like I've applied to be a judge and
they're like, no, they don't need you.
And I'm like, you do.
Yeah.
It's, it's a tough.
I mean, hold on.
Podium, podium in twenty fifteen.
Right.
Yeah.
semi-finals, affiliate owner,
all of this stuff.
And you're like, I would like to judge.
And they're like, nope, nope, nope.
You have no experience.
That's insane.
It kind of comes down to like when
you apply for a job and they're like,
we require five years of experience in
this field.
And you're like,
I'm trying to get into the field.
And they're like, too bad.
That shit crazy.
Andrew Sten is big in the judging world.
He said he'll put in a good word
for you.
Oh, good.
Yeah.
I would love to judge some events.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Andrew's good at what he does.
I've met some good friends.
I just hope you compete again.
That's at the end of this.
Because I saw your post like right after
and you were just like,
I don't know if I'm ever doing this
again.
And trust me,
I'm a hothead from way back in the
day.
And I get to those moments.
You are going to compete again?
Yeah.
Okay.
yeah i would i can't help it i'm
a sucker you know like this is it's
changed my life and like as much as
i do hate the outcome like i know
that every year it's ever changing i like
you know i obviously own the affiliate and
stuff and like i have
you know grappled with the like do I
do this do I do that um I
think now as like I'm obviously further
away from it happening like I'm not I'm
not upset over it or anything like I'm
still me and I still know like my
efforts and my capabilities and I know
that I'll be able to have the chance
and and all that so I'm not like
very I mean I'm now looking at
I became bitter again once I saw all
the adaptive athletes getting, like,
slapped.
And I was like, come on.
Like, come on.
Like,
these poor people have so many different
standards that they have to abide by and
just so much different stuff that, like,
come on.
You're going to do that?
And it's just, I don't know.
There needs to be more consistency across
the board.
And really my gripe is that.
It's not so much, like,
Like, oh,
the HQ is bad and everything is bad.
It's just,
I just don't think that they have the
right people in place right now to like
get everything as consistent and fair as
possible.
And that could take time.
And like, it's ever changing.
So I have to give them the benefit
of the doubt sometimes there too.
And again,
I have to take accountability on my part
because should I have watched my video and
been like, you know what?
Like, would I think those were no reps?
Like, obviously I didn't.
And now I have to learn from those
mistakes.
Like,
I have some very good friends who were
like, hey, I love you,
but I'm gonna call you out on your
on your shit.
Like, they're not entirely wrong.
And so I was like,
yeah, you know,
there's nothing I can do about it now
except for move on.
So, you know,
and I knew like putting it out there
too,
I was going to have like a fair
amount of support and a fair amount of
haters.
And I was just really glad that the
people who did support me or like,
you know, I, I respect them and I,
I know want them to, yeah,
I think highly of them.
And then there's obviously like the people
who I don't know that are like,
You're a cheater.
Take accountability.
I'm like, I know.
I will.
I was intentionally making my knees soft.
I do that all the time.
The internet's stupid.
I'm like,
you do a minute of Max Power Cleans
and tell me how that goes.
Let's get to my grievance,
and that is American Gladiator.
Oh, no.
What's the grievance?
The airing of grievances.
Here we go.
Great.
You were mad about the game season.
I was mad how gladiators played out.
But I have to remember,
this is entertainment.
Yeah.
It's not really a sport.
Yes.
So... It is and it isn't.
I will go into whatever you want to
go into on this.
I... Yeah.
So...
I was all excited.
I grew up watching gladiators.
I love gladiators and I started watching
it.
So you said they reached out to you
because of your performance at syndicate.
And so what was that process like?
So I had a random DM,
which was like very spammy.
And it was like, hey,
my casting director watched you compete
this.
It was like in July.
He's like, oh,
my casting director watched you compete in
Knoxville this past June.
He doesn't have Instagram.
I'm his assistant.
I'm reaching out on his behalf.
Would you entertain a interview for the
show, the reboot of American Gladiators?
And I was like.
i just like watched the um the documentary
right um and i was like cool like
i watched a couple of episodes and stuff
like that but um i was like i
don't know if this is real but i'll
whatever i'll take it because what's
what's the worst thing that can happen
right so he's like great send me your
email i'll set it up and then from
there i got um set up with the
interview i met the casting director he
was super nice he's like listen like
you know, we saw you, you perform great.
