HellgaVision!!!!

A great friend of mine - a doctor and professor at NYU - is doing a new radio show that I want to promote! He covers politics, sports, current events, and occasional cardiology! =) He is hilarious, I’ve heard some of his work and think he has a future in comedy…

Much Luv

R

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As you requested for yourself and to share with your mailing list…. My Radio show, Heart-to-Heart, is live on Wednesday morning and replays a lot during the week…. Great medical topics (very educational), but my news and sports commentaries and this day in history segments can also be memorable….

Here are the show times (all east coast), so for all of your California friends it’s 3 hours earlier….

Wednesday (6am-8am) live
Wednesday (6pm-8pm)
Thurs 10pm
Sat 2pm
Sunday 4am
Mon 2pm
Mon midnight
Tues 10am

Anyway, it’s on SIRIUS channel 114…. I know, nobody has SIRIUS…. No big deal, you can get free trial internet subscriptions… go to www.sirius.com takes 30 seconds…. Then just tune to 114 (doctor radio) and voila!….  This week’s show was ok… topic was diabetes, and I played some good tunes… Flashdance among them… but next week should be even better… I’m having Stuart Sternberg, owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and a friend, and Jenny Thompson, 8-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, and now a doctor…. Should be fun…. Don’t forget, you can call in 1-877-698-3627…..

Another post from the past - I’ll catch up soon!

R

Hellga Blog 4 – Oscar Time

What an exciting time it’s all been – the girl who has always felt like an outcast of sorts is in the inside track now! For years I’ve wished to get invited to the big nights – oscar and emmy award parties… I’d made it as far as to the NY Emmy Awards with a friend, but never invited to anything myself….

This year I was invited to the red carpet for the large Academy Awards afterparty sponsored by Billboard and Children Uniting Nations. One of the largest parties, following only the Vanity Fair and Elton John AIDS Foundation Party in size.

I would have been happy just being on the list – but to do the red carpet on a night such as this was an incredible experience and milestone for me.

Thank goodness I love shopping! I’m a sale hunting diva of the highest form – so luckily I had on hand a gorgeous Tadashi dress I’d found in Vegas. Why this is lucky is that I was asked the age old question, “Who are you wearing tonight?” And as it happened the host asking the question was a former model for the designer! When I’m that nervous things like this help immensely!

VIP room cocktails, kudos from friends, a performance by Cirque du Soliel, and great music and dancing was what the night entailed. With two great friends in tow, we made the most of an incredible night and danced to some seriously funkadelic music! We want the funk!

Alex “Millitia” Castro was there that night too with the Cirque folks (he’s a choreographer and performer for the famed troupe), but we both looked so incredible different dolled up we glanced at one another 100 times but didn’t think we were who we were! Ugh!

But a big thanks to Billboard, Children Uniting Nations, and Jeff Gund with Infolist for putting all of this together! You made it an incredible night for all, not the least of which this Gladiator.

For information regarding CUN and the great things they do, check out;

http://www.childrenunitingnations.org/

A bit delayed as I’ve been learning to blog - forgive me! This is from Feb 2008:

What a time it’s been so far this year! Shooting various pieces for TV shows, traveling, hanging out with my new Gladiator family, and PARTIES!! And while the parties are really for work – networking, being interviewed and photographed for the media, etc, it’s a LOT of fun.

The day we shot the article for People magazine, the “Texas Trio” decided to hang out! We went to a great healthy Mexican lunch (easier to do in LA than in other places), then over to my house to gather with more people, then out for our first night of club hopping in Hollywood after becoming TV Stars! I don’t think it’s set in for any of us yet… not really. But we sure were treated like royalty! Here’s a shot of the Texas kids from that night:

Gina (Dallas born), Romeo (Houston born & raised), and yours truly (Friendswood / Houston born & raised)…

A few days later, NBC invited several of their \ Gladiators to the premier of Martin Lawrence’s new film, “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins”. Our first time on the red carpet! I was SO nervous that night…. I pulled thru the anxiety (what to wear! Will I get my makeup and hair right??!!), and of course when I see the guys I chill out and decide to just have fun. This is the time of my life – and again I’m trying to savor and remember EVERYTHING! This crew consisted of Titan, Justice, Mayhem and Hellga, here are some shots from the carpet!

It was a GREAT film, a great after party too… I got to talk with Cedric the Entertainer for a brief minute. Years ago when I was a bouncer and fresh in LA, I met a lot of celebrities, not all of them were particularly NICE. Cedric was awesome. He and his group – which I believe were Iman & her brother – came over to my station to chat, treating me as an equal… we had a lot of fun exchanging jokes. I was held captive at one particular door I had to secure – it was sure nice to have company! So as you can imagine, it was awesome to be on the same red carpet 8 years later, now having achieved some success, and remembering how cool he’d always been.

