Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:00:00) – The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by the host and guests on this podcast are their own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of UCLA Athletics, UCLA gymnastics, or the Bruins gymnastics alumni community. The content of this podcast is strictly for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice.
Welcome to the Bruin gymnastics edition of the Resilience to Brilliance podcast, where you’ll be inspired by riveting behind the scenes stories of UCLA gymnastics legends. I’m your host, Kim Hamilton Anthony. Here we go.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:07) – JaNay Honest was wise beyond her years when she realized that surrounding herself with the right people could actually help her reach her potential. She came to UCLA as a walk on, and her hard work paid off when she received a scholarship her senior year and became a national champion as well. After graduating, she entered the world of sports broadcasting and earned an Emmy Award with Pac 12 networks. I enjoyed hearing JaNay’s resilience story and what it can look like when you decide that you’re not going to settle for less.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:46) – Let’s listen. JaNay. Welcome.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:55) – Hello.
JaNay Honest (00:01:56) – So nice to see you.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:57) – You as well? You look like such a dancer. I love it.
JaNay Honest (00:02:02) – Thank you.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:02) – Janay, you were 12 years old when you decided you wanted to compete on UCLA’s gymnastics team. What inspired that dream? Were you watching them on television? What happened?
JaNay Honest (00:02:15) – So once I turned 12, that’s when I was really tapped into the Olympics. I think that was 2008, and the Olympic dream had already come and gone. But I started watching college gymnastics around that time. And so that’s when University of Georgia and UCLA were really poppin. I feel that they, you know, those two schools really have a legacy. But I just was really intrigued by them and very it was just something about those two teams competing that really caught my eye compared to the other teams that I was watching. So. When I was 12, and that summer I went to my first UCLA summer gymnastics camp because it’s in California. I was born and raised in California.
JaNay Honest (00:02:56) – So, you know, we wanted to start with the in-state schools. And when I walked on that campus and had those 3 or 4 days there, it really sealed the deal for me. I don’t know, I just I knew then I knew I wanted to stay, you know, far enough away from home, but close enough not to, you know, not have to. Yeah. Book a flight. And the food was amazing. The coaches.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:03:19) – What is it with gymnasts and food?
JaNay Honest (00:03:21) – It’s just it’s just.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:03:23) – Important.
JaNay Honest (00:03:4) – Right? This feeds my soul figuratively, figuratively and literally. But yeah, I just think in every other college student that I’ve talked to, whether they’re, you know, athletes or not, I think UCLA had the best food options as far as dining halls, because we have a lot of dining halls and cafes and just so good. So the food and then the coaches and the team culture. And, you know, I loved the gym and, you know, the whole John Wooden thing, you know, pyramid of Success, like all of those things were really.
JaNay Honest (00:04:00) – Amazing to see and to learn about at the age of 12. And my dad had me read the book wooden, I think, after I got back. And so yeah, I just I tried my best not to have tunnel vision because, you know, I really wanted to keep my options open, but I wanted to become a Bruin after that first camp. I said, this is where I’m going, and I’m going to work really hard to to hopefully compete as a Bruin.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:04:21) – What was it about the culture that you saw? How is it different from the culture that you were experiencing in your own gym?
JaNay Honest (00:04:27) – Yeah, I love the diversity because I come from a very small town vibe, you know, farm country, lots of dairies and and cornfields and stuff like that. And growing up, I went to a private school that did lack diversity. I was the only black girl, you know, from first to ninth grade. And when college came into the picture, my parents decided to transfer me to a public school to kind of get, you know, a bigger classrooms, you know, bigger population and a little bit more diversity.
JaNay Honest (00:05:01) – But that’s something that really stuck out to me because, you know, I just I really wanted to something in me just really wanted to experience different cultures and, you know, every different walks of life and stuff like that. And you saw, you know, everything at UCLA, too. So that’s what really drove me to there, because coming from a small town, you can be very sheltered and very closed in and not really know what’s happening in the world. And so that’s I don’t know now that now that I’m saying it out loud, that’s that’s what also drove me to UCLA. And I just love that Miss Val is also a life coach too. And not just, you know, national championships are very prevalent. And obviously that’s the ultimate goal. But it was very evident that she knew her gymnasts were not going to be gymnasts forever. So, you know, what type of person do you want to be when you get out into the real world? And yes, you’re in the real world when you’re in college, but when you.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:06:00) – Actually but it is a different world.
JaNay Honest (00:06:02) – Yeah, it’s a different oh, it’s just I was not ready. I feel I feel that I’m finally finding my footing at 27. But you know, and like I feel more stable. But it’s just crazy. You know, when you’re 22 and you think you have it figured out and you think you have a plan, but it takes time.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:06:19) – It does take time. And I do want to get into what you’re doing now a little later in our interview. But I do want to talk about the situation when you went back to your club and you said, hey, I want to compete for UCLA gymnastics.
JaNay Honest (00:06:35) – Yes.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:06:36) – How was that received?
JaNay Honest (00:06:38) – So it wasn’t a reaction I was expecting. So I was very excited, obviously as a 12 year old in seventh grade. Yeah, because that’s when I would get on my binders. I had UCLA binders, like all of the UCLA binders and notebooks and stuff like that. And I was just so excited.
