Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the almost famous podcast with IUR Radio. Hey everybody,
this is Trista and you're listening to the almost famous
OG podcast where Bob and I, who unfortunately can't be
here today. And if he can, it'll be a surprise
and a very welcome one. Anyway, I wanted to intro
our guest today without Bob in the hopes that he
(00:23):
can come, that he can join us. But I'm so
excited to welcome Jordan Weaver to the podcast. She is
one of my fellow recruits on season three of Special
Forces World's Toughest Test, and she of course is one
of the Fierce Five from the twenty twelve Summer Olympic
(00:45):
Games in London. She is a champion, really truly by
all meanings of the word, like she was an individual
champion in gymnastics prior to winning the gold medal in
London with her Fears five, and she retired from competitive
gymnastics in twenty fifteen transitioned to coaching where she coaches
(01:10):
the University of Arkansas. And I know that is such
a sense of pride for her in talking to her
and asking her about what she's doing now. I just
remember her being so proud that this is what she's doing.
And you can tell that she now has this family
with the University of Arkansas girls and probably boys in
(01:33):
their world of gymnastics, and I just love her. She
is amazing. She's so down to earth, so sweet, so kind,
and we definitely bonded. We were connected linked up on
the beach during surf torture, and I don't even know
if that's what's what it technically is called, but to me,
(01:55):
it's surf torture. It with the buds training on the beach,
we were linked together and I just, along with all
of my other recruits, just love Jordan so much. So
I'm so excited to welcome her to the podcast today. Okay, everybody,
I'm so excited Jordan's here with me today and I'm
just so excited to chat about our time together on
(02:18):
Special Forces and then time, you know, outside of the
show and normal life. So welcome to the podcast, Jordan.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
For having me. It's so good to see you again.
You too.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I love that we get to see each other live. Okay,
so first things first, you you shocked all of us
at the table at the reunion by telling us that
you were pregnant how is it going.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Good?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
It's so funny because I was pretty like early on still,
but I'm like, for some reason, I just feel inclined
to tell all these people that I'm pregnant right now,
because you know, it was one of those things like
we only had a few days together, but I felt
like we all just like weirdly bonded by doing hard things.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
To other yep.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So I just felt like telling everyone, and I'm glad
I did. It was really fun and I'm feeling good.
I'm nineteen weeks now, so everything has been smooth sailing
so far.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Amazing. I mean, I couldn't could not start with that
because I'm just so happy, so happy for you. Okay,
so Special Forces, how were you asked? And what was
your first thought when they asked you?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah, so they reached out to my agent, and my
agent presented the opportunity to me, and at first I
was like.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh, holy crap. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I kind of went back and forth a few times,
but I had watched the first couple of seasons because
season one, Nasty Lucan was on it, who was also
an Olympic gymnast, and I know her and I remember
watching it because she was on it and just thinking
to myself, Okay, if there's ever like a reality show
that I would do, Like, I just love the meaning
behind this one and kind of like the whole vibe
(03:59):
of bit vibe of it. So so I just contemplated
it for a couple of weeks and ended up saying yes,
And like, the filming was short enough, like for my
own job at home, and it just was perfect timing,
and I thought, like, you know what, we got to
keep challenging ourselves in life and putting ourselves, you know,
in different places out of our comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So that's really why I said yes, And it was
it was definitely an interesting experience.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I'm sure you feel the same way.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Interesting. Yes. I just actually got to chat with Rudy
and Billy, and I have to say, I wish you
know how they do the psychologists. The psychologists. They have
a show psychologist for everyone listening, and they check in
with you like you do a whole kind of like
an exam with them prior to the show, and then
(04:51):
after the show we get the chance to talk to
the psychologist and then she follows up with you, I
think a couple times after that, and it's very nice
to talk to the psychologist obviously she's a professional or
he you know, either or but talking to Billy and Rudy,
I really felt like it was it was like it
(05:12):
gave me a little bit of closure. And I wish
for all everybody, the recruits on the show that everyone
could get that and actually like see them smiling and like,
you know, like laughing together. We were laughing and you know,
just putting that human touch on it. It was very interesting,
(05:34):
an interesting show, and I love that you had watched
it prior and we're actually like, you know, saying that
this is the one reality show that probably you would
sign up for. And then of course things happened on
the show, being that it's in water. Did you ever
have anxiety or issues with water prior to doing the show.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
No, not really, I think, but you know, after reflecting
on it, it's like I just have never really done
anything in the water, Like I've never been challenged to
do anything other than like swimming in the pool with
my friends.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
And you know, like I was a kid when I.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Was little that jumped it, plugging my nose, Like I
just I was never really like super strong in the water,
but I never really had issues, like I could swim,
and I think, you know, that first night, what we
did in the beehive like really did something to my
brain and kind of like ignited this this fear element.
