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Biagio: Hey, everybody. She’s joke. He’s Biagio. We’re married. We make unscripted film and television. I want to help you do the same. Hopefully by teaming up with us. All right. Get ready for a while. Because we are in the field, we are actually out having ice cream with one of our favorite reality TV contestants ever, Shall Andre shake? Hello?
Shalandra Champ: Hi, guys. How are you?
Biagio: Okay. How are you?
Shalandra Champ: Life as well. I can’t complain this week. This week? I like that qualifier this week, right? Yeah. No. This week. This week’s a good week.
Biagio: So joke tell us a little bit about Shae because this was one of our very special contestants almost ten years ago now right. For beauty and the geek.
Shalandra Champ: She was a standout on season four. Her and Joshua, let’s call it, stole the show. They may not have won at all, but you. But you stole our hearts. And we just realized it’s about ten years, almost a couple of months away from when I found you in little Rock, Arkansas. Absolutely. I’ll never forget that day. Downtown little Rock. Yeah. It’s like a bar or something. No, it was it was a farmers market. Oh, yeah? Yeah. And I walked across the street, and then I tried to avoid you. And then I walked across the other side. And then you guys came across the other side, and they were like, you should try this. And I was like, okay. I was trying not to make eye contact, but we made history. It was a good thing. It was a good match made in heaven after that. So yeah, I know I came off about having the worst week in little Rock, Arkansas. Biagio was was in Chicago in like, the fancy hard Rock hotel.
Biagio: I was in the Jimmy Page suite somehow.
Shalandra Champ: With like, Angelina Jolie shooting outside his window and like a movie or champagne and I’m stuck in little Rock. There are like, roaches in our hotel. Like it was awful. And we’re like something degrees. I don’t know, it’s like, whose idea was it to come and cast in little Rock, Arkansas? Like what? And then sure enough, you walk in and it was all worth it. Oh. So sweet. Yeah. So life is good, I can’t complain. Ten years pretty. A lot has happened. Josh and I are still friends. We spoke a couple of months ago. He’s doing really well. I was in his wedding. Let’s see what else is going on. He and his wife and I are, like, really, really close. And we had a baby, right? Yeah, they had a baby. I mean, they’re doing they’re doing really well. And Josh is still same old Josh. So yes. But had it not been for you, would Josh ever gotten married? According to his grandmother, no. She was hoping that it was going to be me whenever she found out that they were going to get married. But no, she said that, like, if anybody can find love in the world now because Josh got married and she was like, so appreciative. And they were so thankful. They were like, we felt like you helped our son and grandson out so much in life. So it was good. I think Mr. shows how much beauty and the geek works because Josh was the geek and you got him married and now he’s a dad and you were the beauty. And who do you have a job interview with? A couple of days I’m meeting with Snapchat. I’m super excited. And I have a little girl who’s six. Life is being a mom is, you know, but I’m just trying to point out you’re now a geek. You’re Google and no, right, right, right. This is like super crazy. Like, if anybody would have told me ten years from now that I would be a mom going on interviews with great companies such as like Hawk Media, Google, Snapchat, what was the last one in Santa Monica? I can’t remember the name of it, but like, yeah, so now I’m doing like coding, frontend, web development, UX, UI. It’s fun, I know.
Biagio: How did being on beauty and the geek inspire you to do that?
Shalandra Champ: You know what? It’s so crazy. I remember some of the things that they used for. I remember some of the things that they used to talk about and I’m like, oh, I get it now. This isn’t as like, this isn’t as foreign as I thought it would be. But no, like, it’s I mean, it does. It’s like some kind of form of empowerment. I’m like, oh, I get it now. Like it’s oh, so no, it’s it’s been interesting. It’s been interesting. I’m excited that I’m like moving on to this next chapter. So we’ll see. Yeah. What’s the.
Joke: Challenge you remember the most in beauty and a geek?
Shalandra Champ: When we lost the one that we lost okay, let me see. So my favorite challenge was the making the rocket. That was one of my favorite, the massage challenge that Josh was just so. I mean, it was like a turtle, like, giving you a massage. It was like, that’s the. That’s the equivalent. I mean, it was just very interesting. And then the one that we lost, which was the what was it, the mixology challenge where he got all of the stuff everywhere. But yeah, all in all, like it was a great memory and I can’t complain and I don’t regret like one bit of it.
Joke: So I remember the bug challenge and none of you guys wanted to touch the bugs. And I remember I remember lying to you all and saying I was scared, but I had done it and you guys were like, okay, well, if Joe could do it, we’ll do it. And you guys all did it. And I felt so guilty that afterward we took you guys get ice cream.
Shalandra Champ: Yeah. Okay. Oh, yeah, I remember that. And that’s right. When Harry Potter was coming out and you guys were like, get rid of that. I’ll never forget that. Yeah. Still the same way. Me and spiders. No, no, no, I was bitten by a brown recluse once. No. I’m good. I’m like, I’m still this way about bugs. Like, I mean, I can maybe can, like, stand a fly, but that’s close as I can get with it.
Joke: So if you could do it all over again, would you?