You're not going to the games, obviously.
And we're going to start filming like in
August.
So can you be ready?
And I was like, yes, a hundred percent.
He's like, great.
This could be overseas.
Do you have a passport?
And I was like,
yeah so he's like okay cool like we're
and then you know we go through everything
he's like hey for the sake of um
formalities like i'm gonna have to do like
uh basically it's like a one minute video
of like a like an interview type of
video where he's like i'm gonna splice
like video clips and pictures and stuff
like that explaining yourself and then i i
present it to like the the higher ups
right so he's like i'm gonna do that
i'll get back to you
so do that get back to me he's
like okay we're like august september
we're gonna go it's gonna be in the
uk because they have gladiators over there
it's really big so we're gonna fly you
guys out to this the uk it's gonna
be like in random random sheffield um
and you guys are going to do that.
Are you still game?
And I'm like, for sure.
So he's like, cool.
Like,
we're going to move you on to the
next stuff.
And like,
obviously I have to go through all like
the, the contract stuff and like,
you know, the NDA things.
And then it turns into like, okay,
well now we're going to push it out
to the fall.
And then it's like,
now we're going to push out to January
and now we're going to push out,
you know, here.
So like,
it kind of was like one of those
things where like,
they kind of kept like going like, Hey,
it's going to get pushed.
Are you still, are you still game?
It's going to get pushed.
You still game.
And so it was like one of those
things where like in TV,
like you never actually know if it's going
to happen or not.
Like they have this idea and they're like,
we're casting and stuff and we have this.
But like,
it just seems like everybody has their own
agenda and nobody knows what's going on.
So I just kept like going through this.
I kept meeting like producers and I kept
interviewing with people and they were
just doing all that stuff.
And then eventually it got to a point
where it was like.
early spring and things were starting to
finally come together and then they're
like we're actually not going to go to
the uk it actually might be in georgia
and then it was just kidding it's not
gonna be in georgia it's gonna be in
france and we're like okay so it it
all like kind of happened like slow and
then all of a sudden it was like
we need this and this and this and
this from you and we're going to be
shooting it in june
And you need to give us all the
stuff to us, like, right now.
And we need to figure out your trip.
And we need to figure out all this
whatever.
And, like,
I was actually given the opportunity to
pick which season I wanted to be on.
And I was just like, you know what?
Let's just go season one.
Like, let's just do that.
Yeah, there we go.
And so...
I was like, all right,
I'll be on season one because like part
of me was also like,
let's just get it done in June because
like the season two was going to be
filmed going into like July.
And I wanted to be back here for
in like July for some trips I had.
And, um,
Yeah.
So I think like two weeks from being
flown out is when I finally got all
the information,
all the itinerary and everything.
And even then it was just very like
convoluted.
So a really long process took about a
year from the start of interest and like
interviewing to actually going to France
to film it.
And like I said,
the reason why I was in France is
because the UK was filming their seasons
and
France had picked up that they wanted to
do it.
They moved all the equipment to France and
like, it was probably this little town,
like, thirty minutes outside of Paris.
They were doing that.
So instead of, like,
moving all the equipment to the US,
they just moved us to France.
And then after we filmed,
they just moved all the equipment back to
the UK because they were on their third
season.
So, yeah, it was wild.
It was really wild.
Lived in a two star hotel with my
husband and my toddler for two and a
half weeks.
no air conditioning no ice no deodorant
everybody was so sm not like me like
me but like the european people hundred
percent it's wild it's wild so it was
hot and wild so did it film as
like we watched it or did you do
different parts at different times
Okay.
So it's really fun to talk about this
because we got there and we did basically
four.
So first day was all the story time,
like story land stuff.
So like they do like all your B
roll filming, your interviews,
your green screen photos.
So you're, you know,
like all the poses and stuff.
You fit for your uniform.
You get fitted for like your safety
equipment.
And then you're just kind of like all
day long, like going through this stuff.
Yeah.
This was at like eight o'clock in the
morning after a really horrible red eye.
So everything I'm just like so puffy and
tired and those poor makeup people are
just going at you all day long.
Yeah, so you do all that stuff.
And then the next day,
because there's so many of us,
they had to do that.
