Male cheerleader gets all the love for his flawless one-handed lifts during an epic routine
"You can tell that the girls definitely feel safe with him," wrote on viewer.
This is one great team.
No one is likely to argue that cheerleading isn’t a rigorous sport. The amount of strength, agility, precision and discipline that has to go into each and every routine is pretty undeniable. Especially when gearing up for competitions, as Bring It On taught us all those years ago.
But still, folks who saw a recent routine from a pair University of South Florida coed cheerleaders could hardly believe what they witnessed. In a clip that’s garnered close to 1,500,000 votes, we see Brandon Gray, 23, and Ashlyn Pinner, 22, nailing a 30-second routine that featured a one-arm rewind and a drop-toss double-up going into a hands.
These are notoriously two of the sport’s most difficult tricks—though you couldn’t tell by the effortlessness Gray exuded as he spun Pinner in the air like he was flipping flapjacks.
The impressive feat earned Gray the title of “Big man on campus,” along with these wonderful compliments:
“Just THROWING her around !!! and nothing but trust from the flyer, they’re incredible!!”
“He makes this hard work look so easy!!! You actually have to be incredibly strong to make it seem incredibly easy.👏👏👏👏”
“You can tell that the girls definitely feel safe with him ❤️❤️”
“Amazing talent and omg he’s so strong! He’s so calm too! I can’t even imagine how stressful that job is! Great job!!!”
Of course, Pinner got lots of love too, and people were quick to quick to commend the duo on how well they worked together.
“The trust, the strength, the coordination, the balance! Just incredible, both of them! 🔥 💪🏼”
Gray, who started off as an offensive line football player, began cheerleading in his junior year of high school, after realizing he was getting more attention from colleges (smart move, kid). One person even mentioned how Gray might be breaking though some certain stereotypes society still has regarding male cheerleaders, writing, “Imagine making fun of dude for being a cheerleader only to realize he's the personal trainer for thanos😂”
On this point, it’s interesting how, by and large, we tend to think of cheerleading as a “female sport,” when originally, like pretty much all sports, it began as something exclusively for men. Which makes sense, considering that colleges, where cheerleading came from, were also for male students only. It wasn’t until World War II, when men were getting drafted into military service, that women in (now co-ed) colleges began taking up the sport.
Nowadays, while cheerleading is still predominantly female, the rising levels of athleticism required have led to more men participating, especially in college and professional settings, with some NFL teams, like the LA Rams, even building gender-inclusive squads.
Together, Gray and Pinner have won a national championship back in January. This viral video is from a smaller, local competition called the B2B Stunt Battle. But as their Gillian Guadagnino told the Tampa Bay Times, it’s welcomed attention.
“It’s a testament to how cool cheerleading can be when it’s just one girl and one guy doing such hard stunts,” she said. “I think Ashlyn is really impressive and fun to watch, and the way Brandon took everything to one arm was really cool. People have been sending me the video, who have nothing to do with cheerleading.”
Congrats to Pinner and Gray. Keep working hard and having fun while doing it.