And it wasn't really like I don't I'm not actually
(06:37):
scared of the water. It was like a physiological response
that I was having, like in my body, you know,
on every water challenge after that. So it was it
was interesting, and you know, people are like, well, would
you go back and do the sinking boat now?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
I'm like, probably not. I don't think so. I don't know.
It's just I don't really even know where the fear
came from. It just it just kind.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Of was there during the filming and it definitely like
surprised me a lot, but it was like part mental,
part physiological and hard to explain for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, well, I feel like also the beehive is just
really freaking stressful and they didn't show a lot of it,
so I feel like you don't truly get a sense
of what happened during that task unless you were there.
Of course, that's with everything in life, right, but you know,
(07:30):
we're setting the stage for people who are listening. It's
this big like outdoor or above ground pool essentially, like
I think it's ten feet deep, and they just tell
you to jump in. Q is in the middle on
this pool noodle like yelling at everyone and splashing you
in the face. And you have giant guys like Cam
(07:50):
Newton and Goldent Tate who are not happy with the
water and they are going under and they're like everyone's
kicking and flailing and trying to tread water, but we're
all being told to get closer and closer and closer
towards the center, toward Q. Meanwhile people are going under.
You're kicking people. I think Christy's boot fell off like
(08:14):
it was kaos and they're splashing you in the face
to make it seem like, you know, you're out in
open water. So it was really stressful. Was there a
moment that you reflect back on and think that's kind
of when it started, Like did Cam grab onto you
or Nathan? Obviously not Nathan because he's an Olympic swimmer,
(08:35):
but you know, was there a moment where you were
like you remember exactly when you were like, holy crap,
this is intense and I my physiologically cannot handle it.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I mean I remember like treading water at first, thinking okay,
like just stay.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Calm, like you know, a lot of people did even
realize we had our boots on, which was probably the
hardest part.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
About that, Like your boots fell, and then people are
kind of grabbing onto you when they start panicking, and
then you did the same because like your survival instinct
just kicks in. And so initially when I felt like, okay,
I'm starting to go under, I swam to the side,
and then of course they're yelling at.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You to go back in the middle, and so I
was kind.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Of I was trying really hard to go back out
in the middle, and at one point I did, and
like I remember starting to like not feel my arms,
like my arm's went um and then then I went under.
I feel like in the show I heard someone say
like she's going under, and like, I'm pretty sure that
was me, and so I went I fully went under,
(09:37):
couldn't get up, and I finally got my head out
and I just reached my arm out and I think
Cam grabbed it and pulled because he was on the side.
He pulled me over the side, and so that was
probably like the scariest moment was like I am fully
going to drown right now, and I somehow got my
head up and reached my arm out like someone better
grab my arm or I'm gonna drown.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I just got chills. I just got chills because I
can't imagine, like I've had a panic attack before, but
that was on solid ground, sitting on a couch, you know,
like just being stressed out, So I can't even imagine
having that panic attack. Because we ended up like next
to each other on the side of the pool. Once
I came to the side and you could not breathe,
(10:23):
like you were in the midst of panicking, which you know,
just compounds cause you're not breathing, and then the DS
is yelling at you and you see other people are
going through this and you're like, I almost drowned. So
it's like probably just building up in your head. How
Like when I was I was trying to like help
(10:43):
you and Kyla, I think, were on either side of me,
and she was having a really hard time too, and
I'm like, just try to breathe, to try to breathe
in those moments. Are you the kind of person that
is like, thank you for trying to help me through
or you're like, shut up, Trista, I don't need to
be dad with you right now.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Well I can tell you, like after the fact that
I'm so grateful for that because we were just all
trying to survive that together.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But like in the moment, I don't even know if
I knew what was going on around me.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Like I just like the only thing I could think
about was like, just try to calm your breathing down
and then try to get back in there, because you know,
like the DS like they're, yes they are, it's it's television,
and you know, they're they're putting on this show in
a lot of ways, but like they're scary and you know,
and they're saying get back out there, Like I wanted
(11:34):
to do that for because they were asking me.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
To, and so I don't know if I knew what
was going on around around me.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
A lot, I was just like, Okay, just get your breath,
control your breath so you can go back out.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
But it was it just got hard and harder each time.
I felt like I was going in and out of
the pool. So it was it was crazy.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
It was crazy. Yeah, yeah, no, I feel like Hindsight's
twenty twenty, right, Yeah, I'm well, I guess I was
super grateful for like Cam and Golden for like holding
my you know, packs and carrying them, for carrying it
for me. Even the moment when we were at the bridge,
And I didn't remember this, but I think it was
(12:12):
when we first got there, we had just finished running
and you were like rubbing my back like it's okay,
You're You're gonna be okay. I can't remember exactly what
you said, and I was like, oh, like we really
truly were. I feel like our cast was was really
truly there for each other. Do you do you feel
(12:32):
that I do?