JaNay Honest (00:06:57) – And, you know, the conversation of college had come up finally. And, you know, I was like, okay, no, this is where I want to go. And I couldn’t wait to go back and tell my coaches that UCLA is where I wanted to go. And so I ran up to my male coach at the time. And, you know, I remember being on floor and I said, UCLA is my dream school. Like, that’s where I want to go. And he looked at me and said, oh, you’ll never be able to compete for UCLA. You know, they recruit elites and Olympians. And I looked at him and I just remember being a little taken aback. I just I wasn’t expecting that reaction. And granted, I was 12. I had a lot of growing and a lot of skills to learn, but just to be immediately counted out was disheartening, you know, And so hearing that and, you know, that kind of narrative continued for the next six years until I graduated, until I did go to UCLA.
JaNay Honest (00:07:53) – So but I use that as motivation, kind of just like a fire in me to a little, a little bit of me wanted to prove them wrong, but it’s just, okay, well, if my coaches don’t believe in me, then at least let me believe in myself.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:08:10) – While you were wrestling with what you had been told, was there anyone encouraging you during that time?
JaNay Honest (00:08:15) – My dream was to go to UCLA and my parents knew that, so I really just had to lean on my parents at the time because my coaches said otherwise. So wish they didn’t count me out as early as they did and were more encouraging, you know, like understandably so. Yes, UCLA recruits elites and Olympians, but I wanted to surround myself with the best. And so why not say, listen, they they have these girls on this team. So you got to work really, really hard instead of just telling me, oh no, like you shouldn’t go there because. They recruit these types of girls, you know.
JaNay Honest (00:08:49) – Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:08:54) – That’s a that’s a hard situation to be in. And you have to motivate yourself at times. You had your parents there, but your parents weren’t necessarily in the gym with you. So what are some things that you would do to help you to hang in there to, to go for your goal? What are some things that you even told yourself? Did you do positive self-talk? How do you do it?
JaNay Honest (00:09:20) – I really just did the extras, you know, I would do, like, extra rope climbs. At the end of every practice, I would do three rope climbs. Um, I was really strong. I think I would really, um, what I should have, but I, you know, this wasn’t really what was a focus for me, but I really should have focused on, you know, flexibility and technique and form and stuff. But, um, you know, that really wasn’t much of a focus until I would say my junior, senior year when a newer coach came in and he got my vaults to, you know, a really good place.
JaNay Honest (00:9:40) – Um, and, you know, because I didn’t get that technique training when I was younger because I would just throw, throw skills and.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:9:48) – And you were strong enough to make it happen.
JaNay Honest (00:9:50) – Yeah. And it was more like, okay, she’s got it. We’ll throw it in the routine. But did it look pretty. No. So I see yeah. So that focus came in around like junior senior year which you know by then, you know at least when was the recruiting time in my era girls were already, you know, committed and stuff and had been committed for a while. So I was a late bloomer. And luckily, you know, some things work out for late bloomers and stuff and things open up. But, um, yeah. So I think it was mainly, you know, yeah, positive self-talk. I would say I did the extras in the gym. I had a whole high beam that my dad got to put in our backyard and with like a four incher and an eight incher so I would the beam was my least favorite, but also my the event that I struggled the most with.
JaNay Honest (00:10:43) – So, um, you know, I would practice extra on that and I would do series on that beam. Yeah, I would do
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:10:47) In your backyard? All right.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:10:52) – Did it have padding or what. What was it, a real beam that you.
JaNay Honest (00:10:57) – A real beam, Yep. Like a real high beam Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:11:25) – Your dad was dedicated. He’s like, my baby girl needs a beam, and I’m going to get her a beam.
JaNay Honest (00:11:05) – So it was with that, like, for, like the the standard like. Yeah. And then with the eight incher on top. So yeah we had mats and stuff. So I was safe. But that was a really hard worker. Um, and I leaned into that, um, and once I got, you know, better coaching when it came to technique and stuff like that, then I started technically getting better. And then, you know, that continued once I graduated from senior year. But yeah, I think just yeah, working out, working to block out the negativity.
JaNay Honest (00:11:38) – But now even as an adult, I’m still working on that or working on the negative self-talk that sometimes comes up in myself.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:11:47) – So around your high school senior year, had the encouragement changed? Was there hope? Because that’s a long time. From 12 to 18, you have a lot of time for improvement.
JaNay Honest (00:11:58) – Yeah. Not really. I still I still went to the summer camps every summer to one, let the coaches now that I’m interested, you know, and I would I would, you know, move up a level every year and I’d get better every year kind of thing. And I kind of built a rapport. Is that the word I’m looking for with the coaches? And you know, they recognized me. And, you know, I would send them updates via email. And because I think now they do they have like whole Instagram like pages for recruiting. But back in the day you used to send emails of me updates and stuff. But yeah, no, I think when the time came to start taking unofficial visits and official visits, they were really pushing other schools.
