TV IN HIGH HEELS: TALKING TO AMERICAN GRIT’S LISA TRAUGOTT
Lisa Traugott is a bikini competitor, author and contestant on Fox’s American Grit with John Cena. She is beautiful, strong and one heck of a competitor. She recently talked to me in an exclusive interview about the show and her life. Here are some of the highlights.
1. Lisa says that before she began her life as a bikini bodybuilder, she was actually obese. She decided she wanted to get into bodybuilding at 38, so she shed the weight and began her journey as a competitor. She faced some hardships along the way, including the death her mother, but decided to stay motivated by signing up for several competition in a row. This led to her doing Arnold competitions and breaking through mental blocks that set her back in the past. This led to her winning multiple competitions and eventually getting discovered….which led to her getting cast on American Grit. You can check out more about her journey at www.sheslosingit.com, where her book is also available.
2. For her, the biggest challenge was overcoming her fears and doubts. She says that being on the show was so out of her element, especially when it came to the challenges and weather. She revealed that as a Texas gal she was used to the warm weather and was thrown into a world of snowy mountains. However, she said that although she was scared through part of it, she pushed through and decided then and there she was going to be a ‘Rocky For Moms.’
3. So what was it like working with John Cena? (I know I was jealous—as are most ladies!) Lisa said that it was cool working with him and that at first, she had no idea he was the host. It wasn’t until they did the first challenge and ended up at barracks that everyone saw him and realized he was a a part of the show. At the time, Lisa had just seen his movie Trainwreck so it was a surreal experience to see him in person. She added that he is so funny and that he would joke with them in between segments, all the while being supportive and motivating.
4. As for what her favorite moment of the experience is, she says she can’t quite say what it is without giving anything away, but there were a lot of amazing moments with those involved in the show. She said that they may have been going against each other, but people from other teams were very supportive, which makes the show different from others. She added that everyone build each other up and keep in touch to this day. In fact, several of them are doing an athletic competition together.
She also loves the support she is getting from her family, saying that her kids even talk about it with their friends at school.
5. During the show, Lisa got to work with American hero and Dancing With The Stars alum Noah Galloway. She said he was very supportive and nice throughout the experience by being supportive yet reminding them to stay humble. She added that seeing what he went through made them work harder as a team and that he was a good leader and mentor.
