Ultimate Tag: Meet the pro taggers on Seven’s newest show

Ultimate Tag

• Ultimate Tag is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Channel 7.

Ultimate Tag will take the childhood game of tag and take it up a notch when it premiers on Seven at 7:00 pm on Sunday, March 7.

The show features a men’s and women’s competition and takes place across six heats, three semi-finals and a grand final.

Players must run, spin, dodge, tumble and dive their way around the obstacle courses in the Ultimate Tag arena, with every course and run getting more challenging.

The courses include Survival Tag, Gravity Tag, Revenge Tag, The Wall, Stealth Tag, Dodge Tag, The Alley and The Vortex.

The last standing male and female player will take home  $100,000 in prize money as well as the title of Australia’s first Ultimate Tag Champion. 

The show will feature Australians from all walks of life stepping up to the challenge against pro taggers, who include some of the world’s parkour stars, sports champions, sprinters, gymnasts and martial arts pros.

The pro-taggers are:

CONOR LOUGHNAN:  Known as Arrow he is no stranger to athletics and sprinting, having competed in the past four Beach Sprinting World Championships, winning silver on the world stage and placing third in the Australian Beach Sprints National Championships. Sprinting is his passion, with a personal best time of 10.64 seconds for the 100m.

To stay fit, Arrow has a very strict fitness regime. He is training to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic track team and says his sprinting achievements are what he is most proud of in life. His eye is always on his target, and his focus, speed and competitiveness is what will send him flying through the Ultimate Tag course to catch his opponent.

Arrow grew up on a farm in Mudgee NSW and stayed fit by chasing his sister’s ducks around the farm. When
he was 16, his family moved to the Sunshine Coast, where he has lived ever since. He now owns a gym with his friends, and this is where he trains every day to stay at the top of his game.

When he isn’t training, Arrow is busy running his business. He owns a company that cares for people with disabilities and says he started this to make sure the level of care was to his high standards. Arrow is also midway through training for his pilot license, inspired by his dad who is a pilot and is on track to get his skydiving license so he can jump out of his dad’s plane.

JAMIE SCROOP: Known as Avalanche. She had a very active childhood, training in gymnastics from a very young age. This inspired her to start pole vault and whenever she wasn’t training in the gym, she could always be found on adventures with her sister as they explored the creek in their backyard.

At 178.5cm, Avalanche is the tallest female Pro Tagger, which she knows
will give her a huge reach advantage. 

Avalanche admits some of her best childhood memories are playing hide and seek or tag and she is convinced that will be her secret weapon on the Ultimate Tag course.

As an adult, Avalanche has had an impressive athletic career which has seen her competing nationally in gymnastics and internationally in pole vault at the World Youth Championships, and IAAF World Challenge. At the 2017 Oceania Area Championships, Avalanche was awarded Pole Vault Champion. She has also competed internationally in bobsled, winning two Europa Bronze Cups from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.

To keep fit, Avalanche trains six times a week in pole vault. Her sessions consist
of a mixture of strength and conditioning, plyometrics training using speed and force to build muscle power, gymnastics, pilates, swimming and running. She supplements this high-intensity training with rehab and recovery days.

Avalanche’s proudest achievement in life has been qualifying for the 2014 Commonwealth Games for pole vault. She says that her determination and self-discipline are what enabled her to improve her personal best despite being out of the sport for years.

BRIDGET BURT: Known as Bandit, she is used to being in survival mode, as growing up she needed to be self- sufficient in order to survive. At the age of 12, Bandit began working in her family’s jet ski hire business. At 15, she left home and managed to travel through 28 countries with barely anything in her bank account.

With interests in extreme sports including skydiving, flyboarding, martial arts and pyrotechnics, Bandit found her calling in stunt performing and now is training to achieve her professional qualifications.

Bandit trains daily, mainly focussing on three to nine hours a day of skill-based training for her stunt work.
Even though her adventurous lifestyle has caused her several broken bones, many stitches and plenty of bruises, Bandit says nothing could ever stop her from progressing in her sports.

Described by her friends as crazy, brave and resilient, Bandit will be a Pro Tagger the Players will fear on the Ultimate Tag course.

