Gladiators: Wexford athlete whipping up a storm
2025-02-15
Category: entertainment

An Irish Gladiator has said she hopes her appearance on the hit show will inspire other women to "take up space and be unapologetic about it".At 23 years old, powerlifter Lystus Ebosele, better known as Cyclone, is one of the youngest Gladiators on the rebooted series."When the original series came out, I wasn't even born. I had never even heard of it; didn't know what it was," she said.It wasn't until she told people she was taking part that she realised how big the show is."So many of my friends' parents grew up watching it. People just loved the show."
'Here to dominate'
"Cyclone is a force of nature, definitely epitomises a cyclone. If you get caught in one, you're not getting out," Lystus told BBC News NI."The game's already over before it happens."Making her debut on the show in the second episode, Cyclone certainly left her mark.After defeating contenders Nikki and Keeva in the 'Duel', host Bradley Walsh asked her to come down from the podium.But Cyclone had other ideas."I'm going to stay right here; bring on the next contender," she said causing a strong reaction from the audience.Reflecting on that moment, she said: "One thing that is really important for my character is just showing women you can take up space and be unapologetic about it."Especially being a new gladiator, it was so important to solidify this new character and not get lost with the other 17 gladiators. So it was really important to make an impact," she said."That's why standing up on that podium during 'Duel' was a key standout moment."I'm not here to blend in - I'm here to dominate."
Rapping and seriousness
While the Gladiators on-screen portray strong personalities and incredible strength, Lystus said they are "just an extension" of the athletes own personalities."Cyclone is very straight-talking very confident - the confidence is not a character, it's just me," she told BBC News NI."Straight-talking and that dark feminine energy, the seriousness when it comes to competition is huge."I am an athlete, and the energy I bring to competing and on gladiators is very similar."
Growing up in Ireland
Lystus grew up in a sporting family in County Wexford. Her brother Festy Ebosle plays football for Turkish club Istanbul Başakşehir and the Republic of Ireland national team."I love having a little brother who is competitive, because it makes me competitive," she said. "It gives me an advantage because if you have a little brother, no one can offend you as much as he could."We had good genetics - me and my brother were always bigger than everyone else and ate lots of food. I treated PE as the Olympics."But she does say that she was more academic than sporty growing up and wanted to be a surgeon."I was always inside studying, and my brother was outside playing soccer; he was the sporty one, and I was the academic one," she said.But something switched for her when she went to college: "I made a major flip, moved to Dublin, and fell in love with fitness."