Biggest Loser - Season 13 Audition, PART 1

Many people know that I love The Biggest Loser TV show.  For years, I've reserved my Tuesdays nights so that I could watch without any interruptions.  Last night, the season finale for season 13 aired.  This episode, along with the makeover episode, are usually my favorites of any season.  But season 13 was a little different to watch, because my sister-in-law Emilee and I actually tried out to be contestants for it back in August!  Throughout the season, as I was watching I kept thinking, "Could I do that challenge?"  "Would I get along with that person?" "Would I have made it to makeover week?"  It turns out that I'm really glad I didn't make the show, because there was just too much drama this season for my liking.  But now that the season has ended, I figured I should write down my experiences.  Even though Emilee and I didn't make the show, the audition process alone was a really fun experience!

Disclaimer: I wrote this all down about 7 months ago, but cannot find what I wrote ANYWHERE.  I've searched everywhere I can think, but with no luck.  So I'm trying this again.  I'm giving advanced notice that this is LONG... there are a LOT of details I want to remember... and sadly I know I've already forgotten some things.  And I can't believe we didn't take any pictures!  Oh well.  Anyway, I'm posting this in 3 installments to make it not feel so long.  So to my readers out there (whoever you are), sit back, prop your feet up, and enjoy reading!

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The finale of The Biggest Loser season 13 was on this week, and it's hard to believe that 7 1/2  months have passed since we auditioned for this show!  I never even thought I would want to audition for The Biggest Loser.  I'm pretty sure the words "I never want to be on that show" came out of my mouth on several occasions.  I mean, it's kind of embarrassing to even qualify for the audition, and it's not really appealing to share your weight with the world.  But on July 30, 2011, I was at the car dealership finalizing the paperwork to buy my car, when I kept getting calls from my sister-in-law Emilee.  Since I wasn't answering, she ended up texting me something to the effect of "CALL ME ASAP!!!"  Of course, I was wondering what was going on.  It turns out, she had entered a drawing for a VIP Pass to the Season 13 auditions on Sarah Nitta's (Season 11 contestant) Facebook page, and she WON!  At this point, she didn't really know what the VIP Pass really meant, but she was so excited and I was so happy for her!

It wasn't until the next day or two that she finally convinced me to audition with her... and believe me when I say she had to REALLY convince me!  I had just accepted a new job, and was moving in less than a week to California.  In my mind, it just wasn't possible.  But Sarah had told Emilee that the producers were looking for teams, and if they were family members that would be best.  She finally convinced me that we would be a really good team, and it wouldn't hurt to just audition.  If we made it any further, I would figure out what to do with work and my apartment when the time came.

So the decision was made.  We knew we'd have to get busy!  From the time I decided to audition, we had 4 days to fill out our paperwork and make our video before I had to move out of state.  We had to pre-register online with pictures and brief bios of ourselves, fill out the application with lots of personal questions, and submit a 20-minute video.  We spent time filming ourselves shopping, eating, hiking, talking about our lives, and doing embarrassing things in our sports bras and booty shorts.  (... And no, this video will not EVER be made public!)

On August 5, 2011, I moved to California, not quite knowing if I would be even staying for long, depending on how our audition went.  I only spent 7 days in my new apartment before I flew back home to Salt Lake City for the actual audition!  I was planning on just tagging along with Emilee on her VIP Pass, but on the night before our audition I got an email from the casting directors saying that I also got a VIP Pass.  That was a boost of confidence before we even really started... the casting directors obviously liked something about me! I learned from this email that the VIP Pass would get us to the front of the casting call line with little to no waiting so we could meet with the casting directors in person.  In the email I got about this VIP Pass, this is what it said about why I got it:

"You were selected for one of the following reasons:
1.  A previous BL contestant has met you and thinks you are fantastic/would be great on the show
2.  A casting team member watched your video and wants to meet you in person
3.  A casting team member saw your pre-registration information and wants to meet you in person
4.  A casting team member received your information via email and wants to meet you in person
5.  You got really really lucky ;)"

 

I flew in to SLC late on the night of August 12 and I was so nervous for the next day.  Emilee and I spent the night choosing our outfits, looking up info about our casting directors (Karen Happel & Aaron Simnowitz), and drilling each other with possible questions and answers that might come up in the audition.  The next day was our big shot with the casting directors! 

{Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3...}