Roller Derby prepared me strength-wise. Physically, I'm strong and I was able to pull myself up, but several times I did walk away with some bruises. For me, that's normal. I like a nice bruise, but it was uncomfortable.
Chattanooga's Tabatha Chandler was one of eight women competing in "American Grit," a new reality show on Fox.To watch
› What: “American Grit”› When: 9 p.m. Thursday› Where: Fox (Comcast channel 9, EPB channel 7).
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If you want to see Tabatha Chandler in live action, the next Chattanooga Roller Girls match is 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. Tickets are $10 adults, $8 retired/active military with ID, $5 children 6-12. For information or to buy tickets, go to http://chattanoogarollergirls.com.
By day, Tabatha Chandler is a nurse and a mother of two children who is trained to heal the sick and wounded, dishing out TLC and Band-Aids.
During the Chattanooga Roller Girls season, however, she slips into her alter ego, Goldie Knocks, and tosses around elbows doing her best to inflict pain.
An athletic person who played several sports growing up, the 39-year-old Chandler has always been tough and says she likes challenging herself mentally and physically. But, she concedes, the several days she spent in Washington State earlier this year as part of a new reality show called "American Grit" took her "way outside of my comfort zone. I didn't know what to prepare for, but I was not prepared for that."
Chandler, a nurse at Erlanger and for Cigna Insurance, was one of 16 people who competed on the show, which premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday on Fox. Eight men and eight women were paired up in four teams - or cadres - of four each and matched with a former member of the Marines, Navy SEALS, Army or Army Rangers who served as cadre leader.
Show host, executive producer and former WWE star John Cena says in a promotional video that the women all have the same quality: "They said, "'Give me a challenge. I don't give up.'"
The teams faced daily challenges that tested their strength, endurance, logic and strategic abilities. Every day the losing team was sent "off to the circus," an obstacle course that team members had to negotiate with the last-place person sent packing.
Chandler can't reveal details of how she finished on the show, but she had no problem talking about what it was like. It was tough, she says, even for someone accustomed to getting pushing around on an oval circle while on roller skates. They had to carry telephone-pole-sized logs while running, climb rope nets, kneel in tanks of ice-filled water and rappel off high bridges.
"It was military-inspired training stuff," Chandler says. "Roller Derby prepared me strength-wise. Physically, I'm strong and I was able to pull myself up, but several times I did walk away with some bruises. For me, that's normal. I like a nice bruise, but it was uncomfortable."
A big part of what challenged Chandler was the unpredictable weather in the Northwest. The contestants not only battled each other and natural obstacles found in the wilderness, they had to battle a climate that seemed to change hourly.
"It was all outside, so we were running through mud, over logs and through stickers and bugs," she recalls. "In one day, we had three seasons. It was snowing, then rain and then the sun came out. I was way out of my comfort zone. I wouldn't even play in the rain before this and here I was in the rain, snow and mud."
Chandler says she liked to consider herself pretty fearless, game to try almost anything before the show, but in her heart she knew there was one thing that made her weak at the knees - heights. So, naturally, one of her first challenges on the show meant tackling that fear.
"On Day Freaking One I had to face my fear of heights," she says with a laugh.
Losing her sister to sickle cell anemia and her own divorce last year didn't help her confidence.
"Through my personal life, I've been through a lot and I got through them not because I believed in myself but because it was something I had to do," she says.
On the show, her team leader helped her through the tough times.
"My cadre leader Rorke Denver told me, 'I believe in you and I need you to believe in you.' I walked away with a lot of confidence. I learned a lot about myself, and my kids are so proud of me. They can't believe I did it."
Chandler became a fan of roller derby watching it with her grandmother as a child. When her last child graduated from high school two years ago, she discovered there was a local team and tried out.
Teammate Shawn "Bomb" Williamson says Chandler surprises people with her toughness which doesn't match her build and demeanor away from the rink.
"She and I are a lot alike," Williamson says. "Away from the rink, we're both kind of girly-girl, but on it, she is very tough."
Williamson also says that, even though Chandler is one of the newer girls, she's already a fan favorite.
Chandler says she hadn't skated in about 10 years prior to trying out for the team last year, but it all came back to her.
"I took to it pretty quickly," she says. "It's not for the faint of heart. You can't pussyfoot around and if you are worried about bruising, you're better off sitting on the sidelines and cheering somebody else on."
One thing for sure, you won't find Chandler sitting there.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.