The FFW logo appears on the screen before “Focus” by Ariana Grande begins to play. Then we see the studio being set up, the glass table sat in the center being cleaned, two cups sat on opposite sides of the table. Next we see Zack Hudson tying his shoes and checking himself in the mirror before he heads out to the set as a producer puts a microphone on his shirt before sitting down. When he looks across, we next see the various women who make up FFW and Future Shock flash by in images from their career until it finally stops on Jamie Winters.
The next shot takes us into the familiar Focus studio and finds Zack sitting across from the magical girl at the glass table with two glasses of water set in front of them. Zack greets the viewers from there.
Zack: Hello, everyone. And welcome to the ninth edition of Focus. Also happy new year! On today’s show, I’m joined by the recently returned Jamie Winters. You know her as Future Shock’s resident magician. But she’s also got the entirety of the USA pinning their hopes on her bringing home the gold in the Global Wars series this year. No pressure though.
He says with a grin towards his guest, who seems to be feeling awkward as all heck.
Jamie: Yeah, no pressure… Haha, just representing my country… FFW’s country… And with big shoes to fill, too… I mean, Charlotte Harker cleared her board last year, so… I gotta follow up on the steps of the Moose!... I never got that nickname.
Zack: Don’t worry, I don’t plan to call you a Moose. Besides, we’re not here to talk about the series. You’ll get several chances to do that after it begins. I’m sure you’ve watched the show before, haven’t you? You know what we do on Focus.
Jamie: Yeah! I’m ready for the questions. And we can think of another animal for me to be in the meantime. My first thought is always rabbit, but they’re not as big and imposing as a moose, aaaaaand I’m all over the place already. I’ll let you lead me here.
Zack: You could be an octopus, they are known for disappearing when they can change their color underwater. Of course, that might not be too intimidating. Just make you sound like you’re a little handsy. We’ll figure something out as we go along.
Jamie just blue-screens and blushes for a while.
Jamie: You had me in the first half, not gonna lie.
Zack: We’ll put it in the maybe pile then. Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about growing up Jamie, your parents and any siblings.
Jamie: Well, I’m the only child of a happy family right outside Boston. It’s always nice to be able to say you’re from a smaller town, that being Lowell, except it’s literally a 15-minute drive to the heart of New England, right? Dad worked in retail for the longest time, and mom is a stay-at-home wife. Pretty boring, right? So they always had this wish for me to hit it big and travel the country doing stuff. They got their wish, eventually, they just didn’t expect me to start by going to Vegas and trying my life as a magician, but that’s a story for later. For the longest time I thought dad would like me to be a sportswoman, because he’s your token football super fan, go Pats and all that, and growing up, I misinterpreted that sports passion for something he’d like me to do. So I started with the high-school lacrosse team; didn’t fit. I tried soccer, no cookie… And then I stumbled into amateur wrestling. And boy was it a hit!
Zack: I’ve known several people who grew up as the only child. And they usually have two things in common. So let’s see if it holds true here. One, they usually get spoiled rotten growing up. Were you? And usually, they tend to have one parent wrapped around their finger more than the other. And with girls, that’s usually their father. Confirm or deny either or.
Jamie: I guess football had my parent wrapped around its finger more than anything else. Every chance he had to be in Foxborough? You bet he was there. And he never took me because “that ain’t no environment for a little girl”. So I’m gonna say no to that. But as far as being spoiled… Uhhhhh, a little bit? I mean, I’m not gonna say I always had anything I wanted, but I did grow up in a lot of FOMO. But I wasn’t miserable in any way. Mom and I have always had each other’s backs, and she liked to give me stuff whenever she could.
Zack: That tracks. Growing up, what was your obsession? I mean when I was a little boy, I couldn’t get enough video games and comic books. What was your weakness as you were growing into a teenager and beyond?
Jamie: This is gonna sound real weird but… Marbles.
Jamie giggles.
Jamie: You know the ball-in-the-cup trick every magician does? It was the first one I learned. And because of that I just wanted to collect the shiniest and prettiest of marbles to play with and develop new tricks. So when I saw all the cool designs they could have, like cats-eyes nebulas and geodes and whatnot, I was hooked. I don’t go out of my way to collect them anymore, but I still have that jar full of cool marbles. And after that, when I grew into being a magician, I also started collecting… you know, standard magician stuff. Playing card decks in different designs, a lot of ribbons– yeah, I had a phase that I was in love with ribbons; when I was in the olympic wrestling team, I was the girl that always hit the mat with a lot of ribbons around my wrists, just to look different.
Zack: Nebulas, huh? That could be your nickname, but they are kinda large gas giants so it might not be the most complimentary. People think you could need some kind of medication for all that gas.
