Arisa Thomas is a Los Angeles dog groomer and pet-content creator, and one of 22 civilian contestants on NBC’s The Traitors: New Blood. Her public identity is built around a specific, deliberate contrast: friends describe her as “friendly, cute, bubbly,” and she’s said she wants to use that image to her advantage while proving she’s more strategic than she looks.
She’s one of a handful of contestants whose careers sit outside the law, medicine and business roles that dominate the rest of the cast, alongside contestants like Joe Vanella, a funeral director. Thomas has built an online following around grooming transformations and pet care, work she’s described alongside her family. Heading into the season, she’s framed her likability as a kind of camouflage, hoping other contestants underestimate her, while she keeps the option open to be more mischievous when the game calls for it.
NBC has not revealed whether Thomas was cast as a Faithful or a Traitor ahead of the September 17, 2026 premiere.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Arisa Thomas |
| Age | 36, per official Traitors cast material |
| Hometown | Los Angeles, California (professional base and cast-listed hometown; birthplace not confirmed) |
| Current location | Los Angeles |
| Profession | Professional dog groomer and content creator |
| Traitors role / status | Contestant, The Traitors: New Blood; Faithful or Traitor not yet revealed |
Who Is Arisa Thomas?
Public information about Thomas’s early life, education and exact upbringing is limited. Los Angeles is both her professional base and her official hometown for The Traitors: New Blood, though it hasn’t been independently confirmed as her birthplace. Public sources do not document her schooling or how she specifically entered dog grooming as a career, so those details are left out here pending further reporting.
Arisa Thomas’ Career as a Dog Groomer
Thomas is officially billed as a dog groomer. One source identifies her as working alongside her mother, Yuri Thomas, who reportedly founded the family grooming business, Blue Pooch Grooming, in Los Angeles in 2013, with an older sister, Aya, said to manage the store; that detail comes from a single source and hasn’t been independently corroborated, so it’s presented here with that caveat. The business is described as specializing in teddy-bear cuts, breed-specific styling and Asian-fusion grooming techniques.
Thomas maintains a grooming-focused social media presence under the handle @arisathegroomer across Instagram, TikTok and X, posting transformations, breed-specific tips and pet-care content; her TikTok reportedly had roughly 295,000 followers as of a recent snapshot, a figure that will change over time. In one 2020 post, she said a grooming event she took part in raised $1,000 for Los Angeles dog-rescue organizations. In another notable post, she groomed a Chihuahua named Pie and pushed back on the idea that Chihuahuas are all “feisty finger biters,” arguing they can be sweethearts too, a nice window into her public voice, though it isn’t evidence of anything about her Traitors strategy specifically.
Public sources do not confirm a formal grooming-school program, specific certifications, professional-association membership, or whether she holds any ownership stake in the family business, so none of that is claimed here.
The “Friendly, Cute, Bubbly” Arisa
Thomas has described how her friends see her: as “friendly, cute, bubbly.” She has framed that reputation as something she plans to use deliberately in the game, expecting other contestants to read her as harmless and non-threatening. Her self-declared cast superlative is “Most Likely to Overpack,” a lighter personal detail alongside the more strategic persona she’s built around her public image.
A Friendly Front With a Mischievous Side
Thomas has said she wants to show that “the good girls can be naughty as well,” a line that sets up the game persona she’s built around herself: warm and approachable on the surface, willing to be far more calculating underneath. Exactly which animal comparison she used to describe that contrast is unresolved. One account attributes a “naughty Chihuahua” description to her, matching a version that has circulated in other Traitors cast coverage. A separate, more literal read of her transcribed pre-season material instead describes her invoking a friendly “golden retriever” reputation. Neither the exact quote nor its full original context has been independently confirmed for this profile, so both versions are noted here rather than one being presented as settled.
What both versions agree on is the underlying idea: Thomas expects to be underestimated because of how approachable she seems, and she’s said she intends to use that perception strategically rather than let it define how she actually plays.
Arisa Thomas on The Traitors: New Blood
Thomas is one of 22 civilian contestants on The Traitors: New Blood, part of a season NBC and Peacock have said drew more than 80,000 applicants overall. Cast coverage describes her as wanting to play as a Traitor, reasoning that someone who naturally comes across as warm and approachable will have an easier time gathering information without raising suspicion. Her broader stated strategy, per pre-season coverage, is to make friends and build trust early, while keeping the option open to turn on those relationships if the game requires it.
NBC has not revealed her actual role ahead of the September 17, 2026 premiere. For a full breakdown of how the Traitor and Faithful format works, see The Traitors Explained. For the full cast list, see The Traitors: New Blood Cast, and once the season airs, results will be tracked on The Traitors: New Blood Episodes.
Could Arisa’s Friendly Persona Hide a More Strategic Player?
There’s a reasonable case that someone used to reading nervous or unpredictable animals, and to putting anxious pet owners at ease, has real, transferable comfort with patience and calm behavior management. But that’s a different skill from deliberately deceiving other adults in a competitive game, and there’s no evidence that dog grooming specifically trains anyone in social manipulation.
The more grounded read is simpler: Thomas has built a public image around warmth and approachability, and she’s said directly that she plans to use people’s assumptions about that image against them. Whether that turns out to be an effective strategy, or just a pre-season talking point, is something only the episodes can answer.
Personal Life
Public sources document Thomas’s mother and sister in connection with the family grooming business, but do not reliably confirm her marital status, a partner, or children, so none of that is stated here.
Where Arisa Thomas Stands Now
Thomas’s public identity going into The Traitors: New Blood rests on a specific tension: a groomer known for a warm, upbeat online presence, who has said plainly that she intends to use exactly that reputation as cover for a more calculating game. Once the season airs, this section will be updated with her actual role and how her run in the game played out, tracked in full on The Traitors: New Blood Episodes.
FAQs
Who is Arisa Thomas?
Arisa Thomas is a 36-year-old Los Angeles dog groomer and content creator, and a contestant on The Traitors: New Blood.
What does Arisa Thomas do for a living?
She works as a professional dog groomer and posts pet-grooming content online.
Is Arisa Thomas a dog groomer?
Yes, that is her officially listed occupation in Traitors cast materials.
Where is Arisa Thomas from?
Los Angeles, California, which is both her professional base and her official hometown for the show.
How old is Arisa Thomas?
36, per official Traitors cast material.
What does Arisa mean by “naughty” or a “Chihuahua” strategy?
She’s said she wants to show that “the good girls can be naughty as well,” using her friendly, approachable image as cover for a more calculating game. The exact animal comparison she used, whether it’s a Chihuahua or a golden retriever, is unresolved between sources.
Is Arisa Thomas a Traitor or Faithful?
Not yet known. NBC has not revealed the season’s role assignments ahead of the September 17, 2026, premiere.