JaNay Honest (00:12:49) – And obviously you said it was always at the top and they would push other schools and I would go visit them, but I just didn’t see myself going there. I didn’t see myself at the campus, but I went to go visit. So it wasn’t a case where, you know, they were pushing other schools and I said, no, I don’t want to give it the time of day. I did. You know, we went all up all through California to all the other schools that have gymnastics programs and they, you know, we had meetings over dinner at Applebee’s and they were, you know, talking about, you know, oh, well, you know, you can be the top athlete, the top incoming freshmen here. I remember just thinking, well, I don’t have any intention of being the top all around athlete. I already don’t like beams, so I don’t want to compete. Beam.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:13:32) – But you knew what you wanted.
JaNay Honest (00:13:36) – I knew what I wanted, but also I knew that going to UCLA, I was not that great.
JaNay Honest (00:13:39) – I mean, I was good, but I knew I could be a lot better, and I knew that UCLA would make me a better athlete and also a better person just because of the live coaching that Miss Val really leaned on. And yeah, that’s why I really wanted to surround myself with the best to be to be my best. I don’t want to come in as a freshman knowing that I haven’t reached my potential. And, um, it was I wanted them to see, like, listen, I want to reach my potential. Can you help me reach my potential rather than, you know, having me settle to go to another school that, you know, you really want me to go to and not really leaning into, you know, my needs and what I want to do with my life.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:14:22) – So what I love hearing about what you just said is you wanted to surround yourself with greatness. Basically, yes. So that it would motivate you, push you, make you better at gymnastics, make you a better person.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:14:39) – And I think that is just important not only in gymnastics but in life, who you surround yourself with. I mean, those are the key decisions that we need to make. Are we going to settle for less? Are we going to hang with the crowd that is not wanting excellence, not moving in the direction that we want to go? Or are we going to set ourselves up for success?
JaNay Honest (00:15:03) – Yeah, and it’s a big life lesson to learn. And even I just really walk in that now, and I’m really intentional with who I surround myself with and people that elevate me and motivate me and and people that want to be their best selves and so we keep each other accountable and push ourselves. And I think that’s really important because looking at life as a journey and not a destination, that’s something I really have to remind myself of, too, because I think once we get to like our goal, then we’re like, okay, cool. But it’s like, no, it’s this continuous thing, but also not rushing it either and not getting hard on yourself when something doesn’t go your way.
JaNay Honest (00:15:45) – And you know, even if. UCLA didn’t have a spot. You know, at least I did everything in my power to to, you know, make that happen for myself, you know. But they did have a spot for me. And so I took it kind of thing. And, um, yeah, I think that was something that really shaped me today. But yeah, positive self-talk, I didn’t really I don’t think that was much of a, of a, of a focus until I got to UCLA, because I think that’s where my mental block started, because I had been told for many years, and once I was there, which you think it would all get better. But I think that’s when the negative self-talk really, really, because I started getting a lot of mental blocks in college.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:16:29) – Okay, So let’s talk about that. Yeah. Who was JaNay honest as a gymnast and as a person when she walked through those doors at UCLA as a freshman. Describe her.
JaNay Honest (00:16:40) – I was nervous, I was very excited that this was happening, that my dream was finally coming true.
JaNay Honest (00:16:46) – I was already a hard worker, so I knew, okay, well, I’m a walk on, which means, you know, I have to work really, really hard to to prove myself. I mean, I’d already proven myself. I’m here and Miss Val made it very evident that, listen, we’re all on an even playing field. You know, people with scholarships don’t have a leg up like everybody is on the same level. So that made me feel better. But I just felt that, you know, being a walk on, you know, and holding the walk on legacy because, you know, there’s a long list of walk on legacies at UCLA. And it’s really cool to be a part of that. But just, you know, really wanting to make my mark, not just be on the team, but, you know, I wanted to see what I can accomplish and how good I can get when it came to my potential. But yeah, so I was I didn’t speak up as much.
JaNay Honest (00:17:35) – I wasn’t very outspoken. I’m a leader by example. But as a freshman, you know, you’re just trying to figure out life, trying to parents aren’t doing laundry for you anymore. You got to wake up by yourself. You got to set your own alarm. So I was really just trying to. That already is a huge adjustment as it is. And then, you know, me really figuring out, okay, how now I’m here, now how am I going to compete? Like, you know, I just kind of saw it as like a stepping stone, you know? So once I got through the doors and was on the team, now it’s like, okay, how am I going to compete? What events do I want to contribute on? Not balance beam. I was really like.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:18:20) – Beam is not it.
JaNay Honest (00:18:23) – But yeah, my coach at the time because I think it was Don Pawlenty and Miss Val, Randy and Chris. But so Dom was working with me a lot on beam actually freshman year he pulled that videos.
JaNay Honest (00:18:33) – I saw him the other day and he pulled up videos and I said, wow. Like we were really we were almost there. We just didn’t have a dismount. But I did like I just wasn’t the greatest at it. But yeah, so once I got there, it was like, okay, so how am I going to contribute? Like, what do I really need to work on? So it was really like a lot of technique, a lot of stretching. Miss Val bought this ballet foot stretcher specifically for me to use.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:18:58) – Tell me about that. Because a lot of transformation took place with you over those four years while you were at UCLA. So tell me about the Little Foot contraption.