And then from there,
we did like three days of training.
And so the training just was basically
looking like,
here's all the games and events.
Here's how they're going to run.
You get one touch on everything.
So you get one touch on a lot
of the things that you're going to be
doing.
You don't know what you're going to be
doing.
And also, by the way,
you will have a person trying to attack
you or chase you or something.
So all of your training is just like,
I'm just getting a feel for what this
is like,
but I don't actually know what this is
going to be like in the moment.
where the gladiators were there like a
week before and they're just beating the
shit out of each other and they're
practicing techniques and they're on all
the stuff and they got a training program
and they're going all these different
places and they're like because they're
supposed to be like yeah we're
like we know this like the back of
our hand we're gonna destroy these
contenders right so like i'm not a
gladiator i was a contender and that was
the other thing they originally were
trying to cast me as a gladiator but
i was too short so i'm five two
and they're like we need somebody who's
like five seven five eight six foot
preferably because they want these people
to be larger than life and they are
massive massive people and that's why like
I always think about myself, and I'm like,
Danny Spiegel and I are the same height,
weight.
No, not even close.
I saw us next to each other,
and I'm like, dang, girl.
I've competed against her in CrossFit,
but on that stage,
actually seeing us next to each other in
screenshots, I'm like, holy crap.
She mopped me.
She put me through a blender during some
events.
I had no chance.
So since you brought that up,
that's the start of my grievance.
Yeah, okay.
Okay.
So for those who have not watched,
spoiler alert,
plug your ears if you don't want to
know this.
Yeah.
Bailey makes the finals.
The final episode,
three people make the finals.
They cut it down to two.
There's one game where
It's like a round ring type thing,
and the first person thrown out is
eliminated, and the other two move on,
correct?
Yeah.
Something like that.
Yeah.
So, yeah, how it works,
it's bracket style, right?
So you start off with the prelims.
We narrow it down from twenty-four
contenders to twelve contenders,
and then twelve to...
uh i think it's like six or so
and then we go down to like three
um and it was one of those things
where like i don't think they did this
in the original series um i think it's
probably because they just had more people
the this is my grievance and so you'll
probably be like yeah i i'm right for
having this grievance where the way that
it's filmed you're not seeing like it's
not going
Continuity wise,
we're filming certain things on certain
days and certain people are doing certain
things.
For instance, I did my prelim first.
Everything I did in France was first.
I was the first person to run an
event.
I was the first day to do it.
And so I just got all of it
done on Friday.
then the next group of people did their
saturday you have a blackout day sunday
nobody works and then monday the other
group goes and then how it like those
were the three the three events so yes
i'm doing all three events in one day
they're not done the way that they were
shown so my first event um was the
wall which they showed that way my second
event was actually the edge so that like
crisscross um
balance beam and my third event was
actually gauntlet so where i was like
running through the people and everyone's
like oh my god you like we're destroying
them i was like yeah because i was
so mad because i had no points accumulate
that whole day there was a lot of
like weirdness with like am i trying to
be forced out like thing like there was
a little bit of conspiracy and then it
was like i had gone against this girl
who had a perfect score of all the
contenders
I had the most,
the biggest discrepancy of point total.
So like your point total put in half
is the amount of time that you either
get a headstart or you're delayed in the
eliminator run.
So I had the largest,
I had the largest amount of time for
my eliminator run.
So like she had a,
the girl that I was against had like,
ten seconds on me to run the eliminator
which is huge right because it's like a
it's like a minute long um event and
i i did end up beating her right
so that was cool and it was really
emotional
The travelator.
Yeah,
it's a it's a it's a forty five
degree incline treadmill going at eight
miles an hour.
So it's really it's really rough.
Like it is one of the hardest things
like I've ever done.
And there's nothing that replicates it
because we were trying to do it in
the gym.
And the incline of like a regular
treadmill is.
I goes up to like.
Fifteen degrees or something.
It's not.
Yeah.
And it was like.
There's just.
It's just.
And it's.
Looks longer on TV.
It's much shorter.
But it is just.
Right up there.
Yeah.
So I end up beating her out.
Did.
And this is where it gets bad.
So like this.
The semis.
Right.
You do all your three events.
And the way it was filmed again.