RUEL DACOSTA: Known as Bulldog, he has always lived an active life and as one of three kids, his childhood was filled with games of tag in the backyard which would often see him scaling a tree or climbing up high on whatever surface he could. The love of climbing eventually led him to his love of parkour, which he now teaches to his three children, who Bulldog says are all parkour prodigies.

Bulldog confesses his fitness regime is to never get old, and he does this by playing parkour with his kids. Bulldog says Ultimate Tag is a big part of his life – particularly given he was a Pro Tagger on the American series and played a key role in the design and development of the Australian series.

Bulldog is used to being on camera, not only as an American Pro Tagger, but also through his appearances in Ninja Warrior UK and Ninja Warrior Europe.

His friends and family describe Bulldog as energetic, playful and hardworking. Bulldog is ready to bring this ceaseless energy to the Australian Ultimate Tag course, and to live up to his family motto of “DaCosta Never Give Up”.

EJ KAISE: KNown as Cyclone, he is a sporting nut who has tried almost every sport out there and is currently training to be a certified surf lifesaver.

He began competing in freerunning competitions in 2012 but attributes his agility, flexibility and stamina to ballet, which he studied from Year 4 to Year 10. Cyclone also has a history of dominating touch football, sprinting, and hurdling.

To stay fit, Cyclone trains in strength and conditioning, as well as sprinting and soft sand work. It is a formidable skillset when combined with his elite parkour skills and passion for surfing, and he is hoping this range
of athleticism will help him catch his opponents on the Ultimate Tag course.

When he’s not training, Cyclone studies travel and tourism and is a self-taught songwriter, with a love for music production.
With seven years of competing in parkour events under his belt, Cyclone knows that as soon as he hits the Ultimate Tag course, his confidence and energetic drive will be a formidable match for any opponent.

MAHALIA MURPHY: Known as Defender, Defender is the youngest of five
siblings and her childhood was spent playing outside with her family and the neighbourhood kids until the streetlights came on at night.

Now an adult, Defender still loves to play games of tag but in the form of a professional Rugby player and is one of only three women to represent Australia in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Rugby Sevens.

She is passionate about working with children and is currently training to be a support worker in her local area for children who are in and out of home care. When she isn’t playing Rugby or working with kids, Defender loves to push her body to the limits by doing strenuous activities such as horse riding, hiking and dancing.

To stay in peak physical shape, Defender has a complex fitness regime that sees her alternating running conditioning, strength conditioning and gym circuits throughout the week.

This strict regime has enabled her to achieve her professional goal of representing Australia in Women’s
Rugby League. She was able to share this special experience with her family, who saw her receive the player of the match when Australia defeated New Zealand in 2015.

Defender says her personal strength is her drive and she is sure this will make her one of the biggest threats on the Ultimate Tag course.

DOMINIC DI TOMMASO: Known as Dominator he has been in the parkour world since he was 15-years-old and is one of the most recognisable parkour athletes in the country, having turned professional in 2014.

Recently, he has been travelling the world training for three years and is ready to dominate the Ultimate Tag course.
To be at the top of his game, Dominator trains parkour for hours and hours every day, and he says his strengths are his decades of movement experience and work ethic, even though sometimes he can be disorganised!

With a background in figure skating, Dominator is a four-time Australian champion, and credits figure skating and ballet for his movement and skills that are needed in order to excel in parkour. His speed, agility and tenacity will be his strength when it comes to the course.

The only Australian parkour athlete sponsored by Red Bull, Dominator’s career highlight is exceptional – he did a project for Red Bull where he jumped out of a helicopter onto the roof of a building in Switzerland, complete with a view of the Alps around him.

Extreme athleticism runs in Dominator’s family. His mother was a world-level outrigger rower, his father a marathon runner and his sister a world-level ice skater. The whole family has the dominating gene, and Dominator hopes that the Ultimate Tag course will be just another sport for him to conquer.

GREG ECKLES: Known as Eagle he has 14 years of parkour experience, Eagle is ready to soar through the Ultimate Tag course. Originally hailing from New York and relocating to Australia when he was aged 11, Eagle now does parkour religiously and keeps fit just to stay at the top of his game.

