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EXCLUSIVE: Gladiators' Apollo's heartbreaking family tragedy which pushes him to succeed

Gladiators star Apollo has revealed the heartbreaking reason he continues to strive for success and make the most of every opportunity thrown his way

[Gladiators star Alex Gray has revealed the sad reason behind his determination]

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Gladiators star Alex Gray has revealed the sad reason behind his determination(Image: PR Handout)

Gladiators icon Apollo has shared that his "hero", his rugby player uncle, continues to encourage him, 20 years after his death. Alex Grey, known to millions as Apollo, continues to live for every moment, inspired by his late uncle.

Aged just 13, Alex's uncle died following a battle with leukaemia at the age of 33. Last year, Alex turned 33 and vowed that, should he spend the same amount of time on Earth, he would do "absolutely everything" he could with it.

And he's done just that. Now aged 33, Alex has carved out a successful career as a former rugby union player for England Sevens, Newcastle Falcons and Bath Rugby, as well as an NFL player with the Atlanta Falcons. But while he's also made a name for himself on Gladiator's, he's set himself a new challenge and is turning his hand to singing, a hobby he's always had but now has the time to explore.

[Before music, Alex was a professional sportsman, playing in the NFL and a rugby union player]

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Before music, Alex was a professional sportsman, playing in the NFL and a rugby union player(Image: PR Handout)

[For years, Alex's life was dominated by sports]

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For years, Alex's life was dominated by sports(Image: PR Handout)

"My world has just expanded," Alex said of learning more about himself in recent years. He went on to add: "While I believed in being able to achieve the impossible, the scope now is so much wider. You know, going onto the show with the Gladiators and now getting into the music world and hopefully that'll continue to progress. Just the biggest difference I've found is I now know the difference between what I am and who I am.

"What I am has always been the rugby player, the NFL player, the Gladiator, the musician. But now, who I am has been very consistent all the way through. It's an ambitious dreamer, hardworking, loves his family, wants to do good by the world, but he just happened to be good at rugby, and he happened to be good at the NFL, and he has an ok voice and indeed looks good in spandex."

For Alex, staying true to himself is the most important aspect of life without feeling the need to fit "in a certain box". He went on to explain that "not many people" go through a complete life and career change in their 30s, which he says is "scary". "I consider this whole journey to be about the experience of being a human being," he said.

[He describes himself as 'ambitious' ]

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He describes himself as 'ambitious' (Image: PR Handout)

"I've been put in so many lucky positions," Alex said, explaining that he wants to make the "most" out of life. He said: "If I'm to get a chance to be a Gladiator, I'm going to do it." Reflecting on his life and the inspiration he received from his uncle, Alex commented: "My hero growing up was my uncle who played professional rugby and I kind of followed him around and and got into rugby because of him but he passed away from leukaemia when he was 33 and I was I turned 33 last year and from the age I think I was when we passed away."

And now with his sports career on the back burner, Alex is focusing on music, having teamed up with fellow Gladiator, Dynamite, whose real name is Emily Steel, for their song You Fond Me. "Emily has always done singing growing up," he said, before explaining that she had always looked at the chance of pursuing a career in the music industry.

"I'm the type of guy who's always singing," he laughed, adding that the pair teamed up for mental health awareness, for their first track, Cowboys Cry Too, a cover of the country track. "It was a lot of things coming together at the right time for us to do," he commented, adding that it "kicked off a journey" for him.

[leukemia]

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leukemia(Image: PR Handout)

He explains that the journey has been an "interesting" road for himself, having had the "suit of armour" of being Alex Gray the rugby player and Alex Gray the NFL player, having been told what to do, what to eat and when to sleep but in the last 24 months, has come "out the back of that" and realised that sport is "probably done" for him.

Now, he has realised that his interests centre around performing. "I really enjoyed the process of it. I've always loved music," he said. Alex's maternal side of his family is "sporty," while his dad's side is "filled with music talent". So much so that his dad was in a band aged just 16 and toured across Europe after leaving school.

Alex's paternal uncle, in his 70s, is still the lead singer of a local band, while his cousin has also DJ'ed at Glastonbury. His inspiration comes from the 2010s American rock, Kings of Leon, the early days of Arctic Monkeys and Oasis, Benson Boone, and MGK. "There are a lot of guys out there now; you have to be the full package," he explained.

[Alex praised MGK]

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Alex praised MGK(Image: Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Growing up, Alex joked he was a Belieber and copied Justin's hairstyles over the years. Now, he's trying to discover his own voice and niche in the industry, with MGK being up there. "I like the pop rock, it's got the feel good but the rock element to it," he said of MGK, adding he has a "really cool persona".

Alex is also keen to break the taboo surrounding male mental health, acknowledging the "drastic statistics" surrounding men who struggle. He said: "It's a tough world out there for everybody, and trying to redefine what actual masculinity looks like, not toxic masculinity, but what actual masculinity looks like about being a responsible, open, emotionally available, but still a strong individual is super important.

"In all this mess of the manosphere, there's a lot of noise, but there's not a huge number of north stars that people can look to. If anyway, I or anybody else can play a small part in a positive journey for someone to a better state of mental health or just a better existence on this planet, then that's exactly we want to do."

[The sportsman turned Gladiator has now turned his hand to his main love, singing, alongside fellow Gladiator, Emily Steel]

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The sportsman turned Gladiator has now turned his hand to his main love, singing, alongside fellow Gladiator, Emily Steel(Image: PR Handout)

[Their latest single, You Found Me, is out now]

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Their latest single, You Found Me, is out now(Image: PR Handout)

This ties in with Alex's work on Gladiators, spreading a message of resilience and enjoying a healthy, fulfilled life. But Alex had no idea that the show would reach such great success. "I knew it would be big, but I didn't realise how big," he said. He went on to explain: "I wasn't really prepared for how loved it was going to be from families up and down the country.

"We get we do a lot of meet and greets and we go to a lot of schools and hospitals events and you know the feedback we get is 99 per cent positive and some of the things we hear is: 'You've brought the family back together, this is the only thing my kids will watch with me, we have such a special time watching it.'

"So we're kind of cutting through pop culture a little bit like that and it's just been amazing, it's definitely been a hugely rewarding journey so far and I just hope it continues like that." And he'll never forget his first time walking out in spandex to an arena full of screaming fans.

"The first day of filming season one was an incredible experience," he recalled. Despite having played in front of 90,000 people in his sports career, he says the energy in the Gladiators arena was "mind-blowing", with families sitting through the filming process until 11pm. Although Alex is still appearing on Gladiators, he hints that there could possibly be a lot more music in the pipeline.

You Found Me by Emily Steel and Alex Gray is available to download on all major platforms now.

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