Sylvester Stallone has been in the news this week ahead of the return of his families’ reality show; The Family Stallone, and one of the most attention-grabbing revelations of what life with the Rambo star is really like, was revealed in an interview with the New York Post . Apparently the protective father had his daughters undergo Navy SEAL style training ahead of the Stallone’s move to New York, and this was no Rocky style montage. While this might seem like an extreme way to treat your offspring, a decorated NAVY SEAL tells M&F that Sly was right to prepare his daughters for anything that might threaten them.
In The Family Stallone Season 2 (which premiered Feb. 21 on Paramount+), Sistine (25) and Sophia (27) were taken by surprise when they were dropped off into the woods. Fortunately for Scarlet (21), she missed out on this particular ordeal as she was in Miami. “It was the hardest, it was about six-hours (that) we were in those woods training” said Sistine. “Sophia and I got our asses whooped by these guys. They were the real deal, and I’m not surprised our dad put us through something like this, because our entire life, we grew up with him doing this sort of military-esque self-defence training.”
The Stallones: Like Father, Like Daughters
“It was a rigoros routine,” recalled Sophia of growing up under The Expendables star. In order to make sure the girls ate healthy foods that they might otherwise avoid, Sly lived up to his nickname and disguised the ingredients with more appealing treats; placing whipped-cream on oatmeal and adding ketchup to eggs. “He wanted us to bulk,” said Sistine. The girls were also coached through a regular routine of sit-ups, pushups, pullups, and clean and jerks in order to become strong and independent. “He made the perfect boys,” joked Sistine.
Under New York law, a person is justified in using physical force against another if the person is under reasonable belief that this physical force is necessary to defend themselves or another from an illegal use of force. Fortunately, serious crimes such as shootings, murders, and burglaries are on a downward trend in New York where the family now lives along with mother; Jessica Flavin Stallone, but there’s always the risk of coming up against someone with bad intentions. So, sometimes, being able to flee a dangerous situation is the safest option. To that end, Sistine and Sophie can be seen in the show chasing chickens as part of their off-the-wall training. “That is deceivingly hard,” said Sistine. “I went in there a little cocky, no pun intended. I got beat up by the chicken.”
Navy SEAL Training is About Having a Mindset of Readiness
“One of the biggest things SEAL Training teaches is a mindset of readiness,” says Jason Redman, a retired and decorated Navy SEAL with a Purple Heart. “Hope for the best but plan for and train for the worst. We live in a dangerous world. Don’t expect it to be good, expect it to be bad and dangerous,” he tells M&F. This military man is now a motivational speaker and a New York Times best-selling author with his books The Trident and Overcome.
And, while Redman has battled in Afghanistan and Iraq, he explains that SEAL training can be of significant value in more domestic settings too. “I love the fact that Sly Stallone had his daughters do this. Kudos to my teammates running it,” he says. “The SEAL Teams taught me skills that I think every American should have a basic level of proficiency in. I run a training program myself, for the everyday American called the Overcome and Survive course. We teach survival, weapons handling, trauma first aid, situational awareness and self-defence. Every one of my own kids, my wife and my son in law had to go through this training. Why? — Because just like in SEAL training, I wanted them to be ready if the worst was to happen.”
The Family Stallone Season 2 premiers Feb. 21 on Paramount+