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 By: Ron Avidan
NBC is currently looking for Contenders & Gladiators to compete in our upcoming season. If you're big, bad and think you can hold your own in Gladiator Arena, we want to see you! The winner of American Gladiators receives a $100,000! Please Email GLADSEASON2@GMAIL.COM With Your Name, Height, Weight And A Recent Photo Of Yourself. A member of the Gladiator Casting Team will get back to you shortly!
A few days after American Gladiators aired their third episode on NBC, it was announced that they would have a second season. The rating numbers were quite favorable, averaging 12.1 million people for the first episode, 10.9 million for the second, and 10.66 for the third. Even with the writer's strike going on, this was very good ratings for NBC, and more importantly, they were getting the 18 to 48 demographics that they wanted. The American Gladiators were here to stay. A few or so after that, they announced that they would be casting again, for a few new Gladiators, and also for 24 more competitors. Hey, with the grand prize $100,000, just the chance to tryout seemed exciting. The auditions were scheduled, and the first one happened to be on Saturday, January 26th, from 10am to 4pm, at Gold's Gym of Venice. I decided to go and check it out. For the rest of the open call auditions, here is the schedule.
Denver, Colorado
Student Rec Center, 355 UCB Boulder, CO 80309 [ mapquest ]
Austin, Texas
235 Canyon Ridge Dr. Austin, TX 78753 [ mapquest ]
Chicago, Illinois
38 E. Grand Ave Chicago, IL 60611 [ mapquest ]
Chandler, Arizona
3029 N. Alma School Rd. Chandler, AZ 85224 [ mapquest ]
New York City, New York
144 West 38th St New York, NY 10018 [ mapquest ]
Orlando, Florida
6000 Universal Blvd Orlando, FL 32819 [ mapquest ]
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Convention Center [ mapquest ]
As I drove to Gold's Gym Venice, I was happy to see that the weather had turned perfect for the day. 66 degrees and no rain in sight. Strange as it may be for Los Angeles, for the last 5 days, it had been raining each day quite heavily, and I was worried that the people trying out would have to wait in the rain. The auditions were starting to 10am. I got there about 9:45am. And found absolutely nowhere to park. Not one place - not in the parking lot, and not on the streets around. I would end up parking about 5 blocks away. Why do you ask? Because unlike last time when they had the American Gladiators auditions here, this time there had to be at least 2,000 people in line. Yes, I was absolutely floored. The line stretched from the back of Gold's Venice where the auditions were, around the gym, and then stretched all the way down the street until it reached right across the street where Max Muscle Venice and the Firehouse Restaurant are. Unreal. The people in the front of the line started to arrive at 5am. Average wait in line 3-4 hours. Wow! I met Bob Cicherillo outside the gym, but he wasn't there to audition for American Gladiators. Bob was there to film Silvio Samuel, Johnnie Jackson and David Henry, all of MuscleTech, as they trained and got ready for the Iron Man Pro in three weeks. These three training together was awesome, considering that they all might be in the top five. Chad Hayward, one of the casting directors, gave a speech on what he is looking for, and how he finds the majority of his Gladiators and competitors through auditions like this. They actually found Militia, the current Gladiator, at Gold's Venice at last seasons audition.
  Click To Enlarge. Militia - Alex Castro.
So what does an American Gladiator audition entail? It begins, after you wait in line, with filling up some paperwork, then taking your picture in front of an American Gladiator banner with your casting call number. From there, you begin the physical part of the audition. Physical Audition: Three parts.
Interview: Finally, you get to meet with a casting person, who interviews you, and sees if you have the pizzazz and character to be on the show.
I met one guy, named Johnathan Teruli, a firefighter from Riverside County, who was in line by 5am. He was very happy to be there, and felt determined that he can become a Gladiator, or at least a competitor. He also brought some of his crew with him to cheer him on. I followed him through the entire audition, and from what I saw, he did quite well. Hey, next April or May, we just may see this firefighter in action on the television screen! You never know!
Also at the tryout was the stunning Julie Shipley-Childs, who looked great in her workout outfit. Julie tried out before, making it all the way to the training camps before not making it on the show. Once again, after her auditions, she was clearly one of the best out there.
Also auditioning was Mary Jo Cooke, who is one of the best IFBB figure competitors (she was second in five shows in 2007), and Zhanna Rotar, another IFBB pro.
And then there was Chris Cormier. Cormier, bad @ss pro bodybuilder, and about 270 pounds, and big, went through the audition and also looked to impress the casting people. And Chris was impressive. No matter what, Chris stands out in a crowd, but can he make it onto the show as a Gladiator or competitor? Time will tell.
Besides the auditions, a few of the Gladiators came out to support and check out the scene. Michael O Hearn (Titan), Justice (Justice Smith), Mayhem (William Romeo), and Militia (Alex Castro) was there, as well as Lori Fetrick (Ice) from the old series.
Click To Enlarge. Gladiators: Titan, Justice, Mayhem & Militia. Even Venus Ramos, a competitor on Season One, was there to support. Venus will also be competing at the NPC Arnold Classic Fitness competitions in March, and be doing a seminar at the Los Angeles Fit Expo in February.
 Click To Enlarge. Venus Ramos, MD.
It was nice speaking to a number of the current Gladiators, finding out how they felt about seeing themselves on television, getting recognized, and more, but for that, you will need to check out the various videos.
Press Play To Start Video.
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