Alethea Boon as Elektra in the Australian reboot of Gladiators. Photo: Network 10 / Stu Bryce
As a kid, Alethea Boon remembers watching American Gladiators when it aired in New Zealand in the first half of the 1990s and knew straight away she wanted to be one.
From 1989 to 1996, it was one of the most popular syndicated programmes in television.
Every week, "amateur" contestants would go up against a cast of "professional" gladiators in a range of physical competitions, setting up David versus Goliath match-ups that were popular with big television audiences.
A couple of years later Britain produced its own version, then Australia followed suit.
The series featuring Spandex-wearing athletes with super hero names like Cobra, Ace, and Lightning became a staple on the box every week - and the franchise is experiencing a revival.
The series has been rebooted in Britain and Australia, where Boon has been based in Sydney for 12 years.
Boon is well known in the CrossFit community in Australia and has thousands of Instagram followers.
Alethea Boon as Elektra in the Australian reboot of Gladiators. Photo: Network 10 / James Gourley
"I received a message last year saying that they were casting for an action sport entertainment competition and the athlete in me sparked up.
"Lo and behold a little bit later they informed me it was for Gladiators and there was fitness testing that we had to go through so all the gladiators had to be screened to make sure they were gladiator material," Boon said.
She's now living out a childhood dream after being cast as Elektra in the Network 10 production.
"I think I might have been about six or seven years old. I particularly remember seeing Storm, Blade, Ice, and Diamond, a lot of the female gladiators.
"They were so strong, they were fierce ...they were quite muscular as well and I think even at that young age I saw a bit of myself in them.
"As a child I wanted to be them, I wanted to do those events, particularly 'hang tough' and 'pyramid.' I thought that was awesome, it was such good entertainment watching it back then."
Everything Boon has done as an athlete has prepared her for the role.
Boon was part of the NZ Weightlifting team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Boon, who was born in Fiji but grew up in Auckland, is a rare athlete.
She represented New Zealand in gymnastics at the 2002 and 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Then at the age of 30 she took up weightlifting and returned to the Commonwealth Games 16 years after her last games appearance when she competed in weightlifting at the 2018 Games.
Boon has also competed in five CrossFit Games.
"It's like it was the perfect training ground, my whole life I have literally trained to be a Gladiator. The gymnastics portion, the flexibility the body awareness, the agility.
"Then the CrossFit and being able to be fit and train under fatigue. And then the weightlifting, the power has come in really handy for a lot of those hard hitting events."
Boon, who can do the splits in her sleep, said it was fun taking on the persona of Elektra.
Alethea Boon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
"The character is quite a lot like me in general. A little bit quiet but then comes out with these punchy one liners and then just moves about with poise but also quite electric in the movements and a lot of gymnastics comes into play with how I play the character."
Boon said quite a few events from the original series had survived.
"We have power ball, the wall, dual is there, which is always a fan favourite and the iconic pyramid ...it's bringing back all the nostalgia of the old series."
Her personal favourite?
"Pyramid - especially the rolling down from top to the bottom. How you see it portrayed on the show is exactly how it feels, it's crazy, it's manic, it's carnage and I absolutely love the contact sport, which I was surprised about."
While it might be a mix of sport and entertainment - it's definitely not for the fainthearted.
"It's really physical, the events like power ball and pyramid, it does take a toll on the body, but I've physically prepared."
Eight months before becoming a Gladiator, the 40-year-old gave birth to her first child, a baby girl.
"When I got the message to do the fitness testing for Gladiators I actually questioned whether I was able to do it because I was quite early post-partum.
"In saying that I was constantly training ...I try to keep moving every single day and it put me in good standing to be able to do the fitness testing and go through it quite well.
"I did go through quite a lengthy post-partum rehab process with a women's physio because I made sure I did everything the right way and relative to my physical ability I was able to come back pretty quickly."
Alethea Boon as Elektra in the Australian reboot of Gladiators. Photo: Supplied
Boon, who still comes home to New Zealand three or four times a year, has had her fair share of adversity as an athlete.
She rebuilt her body after suffering a pulmonary embolism in 2010, where she wasn't able to walk.
She also ruptured her achilles in 2016 and said knock backs in life were a given.
"It's all about chipping away day by day. Anyone starting on some sort of journey to try and get better or attain a new goal I always shout out the mantra of little by little becomes a lot. I feel like that's what's put me in good standing to keep growing."
She is proud to represent her Pasifika community on the show.
Her mother is Fijian and her father Samoan, and Boon said her family were excited about her being on the show, which has started to air.
Boon said it was a surreal experience.
"The little six or seven year old me is absolutely over the moon that I'm able to live out this childhood dream and I hope that by doing the show and putting myself out there that others can also be inspired to dare to dream big and try to achieve something big as well."
-RNZ
