In October, Angel Villegas left his barbershops in Jacksonville to head to Los Angeles to compete in a gladiator-style TV show hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, where — judging by the trailers — contestants go head-to-head on an obstacle course that involves pushing, pulling, hammering, running, lifting, climbing, pole-vaulting and trying to do things while tied to a big rope that keeps pulling them back.

In front of a studio audience. While big flames are going off around them.

Villegas made the cut to be one of 64 competitors, 32 men and 32 women, on "The Titan Games," which premieres Jan. 3 on NBC. Eight competitors are featured on each show; he's not sure which episode he'll appear in. "We're seeing everything the same time as you," he said.

As for the results, he's sworn to secrecy.

He laughed: "You can't fight off NBC."

Still, he's hoping for good things out of the show. "This could be major. I'm not sure. Just the exposure, you don't know what may happen," he said.

"The Titan Games" caps an eventful few years for Villegas.

At 28 years old, he already owns three stylish barbershops in the Jacksonville area called Raw Cuts, where he employs some 25 barbers. ("Raw" was a slang term, roughly meaning cool, that he used as a teen, so he just ran with that.)

He fits in time to be a dad to his 2-year-old son, Reign.

And he trains for a kind of bodybuilding competition called men's physique pro events. Think six-pack abs and lean waists as compared to comically bulked-up bodybuilders: Villegas lost 45 pounds preparing for his first competition.

It's all a matter of focus, of drive — something he acknowledges he didn't always have as a teenager.

He got kicked off the football team at Orange Park High School for getting in trouble, but soon put that kind of stuff behind, for a simple reason: "My mom. I just wanted to make her proud," he said. "I just wanted to push a little harder."

He'd been cutting hair since he was 14, for friends and then for people who'd heard about him through friends. He opened his first Raw Cuts five years ago on Blanding Boulevard in Jacksonville, followed by shops in Jacksonville Beach and on Bowden Road.

Villegas, who has closely cropped hair and an impressive black beard, said his shops attract all kinds of customers, including current and former Jaguars such as Malik Jackson and longtime customer Marcedes Lewis.

"It wasn't something that I thought was lucrative," he said. "I thought I wouldn't be able to make a good living as a barber, but when I went to school I learned that there were way more opportunities doing hair than anything else."

Villegas' shot at "The Titan Games" came by surprise: A producer found him on Instagram, where he's chronicled his work and his life. He was at first skeptical about the opportunity — he didn't quite believe it — but then figured it was worth a shot. As requested, he made a two-minute video about himself, which got him to an initial tryout in California with hundreds of people. He did well enough there to be invited to appear on the show.

He met Johnson ("super-cool, super-humble") toward the end of taping, when he told contestants his story about being a broke, troubled young man who'd failed to realize his dream of playing in the NFL but then went on become a movie star.

That's one of the themes of "The Titan Games" as well, which looked for competitors who've pushed themselves to succeed. Competitors such as Villegas.

"I'm an entrepreneur," he said. "I've got a lot on my plate and I still make time to go to the gym and work out. I've got a 2-year-old at home and a fiancee, so life gets busy. I think the whole message behind it was showing my son that anything's possible, if you want it."

Matt Soergel: (904) 359-4082