Living in New York, London and now Sydney, Eagle has travelled the world taking on iconic parkour jumps, such as the Cat Pass in London, which only two other people in the world have ever completed. He holds one of the biggest jumping distances in the global parkour community and can jump 5.72 metres.

Recognised as one of the OG’s in the parkour community, Eagle’s name comes from the fact he has no fear of heights and can confidently jump from high buildings into the air like a bird.

His proudest achievement is placing first in the 2014 GCA Parkour Competition in the US. When he isn’t jumping from great heights, he works professionally as a photographer, particularly in the field of marine and underwater photography. Right now, he is in the middle of refurbishing a van, with plans to road trip around Australia and see everything there is to see.
Eagle has incredible speed and agility and can flip off any obstacle in front of him.

He is going to be extremely confident on the Ultimate Tag course and loves knowing he will intimidate the Players facing him. He says Ultimate Tag combines his favourite things – running, parkour and competition – and having grown up on the streets of New York, he claims “there are no moves I haven’t seen before.”

TRISTAN HODDER: Known as Fire Starter he has been involved in sports since he was a child and credits this early athleticism for his tricking and parkour skills today. He has experience in martial arts including kickboxing and karate, and says his proudest achievement was competing twice in the World Championships for Kickboxing, in 2012 and 2014.

In order to stay in peak physical condition, Fire Starter trains in tricking and parkour daily. He has been training parkour for five years, and in 2020 placed first in the national FreeG Parkour Speed and Freestyle competition.

He specialises in tricks and flips and has some of the highest-level flips in Australia. His speciality is the round off-double back, where he does two consecutive backflips mid-air.

As his name suggests, Fire Starter is a professional fire breather and performer in one of Australia’s leading stunt team, Dauntless Movement Crew. He can even light up his hands like Chanto Santana from Suicide Squad.

Fire Starter is super-fast and incredibly agile, and he is hoping his naturally high energy levels will ensure he dominates on the Ultimate Tag course.

Ultimate Tag

ALI KADHIM: Known as Ghost, he was born in Thailand where he lived until he was five, before his family relocated to Australia. He is the oldest of four siblings and he spent his childhood climbing trees, riding bikes, skateboarding and most importantly, playing tag with his family. Ghost’s love of tag evolved into a love of parkour, much to his parents’ dismay.

Ghost is a professional stunt performer and trains almost every day in bodyweight training, parkour and calisthenics. He says this consistent training regime explains why he is stronger than ever before.

When he’s not performing stunts, Ghost thrives as a parkour teacher in his local community, which he’s been doing for
10 years. Training over 200 people, he is honoured to mentor kids who come to him with little confidence, helping them grow and overcome personal obstacles.

Ultimate Tag

SHAUN WOOD: Known as Hollywood, he had a memorable childhood, full of energy and extreme sports. The eldest of five children, Hollywood and his siblings were always challenging each other in the latest sport.

Not afraid of throwing himself into the deep end, Hollywood is one of the first generation of parkour athletes in Australia. He was the first Australian to compete in the World Freerunning Championships in London and was also the first to compete in the Red Bull Art of Motion competitions.

With 15 years of parkour experience behind him, Hollywood is currently a professional parkour athlete. His nickname comes from his hobbies of photography and videography and his passion for acting. He loves exploring cities with his camera in hand, looking for the best shot or creating his next video project.

When it comes to staying fit, Hollywood cycles through different phases in his training. He does plyometrics and calisthenics, as well as three to four days of specific parkour training a week.

His training motivation comes from a motorbike accident in 2015, in which he broke both arms, suffered a subdural haematoma, and experienced nerve damage to his right shoulder. He has since made a full recovery and can train regularly.

Ultimate Tag

BRODIE PAWSON: One half of the renowned “Parkour Twins”, Rapid is ready to sweep his opponents off the course before they even know he is coming. He has been training parkour for 13 years and has travelled and competed all over the world with his twin brother, Razor.

Rapid takes his training very seriously, doing two days of strength training a week plus three to four days of parkour specific training. He is fast, agile, and an all-round athlete who always puts in 100%.

