AUSTIN, Texas — Many may look at the Netflix docuseries "Cheer" as just an entertaining show but, at Cheer Athletics Austin, they live it.
"We love it," said cheerleader Jordan Tillett. "We push ourselves, we want to win, we want to be champions and we will do whatever it takes to get to that point."
For 11 years, 18-year-old Tillet put all of her energy into competitive cheerleading.
"It's hard, we have to sacrifice a lot to be here," said Tillet.
Her team, Onyx Cats, practices six to 10 hours a week – not including the actual competition.
From complicated tumbling passes to daring stunts performed by kids as young as four, it's clear the era of cheerleaders throwing pom-poms and chanting is coming to an end.
The wildly popular Netflix series "Cheer" shows the world exactly how intense the sport can be.
The documentary follows the Navarro Community College cheer team through grueling practices as they prepare to compete for another national championship.
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"I was really excited just to see cheer getting recognition on a collegiate level," said Cheer Athletics co-owner Yanzi Rhine.
Rhine and Jason McCartney are the owners of Cheer Athletics Austin. Their sister gym in Plano was featured on the show and has seen an increase in enrollment because of it.
“Our class programs are starting to get a lot more interest in it, our open gym program is filling up a lot more," said McCartney.
Just like many other athletes, the show inspired Tillet to strive to become a collegiate cheerleader. She is trying out for the University of Texas cheer team in a few months.
"I never really thought about college cheer and I was more about competitive and high school and I thought that would be it," explained Tillet.
After speaking with other gyms in the area, KVUE found out that they are also seeing an increase in interest and people enrolling in their classes to prepare for tryouts.
McCartney said the great thing about cheer is its incivility.
"You can be anybody, any walk of life and we still have the ability to include you in our sport and that’s the beautiful part about it,” McCartney said.
Tryouts for Cheer Athletics Austin will be held in May.
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