Post by Philadelphia on Jan 26, 2018 8:22:39 GMT -8
“Thirty more seconds, love.”
My chest pounding, the sweat pouring from my head, and the shaking of my legs made me want to just drop to the floor. This was the most strained workout I’ve had yet and it was ending with a massively long session on the treadmill. Panting, trying to take short, sharp breaths, I focused my thoughts on my pulsating heart beat and the rhythm of my legs as my personal trainer, Eduardo, called out the last ten seconds of my conditioning.
“Three… two… one… DONE!”
Eduardo shut off the treadmill as it gradually went from its current speed to a stop. I grabbed the towel that was draped on the hanger beside the treadmill and collapsed my sore and aching body onto a love seat inside Eduardo’s training studio. I put the towel over my head and looked down to the marble floor, catching my breath as Eduardo paced towards me, clapping in the process.
“Awesome job, Philly,” Eduardo exclaimed, as I looked up to him offering me an ice cold bottle of water.
“I… can… barely… breath,” I panted, immediately accepting the bottle, “When is running half a marathon required for wrestling?”
“You won’t be running marathons,” Eduardo explained, crouching down next to me so we were at eye level, “but a wrestling match can be like a marathon. You have the power, and you have the charisma to be a successful wrestler… but you will not succeed if you don’t have the endurance, to go the distance.”
“Are you quoting Hercules?” I chuckled, taking a large gulp of the water between my heavy breaths.
“Maybe,” Eduardo grinned, “but it’s true. You can do anything – if you can go the distance.”
I simply nodded at his advice, running my hands through my soaked hair. I attempted to adjust my spandex shorts I had on, but with great difficulty as the sweat made it stick to my skin.
“Thank you, again,” I started, as I side hugged Eduardo, “for helping me train. You are an amazing person. You do realize most people would’ve taken one look at me, laughed, and walked away?”
“I do,” Eduardo nodded, “but they’re all clueless. From the start, you said you didn’t want to lose weight. You wanted to maintain your weight, and if you were to gain any, it would be in muscle, not fat… I do have to admit though, when you told me you wanted to wrestle, I was taken aback – but crazier things have happened in this country. I think you will do just fine.”
“Thanks,” I blushed, “I actually got a call earlier. I applied for a few places, and the Global Wrestling Division in Los Angeles offered me an entry contract, and I signed it.”
Eduardo lit up like a Christmas tree as he raised his arms in the air in excitement, shaking them.
“Excellent!” Eduardo shouted, coming over and giving me a massive bear hug, picking me up in the process, “all of your training has finally paid off! Now you have to maintain that and show everyone who’s boss!”
“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” I inhaled, still a bit surprise at Eduardo picking me up, “LA will be a tough sell – a lot of people there are skinny and it has that Hollywood image to it.”
“Prove ‘em all wrong,” Eduardo cheered, “…but LA? That means you’ll have to move soon.”
“My sister is LA,” I explained, “so moving won’t be as bad. I have a place to crash for awhile until the money from GWD come through, plus I still have some saved from modelling, and I always get a modelling gig every once in a while. I’ll be fine Eduardo…”
I pointed to the showers with an exhausted look, as Eduardo laughed and nodded, knowing I really needed to wash the sweat off my body. I headed towards them but Eduardo turned back and called out.
“Hey Philly,” Eduardo paused for a moment, as if looking for the right words, “now that you’re a wrestler… I have to ask, why wrestling? What inspired you?”
“Oh, modelling executives,” I shrugged, “they told me that I should double down on modelling, and I should be lucky I’m in this business, because it’s all I’ll ever have.”
“I know, you told me that,” Eduardo said, “but you have this drive to prove everyone wrong. Where did the drive come from? How did you get this tenacity?”
“Well…” I paused, thinking about my past, “I guess it came from…”
I’ll never forget the day. It was June 22nd, 2006, I was thirteen at the time, and our family went shopping at a local Wal-Mart to get some better summer clothes for the upcoming season. My older brother, who was nineteen, went off to look at hunting gear with my father while my mom, sister, and I headed to the women’s section. During our journey to the clothing racks, our family always had heads turn, wondering what was wrong with our family dynamic. The funny thing was, there wasn’t anything wrong with our family; I just looked out of place because my entire family were tall and lanky yet I was shorter and chubby.
