American Mustelid Alpha, The Cast - Part 3/3
#31 Tyler G., Wolverine, Dockworker
Tyler Gross, 38, joins AMA from Anchorage, Alaska, where he works as a docker. He holds the distinction of having one of the toughest jobs among the competitors, having to load and unload heavy cargo from ships in sub-zero temperatures. A father of three, Gross suffered the amputation of two fingers after a load was dropped on his left foot: thirteen years later, he has made a full recovery and says he has regained “99%” of his mobility before the accident. Used to run in the freezing Alaskan winter as well as settling fights among his co-workers, this grizzled man believes he has got what it takes to claim the title.
#32 Akiva, Marine Otter, College Business Student
Akiva Proctor, 22, joins AMA from Miramar, Florida, and is a Business student at Florida Everglades University. A creature of the sea through and through, Proctor excels in several disciplines involving water: he enjoys swimming, snorkeling, spearfishing, water polo and is an amateur free diver. In his free time, he exploits his gregarious, cheerful personality volunteering as a speaker and DJ on Florida Everglades U’s private radio network. As someone who has spent his entire life “slipping through”, he is taking on this opportunity to put himself in the forefront and test both his strengths and his leadership skills.
#33 Crispin, European Otter, Bouncer
Crispin Aebersold, 29, joins AMA from San Joaquin, California, where he is a single father of one and works as a bouncer at a night club in Fresno. Grown in a tough environment, Aebersold has steered away from crime life throughout his life and is a thoughtful, hardened individual, but he is not afraid to pull a few punches when the need arises. Other than being a proficient swimmer, the tall lutrine engages in MMA (mixed martial arts) and trains young boxers. His goal entering this competition is to prove to himself and others that he can hold himself against the toughest and nastiest mustelids in America through his dedication and street-smart ethics.
#34 John, Stoat, Jailer
John Blake Jr., 36, joins AMA from Tucson, Arizona, where he works as a correctional officer at a high-security federal prison. Blake Jr. is a strong-willed, determined official who prides himself on keeping on top of his physical game to stand his ground against some of the most dangerous and violent furs in America. Other than being on a strict lifting program, he enjoys taking a morning run every day, hitting the gun range and spending time with his wife of two years and his son Bruce.
#35 Noah, Long-tailed Weasel, Farmer
Noah Dixon, 19, joins AMA from McMinnville, Tennessee, where he works as an agricultural laborer at his family’s farm. Having spent most of his life among corn fields, Dixon knows a thing or two about hard work and is not shy about taking a bruise every now and then. His strength does not come from gym training or practicing sports, but from stacking bales of hay, chopping wood and digging soil. Despite his relatively young age, he believes he has got what it takes to take home the crown and wants to use the cash prize to help expand his family’s business.
#36 Diego, Stoat, Warehouse Operator
Diego José Gutierrez, 32, joins AMA from Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he works as a forklift operator and general heavy-duty laborer at a warehouse. A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, this heavyset stoat has been living in the United States for the last ten years, having moved away from a crime-ridden environment (from theft to drug cartels) to seek a brighter future at the other side of the border. Though he will freely admit he grew up often being up to no good, Gutierrez wants people to know he is a changed man: the skinny guy who tagged the streets of Chihuahua is now an amateur boxer and MMA fighter, whose record in the ring is as clean as the one in the police judiciary.
#37 Alec, Ferret, Bull Rider
Alec Robinson, 30, joins AMA from Abilene, Texas, where he works as a professional bull rider in the national rodeo circuit. The son of a fellow bull rider, Robinson has been carrying his family legacy ever since he began competing in his late teens. To be successful in his sport, he has had to take a serious workout regimen which has made his body lean, strong and durable by alternating weightlifting and cardio (namely running, cycling, and jumping rope). Despite having his dark sides – a kid born out of a drunken night and a volatile temper – Robinson is a hard-working professional and is taking this challenge targeting nothing short of a victory.