Shalandra Champ: Absolutely. Two seconds. Yeah, I wouldn’t when. Yeah. No. Like that experience. Like when you really sit back years later and like, oh my goodness. Like you are a part of like this group, you had this feeling, you had this experience that only, like a small percent of the, of the world can say that they’d, like, gone through something like that. So yeah, it was awesome. Yeah.
Joke: It was probably still today, one of our favorite seasons of television. You guys were the best. We loved that house. We loved everything about that season. Yeah. And the. And the live finale.
Shalandra Champ: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I totally forgot about that. I’m trying to think.
Joke: Remember, we brought Josh’s family. Family out?
Shalandra Champ: Yes. And his brothers and. Yeah. And his mom. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. No. And there. And they’re still, like, even even. Let me see somebody. Something happened. I think I called her whenever her dad passed away. Like we became like, really cool. Like a really close little niche family, like, in our own little way. So, yeah, his parents are, like, still really great. They live in Arizona. Yeah. We have we had a good we had a good time.
Joke: So there is life after reality television.
Shalandra Champ: There is live. And you can be like super normal in a sense, and it’s still cool. And you have like these ups and downs and you just roll with it. You know that part.
Joke: Do you still get recognized sometimes?
Shalandra Champ: Yes. It is the craziest thing. I have literally been in the airport and they’re like, weren’t you? And I’m like, yeah. And they’re like, oh my gosh, you’re my favorite. Yeah. That happened like two years ago. I’m like, I’m like this. It’s really crazy that that happened in Saint Louis in the airport. So yeah, that that’s happened.
Joke: That’s awesome.
Biagio: Yeah, I think it’s you know, what I was so happy about you is that you were so awesome and so real on the show. You’re it’s exactly how you are in real life. You on the show. And by the way, these wonderful children in the background are your daughter and our daughter and our son.
Joke: So taped up on ice cream.
Biagio: Oh my gosh, we gave them way too much ice cream. So yeah. So to all of you listening who hear kids in the background, there are kids. But the point being is that you were so genuine and real on the show. That’s how you are in real life. And, you know, I think a lot of people think, oh, reality TV producers and contestants, you know, they know each other for a couple of months and move on. But I don’t know, we’ve always considered you family and anybody that wants to stay in touch with us, we consider a family. I’m so glad that we’ve been in touch all these years.
Shalandra Champ: Yeah, no, it really was an emotional thing that night that I was like, oh my goodness, you know what? I didn’t win the money. But like, you cannot put a price on relationships, memories, emotions. It was like a priceless moment. Like I can’t ever. Yeah it was sleep. It was it was really, really nice. And yeah, that night it was like we all were all crying. It was the what’s the David like the big producer guy. Like he was over there and I’m like, really don’t like it. That was like, no, we were all really rooting for deep in our heart.
Joke: The way the beauty and the geek house worked is like the main, like the top main floors were obviously for the cast and they had to run at the house, and then we were in the basement, like all the producers are watching everything that’s happening inside the house on the basement. And so when Joshua and Shay, when you guys lost that challenge, we knew you guys were going to go into the room right where you have to do the test. And we’re like, oh, please, please.
Shalandra Champ: Oh, no. Yeah. No. I was like, you guys came at you guys. Everybody’s red. I’m like, okay, you guys, I can’t, I can’t even the therapist, he was like Shay Shay. I was like, and he was like, there are some lawyers that are going to contact you. I don’t I need you to get it together. Give me a second.
Unidentified Voice: Like you. Okay. Are you okay?
Shalandra Champ: Because I’m like.
Biagio: Are.
Shalandra Champ: You guys okay? No. It was it was an unbelievable moment. And it’s something that I’ll never forget. And it was awesome. So.
Biagio: Yeah. So. So Shay, what advice do you have for somebody who might be thinking about auditioning for or going on a reality show and they’re not sure if they want the experience? What? How would you tell them? Think about whether or not they should embrace an experience like that.
Shalandra Champ: You know what? Fear can cripple a lot of things. Fear can keep you out of great places, so you have to step into the unknown. Even the most simplest thing is you think is. I mean, it could be a life changing thing, but just think, if you give in to your fear, you’ll never know. And you always have a question mark. And that question mark sometime can like leave you like baffled or confused. So I mean, like make it an exclamation point. Like that’s it.
Unidentified Voice: All right. There you go.
Shalandra Champ: That’s it. Like, can just just do it.
Biagio: Like there you go. No question mark. Exclamation point. Well, that is an awesome piece of advice to go on on, Shay. It’s so awesome seeing you. I’m so glad we’re still in touch after all these years. I love watching our kids play together and I love you guys. Great with you.
Unidentified Voice: All right.
Shalandra Champ: It was. It was the Nutella. This place we a happy days.
Joke: Happy days on Fincher. Happy days cafe churros, ice cream, Nutella. What else do you need?
Biagio: Can’t go wrong. So there you go. This was sitting down with one of our favorite contestants of all time. Me and joke are out. We’ll be back in two weeks. Oh, hey. Say bye bye, everybody.
Unidentified Voice: Bye bye bye. Love you.
Biagio: There you go. Well, we love you. We love you all too. So thanks for tuning in. And we’ll see you in two weeks by everybody.
Announcer: By Producing Unscripted with Joke and Biagio.
