We’d go for three or four weeks, take a break, fly home, visit our families, then join back up with whoever was out there. The work was crazy. Gladiators: where are they now? Where the Gladiators are now - prison, drugs and looking unrecognisable The muscle-bound stars of hit 90s show Gladiators have had drastically different fortunes - … Manning: It wasn’t in my wheelhouse either. I cared about being like Hercules. Gemini: The audition in 1988 was in L.A., at Lake Balboa Park in the Valley, but I was about two hours late because I ­couldn’t figure out exactly where it was. But when he finally got in front of Hollywood macher Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Goldwyn told Ferraro that what he had on his hands was a much smaller production, something that would work better on TV. Malibu: We soon realized, these contestants coming onto the show are not playing—they’re out to kick butt. Danny Manning, contestant and former NBA forward: I had a lot of friends that were involved in the show, like Sabre. . I mean, I saw this thing. I didn’t know what an extra was back then—all I knew was that I would be playing football on TV for $125 a day. . Ferraro: I remember going down to Texas, walking down the street. First an episode of The Wonder Years and then an episode of Doogie Howser. and from that big group they narrowed it down to 12 people—six guys, six girls. I got hold of a guy named David Fishof, Phil Simms’s old agent, who organized the initial part of the tour. We got announcers from the football world, which gave the show enormous ­credibility. It was a magical time. I’m like, “This Q-tip thing [Joust] can’t be that hard.” Next thing I know, my opponent is snapping my head backwards. They didn’t know my sarcasm. . Ferraro: When Gladiators first started, I think that stuff was legal. The whole thing was set to music; 5,000 people showed up. The locals who accepted this challenge were far from mythic. Here is a list of everyone who appeared as a Gladiator in at least one episode of the 1989-96 series, broken down by season. . I ran track and was training for the 1988 Olympics in L.A. when I strained my hamstring. The Gladiators themselves made the show what it was – but have you ever wondered what they’re up to now? Nitro: When I tried out they had us do these stupid football drills. Come on, man. It was horrible. I ended up getting more recognition than my friends who qualified for the ’88 Games. but we—the broadcasters, the gladiators—would do two or three shows in one day. I thought, My God, all of these years of work and it all comes down to this? The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility. I didn’t care about size. American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1995. - S.H. heptathlete who competed at three Olympic Games.It’s been 25 years since gladiators started filling our Saturday nights with lycra wrapped muscles. She said the only way was to get the doctor to sign off. When he was being recruited, I was part of his unofficial welcome committee. Blaze: One time I rolled my ankle playing Breakthrough and Conquer [a combination of wrestling and short-field football]. That was sad. Hopefully some day we’ll do sports leagues. The Cast of Doogie Howser” for example. Nitro: My first day of shooting season three, I herniated disks in my back. I was one of the first eliminated; I took my $3,000 and went home with my health.