Exit Interview...

Thursday evening around 5:00 PM, I sat down with Nandy Cordova, my Augusta's Biggest Loser teammate, co-winner, and friend, and a reporter from CSRA Active magazine, to do the interview that goes with the photo shoot we did last Friday. Bill (the reporter) had shown up back on November 18 to get our basic information for the first issue that mentioned Augusta's Biggest Loser; he made a return visit in May, when we were nearly done; this interview was the final part of the story.

 

Up until now, all the press stuff has been "stand here, say this, smile pretty" type stuff. This was different - very different. Bill took us all the way back to the beginning, back to the application/selection process, and we got the chance to rehearse the entire period of time from then until now, step by step, in roughly chronological order. He asked each of us the same questions, with Nandy providing her answer first, and then me. Many of the questions we answered with matching answers; some revealed two completely different perspectives. The most notable differences in our experiences mainly centered on two areas: 1) I had a little bit better idea of what to expect going in; and 2) my battle for first place was nowhere near as intense as hers. He also asked us some questions about our friendship with each other, forged through not only the shared experience of leading the competition for so long and being on the same team, but also having a lot in common, such as both of us having lived in Amarillo, Texas, and similar likes/dislikes.

 

We also had an opportunity to talk about some of the ugly side of the process, which will never make it into print. Some of our more - shall we say - negative experiences, we haven't discussed with anyone except those involved, our spouses, and each other. As thorough as my blog was during the competition, there were incidents and experiences that I did not write about. At times during our interview, Bill turned off the recorder, laid down his pen, and let us talk freely. I know the first rule of interviews is to never trust the reporter, but Bill has done an excellent job covering us thus far; our photo session with the magazine's photographer had been extremely enjoyable; and he has a vested interest in presenting us in the very best light possible, as the companies that sponsored the competition also are heavy advertisers with the magazine.

 

A question that struck me as odd had to do with the reaction of other people to our new selves; he wanted to know if our spouses were jealous of the new-found attention we are getting from the opposite gender now that we aren't heavy anymore. Nandy instantly answered yes - she's 33, a very pretty lady, and garners a lot of unwanted attention from guys. I told Bill that I had not experienced anything like that, and, if anyone was looking, I had not noticed it. He didn't buy my answer, and appealed to my position as a minister to 'fess up! I'm 46, still a little pudgy, and going gray; I have crooked teeth, I wear inexpensive clothes - I'm not going to get much attention, which is fine with me.

 

After the questions about the contest, the process, and our lives since then, he did a word-association drill with us, and gave us the chance to talk about Omni, PHC, and NBC. We both expressed the sentiment that we had been given our lives back, and are forever grateful for the experience. Before we left, Bill asked if we had any desire to be involved with the competition in the future, and we both said yes - we had often talked about wishing we had had some of the previous winners around (I talked with Kristy Youngblood frequently, but we never had the opportunity to see any prior contestants during the competition). I thought he was speaking in general terms, but he then asked me if I would be interested in covering the next season of ABL for the magazine as a special correspondent. I hope it works out - that would be a lot of fun, and I think the things I have learned in my experience could be valuable if I had the opportunity to talk to future contestants.

 

The final question of the day was "Complete this sentence: If you're thinking about applying for Augusta's Biggest Loser......" Nandy said, "...don't put it off - do it!" (or something to that effect). I measured my words carefully, and I said, "... don't bother if you are not prepared to completely give your life over to it, and give it 100%." I told him I didn't mean that in a negative sense, just that I knew what kind of effort it took to get to the top of the heap and accomplish my goals, and it was all-day, every-day, all I thought about, a constantly-consuming process.

 

I looked at my cell phone as we got up to leave - three hours had passed since I had arrived at Starbucks. We guiltily noted that we had taken up one of their tables for three hours without buying anything, but I'm sure no one in the shop took it personally. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and I can't wait till the magazine hits the newsstands.