JaNay Honest (00:19:07) – Yeah. So you can probably pull up a video. My left foot did not point on my tkachev really ever. So it was always flexed. I don’t know why. It was like a built in deduction. Like one of those things that, you know, my club coaches didn’t fix because I I could just throw it and we catch it and it wouldn’t.
JaNay Honest (00:19:28) – So and it’s crazy to yeah my tkachev didn’t like it. Got really consistent when I got to UCLA, which is wild because I remember being in club. And we’ll see if we catch it today. But my left foot was always flexed like it would have like, you know, when the toes are curled.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:19:41) – Oh really?
JaNay Honest (00:19:43) – That’s what it looks like. So. Okay, um, Miss Val bought this ballet foot stretcher. That was very painful. And it was very much catered to me because no one else used it. Um, like, I’m definitely one of
Kim Hamilton Anthony (OO:19:54 ) – that special gift.
JaNay Honest (00:19:58) – Yeah, I think I saw, like, one other girl maybe use it one time, but I was very much. Jenny, you you need to sit in this specifically for this left foot, so I did I worked, I’d use that every day. Um, you know, I would have teammates sit on my knees. Chris would put weights on my knees, you know, with my feet on a on a panel mat just to get work on my knees because my knees, you know, if I would tighten them, they didn’t look as straight because just I’m strong.
JaNay Honest (00:20:22) – You know, I was muscular. So we had to really work on flexibility and, you know, different things like my vault, you know, we dropped me down to like, the vault levels, the vault setting at my club, my coach at the time, you know, how to solve vault on 135 so he wouldn’t have to move it up and down, which, you know, means you’re not turning over your roundoff and stuff like that. So dropping from 135 to 125 was very scary. But, you know, it just taught me to turn over my roundoff and got my technique better. And, you know, we’re working on my tap on bars and okay, what dismount can she do because her legs are separated on this. What exercises can we do for her for her full end dismount or half and half out? Did I do a full one half and half out dismount on bars and you know and Dom, he did cheer as well. So his tumbling technique is amazing. So he’s working with me on Plyo and just it’s just all those little things that I didn’t get growing up is what we focused on because I had the skill.
JaNay Honest (00:21:22) – So how are we going to make them? You still like for me to be able to compete for UCLA? So that was really what we focused on, you know, in the summer, like especially because I started going to Waller’s Gym Jam after I graduated. So we’d make that two hour commute, um, like three days a week for training with Chris. But yeah, so that was that was the mindset. Just I was excited yet get terrified. Because it’s like, ooh, like we’re here and this is like really cool. And, you know, just, you know, when you’re like a nervous freshman, a very nervous freshman who was just kind of quiet. I think our whole class was none of us spoke up. We’re really talkative. So yeah, but I was very I was a hard worker. I was like, very determined.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:22:08) – Your coach is just from what you described. It sounds like they spent quite a bit of time with you. You were a walk on freshmen, yet they are spending extra hours.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:22:16) – You’re going to Chris’s gym afterwards. The stretching machine, all these things that they’re working to help you to become the best gymnast that you can be. How did that feel to have coaches who believed that you could be better?
JaNay Honest (00:22:35) – It was amazing. I think that’s why me, my me and my parents made the sacrifice to drive down and make that commute until I was able to go to campus, you know, first summer school and. Yeah, and they were like that with all the athletes. You know, I felt, you know, they really were intentional and catered to our strengths, but also focused on our weaknesses as well.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:23:06) – Tell me about the time when you thought you may have made a mistake when you chose to go to UCLA, was that a season of time? Was it just a moment, a thought?
JaNay Honest (00:23:19) – It was a it was a specific moment, I think, and it was when I was first buying my books my freshman year. And books are so, so very expensive.
JaNay Honest (00:23:30) – Like some of them are like 150 a book. It’s insane. They’re very, very expensive. And so remember getting all my books and swiping, you know, my credit card at the time. And I said, oh my gosh, you know, like, if I would have gone to, you know, another school or to the school that, you know, my club coaches wanted me to go to or like taking a full scholarship elsewhere because I turned down other full scholarship opportunities to be a walk on. And what if I didn’t? What if I, you know, went somewhere else and, you know, I wouldn’t have to pay for my books and my parents wouldn’t have to help me so much. You know, I could have I could have given them, you know, a little bit of a breather and, you know, maybe I could have sacrificed my dream in order to just not not pay, not, you know, have them help me pay through school. Um, and, you know.
JaNay Honest (00:24:21) – Yeah. Thank God that we didn’t have to take out any loans or anything like that. You know, I graduated debt free, but schools are expensive, universities are expensive. And just, um, you know, I was able to get grants and stuff and different and different things like that. But yeah. So it was a specific moment. And, you know, I remember I called my dad, I was crying and I was like, and I remember telling him, you know, I, I know this is my dream, but I feel so bad because these books are so expensive. Like, how much we’re paying is so expensive. And if only, like, we wouldn’t be doing this if I had gone to if I had taken a scholarship elsewhere and he just told me through the phone, he said, JaNay this is your dream. We already talked about this. You know, me and you, me and your mom have your back and you’re going to live out your dream and you don’t need to worry about, you know, what you’re worrying about right now.