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, And I just I think, you know, having felt
this being on other teams before, like when it doesn't
really matter how long you're you've known somebody or you're
with somebody, like when you do hard things together, it
just bonds you in a different way. I think that
was really true about our group. And I really do
feel like the mix of personalities was so great. Everybody
(12:55):
was so just awesome, and I feel like you just
never know with people coming from different Wars worlds and
having different reasons for going on TV, so we just
got so lucky with a good cast, and I think
really everybody was in it together.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, agreed. Okay, So I left prior to the submersion task,
which was when you ended up leaving. Actually, I want
to go back to the beach. So we're at the beach.
We were linked up and again I was connected with you,
and Kyla was on were on either side of me,
(13:27):
and yeah, it was it was like we were drowning
ourselves essentially. And I can't even imagine. You know, you
went up and you and you spoke to Q and
I think he no, maybe it wasn't Q.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Maybe I think it was Foxy.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
It was Foxy. Never mind, it was Foxy. Okay, So funny,
funny story. I'm sitting on the couch with my husband
watching and Foxy says, Okay, calm down. And Ryan is
my husband's a firefighter and you know, an EMT, and
he was like, they tell you that if someone's panicking
(14:01):
or you know, having a really hard time, the thing
that you don't say to them is calm down.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
It might be different in the military. Okay.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
It was just so funny. He was like, I don't
know that that's going to get her to calm down.
But you know, maybe it's just because it's him and
you know we're going to listen to the DS. I
just thought that was that was kind of funny when
he pointed that out. And and I give it up
to you because you got past that, You got past
(14:34):
your panic and you were again legit having a panic
attack to where you were like like you could not breathe,
so and when you're not able to breathe as an asthmatic,
it takes over everything. You cannot think of anything else,
you know. So I have to give it up to
you on the beach for getting past that because it
(14:55):
was really difficult even without having this like physiological reaction
to the water, right, yeah, okay, and then the next
day you have the submersion activity. Take me through what
you were feeling when you got there and you knew
that that's what was going on up until you ended
(15:15):
up leaving.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Yeah, I mean, having watched the first two seasons before,
like they did the submersion thing in both seasons, so
I kind of knew it was coming. And like even
before going on the show was like Okay, I I
don't even know how to open my eyes under the water,
Like I need to learn how to do that. I
was like sticking my head in the bathtub at home,
like opening my eyes, like just trying to do something
to prepare.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
It's like I'm an athlete, and I want to train
as much as possible, but I had such a short
window from when I agreed to do the show told me.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I laughed it like I just did what I could.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Anyway, we that morning, like we pulled up to the
like the whatever, the marina, I don't know what you'd
call it, but where we were going, and I saw
the crane and I was like, this is the subversion one,
and like, you know, I think mentally I was prepared
to do something like that, but then having the two
days before that I had had just you know, struggling
(16:10):
with the water. I think I was like, I don't know,
this might be beyond my limit.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
And I really I watched everybody else do it.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Before me, and I remember think going back and forth
like literally five hundred times, like I'm gonna do it,
I'm just gonna do it, not gonna do it.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I don't like I can.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I went back and forth, like fully deciding either way,
and it really came down to. I felt like my
options were either leave and quit and have to deal
with you know what that felt like for me, or
try it and probably panic again. And I was really
scared of the panic. I don't know how else to
(16:45):
explain it. Like I think for anyone who's had a
panic attack before, like it's you almost fear the panic
more than like the actual thing that you have to do.
And so that's kind of where I was, And I
just kind of thought to myself, like, maybe you know,
I I don't think there's I don't think the water
stuff is gonna get any easier after that. I didn't know,
(17:05):
because I just I don't like quitting. And I've always
considered myself a really resilient person, especially mentally, but I
just didn't feel like it didn't feel right for me
to do it and to go under that into that
boat and not be able to open my eyes and sinking,
and I don't know, I just didn't feel right. So
it was it was really tough, but ended up just
deciding to leave.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Nathan, of course, is trying to give you a pep
talk before you're going. Did he almost convince you? Were
you close to him convincing you did that help at all?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yeah, I mean he was just being so encouraging, and
you know, coming from an Olympic swimmer, like obviously he
knows a thing or.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Two with water, and so yeah, listen to what he
was saying.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
And he just mostly was telling me, like, you know,
you don't want to look back and regret that you
didn't try, and you're you're not a quitter, and you know,
just kind of giving me some tips.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
But and I really was encouraged by it.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Like I said, I went back and forth like a
million times, Like for a while, I was decided, I'm
going to do it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
I'm going to try and and it was just hard.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Even Kayla was trying to just encourage me, and because
she had already done it at that point, she had
already gone in and tried and and so it was
I just appreciate the two of them so much, especially
Nathan just.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Trying to encourage me.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
But but yeah, I don't know, it just it was
a battle I was kind of dealing with within myself
for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Yeah, that's a hard one. I don't know how I
would have reacted. Part of me, you know, when I
left that morning, when we woke up to the gunshots
and the barrel or whatever where you want to call it.
