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| This is my time to shine! I am worth it! |
My day started with a jolt on Saturday. I had planned to wake up at 2am and leave my house around 4am to pick up my friend, Natalie, and head up to The Biggest Loser casting call. Well, that all changed when my husband called me from work at 4am and woke me up. Oops! Apparently, I turned my alarm off in my sleep. Nice! I hopped out of bed and gave myself a little pep talk and prayed so I wouldn't freak out about running late. By 5:30am I was showered, all dolled up and ready to wow the casting directors.
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| Check out all the BL13 Hopefuls! Good luck to the casting team! |
One of my best friends, Natalie, agreed to come with me and be my line buddy. After picking her up, we arrived in downtown Atlanta around 6:30am. As we drove by the Hard Rock Cafe, the line was already around the corner and halfway down the block. We quickly found a parking place and hiked back to the Hard Rock. As soon as Natalie and I set up camp in line, I took off to explore. My main agenda at this point was to find my friend Misty, who is one of my Twitter Friends. She and her husband, Jeromy, drove from Alabama to attend the Atlanta casting call. We were meeting face to face for the first time. So exciting!
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| Me and my Twitta Sista, Misty. |
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| Me with Misty and her hubby, Jeromy. |
Misty and Jeromy arrived around 7am and I let them cut in line, of course. I told them if anyone asks, Misty is my sister. Well, she is my Twitter Sister so it wouldn't have been completely false. ;) Meeting these two was definitely one of the highlights of my day. It was as if we'd known each other all our lives. They are such a cute couple and so much fun to be around.
Around 8:30am the casting staff began passing out applications and stapling our photos for us. The applications were numbered so I could see that I was number 112th in line (I wonder how many people actually showed up? I'm guessing more than the 200 they were expecting.). By 9am they began letting the BL13 Hopefuls in the door, in groups of eight at a time. The excitement and anxiety was slowly bubbling up inside of me. I did my best to remain calm and enjoy the moment. As we were patiently waiting and inching our way towards the front of the line, I began overhearing stories from other Hopefuls, that had just completed their interviews. They were saying you basically had to have a major sob story to even be considered. As if I wasn't already nervous enough! I may not have a tear-inducing story to tell, but I happen to think my life is interesting enough and, darn it, I'm worth it!
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| Me and Courtney. |
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| Misty and Courtney. |
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| Courtney and Jeromy. |
Just when I was on the verge of doubting myself, an angel appeared. That angel was Courtney Crozier, from The Biggest Loser, Season 11. She is just as amazing in person as she is on television. Everyone wanted a chance to talk to her, give her a hug, take pictures, etc. One woman was driving down the street, and when she spotted Courtney she quickly parked her car (most likely illegally) and ran over to meet her idol. Courtney was so gracious and patient with everyone she met. When I originally applied to be on Biggest Loser, Season 12, Courtney is the one that inspired me to get off the couch and start my weight loss journey with or without the show. It was such an honor to be able to tell her, in person, what an inspiration she is to me. We even managed to take pictures with her fabulousness! Love it!
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| Courtney chatting it up with some BL13 Hopefuls. |
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| Everyone was so excited to meet Courtney. Recognize the handsome young man standing across from her in this photo? Yes, it's her boyfriend, Alex, from Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition. |
By 11am we finally reached the door and were ushered into the holding area where they put us in groups of eight and gave us the pep talk. Woooooooo hooooo! After the talk and run down of rules and regulations, our group was allowed past a heavy red velvet curtain into the interview room. Standing at the table waiting for us was the awesomely beautiful Brittany Aberle from The Biggest Loser, Season 5. Since her time at the ranch, Brittany has become a casting director, helping others to realize their dreams.
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| It was a true honor to be interviewed by Brittany! She definitely knows what it's like to be in our place! |
Brittany had us all sit down at the table and proceeded with our group interview. It went so fast! I think we had five minutes, at the most, with her. We went around the table stating our names, ages and occupations and then we only had one question to answer..."After all the seasons of The Biggest Loser, why now? Why do we want to lose weight now?" I wanted Brittany to know that I have already started my weight loss journey and that I'm ready now, more than ever to be a serious contender on The Biggest Loser. Not sure if all of that came across, but I did my best in the time I had. After our time was up everyone was leaving, but I made sure to have a picture taken with the amazing Brittany and Misty. :)
I didn't receive an immediate call back that day, but I haven't lost hope. Currently, I'm in the process of adding the finishing touches to my audition video and will be submitting that very soon. In the live interview you have so little time to make that connection and lasting impression with the casting director. The video gives you the chance to really show who you are and why you deserve to be chosen. You also have 20 minutes, instead of 20 seconds to express yourself. :) Below, I have included a video of my casting call experience. Enjoy and see you on the ranch!
