EXCLUSIVE | Titan Games's Dasha Kuret calls Dwayne Johnson the coolest, says there's 'no backstabbing' on show
NBC's hit athletic competition series 'Titan Games' is returning for its second season on May 25. Hosted and produced by Dwayne Johnson, the show will premiere with a two-hour episode beginning at 8pm. In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Dasha Kuret, who is a competitor on the show, talks about her experience and how she wants to be an example to others.
What motivated you to join this reality show?
I come from a family where a lot of women are overweight. So all my life, I've been trying to break the cycle. Hopefully, I wanted to be an example to others and myself. You can live an active and healthy lifestyle. So I was motivated to compete in the show when I saw Dwayne Johnson call the action on his Instagram, saying, "We're looking for titles, people from all walks of life and doesn't matter what your profession is". It sparked something inside me. A lot of people don't know I've wrestled and I played flag football. Yes, I am an announcer and interviewer, but I have this side to me too. I've gone through a lot of things in life and I wanted to compete so badly. I went online, submitted the application and the videos required. I put it into the universe and made it happen.
How did your family react to this?
Oh, my family first and foremost was shocked, but then again they stopped, they paused like they usually do. And they are like "pretty much everything you always do is usually not ordinary". So then they were excited and happy because I'm the type of person that you know, one day wakes up and is like "I want to try this". They're kind of used to it by now. When I was younger, my mom always told me that I was such a tomboy. She was like "why don't you try something more girly". And I was like "okay, fine will do something girly" and I did a pageant to fund my undergraduate education. They were shocked at first, then stopped being shocked because they were like, "we know you love doing crazy things". The cool part is that I have such a large family and all 19 members hopped in the car to come and watch me compete.
What is your biggest learning from the show?
The show taught me so much. You (should) never give up on yourself and never hesitate on your potential. I say that because some of the events we had to compete in were not just physically demanding but mentally demanding as well. You had to be able to tap into your mental strength and tell yourself that you can do this, you can persevere. This was one of the main things that the show taught me. If we tell ourselves that we can do anything, we can accomplish anything.
This is a very physically and mentally stressful show. How did you alleviate the stress for yourself?
I'm very big into yoga. I'm always constantly taking deep breaths in, breathing out nice and slow, and calming my nerves. I am pretty good at calming my nerves and getting into the zone. I just focus on breathing and get into a good mental state. And listening to good upbeat music, which gets me into that positive mindset.
How was it working with Dwayne Johnson?
He's one of the coolest people ever. He's always got high energy. He's such a motivational individual, you feed off (his) positivity and his energy. It's pretty funny because growing up, people always say you never want to meet somebody that you looked up to because they never meet that expectation. He's one of those people that actually goes above that expectation you had. He's such a philanthropist and he lives and breathes health, fitness and positivity.
What about the rest of the competitors?
It was incredible. We all still communicate with each other and it was such a great experience, not just because we were able to show the world what we we are physically and mentally capable of. And the support system backstage, (though) it was a competition, it wasn't one of the competitions where people were backstabbing each other. It was such a great experience. And I have made so many friends. Everyone had a story and everyone struggled. It was so comforting to have that support system backstage.
Would you like to do a reality show again?
Oh absolutely. I was coming after an acute injury. It was kind of funny because a lot of things I did on the show, it was the first time I did such things after such a surgery. Just the stories of the other contestants motivated me and pushed me to take my fitness to another level. If I had another opportunity to compete again, I would possibly do better. I am so hyped and motivated to compete in something like this.