In February came the Grammy Awards, and so did a call from the Gladiators that we had an invite to Ne-Yo’s after party! (If you don’t recognize the name, his current hit is “Because of You”, a very pretty R&B song). My Texas bud was in town, so I drug him to this red carpet circus so he could see what it was about! He watched as I was interviewed and did a plug for the Gaming Network, then we all had a cocktail or two and danced… Fat Joe, Beyonce, and many others showed up to get down…

I did an interview with TV Guide’s “Reality Chat” show, and a really fun gym piece with Siren on G4 Network’s “Attack of the Show”. If you don’t know G4, they are part of E! Entertainment, and are the US Broadcasters of Ninja Warrior – if you enjoy Gladiators you’ll love watching that!

Red carpets, tv show tapings, all these wonderful things…. Then the craziest one yet – we were invited to a premier party for NBC’s new Knight Rider series… at the Playboy Mansion! I was really nervous about this one, but I picked a Goddess gown, some strappy heels, and went out to a true Hollywood experience…

The “red carpet crew”… yes, that’s Danny Bonnaduche. We think he wants to be a contender…

Siren, looking very ‘green goddess’, with Wolf and Stealth.

Mayhem scaring one of the stars of NBC’s “The Office”, Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone on the show).

Crush with the new star of “Knight Rider” Justin Bruening

The party was a lot of fun, Adam Carola broadcast his show from the Grotto, and while it was a tame party by Hollywood Legend standard, it was pretty cool to be there! Hef was there as well, briefly, as well as Hasselhoff. And the new KIT is pretty awesome!

Around mid February Wolf and I did a morning news tour via satellite thru 12 cities around the USA. A favorite moment was finding out the Houston affiliate tried to get my mom on the show as a surprise! She couldn’t make it, but it was a lot of fun talking about Friendswood and what I’ve done out here in LA. Wolf is a blast to interview with, too! His rodeo clown stories are unreal!

That same day 6 more Gladiators showed up to the Burbank lot to shoot a tiny teaser for the Finale episode. It was another fun reunion! And the 2nd time on Access Hollywood’s set for Justice and I.

More soon!
R

What can I possibly say to put what I’m feeling into words? I’m flying back from my Dallas appearance, full of love and joy for the way the universe has opened itself up to me with opportunity.

I was not truly prepared for the amazing reception I was about to receive at the Health Fit Expo. Little girls, big girls, kids of all ages… So many people knew me and wanted to see me! I took so many pictures with fans, signed so many autographs, but most importantly I saw the look in the kids eyes when they came into eye contact.

I truly have a lot of power now, as TV is such a part of our lives. I’m invited into people’s living rooms to entertain during what little time we all have for each other. I pray that I can be a positive role model, a good influence; someone who makes others more comfortable in their own skin and gives them belief within themselves that their dreams can be attained if only they’ll pour themselves fearlessly into making them come true.

The NBC people I met were fabulous as well, so much fun to be back in my home state of Texas. I did some REALLY fun pieces with their 2 local sports reporters (which I will have on the website soon), such great exposure and comedic work…. For those who won’t see, I pick up and toss offensive lineman sized Randy McIlwain while being interviewed in the NBC suite while watching the Mavericks / Lakers game, then at the Fitness Expo, host of Sports Corner Derek Castillo and I do a full on challenge where I rope him like a calf, throw him from a kids obstacle course, pull him mercilessly from a rock wall, and end up with a dance off on a full arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution!

The other big deal of the weekend was seeing my friends from high school. They seemed quite entranced by seeing me in this light – it hasn’t really hit any of us yet that I’m now an official “celebrity”. Not even getting double billed with Jason Whitten from the Dallas Cowboys is making it set in, and when I read that my status as a professional athlete rose by 10,000%!

Another highlight of this weekend was seeing my friend Chris (who many of you know as the guy who went on Jenny Jones with me a million years ago). I started writing a program out for him and training with him when I’d go back home – and I inspired him to get his program together! He showed up to see me 50 lbs smaller and SO excited to be back in control of his life and well being. His company asked him to give a talk on his motivation and tips, so we spent hours talking about fitness, motivation…

It feels really great to be in the position I’m in. And I can’t thank enough all the people who’ve written such great things to me: on this board, in the media, and via email.

Now, time to get to the gym!

What a whirlwind the past 3 months have been! From the call that I’d made it to training camp, to today; sitting at LAX waiting to fly to Dallas to do my first live celebrity appearance. Life can change pretty quickly, but I’m trying to stay ‘in the moment’ and enjoy it all, for who knows how long these things can last? Hopefully a long time! But I want to appreciate the gifts G-d has presented me to the fullest.