JaNay Honest (00:25:14) – So stop crying like you’re okay. You’re where you’re supposed to be and really sit in that. So it was just a moment, but I just remember calling my dad being really upset because, you know, like, you just you, you when you think like, these could be free, like, if I, if I would have just made a different decision. But I know every time if I, if I didn’t go to UCLA, I would be in a completely different place in my life. I wouldn’t have the people I have in my life right now. I just I wouldn’t have the opportunities that I do right now. I just I would be in a completely different place, something that one of our weight coach coaches told us. It was in our senior year, like we had just finished nationals. And it was like a parting thing. And he said, just know that whatever decisions you make are the decisions you’re meant to make, because that’s leading you on the life that you’re meant to lead.
JaNay Honest (00:26:02) – And so that’s something that I always need to remind myself of, because sometimes you want to question your decisions or, you know, I work really hard not to have regrets because you pull, you know, knowledge from every bad experience, even as bad as they can be. But you learn from them. And so I always like to remind myself of that quote too.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:26:23) – You mentioned having no regrets. I look back at your situation. Had you chosen to go to another school and get that full scholarship, you would have always wondered for the rest of your life, could I have been a UCLA gymnast? Could I have competed for that gymnastics team?
JaNay Honest (00:26:44) – Oh my goodness. You know, like that’s something that I’ve never thought of. But that’s so true. Like that would have crossed my mind. And my dad always again my dad. But like, you know, oh they have the like UCLA has like the best doctors. Like, if the president something happens to the president, they’re flying him to Ronald Reagan Center, you know.
JaNay Honest (00:27:04) – And so even just with the surgeries that I’ve had to get, you know, I had three surgeries. So two surgeries when I was at UCLA. So just imagining, you know, the knee condition that I have, how that would have played out if I went to a different school or, you know, if, you know, it’s just I just think about those different things and, yeah. No, I would have always wondered and I’m glad I tried and and.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:27:26) – I’m really glad you tried to. I’m so glad you tried. And not only did you try, but you succeeded. You ended your career at UCLA, scoring a perfect ten on your final uneven bars routine. That is incredible. And as a result, you helped UCLA to win their seventh national championship title. Not many athletes can end their career that way. Congratulations. First of all.
JaNay Honest (00:27:53) – Thank you. Thank you, yeah. When I was talking about my form and my technique issues and all the things and receiving a ten from a judge, I don’t think you would have ever got me to believe that because I.
JaNay Honest (00:28:04) – I will always be grateful for, you know, A 98, seven five and the nine nine was that.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:28:10) – Was that foot still doing its little thing or had you fixed that?
JaNay Honest (00:28:12) – It was pointed in this routine.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:28:16) – Okay, there you go.
JaNay Honest (00:28:18) – Um, but no. Yeah. It was just it was really cool to see, you know, a judge. Say like, oh, that, that looks like perfection. Like I had no deductions and there’s always a deduction in mind. Yeah. And just I remember Miss Val saying, you know, that was your even just that moment right there was your, your championship moment for you to, you know, receive a ten from a judge and then and then turn around and, you know, get a national championship with the team. Just amazing. Yeah. Another thing that doesn’t.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:28:51) – Happen too often. So I hope you celebrate it like nobody’s business, and that you continue to enjoy the fact that you were able to accomplish that. So I want you to take me back, if you don’t mind.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:29:05) – Take me back to that moment right before your final bar routine. I want to know what you were thinking.
JaNay Honest (00:29:14) – Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:29:15) – You ready? Were you pumped up?
JaNay Honest (00:29:17) – So this is only that. I’m competing. And I knew if I told myself, okay, this has to be perfect. This is your last routine ever. You need to get a ten. You need to be perfect. You cannot make mistake. I was telling myself that narrative I knew was going to put too much pressure on myself, and I would have inevitably messed up. So I just remember telling myself, just do what you normally do. Like this is just another meet. You don’t have to because we’re at nationals. It doesn’t because it’s nationals and because it’s your last routine ever, and because you’re going to hang up your grips after this. You don’t have to do anything differently, like just do what you normally do. You’ve worked really hard. You have, you know, focus on the technique. You know, you’ve done all the all the work.
JaNay Honest (00:30:00) – So like let the work do its thing and you don’t have to do anything extra. And so I was really honing in on that. And so I remember saluting and I always would take a deep breath and put my hand over my diaphragm and say, you know, like faith or just to have faith in myself, you know, and everything will be okay. And yeah, I just like took it skill by skill. I was like, okay, hit the handstand. Great throw. Catch the bar. Great. Okay. Handstand. You know, I was just, you know, really staying in the moment. Knees. You know, I was just really focusing on everything. And by the time I got and you know, you always know that last handstand before your dismount, you really want to hit it. And so I was like, get your shoulders over. Hey okay, great. Now don’t just do your normal because sometimes you can get too amped up on your dismount. I was like, just tap normal, tap it up.
