Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes
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Rulon Gardner passed up a chance at $250,000 on NBC's hit show "The Biggest Loser" to return home. Leaving the show early, Gardner caused some controversy. Rod Zundel talks to Rulon about life, "The Biggest Loser" and a possible comeback.
Below is the transcript of Rod's interview with Rulon.
Rod: What happened between the Olympics of 2000 and last year?
Rulon: Well '04 I ended up winning the Olympic Bronze Medal and I actually retired at 264 lbs and for me, I'm like ‘I'll never step on a scale again, I'll never be accountable for my weight' you know, everything will be good from here on out. And I finally got to the point where I said no more exercising, just take some time off, just let your body heal up. And it turned in from a week to a month to a year. And eventually I put some weight on and things happened and ya know, ultimately my business, I got so close to opening up my health club up in Logan and things got really hard with the financial times and I thought for a year and a half/two years I'd never get my gym open and what happens when you get down on yourself? You eat. And that's always been a vice of mine.
Rod: You were 474 lbs, you became a contestant on ‘The Biggest Loser' here on NBC. You were well on your way to winning it, there was a lot of controversy though, but then 3 weeks before the show ended, you just got up and walked away. Inquiring minds want to know, what the heck's going on?
Rulon: Well it was a year ago, and you saw me upstairs and you wanted to do an interview then, and im like no no no I'm not even touching it. And when we starting in the process there was zero communication, it's really protective and getting on the biggest loser was an amazing experience. Working with Bob and Jillian, Brett and Kara all the trainers was unbelievable. And in the process, I was enjoying it, we were going through the motions of losing weight and that experience alone, that's why I went to the Biggest Loser, to get my health back. I didn't believe in playing all the childish games and doing all the inner stuff and for me I was getting close to the end. And there was about a month left and one of the contestants called me out…
Rod: How did he call you out?
Rulon: Oh, ‘your not a threat, you're not a person, you're not going to be here, there's no way you're going to win this…' and I'm like ‘Really?' I'm like OK, now this is fun. And at that point my energy and my fuel and the drive within me got ignited. And about a month before that me and Moses from Idaho sat down and talked and we talked about how we were understanding the diet and how we could do this at home and how we were about ready, and the only reasons I was gonna stay on The Biggest Loser was to: (A) Win the Money or (B) Be the Biggest Loser. And for me at that point, knowing that my wife was home taking care of the business, having so much responsibility, being gone so long, having other contestants question me as a person, I was ready to leave, and I didn't like all the games and I just said it's time to go.
Rod: So two reasons then from what I'm gathering from your explanation…you got tired of the people you were dealing with and you missed your wife…
Rulon: My wife and the business. Everyday wondering how things are going at home and not having communication, not hearing "everything's good, the business is good, not having that there, it just got to me to the point where…
Rod: Yeah, now you're getting beat up on the social media outlets, saying you're a quitter, that you knew you weren't going to win, so you just decided to back out. How do you respond to that?
Rulon: Well I lost 12 lbs in 10 days, the week I left. And when I pulled the 12, the next closest contestant was 7. So…
Rod: So you weren't gonna be voted off?
Rulon: No, no I was 47 lbs away from winning the show. And I hadn't even started working out yet. I just started my engines and I started rollin' and once people saw that it scared a few people. And I had graduated from Kindergarten once before, and the childish games and the things people said about me just, you know what…I have more in my life that I want to do. I came home and I'm in the process of some good things.
Rod: But in your mind, you won...against yourself?
Rulon: Oh, I lost 185 lbs in roughly 160 days. So for me, I was losing some serious weight, I left the show 3 lbs away from my Olympic weight. When I won the Olympic Gold Medal. So for me, my health was back, my life was back, the only thing that wasn't back was me back here in Utah. And it was time to come home, and to be there on that show, it wasn't who I was. And for me, I get to see bigger dreams and I have bigger goals now.
Rod: Do you think you're back in Olympic shape?
Rulon: Not yet, I haven't wrestled in basically 7 years. And on the show, Bob and Jillian putting me through work outs, I'm doing dummy throws, and it's like the most astonishing thing they'd ever seen and for me it's a daily function. It's actually to the point, where I have the dreams of maybe coming back and competing if my body will stand and if I can continue to be healthy.
Rod: Ok, Rulon. What did you just say?
Rulon: I'm thinking about it.
Rod: You're thinking about making a comeback. You're 39 years old right now, you'll be 40 at the Olympics next year in London. Do you think you can compete at this age. After ballooning to 474 lbs?
Rulon: It's not thinking I can compete. I know I can compete. The question is, if everything in my body will hold out and physically as an athlete I never had injuries. The injuries I created were from the frostbite and the stupid mistakes I created in myself. My body is a gift. I was actually on the Biggest Loser and I was doing an interview with Sports Illustrated and they said ‘How many athletes/former athletes have lost control like you did?' And I was like ‘wow', what an opportunity to hopefully inspire so many athletes who lost control like I did. To say, just because you're not playing doesn't mean you can't get back to being healthy. And for me, it was gaining knowledge and gaining control. It's back now and I have some competitive build in me.
Rod: And you are in training mode right now, correct?
Rulon: Halfway in training mode. I am training, as much as I can. But the responsibility with my business in Logan it makes it really difficult. And through the midsummer, I'm actually gonna bring some training partners in and see exactly how hard and how far I can push.And if it's there, you'll see me, hopefully, I'm hoping in London.
Rod: When are you gonna make that decision, that you're gonna come back or not?
Rulon: Probably if I do come back, my first competition will be later this fall. And the Olympic trials are in April, Nationals is in December, so I have roughly 10 months to make the Olympic team. Dremiel Byers the guy that took my spot 7 years ago when I retired, he's won one medal in 7 years and for me, if I don't make the Olympic team, at least I push him to hopefully help him to win an Olympic medal. And he's never won an Olympic medal and having won the Olympic games if I don't make the team at least I'll make him better.
Rod: If you had a month to get ready for him at the Olympic Trials right now, could you take him?
Rulon: …I think so.