Was.
um oh that was like six four six
of us we did our events i'm trying
to think all i know is i did
my three events plus the eliminator so
everybody else who is competing did their
three events rested and then got to do
their elimination runs
myself and a couple other contenders had
to do all three events plus the
elimination run on the same day so we're
going from eight in the morning till ten
o'clock at night and it is it's long
it's a long freaking day and like the
next day was filming of the finals so
it's like okay i'm back at the hotel
it's eleven o'clock at night i gotta be
back there filming again at nine in the
morning like everyone else has had the
time to do their three events
rest and then just the elimination like
they all they had to do was the
elimination that day and uh my last event
before the elimination run was the ring so
that like um event you're talking about
and i like
did well right because it's just the
regular limit it's the regular event of
the ring so it's just like pressing the
button but i'm getting beaten to and just
smacked around by this girl who's like six
foot one and then i gotta do the
elimination run and i do that i'm
exhausted i'm tired i go back to the
hotel and the next morning they announced
hey
the sudden death is the ring and me
and the other guy who made it out
that that day look at each other and
we just started crying and we're like oh
my god we have to do this again
and he's like you know soaking wet he's
like and these guys are like and it's
just so bad and we're like really upset
we're like we're just like okay maybe we
can just like
get it together.
We did this last night.
Maybe we can just like find it within
ourselves to do it again.
And it just so happens myself and him
were the ones who got eliminated.
And again, I'm not,
I'm going to upset some people,
but I've been, I've been on Reddit.
That upsets me even more because it was
very obvious watching the show that Danny
was the most athletic.
Yeah.
the most athletic gladiator on the floor.
So for that ring and the elimination
sudden death,
you get pitted against her one-on-one.
Yeah,
and they weren't even supposed to have her
against me.
That was a last-minute change-out.
So they...
And my conspiracy theory is CrossFitters
keep winning these events,
like Titan Games...
broken skull all that right they did not
want crossfitters to win right and that
you kind of see that with like the
the dynamic with the guys too right that
was yep that's my next point so you
have to go up against the best gladiator
in the sudden death it's it's one event
and you're done and you were you showed
a capacity to be able to compete with
any of those other contenders
right yeah there was on the men's side
the guy actually wins the crossfitter wins
and they dq him for stepping on a
line
Well, we were talking about that after,
because they would let us watch certain
events,
and then they would not let us watch
certain events.
We had handlers around.
And I remember one of the contenders got
to watch it,
who was already eliminated at that point.
And so they were like,
you guys will never guess what happened.
You'll never guess the outcome of what
happened.
And when we found out that the guy
who won got DQ'd,
it was one of those things where there
was like, how did this happen?
Like,
because the DQing was that he stepped on
the middle mat running up the travelator.
And it's like, it's a wide surface.
So like,
you have to really go out of your
way to step like on either side.
And it was,
I was talking to the one guy who
got eliminated with me.
and he's like that guy like talks to
himself like there's no way that he up
that hard like there's no way and so
we kind of have this like conspiracy of
like did he get paid off for this
like type of thing like what's happening
here you know like it's it's just those
things like and then there were there were
some gladiators who also had like their
own thoughts when it came to that because
it's a game,
but they can like kind of sway how
the game works.
They can't necessarily like do it.
Like they can't just outwardly do it,
but they can kind of like push and
encourage certain things.
And I'm sure they did.
And again, yeah,
it's for entertainment purposes.
They will push stories.
And some stories are better than I was
like,
there is a crossfitter i won't name any
names who was on season two who got
cast as a contender went all the way
to france and they decided that they
didn't like his storyline and so they made
him an alternate last minute and they took
an alternate and put that person in
instead and it was just like
Wait, what?
Like, and they were like,
if I knew this was going to happen,
I wouldn't have come out here.
But now I have to be here for
however long because I now I'm an
alternate.
And they moved the alternate to my
position because they wanted a better
storyline.
So, like, it kind of comes down to,
like, how you present yourself,
what they think America will like,
how you're perceived and everything.
Like,
and they will typecast you into a role.
So, like, I always get, like, the, like,
oh, you're the goth girl and stuff.
And I'm like, you're not wrong.
But, like, at the same time, like...
I'm not like,
I'm not going out there performing Fran
and like black lipstick and like in a
platform, you know, combat boots.
