LAST EDITED ON 08-02-05 AT 09:25 PM (EST)LAST EDITED ON 08-02-05 AT 09:02 PM (EST)
LAST EDITED ON 08-02-05 AT 08:59 PM (EST)
I didn't realize it until I checked my contract, but I'm apparently obligated to be Nathan's lackey now that he's the winner. And Nathan wanted this thread, so here it is, despite how uninteresting most of our lives are. I'll also rant a little and give some opinions. Cuz that's how I roll.
I, Jason, the skinny one, am about to begin my third year at University of Georgia Law School. Since the show, I went back to school, spent the summer working at a law firm, and little else. I'm still single, as always, but for the first time interested in dating.
Average Joe changed my life, but not in the corny way you usually hear about. Rather, I've turned my diet around 180 degrees (after some basic cooking lessons from Arthur): given up the fastfood, t.v. dinners, and sugars that I was raised on, and replaced them with a small fortune in protein powders and meal replacement bars (when you're as much a hardgainer as I am, "eating a sandwich" doesn't do the job; I've probably spent a grand just in tubs of powder and bars). I go to the gym regularly (Nathan gets a real kick out of that) and am up to 146 lbs from the 125 I weighed on the show, while dropping my body fat a couple percentage points. I'm still skinny as hell, but closing in on normalcy. If I can figure out a way to grow a few inches, I'll go get my teeth bleached and a haircut that costs more than $10 and come back as a hunk in Average Joe 5.
And since Nathan gets to clear the air a little, so now shall I. I'm not as naive with dating as it seemed, but that's what the producers wanted, so that's what I gave them. Truth is, they asked me about my dating history, I told them I had none, they assumed it was because I was a sweet quiet kid always concentrating on my studies, and to get on the show, I let them believe that. We were on the bus to the mansion for about an hour before the casting director said "Jason, you're NOT AT ALL like what I thought you were..." Having seen that on all these shows, contestants make it further than seems logical (see: Dante), I assumed the producers had some say in who stayed and went, so put on the innocence just a little; in all other areas, I was myself.
I also feel I was one of the best players at dodgeball, despite what made t.v. There was one game where I knocked out five hunks, including winning the game by hitting Craig in a one-on-one at the end; I was extremely proud of that, and wish it'd have made the air. I'd have rated myself third best after Clay and Greg (who had a cannon for an arm). I have about two months of wrestling experience from way back when, and legitimately took Josh down.
I think Anna was a sweetheart and wish people wouldn't give her the hard time I've seen around the net. Truth be told, I wasn't really attracted to her (I live in Athens, GA - if you've ever been here, you'd know I'm spoiled by a town full of ridiculously cute girls; it's funny how all my friends outside of Athens thought she was hot, but all my friends in Athens thought she was so-so). As I told my friends, I thought she was cute, but not "I should be competing for her on national television" beautiful. I never caught anything that we had in common. One of the first things she told me was that she hates football and doesn't care for most other sports - that about ended any possibility right there; I live for sports. But I was having a great time and am uber-competitive, so I wasn't about to leave on my own. It was all about eating well, drinking, not working, hanging out with some really cool guys, and spending a little time with a girl who was really sweet and fun.
And after all the time I spent out there and three weeks on the show, this is the only mention I got outside of sites like this, and that was after some self-promotion and a little rear-end-kissing, in an article by a sports-writer I like who ruminated on Average Joe each week.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/story/3852476
That good enough for you, Nate? Any questions?