And after the night I had the night before with
the hypothermia and the mirror room interview and getting to
talk to them and them telling me it's just it's
(18:55):
going to keep getting harder. It's going to keep getting harder,
and they validated that, they saw that I was one
hundred percent. And then just thinking about how I felt
like a burden with like people helping, you know, carry
whether it was carrying my pack or whatever. I just
I hate feeling like a burden. And so I had
this piece come over me and was like, you know what,
(19:19):
you've gained so much out of this experience in just
the short time that you were here. It's okay. But
coming home I feel like maybe it's a little bit
of fomo and thinking I really truly wanted to make
it to the end. You know, you sign up for
the show hoping that you're going to make it to
the end, but I do. I do have to say
(19:43):
I have a little bit of regret that I didn't
stay and just push through and get the opportunity to
do this submersion or at least try and who knows
the fighting. I mean, you know, you go back and
forth and you're like, well, I could have broken my face,
I could have drown, you know, all of these things.
But are you do you have any regret? Like at
(20:05):
night when you're thinking about it. A lot of times
I'll just be laying in bed being like, oh, I
wish I would have stayed, or just replaying it in
my mind. How is your how is your mind with
how you left? And are you feeling any regret?
Speaker 3 (20:19):
I mostly feel like confident in my decision for the
most part. I mean there's a small part of me
that I watch like certain things that are doing now,
like after I left, Like definitely not the fighting. I
don't know if I could have done that, but like
certain things I see them doing, I'm like, Okay, I
feel like I could have really done well at that,
or you know, I wish I had stayed and pushed
myself a little bit harder.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
And I do have thoughts like that.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I'm sure I'll continue to feel that way, like watching
the rest of the episodes, But at the end of
the day, I think, like, looking back, I try not
to regret it too much because like it was an
experience that I was having at that time, and it's
what felt right at that time. I learned something from it,
and you know, I still don't feel passionate I need
to do anything in the water like I just don't.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Feel that way.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
And I keep thinking like if it was anything but water, like,
I would have stayed and continued to literally I would
do anything, like tell me to jump off that bridge,
I'll do it, you know, tell me to do whatever,
anything physical, I'll do it. And now I'm like, if
it didn't have the water stuff, I would I would
have stayed, you know, like I would have done anything
pretty much.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
So I do have a little bit, but like not
with the water stuff, I.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Would say yes, yeah, yeah, totally hear that. Would you
do it again? If they asked the show just in general,
h I don't know, if it didn't involve water, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
I need it. Yes, I totally would.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
And I've told my husband too, because my husband was
an Olympic gymnast as well on in men's gymnastics. He
would do so well on the show if it wasn't
for like the running. His ankles are really bad, but
like everything else, like he has.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Like that mind for it. So I see him do
it than me do it again.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Same same. I am totally the same. When they asked
me to do it, I was like, aren't you sure
you want my husband? He's really good at this stuff,
Like he would thrive, he would love this. So I
keep telling them, please have Ryan on the show next season,
Please have Ryan. So I think they should do because
Christy has said the same thing. I know so many
people have said the same thing. They should have a
(22:25):
show with all of the you know, partners of the
people who have been on it, right, or like a
couple's version. Although I don't know, I don't know if
I could have. I feel like if my husband was there,
I probably would have just like, you know, curled into
a little ball with him being there and just you know,
(22:47):
left earlier, you know for sure. Yeah, okay, So pivot
to gymnastics and now you are the coach of the
University of Arkansas right gymnastics team. How has that been
in comparing your Olympic career to being a coach, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
It's very different, Like being a competitor yourself for versus
you know, leading a group of people to do what
you did.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
It's it's completely different.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
And I joke all the time that like the things
that worked for me as an athlete might work for
one out of the twenty people on my team, you know,
And so I've really like that's been my coaching journey,
is just understanding people and human behaviors and why people
think and react and behave the way they do, and
then after that, motivating them to reach a common goal
(23:44):
and getting a group of people to come together. It's
what I'm passionate about now, and I love it like
I love the sport of gymnastics, but even more than that,
I just really love impacting the lives of my student athletes.
