American Gladiatin': Then and Now

youtube

a massive month for TV series premieres, but none is bigger than the triumphant return of NBC's American Gladiators. The revived show could air as soon as midseason, which means producers must be working hard behind the scenes to update the show for a modern audience—though who are we kidding—jousting sticks and patriotic onesies work in any era.

To help the new class of Creatine-enhanced warriors prepare to cage fight, Radar tracked down Dan Clark, also known as Nitro, from the original 1989 lineup that also included greats like Malibu, Lace, Gemini, and Zap.

Clark's been busy taping Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge —"I've been asked to do a lot of different reality shows and always thought they were degrading, like walking around in a thong in a house with other people," he says. "But this, this was man law. It was an adventure against a bull. And it's hard as hell."

He offered the following words of wisdom for future Lightnings and Turbos. His pearls after the jump ...