He shook his head and got back on topic, while Jamie blue-screened again apparently.
Zack: Didn’t expect marbles. But I’m starting to see the pattern a bit here. What was your first exposure to magic?
Jamie: Weird story that I need to preface with: I’m afraid of clowns. Or… Was. Saw a lot of them in Vegas, got desensitized to it. Anyway, I was a dumb child. And I remember this one event at school, I think, that had one of those dudes all decked out as a Pierrot, you know? Blowing up string balloons and making animals shapes, and making little tricks for the children. Now, I wasn’t that small of a child when it happened – let’s say I was… I dunno, 11. So I remember being kinda freaked out. And bless his heart, he came up to me to calm me down and made a little magic trick. The one with the disappearing– You know what? I’ll just show you.
Jamie reaches into a pocket and pulls out an orange sponge ball.
Jamie: Always ready! So, you know this one, right? I’m not gonna make you say any ‘magic words’, promise.
Jamie squeezes the ball in her hand, and then opens her palm, and the ball is not there anymore. Magic!
Jamie: This one. The thing is: when he did that trick, I saw through it. And I was like, “my dude, I can be a magician too!” So I looked into how these tricks were made, the materials they used, and I snowballed from there.
Zack: I follow a few magicians on TikTok actually, and you could put a few of them to shame. So while you’re out there learning the ropes…and making them disappear, same question again. Where did you find wrestling?
He snapped his fingers.
Zack: You could be the marmot! Short, fast, strong legs… But the females tend to live in harems with one male so… scratch that. Go ahead.
Jamie: I d-don’t think… harems… would be a good– ANYWAY! That’s another interesting story, and one that involves someone that FFW knows through someone other than me. When I was in the olympic wrestling team, I had a… Would she be offended if I…? I don’t think so, so I’ll just say it. I had a boyfriend who was, and has always been, a HUGE wrestling fan. I mean, he’s a big dork, he’s super into games and cosplay and wrestling and fun. I was brought into wrestling by a certain someone named… Alexander Price. Husband to FFW’s own Rose Gardner. And… You know. He’s… been around. So back when we were together, and I was in the amateur wrestling team, we’d watching the graps together, and he enabled me to pursue that, if I so chose to.
Zack: Alex, huh? Does he also have a life size standee of you too like he does Cait Flanagan and Scarlett Silver among others? Or was the real live girl sufficient?
Jamie: I’d be surprised if he did, because you don’t tend to have merch of your ex-girlfriend sitting around your home… But Rose is SUPER chill and we're super close friends now. Given that, and that Alex is a big dork, I wouldn’t be exactly surprised.
Zack: Alex seems to find himself in good company, what with you and now Rose. Well done to him. I wanted to– I got it, the toucan! Indigenous tribes consider them a symbol of showmanship, which is important to a magician, right? But….they tend to die at about 20 years old and get eaten by jaguars. Back to the drawing board.
Jamie: … do you think Leona Vega would wanna try and eat me?
And then Jamie blue-screens herself.
Jamie: Fuck, that sounded wrong. NEVERMIND! She’s the Lion, too, not the Jaguar– I’ll just shut up.
Zack: So you’re watching wrestling with Alex. You’re getting into it along with the love of magic. Where and how did you find yourself looking up Future Shock? Was that also through Alex?
Jamie: It was! When I moved to Vegas after school, Alex and I kept messaging one another as penpals for a while, until we kinda fell off one another’s radar. Life goes on, you know, that kind of thing. I was doing my thing on Vegas Strip, and many, many years after I left Lowell, I stumble into Alex and Rose in Vegas! Of course I wanna talk to my old friend, see how he’s doing, know about the new missus. And Rose, with that massive heart of hers, up and says, “Alex told me you used to do olympic wrestling? I’m a pro wrestler!” And all those memories came flooding back of the shows we watched and how we joked I’d be some big deal someday. I’d been on Vegas for some years, but I had nothing actually holding me there, so I see myself returning to Boston with Alex and Rosalina. And thanks to Rose, I walked into the Future Shock Development Center in Boston, and, like… never left.
Zack: That seems to be the case with many of the girls. It’s almost a second home for many, I’ve learned. Now Alex isn’t the only person around here who I know you’re tight with. Possibly even tighter from what I hear with our very own Jake. How did that come about?
Jamie: He’s a swell guy, isn’t he? It was shortly after I debuted in Future Shock, we met in catering and kinda hit it off immediately. I tend to have this thing for dorky dudes with big hearts– Guess I shouldn’t be saying that about Jake. But he knows I mean it in the best of ways. He’s easily one of the best friends I made in the industry since I joined it, and it just kinda… happened, you know? You know when you meet someone for the first time and you just say, “I’m gonna be best friends with this person”? That was me and him.