It is truly amazing that the journey of my life has finally come to fruition. Good people really can finish on top! I’m so excited with all of the opportunities being granted to me, I hope I can be a worthy recipient and worthy human of all the great things and responsibilities.

But rather than wax poetic for 5 hours, as I feel I could do, let me tell you what the past 2 weeks have been like!

First, the media… I have been so blown away by my reception by the general public and Gladiator Fans everywhere! I’ve laughed, cried, gotten a kick out of people who write crazy things… I am everywhere and it blows my mind completely. .

Seeing myself on TV as an American Gladiator has been beyond belief. I really have wanted this since I was a kid, and to see myself kicking butt in a skirt, looking like a Nordic schoolyard badass, is pretty cool! At the premier party Jan 6 I had to hold back the tears when the intro played and I walked across that stage with flames, the crowd roaring, and Hulk Hogan announcing “the Amazing HELLLLLLLGA!!!!” The Hulkster has been so great with us… and who wouldn’t think that was awesome?!?

On Jan 15 I did the Carson Daly show. My first talk show ever, and it’s a big deal! I want to parlay my opportunities into doing comedy, so doing a late night show on NBC thrilled me beyond belief. That morning I’d done a whirlwind radio ‘tour’, where I phoned from my home and got to speak to DJs in 20 cities around the country! I was glad to have had such a fabulous warm up.

I get to the studio and am treated like royalty, which is still pretty shocking but very cool! Got to meet a few bands (Carson, coming from Mtv’s TRL, features bands and even discovers them). We had a lot of fun with my interview - I even got to whack the poor guy with my Giant Jousting Q-Tip! It was a total blast and I hope to do it again, hopefully incorporating some skits with the show as well.

2 days later, I was one of 4 Gladiators invited to do the hit game show Deal or No Deal! Mom might not completely love seeing me whack people as a Gladiator, but she loves this show! Titan, Mayhem, Wolf & Hellga was the chosen clan. We did a fun stunt, then assisted the contestant in his dramatic decision making – if it’s exciting to watch on TV it’s 1000% more exciting in person! The models were all very cool – boy was I envious when I saw the clothes & shoes closet!!!! I need one like that! Just supersize me. =)

Simultaneously, we interviewed for Access Hollywood, mine done with Mayhem…. The Texas kids have done well for themselves! I think we have this infectious excitement when we talk about it all.

Then I shot a piece for the tabloid style show The Insider, which comes on CBS. Driving to Paramount Studios as a star rather than someone wanting a tour from a buddy who works there was such a sense of accomplishment – as everything has been. Crush was there too – we got to joust one another outside in the area where so many huge feature films have been done. I remember vaulting myself up on the platform and just taking that minute to smell the air, feel the breeze, smile at all of the interns who surrounded us to play ‘audience’. Holy crap! I’m filming something at Paramount! It was akin to the first day of walking on the Sony (formerly MGM) lot and realizing I’d really, really done it. These are the moments in time you have to remember every single solitary detail of.

That same day we got together with Laila Ali, along with Crush of course, Wolf, Mayhem and Titan. A photo shoot for People promoting Laila’s cooking, we had a fun time getting to chill out with each other rather than the usual attempt at conversation between hair makeup and wardrobe! It was that gorgeous California day I’d noticed at Paramount. Mayhem and I were talking to the People Magazine reporter, standing near a cliff overlooking the Valley with Palm Trees in the background and the breeze…. Another frozen moment. Even the reporter said we looked very majestic and Californian standing there – and we 2 Texans just smiled. It’s hard to feel homesick for rainy & humid Houston on a day like that. That magazine is out as of yesterday, just so you know.

Yesterday Titan and I did a photo shoot for OK magazine – the London based magazine with a new edition in the US market. Done on location at the fabulous Mondrian hotel, at restaurant Asia De Cuba, he and I had a lot of fun goofing around and trying the awesome fish they brought us. I even had a sip of a martini with an orchid in it! Not a straight one – a fruity apple-ish martini that tasted dangerously delicious. The photographer showed me a few of the pics, - they should be gorgeous! I stayed behind for a fantastic dinner and a very Hollywood type of evening.

And forward to today – I’m waiting to board a plane for Dallas to appear at a Health and Fitness Expo representing American Gladiators! I’m really looking forward to signing autographs and seeing all the kids… and to my buddies from high school driving up from Houston to see me!!!! For a long time my friends have thought I was slightly out of my gourd trying to achieve the impossible dream in Los Angeles. They’ve humored me a lot, listening to the dreams, listening to the struggles and drama I’ve been thru… but if I may take the liberty for speaking for them, I think I’ve got some very proud friends!

The only bad thing is that my parents can’t make it up, but they are also very proud and it feels great. Really great. Hi mom!!!!

Til next time
R