#38 Duke, Hooded Skunk, Club Promoter
Duke Fequiere, 29, joins AMA from Nashville, Tennessee, where he works as a club promoter. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, by a Haitian father and an American mother, Duke started transitioning at twenty-one and slowly began building his body into the one he envisioned for most of his life. Having overcome the numerous ridges of his situation and a tough break-up, Fequiere now feels he is in good enough shape to keep up with the strongest of men – having worked his way up the ladder thanks to strict dieting and gym training, enough to achieve the masculine identity he has coveted for so long.
#39 Travis, American Badger, Truck Driver
Travis Weed, 29, joins AMA from Valley, Alabama, and he works as a truck driver for a transportation company based in Birmingham. This young hillbilly was fascinated with big trucks ever since childhood, and he pursued his passion starting to drive smaller lorries for a private business soon after he ended high school. Now an accomplished truck driver operating freight trucks all over the South, Weed never refrains from working out the kinks with some bodyweight exercises every time he stops along the road. He believes his straight-forward personality can help him go unnoticed through the competition and help him succeed on this stage.
#40 Omar, Marbled Polecat, Arabic Interpreter
Omar Farrakhan, 26, joins AMA from Palatine, Illinois, and he works as an Arabic interpreter at a Chicago hospital. A native of Jordan, Farrakhan moved to the US at age three and grew up bilingual. He knows a thing or two about fighting for his right to stay, as he is faced intense scrutiny from the day he stepped on American soil: twenty-three years later, he is now a well-accomplished American citizen who prides himself on his work ethic and adapting skills. In his free time, he enjoys training martial arts (namely kickboxing and taekwondo).
#41 Arron, Honey Badger, Firefighter
Arron Richardson, 28, joins AMA from Racine, Wisconsin, where he works as a firefighter. A football and track-and-field star while in high school and college, this young, Catholic badger moved back to his hometown of Racine to start a new life after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Health Science Administration. Years of hard labor and heavy training through CrossFit, running and swimming soon turned him into the Racine fire station’s resident stud, earning him a state award for fire and emergency service responders. Richardson is not afraid to show his softie side: he married his teenage crush shortly after graduating college and has a two-year-old daughter named Yvonne.
#42 Ali, Least Weasel, Maintenance Mechanic
Ali Day, 23, joins AMA from Akron, Ohio, where he works as a maintenance mechanic for a multinational food and beverage corporation. Despite his blue-collar attitude, Day has a penchant for keeping in shape and uses most of his free time to work out. He is a good all-around athlete and hopes to win the American Mustelid Alpha title more as a matter of pride, though he also does intend to settle down with his girlfriend of three years.
#43 Michael L., North American River Otter, EMT/Triathlete
Michael Larkins, 25, joins AMA from Lafayette, Indiana, where he works as an emergency medical technician and is an amateur triathlete. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Larkins has spent the last five years working in healthcare and is now looking into joining the Army as a military medic. Alongside his duty as an EMT, he competes in triathlons across the Midwest and has found moderate success, winning several smaller events and getting in the top50 at the annual Ironfur in Muncie, Indiana. He is ready and willing to push his abilities to the limit and hopes his outstanding willpower and stamina may benefit him during the competition.
#44 Christopher, Sable, Salesman
Christopher Palos, 24, joins AMA from Downey, California, where he works as a Paw Locker sales associate. A sports fanatic ever since childhood, Palos was a multi-sport high school athlete and went on playing football in college. After getting a Business degree, he followed his older brother’s example and decided to get into retail, becoming a coveted asset in his store with just two years of experience under his belt. In his free time, he enjoys playing the drums, playing touch football with his friends and spend time with his girlfriend of three years.
#45 James Sh., American Badger, Pharmacy Technician
James Sheehy, 23, joins AMA from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he works as a pharmacy technician. This young, redhead badger is a top-class Medicine student who got his bachelor’s degree one year ago and is currently taking a job to finance his future studies. On the side, he is a brilliant athlete and loves to keep up his “muscular geek” façade: a former basketball and football player, he loves to both hit the gym and shoot hoops for fun with his close circle of friends. He wants to become the American Alpha Mustelid to both show up people who mocked his conviction to beef up and put aside some money to take a postgraduate degree in Medicine and Surgery.
