Meeting Phil Keoghan

[Tannerman]

This must be the year for us to meet TV celebrities. In January we had the chance to hook up with Jim Belushi. Today, I got to meet the host of my favorite television show, The Amazing Race. Yes, I got to meet Phil Keoghan!

Phil Keoghan: Host of The Amazing Race

Those who know me understand that I'm pretty passionate about The Amazing Race. I'm one of the few people who can honestly say that they've watched this show from Season 1/Episode 1 and onward to the currently playing Season 7. For those unfamiliar with the Race, the show is a reality game broadcast in one-hour episodes in which teams of two race around the world in competition with other teams. It has been airing since 2001 and is currently experiencing a "coming out" period, so to speak.

Phil and Steve share a moment together!

During the first few seasons, it was critically acclaimed, but had no viewers. You just didn't know if we'd see another edition after a season had passed. But grassroots efforts kept the Race alive, along with CBS not giving up so quickly. It also helped that the show won 2 Emmys, beating out the likes of Survivor, The Apprentice, and American Idol. But what really pushed it over the top was the Season 5 airing during the summer of 2004. Going up against reruns and other poorly-conceived reality shows, the Race was given a prime Tuesday night timeslot and never looked back. People finally discovered the show and the ratings have been a huge success since then.

I'd tried to do my part to be an "evangelist" of the show, first talking about the show in 2001 on discussion forums before it even aired. It got good buzz, but 9/11 killed any momentum it could have had (the premier episode was shown one week before 9/11 and then it was pre-empted for about a month). CBS surprisingly renewed it, so now being hooked, I started chatting up Season 2 to the TannerWorld Junction community.

By Season 3, Amy and I were plugging it on our blog, SteveandAmySly.com... and my sister was applying to be in it! This was also the first season where enough people were watching to show to actually talk about it on a consistent basis.

Pushing onward, we gave it the full spin in the forums for Season 4, and of course, we've already talked about the super-successful Season 5. (Most fans would just like to ignore Season 6). Which brings us to the hopefully-redemptive Season 7. And according to posts by various TannerWorld Junction members, the fire is spreading rapidly now! But that's enough patting on my own back... you have to excuse me, it's just exciting to see the show grow this way without overhyped marketing and gratuitous sleaze.

In any case, the host of The Amazing Race is a pretty interesting guy. Here's a look at his "official bio":

Now in his seventh season hosting The Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan has worked all over the world as a cameraman, producer and host. Since the age of 19, he has hosted more than 1,000 program episodes, including his own internationally distributed series Keoghan's Heroes, which profiles famous thrill-seekers around the world.

Keoghan got his big break in front of the camera hosting the series Spot On when he auditioned while on an apprentice program in cinematography. Since then, he has co-created and co-produced the primetime cable series Phil Keoghan's Adventure Crazy, which is one of the highest-rated series on the Travel Channel in the United States and is currently broadcast worldwide. His additional television credits include Go for It, an extreme sports show, Fox After Breakfast, a morning show, and The 1998 Film Festival Awards. In 1999, he co-hosted the primetime CBS special Surprise, Surprise.

Keoghan is currently executive-producing and hosting a new series for the Discovery Channel called No Opportunity Wasted, which gives people from all over the United States the chance to live their dreams on national television. Keoghan's book of the same name, published by Rodale, is a fresh and compelling self-improvement and adventure book that inspires readers to "dream more freely and live more fully."

Originally from New Zealand, Keoghan lives with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles. His birth date is May 31.

His bio mentions writing a book, and that was the occasion I had to meet him. With one season of his Discovery Channel series, No Opportunity Wasted, under his belt, and having 3 seasons of the Race last year, Phil somehow found the time to write stuff down and get published. And to promote his book, he decided to drive across the U.S.!

Phil Keoghan to Embark on his own Coast-to-Coast Amazing Race
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Released by CBS

Phil Keoghan, host of CBS's two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series The Amazing Race, is motoring coast-to-coast on a 10-city, cross-country tour to promote the upcoming The Amazing Race 7 and casting for The Amazing Race 8. The tour begins Wednesday, March 2 in New York City and culminates in Los Angeles on March 14.

Keoghan will start this cross-country road trip in New York City on CBS's The Early Show the morning of Wednesday, March 2 and finish his tour with an appearance on CBS'S The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Monday, March 14.

Keoghan's cross-country tour will include stops in the following cities: New York City (3/2), Cleveland (3/3), Chicago (3/4), Detroit (3/5), St. Louis (3/7), Kansas City (3/8), Denver (3/9), Albuquerque (3/10), Phoenix (3/11) and Los Angeles (3/14).

During his journey across the U.S., Keoghan will encourage families who are seeking the ultimate family adventure to apply for The Amazing Race 8, which will be the series' first-ever all family edition. Keoghan will also appear at book stores in several cities along the way to sign copies of his new book, N.O.W. - No Opportunity Wasted.

Mercedes-Benz will provide the transportation for the cross-country trip. Phil will be traveling in the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, which is the flagship Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle.

Special Guest: Imelda de la Cruz!?!

I had read about Phil's drive across the country, but thought nothing of it. Then Amy saw him on our local CBS news this morning, with information that he would be appearing at a book signing located at the Borders on State Street (diagonally across from Marshall Field's on the corner of Randolph and State).

Borders on State Street

She was like, "you should go check this out!" It took a little arm-twisting on her part, but since I put in some late work hours the night before, I figured I could probably flex my time and pull it off. So I hopped on the L and quickly headed downtown! The trip was quick and I got to Borders in plenty of time.