We had made it to our destination and my sister, Piper, was the first to try on clothes. I watched as she was able to grab almost anything from the rack, or shelf, and there would be something in her size. She had the perfect body, in my eyes, and I always envisioned that if I could lose the weight, and trust me I’ve tried, it would be her frame I strived for. She was right into the punk and alternative scene, so she got a bunch of t-shirts of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, among others. My mother wasn’t with us, however, she had ran off to look for clothes for me. She knew I hated going through the racks, so she did it for me. Piper came out of the change room, with a killer American Idiot t-shirt, as she twirled in the circle.
“How do I look?” Piper asked, with a wide smile.
“Like an American Idiot,” I quickly jabbed, “but a sexy one at that.”
She looked like she was going to hit me, but backed off when I complimented her. Finally, my mother returned with only a few things.
“Not surprising,” I sighed in defeat.
“Mom,” Piper huffed, “You and I, and Philly know nothing here is in her size, let’s get her something from Torrid—“
“Piper… Philly,” Mom sighed, “we can’t afford Torrid, unfortunately. Here’s a nice flowing dress, Philly.”
I took it from Mom and looked at the dress size.
“Mom, this is what I wore last year,” I exclaimed, “I’m not this size anymore.”
“Every dress is different,” Mom started, “just try it on.”
Rolling my eyes, I went into the dressing room with the bright pink and purple dress. I started to undress, taking my shirt and pants off. I could feel it was going to be too small but I tried sucking in my gut in the hopes it would fit. This is all I wanted; was for something nice to fit on me. I hated wearing baggy clothes because my parents couldn’t designer clothes. It’s not their fault they can’t, and I don’t expect them to… it’s just what it is.
“Are we ready to go?”
The words of my father coming back with my brother worried me.
“No,” Mom replied, “Philly is trying on her dress.”
“This should be fun,” Dad grunted.
“Oliver,” Mom said, using Dad’s first name, “I think we should treat her – she did good in school this year, let’s take her to Torrid.”
I’m not sure if Mom and Dad knew I could hear them, my Mom did try to hush her voice, but these walls were paper thin. Dad didn’t really try.
“Karen?” Dad asked, the tone of his voice changing to anger, “if we’re going to treat Philly to anything, maybe we should buy her a gym pass.”
And there it was.
“Oliver!” I could hear Mom smack Dad on his arm.
“If we get her clothes from Torrid,” Dad started to rant, “it’ll encourage her behaviour.”
“Her behaviour?” Mom sounded perplexed.
“Look at Piper,” Dad demanded, “and look at Justin… and look at us. We all eat healthy and stay active—“
“So does Philly,” Mom hissed, cutting him off, “are you seriously saying this right now?”
“I’m not buying her designer fat clothes so she can continue to be large,” Dad roared in a silent rage, “she needs to get healthier! She won’t get anywhere in life with the current state she’s in.”
Tears started to swell from my eyes. I could hear background fighting between my parents, but it didn’t matter anymore. The words that haunted me for years, also became the motivation for my entire life. I ripped the dress on, literally tearing part of it in a fury, and quickly put my baggy clothes on. I stormed out of the dressing room, eyes puffed and tears rolling down my eyes. Piper, who had been standing there, chased after me, while Justin, my brother, wasn’t sure how to react. My brother tells me my mother smacked father next and then chased after us – but I’m not really sure. My parents divorced shortly after this.
“Philadelphia?” Eduardo asked, “are you still with me?”
“What?” I asked, in a daze, “sorry, I was thinking… I’ve always been this way, a very driven person.”
“Well,” Eduardo said, “it’s a nice quality. Have a nice shower.”
I nodded, as I finally brought myself into the changing room of Eduardo’s studio and started the warm shower. I stood there for a moment, looking in the mirror, and taking a deep breath from going down memory lane. I then stepped into the shower to let all my problems wash away.
