EXCLUSIVE | 'The Titan Games' star Kelly Valdez reveals she was 'intimidated' to go up against Jessie Graff
In the fourth episode of 'The Titan Games', after defeating her rivals in two challenges, Kelly Valdez steamrolled stuntwoman Jessie Graff on Mount Olympus and emerged as the new Titan. The final challenge tests agility, strength, endurance, and, as Dwayne Johnson says, "heart." In the other episodes, the Titans have always put up a fight, but in the June 15 episode, the Titans were fumbling. In an exclusive interview with MEA Worldwide, Valdez opened up about her experience of being on 'The Titan Games'.
Speaking about how excited she was after winning against Natalie Talbert, she said, "It was really overwhelming. I was honestly very nervous [about] going again," adding that her only goal was to not "lose my very first challenge." "And then after I won the first one, it was to try to win the second one and once I did that, I was just very excited. And then I had to go up against the celebrity Titan. So that was like a whole another set of nerves. [I was] definitely intimidated going up against Jesse, but I was pretty pumped about that," she revealed.
On what motivated her to try for 'The Titan Games', she said, "I challenged myself in different ways. I do domestic tracking, there's all kinds of stuff, and I like to try new things. So when I got the opportunity to go do that, I was all about it just because I figured it was a little similar to what I do, but also very different. So it just is a new challenge for me to try to conquer." Being on the show is a stressful job, no doubt. On how she chose to unwind, she said, "Honestly, I normally eat very healthy and when I was there, I kind of just didn't focus on my food too much. I let myself relax a little bit. And after we had a really long day, I'd go back to the hotel and I'd let myself have a donut and just relax."
Talking about her training, she said, "I didn't do anything different to really train for the show so much. I kind of just followed my formal training and I was kind of going into a strength cycle at the time. So I really just dove into that to get as big and strong as I could. I just kinda took it up a notch to make sure I was ready." Valdez maintains that she is on good terms with everyone from the team. "Yeah, we all still talk every day. After the first episode, we had a big FaceTime message with everyone," she said, adding that she got "very close" with quite a few people, who "all became my little family."
She also revealed that she still keeps in touch with Jessie Graff. "I actually went and worked out with her about two weeks after the game. She got through some of the training that she does and it was definitely very different from what I do. I'm more of a strength-based athlete and she goes like all kinds of agility stuff, that's how she trains," she said. How was it working with Dwayne Johnson? Valdez said, "That was super exciting! He was definitely just as big and kind as you would expect him to be."
Recalling her favorite moments on the show, she said, "I would say it was the last episode after I finished my limits and my family and my sister jumped on me and my mom and my other sister. We're all there too. Just being able to have them there supporting me and being proud of me taking the victory." On whether she would like to take on another reality show, she said, "I guess it would depend on what it is. I love the competitive aspects of the show, but there was a lot of sitting around, waiting, hurrying up, and then getting ready to sit around and wait again. So that wasn't necessarily something I was used to. So if I had the opportunity to do some kind of other challenges, I probably would."