To back up your storyline about that,
the crossfitting male was an alternate and
just by chance got into the game.
Yeah.
And it's also like the,
if you're an alternate for American
gladiators,
there is a high probability you're going
in because the amount of injuries that
happen on that show are insane.
Insane.
I didn't realize it was going to be
that combative.
Like I knew it was going to be
something.
And my mom was like,
what if you get hurt?
I'm like, no mom, it's fine.
We've got like helmets and knee pads and
mouth guards.
It's going to be fine.
No, no, no.
No.
There was people who had to get surgery.
They had to be wheelchaired out.
It was a lot more hands-on than I
anticipated.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The one thing about CrossFit,
I know Colton Mertens wants it,
but it's not a contact sport.
Wait, I have to talk about this.
I now know why Colton Mertens wants this.
Because I was staying with him in the
Proven House this past weekend in Dallas.
And this man, we were watching,
what do you even call it?
It's like World Slap Championships?
Yeah.
power slap yep yeah and he's like he
put it on and he's like yeah i
watch this like every night and we were
like amazed like the amount of money these
people make and he knew all the rules
he taught like told us all the background
of stuff and i was like damn like
this is crazy and i just was thinking
like if i got yeah if i got
slapped
I don't know.
I would be really mad, but yeah,
these people,
these people make a lot of money and
they got, they've got like weight classes.
They've got backstories.
They've got sponsors.
Like it's wild.
And he knew all about it and he's
just like watching it.
And I'm like, okay, this, this tracks.
It makes sense now.
Yeah.
That absolutely tracks that Colton Mertens
watches power slap and knows everything.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We'll know that you gained a fan.
I adored you on the show.
My mom watched it with me.
She was here staying with me at the
time.
She was not rooting for you.
I don't want to call her out.
She was rooting for somebody else.
Who?
You can tell me.
The circus performer.
Oh, Becca.
People ask me, they're like, oh,
is she nice?
I go,
she honestly deserved to win the most.
This woman needs to have brain surgery.
She's literally a sneeze away from her
brain having an aneurysm.
She has a literal...
detachment from like her skull to her her
neck and she's still an incredible athlete
incredible person like as i said i go
like if i lost rebecca i'd be like
you do deserve the money you need to
buy yourself a new van you need to
go have surgery like she is an incredible
human she's incredible
Yeah.
And they really did do a good job
with some of the storylines.
I just,
I picked you as my favorite from the
beginning.
And then when you got the hose job,
I was like, all right,
I'm done with this.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're like me with the CrossFit games.
Like I'm, it's finished.
I'm over.
Cancel it.
Never watching this again.
I almost shut off the rest of the
episode.
I'm like, not even worth watching anymore.
Nope.
Yeah.
I'm glad you were in my corner there.
Thank you.
But I had so much more.
But this is my lunch hour for my
day.
Anytime you just let me know.
I can definitely definitely need to do a
part two.
And this was a blast.
And you you fit our vibe so well
on this show.
Because you like to go off the rails
just like we do.
yeah yeah i mean i would love i'd
love to go part two especially because
like i want to gap about um like
xenon like i was just talking about how
the whole event was so crazy and now
only people only had positive things to
say and like i'm like oh i need
to talk about that so you ever want
me back on i'll be i'll be here
i want to talk to you about xenon
i want to talk to you about hyrox
i want to talk to you about being
affiliate owner oh yeah about being a mom
and not missing an open
There's a lot of cool things that we
never even got to touch on.
Let's check back next week.
So I will stay in touch.
We will figure out a way to get
you back on for the rest of that.
And I can't wait to catch back up
with you.
But for now, and if you hold on,
we'll say goodbye after the show is done.
Yeah, don't bounce off yet.
Okay.
The rest of you,
don't forget to like and subscribe.
This is an awesome episode.
Hit that like button.
Hit that subscribe button.
We need all the help we can get.
And with that,
we'll see everybody next time on Lunch
with the Gladstone.
You wouldn't wait to get to the editing
room to jazz me up.
I'm already jazzy.
Love's with the Clydesdale cowboy in the
saddle.
Love's with the Clydesdale cowboy in the
saddle.
Talking to reps,
real life strength in the battle.
From the gym to the street.