JaNay Honest (00:30:51) – And I stuck it, stuck my dismount. And it was yeah, I don’t know. It was just it’s kind of like I went on autopilot a little bit, but I wanted to also just stay present in each skill. Like, not not like go black like blackout or anything. But yeah. And I just remember looking at Chris gave him the biggest hug, ran down and I was like, okay, that was that was my job. I did my job. I just wanted to be able to do my job. And that ended up being the best. And I mean this like the best bar rotation we’ve ever hit in this year, like in a competition or in an inner squat or in practice, like we’ve never all hit like our bar lineup has never hit like we did at nationals before. And it was amazing. Like we got our highest score ever gotten on that event. And then that carried over into beam, too. Same thing. We did have a fall on beam, but the rest of those five girls hit insanely well, and Peng got a ten.
JaNay Honest (00:31:50) – And I didn’t know the math, but the coaches did. And so again, by the time we got to beam, we were like, okay, let’s let’s fight for third because we were chilling in a cute fifth or sixth place when we got to. So we were like, let’s fight for third. And so when Peng got the ten and I, Chris yelled, we won! And then I saw our like UCLA move up to the top. And I just I had no idea the trophy was already over on on Oklahoma’s end too. So to see them like walk it back was really fun.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:32:20) – Oh my goodness. So they just knew Oklahoma had won and it was nearly impossible for you to win unless there was a ten.
JaNay Honest (00:32:29) – Unless there was a ten.
JaNay Honest (00:32:30) – Exactly.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:32:31) – On Beam.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:32:32) – Of all events.
JaNay Honest (00:32:35) – And same thing with Peng too. I mean, she had the before her, before her routine. She literally said, okay, well, we’re not going to win, so I might as well do the best routine of my life.
JaNay Honest (00:32:45) – And so and and look. And she did. And we ended up winning.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:32:48) – Now looking at the fact that you scored a ten on bars in your last meet and went on to win the national championship as a team, did you feel vindicated in any way?
JaNay Honest (00:33:00) – I had already proved them wrong when I first competed for UCLA, and that was my freshman year. You know, the very first meet when I competed on vault. So I’d already done that. I think for me it was it was me. Over like overcoming myself, if this makes sense, because I had already proved them wrong. But did I feel like I belonged there? Know that that’s what took time for me to feel that I. That I meant to be there. And that’s not to say, oh, I didn’t feel welcome. Or, you know, there was this drama, like there was none of that. It was really me stepping into my power. And. Stepping into my potential when especially being told that like, oh, you can’t.
JaNay Honest (00:33:50) – But also, you know, being trying to be guided to not, you know, step into my potential. And so when that moment
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:33:58) – Which boggles my mindI have to say, Jenny, what coach does not want their athlete to fulfill their potential, to reach, to be the best they can possibly be.
JaNay Honest (00:34:13) – Right?
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:34:14) – It just. I’m sorry. I just don’t understand that. And I’m really sorry that you had to go through that, but I’m also happy that you chose to be resilient. You chose to follow your dream. You chose to do the extra work and you didn’t give up. And there are so many people out there who are told things like that. I was told by one of my coaches something very similar, and and I was discouraged and told what I would not become and what I could never do.
JaNay Honest (00:34:50) – Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:34:52) – So there’s more of us out there.
JaNay Honest (00:35:54) – Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:35:05) – Speak to the person who’s going through that right now. Whether it’s gymnastics, whether it’s work related, whatever it is, someone is out there listening who’s going through something similar.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:35:10) – They’re discouraged. They’re being discouraged by someone else. What do you say to them?
JaNay Honest (00:35:14) – If you know in your heart, like you’ve you’ve already made the decision list? Listen, this is what’s best for me. This is what I want to do. This is what I want to go for. It’s your life, and it’s something that you need to take control over, whether you realize it or not. Because I was young, you know, when you’re 16, 17, you’re very young. But if it’s. It’s something that you want and you have naysayers. Then one lean on your support system. I’m with my parents and. And just go for it, you know? Because if you don’t, then you’ll never know. If I didn’t, then I would be asking myself, you know, oh, what if. What if I did this? What if? And I feel that. Um. Oh, well is better than what if? Oh well, in the sense of listen, I went for it.
JaNay Honest (00:36:02) – I tried and it didn’t work out like then. Then that’s just a redirection. But it’s better to have that than to say, what if I just went for it? Um. And I need to walk in that more even even as an adult, you know. But I would say that to that person because it’s it’s hard especially. And granted, communication goes a long way. Um, and maybe if I had like a deep if I knew the things I knew now back when I was, you know, 12 to 18, but like, listen, like, I mean, I don’t just want to go to UCLA because I want to win a national championship, like, I mean, and I’m sure I explain those reasons, and I’m sure they had their reasons of pushing other schools on me so hard, and maybe they just really wanted me to just get a scholarship and not have to walk on somewhere. And I get that. But if me and my parents had a conversation when we’re all good with me being a walk on, then you should accept that and support me.