Like they're in that age range eighteen to twenty two,
and college is one of the most transformative times in
anyone's life.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
You just thought about yourself.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
You're away from your parents for the first time, so
getting to be a mentor and a leader for them
during those years is such a big passion of mine.
So I love what I get to do every day.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
I love that. I love that, And now you'll get
to be that for your own baby soon. Okay, So
you faced a lot of highs and lows as a gymnast.
What kept you motivated to keep going and push your
body to these limits that I'm sure you had to
(24:37):
push your body too, and your mind.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Actually yeah, yeah, I mean for me, like I did
gymnastics from age four, made us the Olympics when I
was seventeen, So you know, I was pretty young during
those years, and I very much in my mind, like
felt like an adult during that time because I was
doing I was basically working a full time if not
more job. Yeah, train in gymnastics to a day practices
(25:02):
on top of school, on everything.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
And what kept me motivated.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Was just having this big goal, like I wanted to
be an Olympian. I wanted to compete for Team USA,
and that was always in the back of my mind,
and I knew I had what it took to get there.
It was just a matter of taking it one day
at a time and taking the right steps to get there.
So having that goal was what motivated me. Because there
were a lot of hard days. There was a lot
(25:26):
of injuries, and you know a lot of things that
were happening sort of behind the scenes, you know in
my life that you know a lot of people just
didn't know about.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
At the time.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
And what motivated me was like I had that goal
and I wanted it so bad and I was going
to make it happen, and it's a lot of work
to just you know, quit easily. So that's what kept
me going on those hard days and talk to us
about the Fierce Five. Obviously, you came out with a
gold medal and you all had to come together to
get that done right, But there had to be moments
(25:59):
like I mean, please, uh, you know, it's hard to
get a group of people together without having like competition
amongst yourselves and you know, different personalities.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Was there were there difficulties in dealing with the with
the Fierce Five or did you all just you bonded
instantaneously and you just made it work and came together
and you were instantaneous friends. Yeah, Like what was the
behind the scenes? Like?
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Yeah, I mean it's interesting because we all lived in
different parts of the country and I was from Michigan,
Alley was from Boston. McHale's from California, So we all
lived in different places, we had our different coaches, and
then once a month, for years and years and years,
we've come together for these training camps, and so we
would spend these five days together at these training camps
(26:50):
where you know, similar to what I was talking about
in Special Forces, like you're you're doing really hard things
together and going experiences like that just connects and bond
you in a different way than a lot of people
ever experience in their life.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
And so then when the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Came around, we went to a training camp. After we
made the team, we went to a training camp for
about ten days and then we went to London. So
we weren't used to being with each other every single
day in training. We all trained separately and then came
together for these competitions.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And then when we were in.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
London, you know, I mean, we were all just It's
interesting in gymnastics because in the team competition, you have
to be teammates, and then it could be the very
next day where you're competing in say the all around
or an event final, where like your teammate is your
competitor and fors Like I mean, the US is the
most dominant when it comes to gymnastics typically, so your
(27:47):
biggest competitors are the other American girls. But we never
had any of any drama. We never had any competitiveness
to the point where we were caddy with each other
like we were sixteen, seeventeen years old. We just we
were just girls, you know, and we were we were
competitive and tough, but at the end of the day,
(28:08):
like we were, we were friends and teammates and we
just wanted each other to succeed. And I think that's
what helped us go out and win that gold medal
as a group, because it really it took every single
one of us to make that happen.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I love that. I love it. Are you in touch
with them still?
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
So actually, one of my teammates, Kyla, she is my
assistant coach here at Arkansas, so she's too honest and
we work together every day, which is amazing. And then Alie.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Raised been We see her quite frequently.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
I mean now she's she's doing some commentating for NC
double A Gymnastics, So like a couple of weeks ago
she was commentating one of the meets we were competing in,
which is fun because it feels like, you know, our
worlds are colliding again. And then you know Mikayla, Like,
I don't see her often, but I got to see
her last year when Kyla got married, she came to
her weddings. We had a little mini reunion and so
(29:03):
every now and then we get to see each other.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
We still haven't gotten like all five of us together
in the same.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Room, I think, since the Olympics, So we need to
make that happen at some point for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
How is it watching the Olympics now, Like, what did
you do this year when they are I guess this
past summer? It was on this past summer? Yeah? Right,
am I making that up right?
Speaker 2 (29:23):
You're right?
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Oh, so what did you do when you watched? Did
you have like a big watch party or do you
get together with your gymnast at Arkansas? Or how do
you watch? I think it'd probably be so fun to
like cheer on the next the next generation.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Yeah, I mean, I know I mentioned this when my
husband was an Olympian as well, in the Reo Olympics.
