Titanic challenge
Dwayne Johnson puts his rock-solid challenge to a bunch of hardened men and women in obstacle course reality show Titan Games – and bones will be broken!
Titan Games
Season 1 Sundays (from 12 December) e.tv (*194) 18:00
Dwayne Johnson will never shed his WWE wrestling alter-ego The Rock despite retiring from pro wrestling over a decade ago… and he doesn’t want to. Because the man genuinely is built like a rock – he’s almost 2m tall and weighs over 120kg with a 6% bodyfat count. He has a full-sized gym at home that he calls his Iron Paradise, and he does midnight workouts all the time. So what’s a hyped-up muscleman who’s a global, in-demand superstar with access to studios and networks to do? Create his own obstacle course reality show… with a difference: Titan Games, which has two seasons.
“This show is beyond wild. We have physical challenges that viewers have never seen before. We have a course that won’t just push limits, it’ll force the contestants to break their own limits and be counted as titans among mortal humans,” says the 49-year-old host and executive producer. “This is the ultimate in physical and mental warfare! It’s kill or be killed and we want the elite winners!”
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Titan Games is split in two sections in each episode. Four men and women compete in physical prelim heats head-to-head to see which two guys and girls are the best in the group. The top two male and female finishers then progress to Mount Olympus – a giant mega obstacle course with the grand prize of $100 000 (R1.6 million) waiting for the finisher. “These are titan-styled challenges. Nothing is small,” explains Dwayne, who not only designed the obstacle course, he personally tested each challenge himself. “I’m a fairly fit guy, I’m in shape. And I got winded. I’m not going to lie – this is tough. So I’m expecting the best of the best to put on a show here.”
Season 1 has a total of 11 challenges although not all are used – since there are four pairs of contestants, only four are used in each episode. “We’ve got Atlas Smash – contestants have to carry giant concrete blocks to a set stop, then destroy them with a sledge hammer,” says Dwayne. “We have Herculean Pull and the contestants must pull 50kg poles, balance and win a tug-of-war. This is not for the faint of heart. You have to be physically in the peak form of your life to get here.”
REACHING OLYMPIA
Once the contestants get through the prelim heats, they face their biggest challenge… well, challenges. Because Mount Olympus has seven obstacles that they need to race through…
Sprint to a 500kg wall and knock it over, then build a bridge with three 50kg steel grates.
Balance over rotating cylinder barrels called Rolling Ascent.
Climb up a wall using tiny foot and handholds.
Power up a crank torch that weighs over 300kg.
Slide down a series of slides that are separated by 2m-tall walls. Drag a sledgehammer with a 125kg ball and chain across the studio floor to a giant concrete slab. Demolish the slab to expose a Titan Games logo that they need to put on a pedestal.
Sounds easy, right? Even Dwayne won’t repeat the challenges. “This is not for mentally weak people. It’s great to sit at home and say, ‘Oh it’s easy, I can do that.’ The truth is that you can’t. When you come face-to-face with this set, it’s daunting. I’d rather get my movie stunt double to do them for me,” says the show host, revealing that the auditions saw more than half of the contestants get injured and have to pull out. “This is a titan-size challenge. That’s the point of the game and we are here to find the men and women who’re able to step up to the plate and conquer it! It’s not just physical – you need to be mentally hardcore.”