National fitness champion, American Gladiator inspires others to be healthy, happy
CHICAGO (CBS)-- She's an expert on fitness and health and turned her love and passion for working out into a full-time gig.
It was a job that landed her on TV and in the best shape of her life. CBS 2's Jackie Kostek introduced us to Beth Horn, also known as "Venom."
Beth Horn's life is a testament to, if you believe it, you can be it.
"I can remember being on stage and on clouds, like is this really happening? It was so surreal," she said.
She fell in love with fitness at a young age.
"I started gymnastics when I was 7 years old. Absolutely loved it. In high school, I actually blew out my left knee in gymnastics. No fun," she said.
What felt like a disappointing detour steered Horn toward her next fitness love.
"That's how I discovered weight training," Horn said. "I was 15 years old and I was lifting weights."
Loving how she felt, Horn set her sights on becoming the national fitness champion, a competition that combines dance, gymnastics, and physique. She said her goal was to become a professional athlete. The top two finishers turned professional, but she placed third three times in a row.
"I was actually downtown walking at the beach. I stepped off a rock, broke my right foot in two places, and I had one more chance before nationals, and I was so pissed off, pissed off at the world," she said. "I had bad energy."
Horn said the negativity didn't feel like her at all, so she did what she could to shift her mindset.
"I wrote down on a notecard. I said 'I am the overall national fitness champion,'" she said. "I put that card next to my bed, in my car, in my bathroom, and I'm like I am going to do this."
Four months later, she turned professional, got a contract with Joe Weider, the "father of body building," and began traveling the world, inspiring people to be healthy and fit. Years later, her coach called with an opportunity to be on the reboot of American Gladiators.
"They're looking for contestants and I do the whole audition," Horn said. "I said, 'I don't want to be a contestant. I want to be a gladiator.'
"I was thinking in my mind before it happened, I was thinking, 'How can I get like muscles in the mainstream?' I was actually like thinking that in the back of my mind and literally a couple weeks later, the Gladiator auditions happened. I'm like, 'That's weird.' You kind of put it out there. We don't know how we're going to get there. But you put it out there, you can make it happen,'" Horn said.
There's talent and then there's trust, that if you listen to life's whispers, they will lead you where you need to go.
Horn has both. She shares her wellness wisdom in everything she does as a personal trainer, yoga instructor, reiki, and energy touch practitioner.
As for her advice, it's pretty simple.
"When you are grateful, you're so happy with what you have, who you are, you're going to bring more wonderful things into your life," she said. "It's the laws of the universe."