And then I have Kyla here, she's one of my
best friends, so we all watch it together and.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
It's just it's it's fun now to just be a fan.
You know.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Obviously when you're in it, you're in it, and then
the one Olympics, right after you compete, you have this
really weird feeling when you're watching it, like.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Should I retired? Like should I kept going?
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Like I really want to be there, and then the
further you get out, the more you're like, this is amazing.
I can't even believe I did this at one point,
and you just get to be a fan.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
And that's really like the phase that I'm in now,
which is so fun.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
So I love watching Olympics and Team USA is always
so dominant, especially gymnastics, so it makes it really really
fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Really exciting and such a sense of pride right that
you get to be part of that family. I can
only imagine. Yes, what's the most important lesson that you
learned during your time on Team USA? And did you
(30:48):
utilize that when you went to Special Forces?
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:51):
I mean I feel like everything about who I am
now is somehow related to gymnastics because it just was.
It was my whole life growing up, and I learned
so many life lessons, I mean, hard work and discipline
and confidence, like I gained all of those things through gymnastics.
I think the biggest thing is how to be resilient.
(31:14):
And I always say, like having the ability to flex
my resilience muscle, Like, you know, we have all these
muscles in our body, and you know, the more you
work out a muscle and break it down, it continues
to rebuild and it's stronger than it was before. And
I feel like we all have that resilience muscle inside
of us, and you know, the more things we go
through we have that opportunity to flex, that muscle gets
(31:38):
stronger and stronger, and so I feel like my resilience
muscle got broken down a lot through gymnastics, and it
got really strong through gymnastics. So I feel like resilience is,
you know, one of the biggest things I gained from
from the sport in general. Definitely felt like I tried
to take that into Special Forces.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
It was very different than gymnastics.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
You know, a lot more like condensed physicality some you know,
some different elements like water and things like that. But
I definitely felt like, you know, each day we had
to keep keep going and just it was like endless
how many challenges we'd have to do that day and
the amount of physical stuff and those backpacks.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
So I definitely feel like I had to bring that
into Special Forces.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Yeah, I mean, you have to have some sense of
resilience to get in there if you, as as the
DS call it in interviews they've done afterwards, are there
for the right reasons, essentially, you know, if you came
to actually be a part of it and try to
get as much out of it as you can. I
(32:40):
feel like I'm very much a perfectionist, and I assume
you are too. Being an Olympic gymnast, you have to
try to attain that all those tends. You know, perfect
scores constantly. What's your most valuable piece of advice for
people who are have that little perfectionist bone in them?
(33:00):
And how to overcome, you know, difficulties like special forces
or like your panic attacks or even just having didn't
you have a broken leg when you were competing at
the Olympics. Yeah, I mean, I mean, so how do
what's your most valuable piece of advice for those people
(33:23):
who who want to be perfect, who have that pressure
to be perfect and getting through that yeah, or getting
through hard times?
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
This It resonates a lot because I have a team
of nineteen student athletes that just want to be perfect
all the.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Time, and I tell them constantly.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Like perfection does not exist, Like you might be able
to score ten in gymnastics, but you know, as a coach,
I can watch a routinea scores a ten, and you
can find imperfections in it. It's it's really just about
the illusion of perfection, right in gymnastics, and so perfection
is a thing as much as we want it, and
so I try to I try to get them to
(34:04):
focus on a couple things. First thing is like, as
an athlete or even as a human being, if you
can just focus on getting one percent better at whatever
it is that you're doing, be one percent better at
it than you were yesterday, and then the next day
you focus on good thing one percent better. From there,
you're going to experience such massive growth and even in
a short period of time, but it's not going to
(34:26):
seem so overwhelming, and you don't have to have it
all figured out one day, so you know, you can
kind of guess what that looks like in the gym.
But even as a person, if you have a goal,
get one percent that goal each day.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
That helps them a lot.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
And then the other thing I really stress, and my
huge advice for people in general, is like make sure
that you know what your definition of success is. You know,
whatever it is that you're striving to do in life,
whether it be athletics or you know, some other career,
field that you're in, like or parenting, even, like.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
What what does success look like in that area for you?
Speaker 3 (35:03):
And then make sure that when you finish your day
and you let your head down to go to sleep,
you evaluate yourself based on your definition of success, not
on perfection, not on somebody who's who's the.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Very best at that thing.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
You know, you're evaluating yourself based on what is going
to make me feel successful at the end of the day.
And you know, for me, like, success is not necessarily
whether or not I achieved a goal. It's about did
I give it one hundred percent of what I had
to give?
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Did I give it my all and be the best
I could possibly be?