When it comes to his athletic achievements, Rapid placed first in AAPES Jump Off in 2018 and 2019, which is Australasia’s largest parkour and freerunning event.

When he isn’t pushing his body to the limit by jumping off buildings in Santorini and the Great Wall of China, Rapid spends most of his free time creating content for his online fans. He says he knew Ultimate Tag was the perfect challenge for him and his brother as “taking part just made sense”.

Ultimate Tag

DYLAN PAWSON: One half of the revered “Parkour Twins”, Razor is known for his powerful precision running and super speed at height.

A fan of extreme tricks and flips, Razor grew up with his twin brother, Rapid, on the Gold Coast where they were taught to always be grateful for what they have.

A naturally driven and competitive athlete who started his career teaching parkour classes two to three times
a week while working three other jobs, Razor’s now trains full-time at Queensland’s AAPES parkour facilities with Rapid.
Competition success hasn’t eluded him either.

In 2018 Razor placed second in the North American Parkour Championships.

When it comes to Ultimate Tag, Razor says this is the best opportunity he’s ever come across, with the chance
to show Australia just how exciting parkour can really be.

Ultimate Tag

PAUL PEDERSENN: Known as Redback, he was a sponsored parkour athlete during high school with dreams of becoming a stunt performer. With high school graduation on the horizon in 2008, his studies became the focus and his dreams took a back seat. When a local stunt gym opened in 2012, Redback rediscovered his passion for parkour and stunts and he has
been training and teaching the two disciplines ever since.

He graded as a stunt performer in 2014 and has been building his stunt career by featuring and appearing in
a variety of film and TV shows. To keep his body at peak performance, Redback often switches up his training, ensuring he has a broad range of skills and movements.

Although he loves stunt work, Redback loves his family more. Redback is married to Hayley, whom he met six years ago, and they have a two-year- old son, Albie, who Redback loves to help teach about the world.

Redback loves his career and has appeared in over 55 TV, film, and commercial productions in his time as a stunt performer. He is hoping his ability to mimic others’ movements will give him an edge on the Ultimate Tag course and says he will be playing mind games as well as physical games.

Ultimate Tag

JENNA LOUISE: Known as Ricochet, she has been part of the extreme sports world since the age of 13. She grew up riding BMX bikes, rollerblading around streets and skate parks, and play fighting and racing with her friends. She always wanted to be the best at whatever sport she chose, and that is why she excels at sprinting, climbing, launching and jumping over obstacles – making her perfect for the Ultimate Tag course.

Ricochet credits her physical abilities and mental strength, as she constantly pushes herself to endure DDD, that
is, her “daily dose of discomfort”. Although she admits she is still learning, perfecting and growing, she believes her daily grind is all about becoming a better person.

Ricochet’s proudest achievements are how far she has come professionally and the fact she can now be a mentor and inspiration to others. Her career in extreme sports, including her aspiration to be a sprint cyclist for the Australian Sprint Cycling Team, means her personal training style is constantly evolving.

Ricochet is positive that her broad background of training and her excellent agility will make her one to watch on the Ultimate Tag course.

AMY MORRISON: Known as Riot, she has made her living doing a number of exciting activities, including working as a professional dancer on cruise ships and performing at the Logies and Commonwealth Games.

Now, she works full-time on the Gold Coast as a personal trainer while still managing to dance on the side.

Riot is lucky enough to be able to say that her proudest career achievement so far has been her entire career to date: she has worked hard to land dancing gigs while at the same time staying successful in the cutthroat fitness industry.

Described by her family and friends as crazy, uplifting and energetic, Riot says she wanted to take part in Ultimate Tag as it was unlike anything she’s ever done before and she knew it would push her out of her comfort zone.

Riot is ready to step up to the challenge of the Ultimate Tag course and knows her drive and thirst for life will be her biggest motivator.

Ultimate Tag

STEPHANIE BECK: Known as Spitfire, she currently works as a stunt performer, but she has been a parkour instructor for years. As a stunt performer, she has performed in several TV shows, commercials and films in Australia and around the world.

