The Legend of TU VO
- gravityninja777
- Mar 31
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 2
I just wanted to take some time to share a great journey, from the perspective of a trainer, who was also growing at the time.
I was training an Olympic, champion wrestler at the time, and he told me how much he valued my style of suspension training. Nothing was funnier at the time, in the gym we worked at, then to watch people try my suspension acrobatics. I was some of the hardest training. However, in turn, I attracted a lot of athletes who aren't afraid of WORK such as wreslers, boxers, mma fighters. A lot of them saw how much endurance is built this way.
The majority were also very respectful to me being a Woman and my craft.
Any way, back to my client, and he said;
'Hey T, you mind if I bring a friend?' I was much more into trash talking back then and asked if they could handle me. He said you will LOVE him. His name is TU.
He was right. Tu came in, and rocked the class as a student for 11 years, from 2012-Present and when goals became clear for his direction in the early phases of that time, we had to part ways for a bit, but Tu came back to the gymnasium we rented at for more training. He's participated in performances and various art shoots we enjoy. He's a fun ball of energy and his growth has made us all very proud of what he's accomplished.
Tu then became a care giver, and kept training throughout all his transitional periods and now, he's a dedicated police officer. Tu graduated 4/1/2025 from Burien Police Academy.
When he asked me to be there at his graduation, I started seeing all the phases we have gone through. Tu was also there for me, as strong support and saw some very unhappy things I went through. He has stood up for me, praised me to friends and colleagues, and always gave me the recognition I deserve.
NEW HIRES for SEATTLEPD
The time we were kicked out of (I'll let you guess) Fitness:
HAHA! Ok, this is so funny..Tu was alreadry so advanced in Acrobatics, he was way past the paddawan part..so we used to meet up to get buff at the gym, and we had these managers on us because they were afraid of poaching ( a gym term used to gain clients at another gym and train them yourself) and my view is, people leave. They will go to 'better,' out of necessity. Sometimes I am the better choice, and sometimes, I'm not and I'm ok with all that.
I remember telling the manager, he and his staff could
throw any workout at us and it still wouldn't be enough.
'For our sport, we train a bit different than you,' I said.
After they harrassed us, Tu and I cancelled our memberships because, why not?
Who wants to be a target for insecure-rookie-trainers who may or may not be on annabolic enhancement drugs? We are still training..are they still? Ha! Alright, that's enough about them, I'm only sharing a memory, not trying to start a class-action.
Back to the journey. Tu really understands the importance of training through the good and bad days, and that wellness overall, is best in regards to how he performs and is present for his job. Physically, we drilled this in many ways for his progress. His greatest attributes shine in his daily performance and are regularly fine tuned. We all like and should strive for this positive growth for ourselves and for many of us that is fitness, sports, wellness or all.
The police force has gotten a bad rep and yes, changes in their training certainly help their development and skill, it's hard to know when to use force, however, to group them all in as bad isn't the free-thinking society we claim to live in. I feel safer that Tu is out there giving love and energy instead of hatred and violence, while still being able to flex when necessary.
I got to stand in the room when they were sworn in and there was a moving speech about family. Tu loves his family and takes very good care of all of them and they have come to take classes and enjoy themselves with us. I couldn't be happier to be a part of Tu's amazing journey and stand with them.
We will be doing much more and living the best we can!
See you in the next one!
T