Speaker 3 (35:35):
That is the feeling of success that I get at
the end of the day. And as long as I'm
refocusing on that constantly, like that really helps me. So
for perfectionists, like perfection is not attainable, it's more like,
what what does success feel like to you? And a
lot of times it's not actually being perfect, it's it's
just different than that.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
So that would be my advice.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
That's a amazing advice. I love the one percent Just
try to be one percent better. That is oh so good. Jordan.
So good. Okay, where do you keep your gold medal?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (36:11):
It's in a safe in my house. No, we're exciting, No,
we're exciting for sure. I'm not like the type of
person I keep it on display. I I don't play
how very often. It's it's just in a box in
a safe.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
After the Olympics, did you just wear it around even
to go to the bathroom or what. I can't imagine
that I would actually take it off, like I would
just leave it on all the time.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
Well, okay, they're shockingly heavy, like that's the thing that
we were like, whoa, these things are like they kind
of hurt after when you wear it for a long time.
But when we were in London after we won the
team gold, we all like slept with it under our pillows.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
I thought that was kind of cute. That is so cute.
I'm going to come and steal it.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
I'm not sure, but yeah, we definitely, like, I mean,
at first we were carring it around to appearances and
traveling with it and everything, and then after a while
you're like, okay, I can just put it in this
box and yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
I love that. That is so cute. Okay, So on
Special Forces. I was really moved by the Mirror Room interviews,
and I feel like that's part of what I wanted
to get to, was the Mirror Room, just so you
have that connection with the DS. Your Mirror Room was.
(37:32):
I don't know if it was hard for you to watch,
but it is just hearing about people's true truths and
who they are at the core, what they struggle with,
the things that have been in the press, all those
kind of things. You shared about how you were part
of the biggest sexual abuse case in sport in history
(37:55):
of sport, which that alone is just just massive. Of course, regardless,
you know, you went through this really really difficult time.
I am interested to know if you're okay sharing how
the response has been from sharing that on Special Forces.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Yeah, well, you know, it's it's a story that I
have been passionate about telling, Like even before Special Forces,
you know, like going through that experience, I wasn't really
I didn't talk about it for a long long time
until the case really came to light and accountability was
starting to happen, and I sort of had this overwhelming
(38:40):
feeling of like responsibility and feeling like I needed to
tell my story and speak out because I was becoming
more and more aware of just how many people in
this world have had similar experiences. You know, maybe not
in the exact same way with a doctor at the
scale that you know, that the public scale that we
(39:01):
experienced it, but you know, whether it be a family
member or a close friend or a stranger or on
college campuses, like sexual abuse and sexual assault is so
much more common than a lot of people realize. And
so I felt passionate that I needed to I needed
to speak out and tell my story, not just for
the future of gymnastics and the gymnasts that are going
(39:24):
to come after me, but for every survivor or some
or even someone that might be going through it currently
and afraid to speak up or hold their abuser accountable.
Like there's so many people like that in the world
that I've I've realized.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
It's just way more common than we think.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
So I felt passionate about telling that story, and you know,
it came up in the in the mirror room of
the DS as really just part of, you know, one
of the reasons why I retired from gymnastics and kind
of took them, you know, turn that chapter in my life.
But it's it's never easy to talk about, but I
do feel like, hey, if even if there's one person
(40:01):
who is a victim of sexual abuse who watches it
and goes, okay, this gives me the permission to feel
okay to talk to somebody about it, Like it's worth
it for me to do that, especially on TV.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
You know, mm hmmm. Have you felt the love, like
whether it's DM or has anyone come up to you
and told you face to face that you impacted their
lives by sharing that story? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (40:26):
Yeah, I mean I actually, just the other day, I
got a really interesting email. It was from a retired
military veteran and he he basically, you know, I don't
know the exact remember the exact words to use, but
he basically said like I'm so proud of you, like
thank you for showing your strength, you know, through Special
(40:47):
Forces and like you know, heard it from other people,
but to hear from a military veteran like that just
made me feel like, okay, like you know, at least
I gave it my all, and you know it was
people saw that that my strength on that show, so
that was really encouraging. And then you know, some people
just messages here and there people saying like, thank you
(41:09):
for sharing your story and you know, things like that,
but you know.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
That's not it's not the reason I do it.
Speaker 3 (41:16):
It's really just I don't want I don't want people
to give me recognition. I really want people to feel
like they can be strong through hearing my experience and
you know, hopefully speak out about their own someday if
that's part of their journey and they need to.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Of course, of course, I think. I think talking about
it just proves to everyone that we are all human
and we're all in this together, and you're not alone.
You know, there's there's power in feeling like you're not alone.