Spitfire loves to stay active and will do anything physical that comes her way. Stunt work is her number one passion in life. Her hobbies include Muay Thai boxing, gymnastics, skating, or skiing whenever and wherever she gets the opportunity. She currently represents NSW in Oz Tag and she hopes this will give her the edge that she needs on the Ultimate Tag course.
When it comes to staying fit, Spitfire doesn’t have a solid workout routine but instead chooses to do bodyweight workouts, boxing, gymnastics, or just parkouring around her hometown. Becoming a professionally graded 10 stunt performer is Spitfire’s biggest achievement in life.

Spitfire loves a challenge and her friends and family describe her as active and competitive. Failure is not an option for Spitfire, which means even if she’s smiling, she will be one of the fiercest competitors on the Ultimate Tag course.

Ultimate Tag

EMMA NEDOV: Known as Supernova, she is ready to bring her out- of-this-world talent to the Ultimate Tag course and is confident that her experience as an elite artistic gymnast will be her secret weapon.

She has represented Australia in gymnastics for over 10 years internationally and since starting at the age of six, she has been on three World Championship teams and has been the Australian Beam Champion for the past five years.

Keeping herself fit by training gymnastics, calisthenics and Muay Thai boxing, as well as sticking to a vegan diet, Supernova is positive that despite completely rupturing her Achilles tendon in 2017, her full recovery means she will be faster than the speed of light on the course.

Supernova’s biggest career highlight was winning a Gold Medal on the Balance Beam at the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2019.

Supernova is excited to get on the Ultimate Tag course and show Australia how her intense athletic background has prepared her for the competition.

MICHAEL KHEDOORI: Known as The Kid, he is one of the most exciting emerging names in parkour. At only 19, his occupation is professional parkour athlete and he has competed in the Lions Gate Gathering, where he placed second fastest in the Southern Hemisphere for parkour tag.

He was given the nickname The Kid by Dominator. The Kid’s friends and family describe him as unusually fast, and his strengths are anything to do with movement and parkour.

However, being so talented at parkour does come at a cost. Due to his skill in his profession, his fine motor skills aren’t as well honed. As a result, he has trouble doing simple things like threading needles and catching balls… not that there will be any of those on the Ultimate Tag course.

The Kid is always trying to push himself in different ways and get the most out of life. He says that when it comes to
the Ultimate Tag course, he will be lining up his opponent like a target and going after them as if he were a bullet.

TOMMY BROWNE: Known as Titan, he has been boxing since he was just 10-years-old and had a pretty busy childhood as he would play football and box almost every day.

He turned professional at 18 and had a professional career in boxing for 15 years. With 109 amateur fights and multiple titles under his belt, Titan is not afraid to bring his skills to the Ultimate Tag course.

Titan owns a boxing gym where he trains his clients. He has been married for five years and has three children. Although he has a busy home life, he manages to keep a strict diet regime and always trains hard.

Titan says his children are his proudest achievement in life, but his boxing achievements are also very special to him. Winning 16 title fights, the Youth World Title and challenging for the two highest-rated belts have been his biggest accomplishments so far.

Despite his tough exterior, Titan’s family say he is the type of person who likes to help others. This is evident through his work as a youth worker at a juvenile detention centre.

Titan knows he is perfect for the Ultimate Tag course as he is the most competitive person he knows and loves to throw a new challenge into his life.

KATELYN SEARY: Known as Wildcat, she may have grown up in the US, but she is ready to take the Australian Ultimate Tag world by storm.

Coming to Australia on a holiday with her mother many years ago, Wildcat fell in love with the country and ended up getting married to “the boy next door” three years ago.

Wildcat is passionate about fitness, health and her overall wellbeing. One of the most incredible experiences she has had was taking part in fitness model body building, winning multiple titles.

Her self-confessed weakness is her lack of patience, so she will be ready and raring to tag every Ultimate Tag player she faces before the clock even starts.

Wildcat says she would do anything for Australia, which is what pushed her to
take part in the first Australian series of Ultimate Tag.

She admits she has had to completely change up her style of training, but she is ready to take on the 12 home-grown Aussie players.

Ultimate Tag is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Channel 7.

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