JaNay Honest (00:37:04) – You know, support my decision and and have my back, you know? Um, but that’s what I would say to that person. If, you know, in your heart that’s what you want to do and you want to go for it, go for it because it’s better to to work really hard and do everything you can in your power to set yourself up for greatness. And if it happens, amazing. But if it doesn’t, then then you know, like that redirection means you like something greater is there is going to be around the corner.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:37:35) – It’s a good advice and you need to go back to what you said. Even if something doesn’t work out and you’re trying it, you’re learning in the process. There’s always opportunity to learn and grow from every experience. So I asked you earlier who you were when you walked through the doors as a freshman.
JaNay Honest (00:37:59) – Yeah.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:38:00) – So now I want you to tell me, who were you when you walked out of those doors at UCLA as a senior?
JaNay Honest (00:38:09) – I was a stronger leader.
JaNay Honest (00:38:10) – I had a voice. I was confident in myself. I felt like I belonged because I questioned that when I walked in. So walking out and just. And I felt really proud of myself. Proud of the team. And it went by so fast. I think I was really just thinking, wow, I should have embraced every day and really just like lived in the moment more rather than trying to survive the day. And so and sometimes, you know, life, you know, being a student athlete, it’s a full time job in addition to being in school. So, um, but yeah, I think just really sitting there and thinking, wow, like my four years is already up and now I’m ready for the next step. But I felt, yeah, just very, very like this. This is why I came here because I, I’m a better person and I know I’m going to learn more. And I man, did I learn more. Like in the past five years, since 2018.
JaNay Honest (00:39:09) – But I felt really like I had grown in the ways that I was hoping to grow in the four years at UCLA.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:39:17) – Thinking about everything you just said, all that you learned in that four year process. If you were now coaching a 12 year old who was at the same skill level that you were at that age, what would you have told her.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:39:30) – If.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:39:31) – She came to you and said, hey, I want to be an athlete, a gymnast at UCLA.
JaNay Honest (00:39:40) – So one. I’d be very excited and happy that she told me her dream, right? And then I’d be like, okay, I’m going to do everything in my power to get you to where you need to be to compete there. If that is your dream, then it is my job to get you to where you need to be. To be recruited by them. But we’re going to look at all the things, you know, like skill level, but also school. You know what what what what is UCLA known for? You know, when it comes to like they have business and law and like, do we want to be a doctor.
JaNay Honest (00:40:15) – Like we’re going to look at all these things. And I would say okay, they recruit elites and Olympian. So we’re going to work really, really hard. We’re going to work really, really hard to get you to that level. So you can so you can be on an even playing field.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:40:29) – You’re throwing your brilliance all over the place.
JaNay Honest (00:40:33) – That’s true.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:40:35) – You are. Yeah, you really are. Tell me what you’re doing these days. I know some of it, but I want to hear it from you.
JaNay Honest (00:40:42) – I have a full time job. I work in a law firm in HR. LA is very expensive, so we need something to pay the rent and the bills.
JaNay Honest (00:40:53) – But consistently. Right? Yes, yes, yes.
JaNay Honest (00:41:57) – I wanted to stay in LA because I dance and I wanted to get into broadcasting. Sports broadcasting in LA felt like the hub for that and also in the dance community as well. I feel for dance. It’s either here in New York, so I also do sports broadcasting for Pac 12 networks.
JaNay Honest (00:41:02) – So that is so I broadcast as an analyst and sideline reporter seasonally during the gymnastics season, which is, you know, that’s January to April and then during the spring, summer and fall months and now looks like it’s going to carry into the winter. I do choreography, whether it be for beam or floor routines, but I also do other choreography as well. I choreographed my first fashion show for the first time dance routine, so any and all choreography I do. I also and the choreographer for Beam Queen Boot Camp, which is Samantha Company, her Claire traveling clinic. So we travel all around the country and I teach them like an actual dance. I think that’s what I’m very passionate about. If you look at gymnastics at any level, especially at the elite level, it’s very it can be very static and very posey, and I kind of want to blend that, you know, the dance realm into, you know, gymnastics. Obviously it’s artistic gymnastics. So we need to have that artistry in there.
JaNay Honest (00:42:20) – And, you know, teaching girls to really be confident in themselves and movement and even just introducing them to movement that they’ve never even done before, whether it be hip hop or dancehall or anything like that. So that’s really cool to see. And then I dance as well. So I’m in a mentorship. It’s yeah, a lot of work. We’re intense to have training, whether it be 2 to 4 hours of training, 2 to 3 times a week, Cameron Lee’s Dance Mentorship. So
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:42:50) – And that’s a big deal that you got into that.
JaNay Honest (00:42:53) – Yeah. So it was a yeah it was an admissions process. So I was accepted into it.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:42:59) And what was the process?
JaNay Honest (00:43:00) Basically what you do is you you submit videos and then you submit a write up as to why you want to be in the mentorship. And I’ve been in a music video before and commercials and stuff like that. I did stunting for a hot second. I’m not anymore, which is why I didn’t add that in there. But, you know, I feel every gymnast at some point as like, stepped into the stunting realm.