So so good for you for talking about it. I'm
sure that's not easy. Okay, speaking of not easy pregnancy,
(42:00):
how has it been so far? Have you had any
speed bumps like I was? I was sick for gosh
four months, so that was no fun. Has it been
an easy pregnancy so far?
Speaker 3 (42:13):
I think it's been pretty easy, So I want want
to say easy, but it hasn't been terrible. And I've
heard I've heard good the people that I've had, you know,
morning sickness and things like that. I've been very lucky
not to experience that. So, you know, I think the
biggest thing and I.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Think only women can can relate to this.
Speaker 3 (42:30):
Really, it's like the way your body just changes, Like
you know, you know you're pregnant, you know you're growing
a child, but you know your body is changing in
a lot of ways and that's just hard and interesting.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
But I'm trying to embrace it as much as i can.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
And you know, we we told our team like a
few weeks ago and posted a video on social media.
They were just so excited for us. So it's just
been really fun and trying to enjoy it and embrace
every part of the process.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Yes, I loved that video. That was so cute how
he ripped open didn't he rip open his shirt? And
most did.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
We had ark mom and Arkansas dad and we unzipped
our jackets and so cute.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
I loved that. That was adorable. Do you know if
you're having a girl or a boy or are you
going to find out?
Speaker 2 (43:22):
And we know it's a girl.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
Okay, now here's the queste. Not that I guess if
you were having a boy, it would be the same question.
Because your husband was an Olympic gymnast. Would you let
them go into gymnastics? Will you hope that they go
into gymnastics so that you can coach them because they have, hello,
some pretty good jeans.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
I don't know, I don't have that feeling of like
I hope they do, but I definitely would let them
if they wanted to. I kind of I mean, I
didn't do any other sports growing up besides gymnastics, so
I kind of want I kind of want her to
try things and like try, so try swimming. Maybe that
would be good, you know, just see what she loves,
(44:06):
because like I specialized so early, like.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
I didn't do anything else. If you throw a ball
at me, I like freak out. And so.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
Yeah, I just know I did really love gymnastics and
gained so much from the sport. You know, I don't
have any regrets like specializing and doing that as seriously
as I did. I just, you know, like my parents
did with me, I just want them to love it
and be passionate about it and.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Really enjoy it every day.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Of course, that's of course what just what we want.
You know, as parents, you just want your kids to
be happy, that's all. I mean, that's what it comes
down to so, you know, people have asked me all
the time, would you let your kids go on the
Bachelor or Bachelorette? Obviously it's very different than being an
Olympic gymnast. But you know, I'm like, well, wouldn't I
(44:59):
be a hit if I said no, you can't go
on the show where I met your dad? And it's
the whole reason that you exist, you know. So yeah,
when you get down to it, you're like, well, I
was a gymnast all of my life, so maybe my
child should do it too. You just never know. You
(45:21):
just never know, and hopefully you just want them to
be healthy and happy, right, that's what we want. Yes,
so you're do oh gosh, I can't do the math.
Are you doing this January June?
Speaker 2 (45:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Yeah, I'm just so excited to hear how it happens
and watch your delivery story. Because of course we all
you know, follow each other, or most of us follow
each other on social media now, so I just I
love being able to follow this. It's just such a
such a light, you know, anybody who's pregnant, it's just
(46:04):
such such a light. And I'll never forget you telling
us at that table. It was I was like, oh.
Speaker 2 (46:10):
My gosh, what she's telling all of us.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
I feel so so honored.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
You know, Like I've had people ask me like, well,
were you pregnant when you went on Special Forces? And like, no,
you don't understand, like they filmed things way far in advance.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
No, I wasn't pregnant, way far in advance.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
That was a long time ago. Were you guys trying
to get pregnant when we were, like before you left
for Special Forces?
Speaker 3 (46:37):
No, not until like the fall we started trying, and
you know, okay, yeah, we're very lucky that it happened quickly.
And you know we're always planning around our gymnastics schedule
because we our team competes January through April. It's like, okay,
we can't have a baby in any of those months.
We have to like time it as well as we can,
God forbid. So so we we nailed the timing.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
You nailed the timing perfectionism out of his best Jordan,
thank you so much for coming on the Almost Famous
OG podcast. My co host couldn't be here today because
he's busy traveling. But I know, he says, Hi, he's
been watching the show. We've been recapping every Thursday morning,
(47:21):
so it's been really fun for him to kind of
live vicariously through me. So I pass along my hellos
from Bob and say thank you from both of us.
Thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
I appreciate it, of course.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
All right, thanks everybody for listening. And actually, if you
want to follow Jordan on Instagram, tell us your Instagram handle.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
Jordan Underscore Weaver's my Instagram perfection.