Believing in the Glow

In the world of professional wrestling, the character developed to be presented to the audience needs to be unique in some shape or form – in order to get over with the crowd. So it comes as no surprise that Trinity Fatu (who performs under the name Naomi) has been a mainstay in the WWE for nearly a decade since the former Orlando Magic dancer has parlayed her superb physical talents into an athletic career. “I always had a knack for performing,” she says. “I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be an entertainer.”

As a youth, Fatu ran track and field (competed in the long jump), was a part of a weightlifting team, and was trained in dance (tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and modern). Although an already diverse and talented performer, she was still unsure of where her athletic exploits would take her, but she knew she wanted it to revolve around her dancing. She then joined the Orlando Magic dance team, which required a lot of travel. It was during this period that she first watched a professional wrestling show when WWE brought a live performance to Orlando’s Amway Center. “I was blown away,” she recalls of her first time seeing the women perform. “I was like, ‘I know I can do that.’”

After witnessing the perfect mix of theatre and athleticism, Fatu soon opted to try out for the WWE’s developmental territory and told herself, “I like it, this is cool. It keeps me in shape, and it keeps me fit. So I’ll keep doing it until I figure out what’s next.”

She spent about two-and-a-half years in developmental, where she learned to wrestle, work on her gimmick, and cut promos (“When I realized how serious it was, it completely changed my life”), before her main-roster debut alongside Cameron, forming The Funkadactyls, in 2012. The duo riled up the crowd with their catchy theme song and snazzy dance moves. Professional wrestling, after all, is nothing if not cyclical; wrestlers are often looking to reinvent themselves and remain relevant to the audience – and Fatu was no different. After years of performing as a tag team, it was time for her to focus on a singles career. She took this opportunity and let her creativity shine. Her kaleidoscopic “Feel the Glow” entrance – where her in-ring costume glows in the dark – has been a highlight of WWE programming. “It took me two years to get that on TV. I had been pitching it literally for two years,” she shares. “I just knew that was me, and that was what kind of set me apart.”

Last year, moreover, Fatu was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Alumni Hall of Fame, and is appreciative of and cherishes the opportunity to have an impact on young kids. “I grew up in a Boys & Girls Club. Seeing all these little kids who look like me, grew up like me, growing through the same stuff I’ve been through, it’s giving me purpose,” she says of her new outlook on life.

Writer: Alain Clerine

Photographer: KAT

Digital Technician: Brandon David Roth

Stylist: Sybs Speck

Hair: Tiffany Daugherty

Makeup: Hendra Nasril

Videographer: Nick Horne

Editor: Eiko Watanabe

Special thanks to Asian Box (@asianbox - www.asianbox.com) & EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)