Australian Gladiators: The Team
This is Part 2 in a series Bev has written about her time in Gladiators: read Part 1 here.
When filming was over from Series 1, it was like the Gladiator bubble had burst and we all flew back to our homes. Personally, I felt a huge sense of relief that I had survived it. I walked away with a really bad shoulder injury as well as further bruising all over my body. I felt as though I had just emerged from a two month long fight.
When filming was over from Series 1, it was like the Gladiator bubble had burst and we all flew back to our homes. Personally, I felt a huge sense of relief that I had survived it. I walked away with a really bad shoulder injury as well as further bruising all over my body. I felt as though I had just emerged from a two month long fight.
Despite my Gladiator events not being the most physical ones, I still had to deal with more body contact then I ever had before in my entire sporting life. From dragging girls the same size as me off the 5m high rings (often they would land on top of me at the end of the fall), to trying to be a human speed bump for Gauntlet, to sprinting and tackling girls to the floor so hard that I could hear their breath leave their bodies as they hit the floor, the physical stress was constant. And let’s not even go into the Pyramid . . . each step of the pyramid was nearly half the height of my body; running up this huge structure after hurling an opponent from its side left my body in a pain it hadn’t ever experienced. It was an aching pain that went deep into the bones and it was a different tiredness than my body had ever felt.
Battle Wounds: This kind of bruising was a constant during my years on Gladiators. Sometimes the bruises were contact related, sometimes they were from over-training/internal stress on my body
I knew that in the two month period before filming started again I had to recover, heal and condition my body to be able to endure more of the same for Series 2. My shoulder was badly injured, I struggled to lift my arm and because I had experienced shoulder injuries before, I knew the time frame was tight to get it healed enough to compete for the next series.
The biggest anxiety was that the producers might find out about my injury. I was so insecure in my role that I felt if they knew they would replace me in a flash or remove me from certain games in the next series.
In hindsight, this was not even a rational thought as I am one in a million and what I brought to Gladiators was totally unique from anyone else, but I didn’t have the wisdom and love that I now have in my body.
So I embarked on getting my shoulder fixed, paying for all the medical bills myself. I knew who to go to and what was needed . . . yet time was tight. I also had to maintain my training and preparation for the next series so that I could try to avoid similar injuries.
In hindsight, this was not even a rational thought as I am one in a million and what I brought to Gladiators was totally unique from anyone else, but I didn’t have the wisdom and love that I now have in my body.
So I embarked on getting my shoulder fixed, paying for all the medical bills myself. I knew who to go to and what was needed . . . yet time was tight. I also had to maintain my training and preparation for the next series so that I could try to avoid similar injuries.
Promo shots, Season 2 Then there was another pressure – my body image . . . Every time a new series started there would be those few excruciating days where you had to get used to being near naked in a costume smaller than your bathing suit, while everyone else walked around fully clothed.
Even though after that few days it would start to feel strangely normal, I always found myself working hard during our filming breaks to be assured that I had done everything I could to make wearing this costume easier.
Also, we all had to maintain our Gladiator’s bodies; they had to stay the same as the day we were hired. In our contracts it was stipulated that we could lose our jobs if our bodies changed in any way – weight gain, weight loss, hair colour, etc.
The ironic thing was that it was ok for the producers to change things . . . One of the weirdest things was when I walked into our wardrobe room to find I had padding in my costume. Without any of the producers talking to me about it, there was a noticeable addition to my outfit. During season 2, I suddenly became ‘Blade in a D cup’. Obviously someone felt this was needed and everyone noticed. It felt degrading, especially as I had never had an issue with the size of my breasts.
Even though after that few days it would start to feel strangely normal, I always found myself working hard during our filming breaks to be assured that I had done everything I could to make wearing this costume easier.
Also, we all had to maintain our Gladiator’s bodies; they had to stay the same as the day we were hired. In our contracts it was stipulated that we could lose our jobs if our bodies changed in any way – weight gain, weight loss, hair colour, etc.
The ironic thing was that it was ok for the producers to change things . . . One of the weirdest things was when I walked into our wardrobe room to find I had padding in my costume. Without any of the producers talking to me about it, there was a noticeable addition to my outfit. During season 2, I suddenly became ‘Blade in a D cup’. Obviously someone felt this was needed and everyone noticed. It felt degrading, especially as I had never had an issue with the size of my breasts.
RSS Feed