Zack: I can identify with that. There’s been one or two like that for me. I ask everyone this, but what was your biggest shellshock from watching wrestling to finally getting in there to do it?
Jamie: There were three big moments for me. The first was when I was first pushed to my limits in training, and when I discovered I was actually a high-flyer. I never tested myself with heights and trampolines, so when I first bounced on a rope, I knew I was gonna love it. And there’s this big difference between olympic wrestling and lucha libre, right? I’ve never been to a Mexican lucha libre school in my life, so finding myself as a flyer was really cool. The second shock was… Man, this freaking HURTS! Olympic wrestling is all about the holds and suplexes; you’re not throwing your whole-ass weight onto someone. And I know I’m a lightweight, but still, you throw a hundred pounds on top of someone, it’s gonna make a little mess. The third…
Jamie sighs.
Jamie: Some people are assholes, you know? Shouldn’t have to be surprising – there are assholes all over the place no matter where you look. But when you mix combat sports and strong, larger-than-life personalities, all of them fighting for the brightest spotlights, it gets WEIRD. And… As you can see, I’m a bit of a cryptid. I’m an awkward little guy. I may talk a lot, but I’m not really good with the words stuff. I tend to make a LOT of faux-pas, because my mind is always three steps ahead of my mouth. It was a part of the whole thing that I saw on TV a lot, but I didn’t imagine how hardcore it was until I started doing the thing.
Zack: I think we got a glimpse of the whole part about your brain being ahead of your mouth when you wondered if Leona Vega would eat you. But that’s alright. Looking back on the path so far that got you to where you are now, is there anything you’d change if you could go back and do it over again? And the comment about Leona doesn’t count.
Jamie: I’d have started earlier. I’d have trusted the process even better. But other than that… I think I’m on the right path. We can’t expect to become ultra-stars overnight, and I know I have a long way to go. I learned from some of the coolest in the Development Center, and I learned to trust my abilities with Rose, so I think I’m doing good. As for Leona, I hope she isn’t HUNGRY. For FOOD. Because I’m not suitable for DINNER. Goodness me…
Jamie buries her face between her hands in embarrassment. This all amuses Zack as he gives her a moment before he continues.
Zack: I think you’re on a great path. Fans, Jamie also has a full magic special on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to check it out. Anyway, who on the Future Shock roster do you either look up to or admire? Are you a fangirl for any of them?
Jamie: Definitely! I’m really into Aviva Miller, she’s hot.
Beat.
Jamie: IN THE RING! HOT STREAK!
Jamie facepalms loudly, taking a moment to breathe. She’s OBVIOUSLY very accelerated right now, time to dial it down a bit.
Jamie: By which I mean. She held the Diamond Championship pretty much all year, didn’t she? And she’s one of the hot– most valuable wrestlers in the brand right now. And she’s got a heart of gold, too! I’ve seen her social media footprints, she’s very positive and upbeat – just the kind of people I wanna be around. Arabella Townshend comes to mind, too, she was undefeated the whole last year! Plenty of examples to follow in Future Shock. And, hey – jokes apart? Leona Vega’s back. She’s a big freakin’ deal. You don’t sleep on a girl like that.
Zack: I agree with all of the above. And the last thing I’ll ask you about before we wrap up here is for all the young girls out there who may be looking up to you and want to do all this. So whether it’s chasing the dream of being a magician or a wrestler, is there a piece of advice that you could give them?
Jamie: I don’t know if I’m the best person to be giving out advice, have you seen how my brain works? But, jokes aside… If anyone has a dream, an ambition, to join a team or do something big, all you gotta do is trust the process. Everything starts small. Everyone starts at square 1. I’m not gonna sit here and say “everyone’s got the same 24 hours” – that’s BS. But if you fight for it, and you trust the process, things will work out. It may take longer, it may be fast, it’s different for everyone. But at the end of the day, you keep fighting, and things will happen. Trust the process.
Zack: You’ve been a phenomenal guest, Jamie. I appreciate you spending some time talking with me today. On upcoming shows, some of the guests who will be occupying that chair include: Gwen Margolis, Lilly Arthur, and even Kyle Kilmeade. I hope you’ll join us, fans, for those shows. And I’m sure you’ll be supporting Jamie as she represents the USA in Global Wars. Once again, thank you for watching and happy new year! I’ll see you next time here on Focus.
Zack reaches over the table and shakes hands with Jamie as the credits roll and Focus fades off the air on FFW All Access.