My chest pounding, the sweat pouring from my head, and the shaking of my legs made me want to just drop to the floor. This was the most strained workout I’ve had yet and it was ending with a massively long session on the treadmill. Panting, trying to take short, sharp breaths, I focused my thoughts on my pulsating heart beat and the rhythm of my legs as my personal trainer, Eduardo, called out the last ten seconds of my conditioning.
“Three… two… one… DONE!”
Eduardo shut off the treadmill as it gradually went from its current speed to a stop. I grabbed the towel that was draped on the hanger beside the treadmill and collapsed my sore and aching body onto a love seat inside Eduardo’s training studio. I put the towel over my head and looked down to the marble floor, catching my breath as Eduardo paced towards me, clapping in the process.
“Awesome job, Philly,” Eduardo exclaimed, as I looked up to him offering me an ice cold bottle of water.
“I… can… barely… breath,” I panted, immediately accepting the bottle, “When is running half a marathon required for wrestling?”
“You won’t be running marathons,” Eduardo explained, crouching down next to me so we were at eye level, “but a wrestling match can be like a marathon. You have the power, and you have the charisma to be a successful wrestler… but you will not succeed if you don’t have the endurance, to go the distance.”
“Are you quoting Hercules?” I chuckled, taking a large gulp of the water between my heavy breaths.
“Maybe,” Eduardo grinned, “but it’s true. You can do anything – if you can go the distance.”
I simply nodded at his advice, running my hands through my soaked hair. I attempted to adjust my spandex shorts I had on, but with great difficulty as the sweat made it stick to my skin.
“Thank you, again,” I started, as I side hugged Eduardo, “for helping me train. You are an amazing person. You do realize most people would’ve taken one look at me, laughed, and walked away?”
“I do,” Eduardo nodded, “but they’re all clueless. From the start, you said you didn’t want to lose weight. You wanted to maintain your weight, and if you were to gain any, it would be in muscle, not fat… I do have to admit though, when you told me you wanted to wrestle, I was taken aback – but crazier things have happened in this country. I think you will do just fine.”
“Thanks,” I blushed, “I actually got a call earlier. I applied for a few places, and the Global Wrestling Division in Los Angeles offered me an entry contract, and I signed it.”
Eduardo lit up like a Christmas tree as he raised his arms in the air in excitement, shaking them.
“Excellent!” Eduardo shouted, coming over and giving me a massive bear hug, picking me up in the process, “all of your training has finally paid off! Now you have to maintain that and show everyone who’s boss!”
“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” I inhaled, still a bit surprise at Eduardo picking me up, “LA will be a tough sell – a lot of people there are skinny and it has that Hollywood image to it.”
“Prove ‘em all wrong,” Eduardo cheered, “…but LA? That means you’ll have to move soon.”
“My sister is LA,” I explained, “so moving won’t be as bad. I have a place to crash for awhile until the money from GWD come through, plus I still have some saved from modelling, and I always get a modelling gig every once in a while. I’ll be fine Eduardo…”
I pointed to the showers with an exhausted look, as Eduardo laughed and nodded, knowing I really needed to wash the sweat off my body. I headed towards them but Eduardo turned back and called out.
“Hey Philly,” Eduardo paused for a moment, as if looking for the right words, “now that you’re a wrestler… I have to ask, why wrestling? What inspired you?”
“Oh, modelling executives,” I shrugged, “they told me that I should double down on modelling, and I should be lucky I’m in this business, because it’s all I’ll ever have.”
“I know, you told me that,” Eduardo said, “but you have this drive to prove everyone wrong. Where did the drive come from? How did you get this tenacity?”
“Well…” I paused, thinking about my past, “I guess it came from…”
***
I’ll never forget the day. It was June 22nd, 2006, I was thirteen at the time, and our family went shopping at a local Wal-Mart to get some better summer clothes for the upcoming season. My older brother, who was nineteen, went off to look at hunting gear with my father while my mom, sister, and I headed to the women’s section. During our journey to the clothing racks, our family always had heads turn, wondering what was wrong with our family dynamic. The funny thing was, there wasn’t anything wrong with our family; I just looked out of place because my entire family were tall and lanky yet I was shorter and chubby.
