Earlier than she was the primary Black lady to carry an government place in a serious wrestling promotion, Brandi Rhodes was gliding throughout ice rinks in sequins. Earlier than she married into one among wrestling’s most iconic households, she was anchoring native information. And lengthy earlier than she took a single bump within the ring, she was a child watching wrestling on pay-per-view together with her older brother—till her mother and father banned it.
“Considered one of my earliest reminiscences is definitely getting wrestling taken away,” Rhodes tells BET.com. “My brother didn’t get the winner he wished, threw a tantrum, and my mother and father have been like, ‘That’s it. No extra.’”
Ultimately, wrestling discovered its approach again into her life—and this time, she wasn’t simply watching. She was making historical past. Beginning in WWE as a hoop announcer underneath the title Eden Stiles, Rhodes went on to work in promotions like Affect Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and Japan’s World Surprise Ring Stardom. However her most groundbreaking function got here in 2019 when she was named Chief Model Officer and Government Vice President of All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
“It wasn’t about making historical past—it was about contributing creatively and being within the room,” she says. “I introduced a distinct voice to the desk and helped form the model throughout an important time.”
Rhodes’ entry into wrestling was sudden, however she had already spent years getting ready her physique and thoughts for the bodily toll. She spent 17 years as a aggressive determine skater, which she says gave her a serious benefit.
“Folks assume it’s all fairly spins and twirls, however the ice is difficult, and also you fall quite a bit,” she explains. “So after I received into wrestling, the physicality wasn’t a shock. The largest adjustment was studying to bounce again up even quicker.”
Her aggressive edge and athleticism translated naturally into the ring, however whilst she took on larger roles and extra visibility, Rhodes says she was all the time pondering forward—about what got here subsequent.
Rhodes met her husband, WWE celebrity Cody Rhodes, throughout her early WWE days. “He struck up dialog within the hallway a number of instances,” she remembers. “At first, I believed he was teasing me. However a good friend clued me in—he was really .”
Their friendship rapidly advanced into one thing extra. “We’ve been collectively ever since,” she says merely. Lately, with Cody’s star rising quick in WWE, Brandi’s focus is on holding it down at dwelling—particularly for his or her daughter, Liberty.
“I all the time knew he’d attain this degree,” she says. “However now we’ve received a child, and other people run as much as him with a lot pleasure—in the meantime, she’s standing there like, ‘Who’re you and what’s your downside?’”
Brandi typically performs the function of safety guard and mother when followers strategy the household in public. “If we’re at a theme park and followers need to say hello, I preserve it transferring. I’m not being impolite,” she clarifies. “I’m simply targeted on my daughter and preserving her secure.”
Regardless of Liberty rising up backstage and round wrestling rings, she hasn’t really seen her mother and father wrestle. “She runs across the ring and performs, however she has no concept what’s occurring,” Brandi says. “She’s turning 4 this month and has by no means seen a wrestling match. That’s a private determination. At some point she’ll get it—however there’s no strain.”
Brandi can also be clear that Liberty doesn’t should comply with within the household footsteps. “Each time I put up her, somebody’s like, ‘Subsequent era!’ And I’m like—perhaps not. If she desires to wrestle, certain. However simply because her mother and father did it doesn’t imply she has to.”
Discovering Peace in Motion
After stepping again from in-ring competitors, Brandi started constructing one thing totally her personal. She lately opened Bare Thoughts, a wellness studio in North Atlanta that focuses on yoga, Pilates, and mindfulness. The concept was rooted in self-preservation—and a need to problem herself in new methods.
“At first, I didn’t like yoga in any respect,” she admits. “Earlier than I began wrestling, I attempted it in the course of the Bikram period, and I simply wasn’t into it. However I gave it one other attempt, and it turned out to be so useful for me.”
She describes Pilates as a extra athletic counterpart to yoga. “It’s a bit extra strength-based, relying on the place you go and who you practice with,” she explains. “It’s a ravishing solution to discover stability and work in your mobility—particularly as you become old. When you hit your 40s, mobility turns into the whole lot.”
And no, regardless of the title, Bare Thoughts doesn’t contain nudity. “The title refers to you as a clean canvas,” Brandi says. “You are available in, the whole lot is obvious, and also you go do your factor. After all, in case you put ‘bare’ anyplace within the title of something, folks listen. That was somewhat bit intentional. However we don’t get as many individuals as I believed we might asking if it’s really bare yoga. Each every now and then somebody will ask, and I’m like, ‘No. Preserve your garments on. Deal with it like a standard class.’”
For Brandi, Bare Thoughts represents greater than a health house—it’s a private pivot and a blueprint for all times after wrestling. She’s seen what occurs when athletes wait too lengthy to plan for the following chapter.
“I’ll all the time be related to wrestling—particularly with Cody being such a serious determine—however I knew early on I didn’t need wrestling to be the one factor,” she says. “Too many individuals wait till their our bodies give out earlier than they work out their subsequent transfer. I by no means wished to be a type of folks.”
She hopes the studio, and her journey, present her daughter that identification might be multifaceted, and power doesn’t all the time have to return from the highlight.
“I would like Liberty to see there are such a lot of methods to be sturdy. So some ways to steer,” Brandi says. “Wrestling is one a part of our story—but it surely’s not the entire e-book.”