Shy and skinny, a young Anthony Pagnotta silently shooting hoops at Woodward Parkway Elementary school years back would seem to be an unlikely future crime fighter on the streets of New York City. Or a likely opponent against the ferociously outspoken 300-pound American Gladiator television stars.

But for Pagnotta, no challenge is too dangerous or too big.

"If you set your mind to something and give it your all, you can achieve anything," said the now 35-year-old NYPD Detective deeply involved in the 9/11 relief effort, who recently appeared on the resurrected American Gladiators television show.

A fan of the show from its original run in the early 1990s, Pagnotta anxiously spent 10 rainy hours in New York City waiting to audition at the show's open casting call back in February.

After a series of pull-ups, squat thrusts, sprints, a test of agility and an interview, a casting agent offered Pagnotta the opportunity to be on American Gladiators.

Pagnotta quickly began intensifying his workouts to prepare for the show, during which "average-Joe" contestants compete against experienced "gladiator" fighters, then in an obstacle challenge against each other.

Little did he know, Pagnotta would need these strength workouts both to face the gladiators and to endure the reactions of his family, friends and co-workers.

While his girlfriend, parents and sisters were significantly concerned about his safety at first, they eventually wholeheartedly supported his decision.

"I was so excited and proud for him," Pagnotta's sister Louann Vargas said. "Anthony is a caring fun-loving type of guy who always goes after what he wants and usually gets it."

His father Louis Pagnotta knew they couldn't stop him. "We were nervous but he was so gung-ho about it," he said.

His friends, however, showed their support in quite a different way.

"I was teased from the start," recalled Pagnotta, who had to withstand comments ranging from the spandex costume he would have to wear to what hospital he would be in after the show.

In the face of this commentary, Pagnotta continued training with the same energy, motivation and optimism he has carried with him throughout his life. He focused specifically on cardio, weight training and healthy eating in order to ultimately improve his speed and agility.

According to Pagnotta, the show requires contestants to use every part of their body and, because of this, he had to push himself harder than ever before in these training sessions.

But pushing himself is not an unusual endeavor for Pagnotta, a Farmingdale native who attended Farmingdale College and went on to become a New York City police officer in 1997.

Since then, he has worked his way through the patrol and anti-crime units onto the 88 Precinct detective squad, where he currently investigates robberies, burglaries and reckless endangerment cases. He also has won numerous awards in his precinct for taking dangerous criminals off the street in their war against crime.

On American Gladiators, Pagnotta represented the NYPD and competed against contestant Alex Coates, a former United States Marine, and gladiators Titan, Justice, Wolf, Hurricane, Militia and Zen.

After competing in six different events against the gladiators, Pagnotta was ahead of his opponent 9 to 6 in points going into the final challenge known as "The Eliminator."

Because of the point lead, Pagnotta felt pretty confident moments before the eliminator obstacle course challenge. However, his opponent Coates had the advantage for the event, having experienced obstacle courses similar to The Eliminator during his marine training.

Coates ended up beating Pagnotta by just a few seconds and became a round closer to winning the $100,000 prize money.

"Even though I lost, I felt honored and proud to be on the show and represent New York and the NYC Police Department," Pagnotta said.

Extremely family-oriented, Pagnotta hoped to win to prove to his young nieces and nephews the value of hard work.

"I wanted to show them that no matter how old you are or what shape you are in, it all comes down to what's inside your heart," Pagnotta explained.

Pagnotta admits getting up close with these 6-foot 9-inch, 300 pound gladiators and a powerful, war hero contestant was "not a nice experience." However, he does not hesitate to label the show "the overall best experience of his life," one that he would definitely be interested in repeating, for both the physical and monetary benefits.

"I was planning on using the money I won to give my girlfriend the wedding she always wanted," Pagnotta reflected. "I hope she will be happy enough in getting the man she always wanted."

His family vouches she certainly will be getting the "boy" she always wanted.

"He's just a big kid who loves life," his sister said.