We had made it to our destination and my sister, Piper, was the first to try on clothes. I watched as she was able to grab almost anything from the rack, or shelf, and there would be something in her size. She had the perfect body, in my eyes, and I always envisioned that if I could lose the weight, and trust me I’ve tried, it would be her frame I strived for. She was right into the punk and alternative scene, so she got a bunch of t-shirts of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, among others. My mother wasn’t with us, however, she had ran off to look for clothes for me. She knew I hated going through the racks, so she did it for me. Piper came out of the change room, with a killer American Idiot t-shirt, as she twirled in the circle.
“How do I look?” Piper asked, with a wide smile.
“Like an American Idiot,” I quickly jabbed, “but a sexy one at that.”
She looked like she was going to hit me, but backed off when I complimented her. Finally, my mother returned with only a few things.
“Not surprising,” I sighed in defeat.
“Mom,” Piper huffed, “You and I, and Philly know nothing here is in her size, let’s get her something from Torrid—“
“Piper… Philly,” Mom sighed, “we can’t afford Torrid, unfortunately. Here’s a nice flowing dress, Philly.”
I took it from Mom and looked at the dress size.
“Mom, this is what I wore last year,” I exclaimed, “I’m not this size anymore.”
“Every dress is different,” Mom started, “just try it on.”
Rolling my eyes, I went into the dressing room with the bright pink and purple dress. I started to undress, taking my shirt and pants off. I could feel it was going to be too small but I tried sucking in my gut in the hopes it would fit. This is all I wanted; was for something nice to fit on me. I hated wearing baggy clothes because my parents couldn’t designer clothes. It’s not their fault they can’t, and I don’t expect them to… it’s just what it is.
“Are we ready to go?”
The words of my father coming back with my brother worried me.
“No,” Mom replied, “Philly is trying on her dress.”
“This should be fun,” Dad grunted.
“Oliver,” Mom said, using Dad’s first name, “I think we should treat her – she did good in school this year, let’s take her to Torrid.”
I’m not sure if Mom and Dad knew I could hear them, my Mom did try to hush her voice, but these walls were paper thin. Dad didn’t really try.
“Karen?” Dad asked, the tone of his voice changing to anger, “if we’re going to treat Philly to anything, maybe we should buy her a gym pass.”
And there it was.
“Oliver!” I could hear Mom smack Dad on his arm.
“If we get her clothes from Torrid,” Dad started to rant, “it’ll encourage her behaviour.”
“Her behaviour?” Mom sounded perplexed.
“Look at Piper,” Dad demanded, “and look at Justin… and look at us. We all eat healthy and stay active—“
“So does Philly,” Mom hissed, cutting him off, “are you seriously saying this right now?”
“I’m not buying her designer fat clothes so she can continue to be large,” Dad roared in a silent rage, “she needs to get healthier! She won’t get anywhere in life with the current state she’s in.”
Tears started to swell from my eyes. I could hear background fighting between my parents, but it didn’t matter anymore. The words that haunted me for years, also became the motivation for my entire life. I ripped the dress on, literally tearing part of it in a fury, and quickly put my baggy clothes on. I stormed out of the dressing room, eyes puffed and tears rolling down my eyes. Piper, who had been standing there, chased after me, while Justin, my brother, wasn’t sure how to react. My brother tells me my mother smacked father next and then chased after us – but I’m not really sure. My parents divorced shortly after this.
***
“Philadelphia?” Eduardo asked, “are you still with me?”
“What?” I asked, in a daze, “sorry, I was thinking… I’ve always been this way, a very driven person.”
“Well,” Eduardo said, “it’s a nice quality. Have a nice shower.”
I nodded, as I finally brought myself into the changing room of Eduardo’s studio and started the warm shower. I stood there for a moment, looking in the mirror, and taking a deep breath from going down memory lane. I then stepped into the shower to let all my problems wash away.
