So I Married An American Gladiator
July 24, 2008 Chicago Tribune
The men Beth Horn meets usually fall into two categories: those who are
afraid she'll beat them down, and those who want her to beat them down.
That's because Beth is better known as Venom, her nom de guerre on "American Gladiators," the adrenaline-drenched TV game show that pits Gladiators against normal Joes in bone-crunching physical feats. Beth delivers beatdowns professionally—on prime time television, no less.
So which category, then, does sports agent Bruce Butler, her husband, fall into?
Venom of 'American Gladiators' Photos "I think when you get married, you want to have your [butt] kicked," he laughs. "It doesn't matter if you married a Gladiator or not."
But being wed to a spandex warrior has taken some adjustment. Last month, the couple attended Wizard World Chicago, a comic book/movie/pop culture convention, where wrestlers and reality TV stars abound. It was the perfect venue for "American Gladiators," a show that entered the cultural consciousness in the 1980s but recently was reborn with Hulk Hogan as a co-host.
For two full days, Beth signed autographs in her gladiatrix garb: skin-tight silver shorts and an ab-flashing, barely there top. When she first saw the outfit, she thought, "Wow, it's very small. It's amazing how small the package it came in is." Outside that package, the costume looks so bereft of fabric, the Salvation Army wouldn't take it.
Fans lined up to pay $20 for a signed glossy and posed for photos with her.
"A lot of them wanted me to flex, but I don't do that. I don't want to be known as a body builder. It just seems so masculine, and that's not me." Beth says. "But there were a lot of headlocks."
Fielding requests for headlocks just comes with the territory of newfound fame. "So many husbands would be jealous or not supportive, and I see it all the time," she says. "I'm so grateful."
He adds: "As long as the people asking for headlocks don't follow us home."
Home is Greektown, where they live with a pair of massive, aging dogs: Cleo, an Akita, and Gabriella, a golden retriever. All four just moved to a modest condo where Bruce works out of a small office that doubles as the guest bedroom.
"We're normal as can be," says Bruce, 39.
But normal people don't keep a red-and-blue jousting stick in a corner of their office. Beth takes it out, gives it a practiced twirl. It's the only hint of her TV persona, kept here as a conversation piece.
Busy schedule
They split the housework, or rather she says they do. At first. In reality, Bruce ends up doing most of the household chores, dog walking and errands—mostly because of Venom's taping schedule (the show tapes three times a year, six weeks at a time), personal appearances, etc.
In their new condo just three months, the couple hasn't yet fallen into a domestic routine. They don't even have a real bed yet; they sleep on a mattress and box spring on the floor. Against the wall sits a basket full of scruffy-looking, plush dog toys, near an elegant painting of a Chinese woman.
A quick tour of the condo: Framed pictures of angels in the bathroom. Two cartons each of eggs and blueberries in the fridge. Bruce's addiction to ginger snaps is revealed in a nearby cupboard. The closet? Pink, pink, pink. Dozens of blue jeans on hangers, and there, sitting limply on a shelf, the gleaming silver Venom costume.
Does the costume get any use outside the show?
Bruce says, "Y'know, I tried to put it on ..."
Both sputter into laughter.
Though married since 2005, Beth and Bruce still act like newlyweds—flirting, joking, egging one another on.
They met in 2004 at a Chicago publishing expo while she was promoting her fitness book, "The Natural Way," and he was working as a consultant for a book company. She approached his booth at the end of the day, as everyone packed up, but business cards were exchanged. That night, Bruce read Beth's entire book, in anticipation of her return. When she did, he took her on a walk outside but couldn't quite work up the nerve to ask for date.
Then, just before they re-entered the convention hall, she blurted: "So-are-you-married-are-you-single-any-kids?"
He fired back: "No, no and no. Do you want to have dinner tonight?"
Related links
Venom of 'American Gladiators' Photos The next day, Bruce said, "Y'know, I'm going to marry you." At first she didn't believe him but didn't let on she was just as smitten.
Both had the same favorite movie ("Braveheart") and were drawn to self-help gurus such as Eckhart Tolle and James Arthur Ray. Bruce also hit all 23 points on a list of qualities Beth had made for her ideal mate. Among them: spiritual, affectionate, mature and athletic.
On Oct.1, 2005, they exchanged vows on the 99th floor of the Sears Tower.
Two years later, after a series of auditions, Venom was born.
Bionic woman
In person, Beth doesn't seem very Venomous. In fact, the word "bubbly" best captures the 34-year-old personal trainer and former National Fitness Champ. But 5-foot-8-inch, 135-pound "Bubbly the Destroyer" won't exactly strike fear into the spines of uber-cocky "Gladiator" contestants who face her.
"The name 'Galaxy,' I thought that would be cool," Beth says. Bruce suggested Indigo, because of her blue eyes, but producers eventually went with Venom.
And so Bruce became "Mr. Venom" (as NBC producers call him) and Beth's biggest supporter. A cheerleader, even. Failure is not an option; neither is self-doubt.
"I say, 'Beth, give me a frickin' break; you can do anything.' She's the Bionic Woman," he says, a reference to her knee reconstructions.
Both were fans of the original "American Gladiator" series.
"I used to watch it all the time ... and I cheered for the Gladiators!" admits Beth, a competitive gymnast in her teens.
After blowing out her left knee in high school, then her right knee in college, she turned to fitness training and body building with the help of coach Bob Dixon, whom she still works with one hour a day, five days a week.
Doesn't hide scars
In person, the couple are nearly the same size. Bruce, a former spin instructor, is trim and toned with a slightly larger frame than his wife's. She wears a size 2 or 4, she says; during her body-building days, she could be a size 10 or 12, but she prefers a "more athletic" look for Gladiators. On the show, she uses self-tanning lotion, but doesn't cover up the surgery scars on her knees.
"They're just part of me," she says, like tattoos, like battle scars.
In November, Beth will be immortalized in plastic as an action figure. It's a smiley, exaggerated version of her Venom alter ego.
"I want a doll, an actual doll. I love Barbie," she says. "I'm honored. ... It's actually kind of wild. It looks like I really am a superhero. It looks pretty cool."
Bruce likes the action figure but says it's not her. Not his wife.
"It's just flat-out weird, because it's a cartoon of her," he says. "I just see the woman I fell in love with."
relder@tribune.com
