Fallon local Emmily Butz, 24, is competiting in Steven Austin's Broken Skull Challenge game show premiering 7 p.m. Oct. 31 on CMT.
Eight female athletes across the country were chosen to test their strengths in one of the most physically challenging obstacle courses on television — and Emmily Butz of Fallon is among those hardcore contenders.
“I never done a full-on wrestling match with anybody,” she said. “I think that was the hardest part.”
Butz, 24, will appear in a new, fifth season episode of “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge”, a game show featuring world-renowned athletic competitors such as CrossFit, power lifters, and MMA fighters.
The CMT series occupies a Director’s Guild of America Award and has attracted more than 4 million weekly viewers from its last season.
Premiering on Halloween, Butz is taking on three of Austin’s personally designed challenges: Trench Warfare 2.0, Stress Test, and Boulder Press.
“I wish I had more training leading up to it but it was one of coolest experiences I’ve ever had,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m not an on-film, camera person.”
But she is definitely a champion of her own; Butz has been practicing CrossFit for at least four years. Her upper body strength is so skilled, she dead lifts close to 300 pounds.
Another claim to fame is her power to perform at least 15 muscle ups on rings.
She currently serves as a manager, on-ramp coach, and kids’ head coach at CrossFit Powerstroke in Fallon, with owner and her significant other, Sean Sweeney.
“I like to yell at people to push themselves, but I’m a good heart for sure,” she said. “I won’t let them slack.”
Butz grew up in Pacific Grove, Calif., and moved to Fallon three years ago to help open a crossfit gym in Fallon with Sweeney.
Although she loves the relocation, she can’t thank Sweeney enough for encouraging her to try out for the television show.
“I’ve never been super outgoing and I’ve always been reserved,” she said. “But I met some awesome people and I’m still in contact with the cast. But since meeting Sean, he’s helped me come out of my shell.”
Butz said the end of the episode reveals whether she won the competition and a cash prize of $10,000.
She said if she won the cash, she would put it toward her new mobile coffee shop in Fallon, Lyft Coffee.
“I went to Utah last week and bought a trailer,” she said. “I’m currently in the process of getting it ready to go.”
But even if she doesn’t win the cash, Butz is forever undefeated; Lyft Coffee is open for business inside of the gym, 3333 Reno Highway, Suite 5.
“But with the trailer, I’m hoping for it to be up and running by mid-November,” she said.
Although Butz said being in front of cameras is not quite her thing, she plans to jump in on the next opportunity.
“I’m definitely looking to get more involved in stuff like this,” she said. “It was a blast to make an appearance.”
Don’t miss Butz on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, airing on CMT at 7 p.m. Tuesday.