Phil's New Book

In truth, I had never seen Phil's Discovery Channel show, as we don't have cable. Nor had I read his book. But I did purchase a copy and headed up to the third floor where folks were congregating to meet him, as he had not yet arrived. From poking around I learned that his No Opportunity Wasted series started airing last October.

He's the "Star of The Amazing Race"

The show asks the question, "What would you do if you had 72 hours, $3,000 and the opportunity to live any dream?" Apparently, the show then followed folks as they go through the personal challenge of changing their attitude towards life from "dreamers" to "doers". Thus, "No Opportunity Wasted" or conveniently, NOW for short. The show was inspired by a near-death experience Phil had at age 19, after which he started making a list of all the things he wanted to attempt before dying. This attitude has stuck with him as a sort of "face your fears" mentality that can be applied to any life situation... which he sort of spelled in his new book.

You can't beat that smile!

Phil eventually did show up and was quite shocked at the number of people there waiting to greet him. He explained that this was only his second book tour stop ever and it was rather overwhelming. The tour was scheduled in a very grassroots, non-corporate way, and it felt very cozy and "real" because of it. Just from his casual personality and demeanor, Phil is very much in person the same way he is on The Amazing Race. An honest guy who likes to try new things, think about what's important in life, and then attempting to do something about it.

Phil and his dad (who likes opera music)

It was also very obvious that Phil is a big family man. He explained that often during the tapings of the Race, his wife and daughter will come along so they can be together (and thus why he's always trying to get the producers to plan stops in his native New Zealand!). Phil then introduced his dad, who is actually driving across the country with him. When given the opportunity to do this road/book tour, Phil thought it would be a good chance to spend time with his father, so he called him up and asked "hey, do you want to drive across the United States?" Of course, his dad said yes!

Steve from Season 4

It should also be noted that there was a alumni from The Amazing Race in the audience. Steve, the Chicago-based air traffic controller from Season 4, was there with his wife and daughter. Phil joked that whenever he flies into Chicago and needs to land quickly, he should just call Steve to make sure he gets a quick landing pattern.

Steve's bio from TAR4's website

After the talk, Steve explained a little more about his adventures during the Race, including how after he was eliminated they sent him to Portugal to be part of "Sequesterville".

Now I've never been a fan of "self improvement" of "personal growth"-type books, because frankly they all seem to be full of crap. And I haven't had a chance to read his book yet, so I can't verify what it's really about. But from what Phil was talking about, it seemed pretty solid -- not touching on all that goofy New Age philosophy you often find in books that Oprah endorses. Basically his message was pretty straightforward: Money doesn't buy you happiness... Are there things you've always wanted to try?... What is keeping you from trying them?... We all have an "expiration date"... Learning to overcome fears in an "adventurous" way can often help you overcome fears in other parts of your life, such as in relationships or at the office. And that was pretty much the gist of his book purpose.

Answering questions from the audience

The floor was then opened to questions, which is where it got fun. Of course, all the questions were about The Amazing Race. Someone asked about the editing at the end of Season 6 in Chicago, where it seemed that the places visited were shown out of sequence and maybe something was missing. Phil conceded that there were edits, but then went on to explain that hundreds of hours of footage are shot for a 46-minute weekly show, so you have to make tough decisions.

A question was raised regarding Season 6's evil couple of Jonathan and Victoria and how Phil handled the situation when they arrived on the Pit Stop mat. It turns out that Phil never saw the shoving incident, as it was outside of his line of sight and he was talking to another couple at the time. When he advised Jonathan to "go check on Victoria" it was because she got to the mat and then quickly walked away, so Phil was concerned about that. It wasn't until later that he learned about the shove. While on the topic of Season 6, he said that the casting was very uncharacteristic of the type of people they want to have on the show. Personally, he hopes not to see folks like that again. And in reply to Jonathan's claims that CBS just showed selected edits on his behavior, Phil was pretty firm... Jonathan really is like that.

I asked about my curiosity regarding the change in flag color from Season 1 (Yellow/Black) to Season 2 and beyond (Yellow/Red). Phil responded that it was more an art department decision on what looked best on camera more than a logistic issue. (Which is interesting, as the color red is the worst color for television due to the vividness and how TV sets render it). Phil also confirmed the rumors that Season 1 is coming to DVD soon, and if the show continues to do well in the ratings, other seasons will follow. He also remarked how he hopes this concept continues, as he wouldn't mind hosting a special Race just for seniors or something.

One person asked about the logistics and planning. Phil said that literally hundreds are involved in pulling off a season. There is a core team that travels to all the destinations, but they also hire local cameramen and crew to work since they know the situation and terrain the best... he said the crews in India are the best due to their Bollywood experience in cranking out films very quickly.

Finally, a person in the audience asked, "How come we never see the teams go through customs?" I grabbed a short video clip of Phil's response, which you can download below and play with Windows Media Player (or any other player that can handle AVI video):

Right-click and save video
(AVI, 6.6MB, 0:22)

It was great to interact and learn more about Phil. He really does seem like a "choo-choo charley and a class act" as described by one of the contestants last season, referring to his good looks and nice personality. It was fun to experience the intimate environment and I get the general impression that he's really passionate about concepts like The Amazing Race. It's life-influencing stuff and he takes it pretty seriously, but in a fun way. I think my respect for him grew enormously during the short time we had with him.

Personalized book for Steve and Amy

Finally, we had the chance to get our books autographed and get photos with him. Because of the crowd and time constraints, you couldn't really chat with him too long. He still seemed pretty blown away by the idea that we actually wanted to see him. They also gave away some nice bookmarks the celebrated The Amazing Race 7 with a blurb about casting for TAR8 on the back.

Overall, a cool experience. Phil rocks!