So I was on Wipeout recently. For those of you not familiar with the ABC show, it’s essentially a giant obstacle course for adults with the promise of a $50,000 cash prize should you be the last man (or woman) standing. My episode, Hillbilly Wipeout, can be seen below.
I had heard of Wipeout before, but hadn’t considering auditioning until one of my friends got on and won the whole thing. I wasn’t sure I’d be allowed to audition because I worked in the television industry, but apparently as long as you aren’t personal friends with anyone at ABC you’re fair game.
So way back in October I went in for the on-camera audition which involved filling out forms for 30 minutes, 3 minutes of actual interviewing (give me your battle cry; why do you want to be on Wipeout?; how do you intend to win?; tell me about your most embarrassing moment; what would you do with the money if you won?) followed by another hour of filling out background checks and medical information.
Obviously they saw something they liked and come April they let me know that the producers had okayed me for an episode and after a quick drug/fitness screening I’d be on my way to fame and fortune.
Our call was 6am on a Monday morning up in Canyon County, about 40 minutes north of where I live. When I got there it was still dark out, and I was led into a double wide trailer that housed the rest of my fellow contestants (21 in all, though normally there are supposed to be 24). We spent the first hour settling in, signing more forms and getting the rundown on how things would be handled throughout the day, including a verbal description of the course.
The first round would prune the initial twenty-four contestants to twelve, who would then proceed to the next round after lunch (with the rest being sent home). That following round would reduced the contestants to six players, who would come back later in the week to be pared down to three. And finally, the remaining three would show up the following Monday for an evening shoot of the final round.
Suffice to say I went home at the end of the first day, but I had an absolute blast while I was there. And it was easily the most physically demanding thing I have ever done in my life. The first time you hit the water isn’t that bad, but you have to remember you’re fully clothed with a bulky life jacket on and have to climb up a ladder to get the next obstacle. This gets exhausting IMMEDIATELY. Especially when you have to do it three more times before you reach the finish line.
The second round was a little more gentle as it wasn’t timed, but I still spent a ton of time in the drink, swimming back again and again in an attempt to overcome each phase of the obstacle course. I had one good shot at making it (which is shown in the episode), but sadly came up short. But as I said I had a great time and met a few people that I’d like to stay in touch with, so I can hardly complain.
I was planning to send them a video after the episode aired in an attempt to coerce them into doing a ‘Best of the Worst’ episode as an excuse to bring me back but got beaten to the punch as the following week’s episode was exactly that. At least it gives me hope that they might do another one in the future and I can snag myself some more face time on national television. :D
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