You must know Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles by now. Yeah! that phenom of a gymnast.
Biles, of African-American extraction surmounted Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s 23 championship medals record when she secured her 25th medal — gold in the floor exercise last Sunday.
Biles is now regarded as the greatest gymnast of all-time, no mean feat as she is also the most decorated.
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However, when Biles was making history in Germany, there was one particular fan buoying her on to victory.
When all is said and done, one needs to come home to some loving and for the celebrated gymnast, her man-love is an acrobat and fitness coach Stacey Ervin Jr.
And for Stacey’s support for his girlfriend, he’s received a ton of praise. In a Instagram clip, Stacey could be seen jumping and urging Biles on while executing her moves.
“C’mon, babe,” he said as he watched her final challenge of the night. “C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
And as she nailed the last steps of her floor routine, he bounced along and shouted, “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”
When he posted the clip to Instagram, along with a photo of his 22-year-old partner wearing her newest gold medal, he added a message that also captured his excitement.
“MY WOMAN IS A 5x WORLD CHAMPION IN THE ALL-AROUND & I COULDN’T BE MORE PROUD,” he wrote in the caption. “I get hyped every time I watch her do her thing & today was no exception. Congratulation, babe! The whole world is proud of you!”
To leave no one in doubt about the goodness about to happen, Ms. Biles responded, “My mans. Can’t wait to give you the biggest smooch ever! thanks for your endless support babe. i love you with my whole heart.”
But who is Stacey Ervin Jr.?
“I was told that I was the fastest ever to go from no wrestling experience to a TV match,” Stacey recalls.
Stacey had gotten a chance for a tryout at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) recruiting grounds thanks to girlfriend Simon who had come in contact with WWE icon Paul Michael Levesque alias Triple-H in 2017 and asked if her guy could tryout.
Eventually Stacey would spend nearly a year with the WWE in 2018 on contract, however, a freak accident would conclude his time with the organization when he was just rising to become a notable wrestler.
A belly-to-back suplex he attempted saw him land on the back of his head causing many viewers to fear he had broken his neck or suffered a concussion. Thankfully he was safe although he acknowledged “I didn’t suffer a concussion, but I did have a scary spill.” He walked away from the WWE aged 25 noting, “It occurred to me that the risk versus reward through my path at WWE just wasn’t worth it to me personally. I felt there were other ways for me to achieve my personal vision without risking life and limb.”
For gymnastics, Ervin’s mum Stephanie Hayes had asked he ran across a balance beam at a recreational centre aged about eight, when he pulled it off, the instructor asked they get to the Michigan Academy of Gymnastics for further training.
Proving to be a naturally gifted gymnast, he was profiled by the Detroit News at age 12 and as a U.S. junior champion on Vault at 16. He matriculated at the University of Michigan, where he was part of an NCAA champion team placing third on floor exercise.
Losing his mum to T-Cell lymphoma before his freshman season proved difficult.
“I struggled dealing with grief over her death. Not to mention living in a new environment with increased athletic and academic demands. I consistently found myself alone, spiraling downward,” he told the University of Michigan Depression Center.
Ervin graduated from Michigan in 2015, followed by working at Oracle as a customer success manager in Austin, Texas but being a gymnast and tied down to a desk for eight hours soon proved too much.
In 2017, however, Ervin made his way to gymnastics and to the Biles’ gym- ‘World Champions Centre’ – at Spring, Texas. He met Nellie Biles and soon became a coach and director.
Curiously, Nellie’s daughter, Simone, and Ervin were to become lovers after the 2013 U.S. Championships where they crossed paths.
“I made a 17-year gymnastics career and pretty successfully walked away with no injuries that would impair me to function at any other level.”
By his 23rd birthday, he had begun developing his curls which look damn good on him.
Ervin set up health and fitness venture calling it “The Wave” with support from friends. His Instagram stories — broadcast to 122,000 followers — are a daily diary of diet and wellness. He launched a website and a $25 workout guide last month.
Well, for those wondering who that fine man is by champion gymnast Simone Biles, he is Stacey Ervin Jr. health and fitness coach and former U.S. national team gymnast.