JaNay Honest (00:43:22) – Um, but I love dance one because it’s so hard on the body, but easier than stunting. But I’ve always enjoyed it. I did dance and gymnastics at the same time. I was on the dance team in high school. That was the one one that got me out of PE into. I was able to really lean into the performance quality that I loved about it. You know, I did the rallies and the dance shows and just I love the whole process of, you know, learning a piece and rehearsing it and rehearsing it and then, you know, putting it on a stage and performing it in front of people. I’ve always loved that. So, after retiring from gymnastics because, you know, I just, I think I took maybe two dance classes and the four years that I was competing. So I decided to step back into the dance realm. Um, and just because I love it, I’ll always take classes. But I felt very static just taking classes. I got into heels, which is my jam.
JaNay Honest (00:44:17) – I love heels, that is my favorite style. Um, but yeah, I wanted to be versatile and and take different styles and kind of similar mindset of, you know, the reason why I went to UCLA because I want to reach my potential. I want to reach my potential as a dancer, you know? And so whether that leads to a tour or more music videos and stuff, regardless, as long as I’m getting better as a performer because I think inevitably it’s helping me as a choreographer when it comes to teaching these young, young gymnasts movement and choreography in general. And, you know, and if I would love to be a part of the. Company. Cameron Lee also has a dance company as well, and so will be auditioning for that. And yeah, I just I just love performing. It’s like my safe space. There’s a dance studio in my complex, and I go in there when I just need a space to breathe and to move my body. And, you know, whatever I’m feeling, I allow my emotions to flow through my movement.
JaNay Honest (00:45:20) – And it’s just it’s I love it. So regardless, I just the reason why I’m in it is just because I love dance and I just, I want to get better. I don’t just want to take class, just to take I want to elevate. It’s like a journey, right?
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:45:36) – That’s a theme, that’s a theme throughout your life. You want to elevate. You want to surround yourself with high quality people with excellence.
JaNay Honest (00:45:45) – Yes, yes, yes.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:45:46) – That’s wonderful. Now tell me how to reach you. Say, I want you to choreograph my floor routine. Do you have a website?
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:45:41) – Social media?.
JaNay Honest (00:45:56) – So all of my social media is at honest no underscore or anything like that. It’s just my name. And then you can email me through there. Or my email also is just Jenny honest at gmail. And yeah. So that’s just how you can reach me.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:46:16) – Final question what does living in brilliance mode look like for you?
JaNay Honest (00:46:21) – The way that I am giving back to the gymnastics community, whether it be through dance and choreography or when I cover gymnastics in broadcasting, just really.
JaNay Honest (00:46:35) – I’m in a place in my life where I can really tell that I’m walking in my purpose. You know? I’m living a life bigger than I ever dreamed of. And so really leaning into what fills my soul, which is dance and sharing that with the next generation has been amazing. And being able to still be connected with the gymnastics community through broadcasting has been phenomenal.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:47:03) – It sounds like you’re just living in brilliance mode, period, because what you described is exactly what you’re doing.
JaNay Honest (00:47:09) – Oh, perfect.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:47:11) – Okay, you’re living in brilliance mode, sis.
JaNay Honest (00:47:15) – It’s easy to compare yourself to others, you know, being in the social media realm and stuff, but knowing that everyone’s on their own individual journey and understanding that I’m in my own individual journey and it’s not going to look like anybody else’s. And I have to remind myself of that. And that’s how I stay in my brilliance mode, because I’m doing great.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:47:25) – I like that.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:47:35) – That. JaNay, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be here.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:47:41) – You have a lot going on. You could be anywhere right now throwing brilliance, right? But you’re here with me and I’m so grateful.
JaNay Honest (00:47:49) – Thank you so.
JaNay Honest (00:47:53) – And I’m grateful for you. And I just absolutely love you. Honestly, you were my you were one of my first interviews as sideline. So I’ll always remember that. And I love just getting to connect with you and speak with you and talk about life because it’s important and it’s amazing. And you’re you are amazing. So thank you for having me.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:48:16) – I was truly moved by the fact that early on, JaNay knew that she wanted to surround herself with people who would make her better. A better gymnast, a better person, and I commend her for taking that mindset into her current pursuits. Sometimes we’re tempted to go for that opportunity that makes us the big fish in the small pond, Or we’re tempted to surround ourselves with people who make us feel good about ourselves. And I’m not talking about those people who provide encouragement and inspiration, but I’m talking about those people who, perhaps because of what they lack, somehow make us look better.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:49:00) That is a true setup for mediocrity. The next time you find yourself being complacent or taking the easy way out. I hope you think of JaNay’s story. Think about what she would have missed if she did settle for less. Now, think about what you stand to miss if you don’t take a risk and follow your own dream. Maybe you’ll reach your goal like JaNay did. But even if you don’t. If you try and it doesn’t work out. You won’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering what if? Who are you surrounding yourself with? How are you challenging yourself to be better? I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. Take a risk. You’ll never know your full potential until you stop settling for less.
Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:50:04) Thank you so much for listening. If you want to find out more about JaNay Honest, check out our Show Notes on InBrillianceMode.com/podcast and to connect with the Bruin Gymnastics Alumni on Instagram, follow us @UCLAGymAlumni.
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