One of the first candidates for the new Gladiators remake has revealed his extraordinary health journey as he turned into the UK’s fittest man.
Steel, real name Zack George, will enter the arena alongside Fury, real name Jodie Ounsley, as the new generation of superhumans.
Gladiators will return to our screens after a 20-year hiatus, presented by father-son pair Bradley and Barney Walsh, as the show’s athletes compete against challengers to test their speed, skill, stamina, and strength.
In addition to obtaining the title of the UK’s fittest man in 2020, Zack has rated number 26 out of a whooping 126,461 on the global CrossFit leader board, giving him his new moniker.
He wasn’t always a fitness devotee, though.
He said: ‘I led a really unhealthy lifestyle.
‘I practically inhaled chocolate and ate McDonald’s and KFC — a family bucket — five times a week.
‘The more fast food I ate, the more I craved it. It was a vicious cycle.’
Zack added to The Sun that he was ‘really lazy’ and would ‘kick up a fuss’ if his family urged him to go on a walk during the weekends.
‘Being overweight makes you feel rubbish. You can’t walk or run far so you don’t want to exercise and you often end up finding comfort in fast food,’ he continued.
But he’s now changed his life and is eager to help others improve their fitness, aiming to inspire a new, younger generation of followers to do the same.
Ahead of making his Gladiators debut, he said: ‘I was inspired by the Gladiators as a child, but never imagined I’d be physically fit enough to be considered a “superhuman”!
‘I hope a new generation of fans will look up to me as their new strong, unbreakable hero, Steel.’
Jodie, a former England Women’s Rugby Sevens player, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Champion, and five-time World Coal Carrying champion, will join Zack.
She was also named Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in 2020.
As if her accomplishments weren’t enough, Jodie’s father was a Gladiator contestant in 2008, and she has been trying to outdo him ever since.
Gladiators returns to BBC soon.
