The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Almost Famous In Depth with Connor Saeli

Episode Date: January 13, 2022

 You know him as Connor S from The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, but Ben and Ashley are ready to go In Depth and find out what he’s looking for in his quest for love. We go way back with Connor, before Hannah and before the beach, and uncover some secrets that will completely change how you see him. And, find out the truth about his future in The Bachelor franchise.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble.

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on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ben and Ashley I, almost famous, in-depth. Thanks for join us. This is an in-depth episode. If you've never heard an in-depth before, this is something Ashley and I started a few years ago, taking fan favorites, people that were intrigued by,

and just digging into their life. The Bachelor will obviously come up because it's a part of your life, but we really want to learn about you. So thanks for doing this with us. Oh yeah, yeah. Thank you all for having me. I love it because I think, you know, you see these people from the show on TV and you only know so much from the little snippets that you see. I think there is a lot kind of behind the scenes that you don't really get to know about various contestants. So I think it's cool to kind of be able to talk more to that. Thank you. That was the whole point of the concept. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Could you imagine if we did an in-depth episode with everybody, every contestant before the show started, Ben?

We should. And ABC should pay for us to do that. That'd be awesome. That'd be really good. It's quite the idea. Well, hey, Connor, let's kick it off with this. Tell us about your childhood. We're both from the Midwest, pretty close to each other. You're from Michigan. I'm from Indiana. What kind of childhood do you have? Yeah, good old Midwesterners. Yeah, so from Birmingham, Michigan initially, I was the youngest of four kids. So I feel like I always kind of like looked up to my siblings. And I think that's part of the reason I'm a bit quieter and more reserved of a person just because I feel like I looked up to my siblings and they would not necessarily speak for me when I was younger, but would kind of just like follow their lead versus be like the crazy sibling.

So I think that kind of contributed a lot to like who I am now. And I think, you know, all my siblings, like, did very different things throughout their lives. And I'm kind of like a mesh of all of them, which I think is really cool. But had amazing parents. They've been married for almost 40 years now. So they were a great influence on me and, you know, kind of like what I'm looking for in a relationship and a partner. So, you know, really just like a great, great family.

A lot of fun growing up in Michigan, but it was pretty, pretty cold and chilly up there. as I'm sure you know from being from Indiana. And that's why I ended up moving down to Texas. When did you move down to Texas? So I went to SMU for college. So just whenever I went to college, he was 18, and then ended up working in Dallas for a couple years after. And then found myself on the bachelor.

A former Warsaw High School Tiger played basketball at SMU. Probably the same time you were there. Nick Moore, he's in a legend. Oh, yeah, yeah. He was a point guard, right? He was the point guard, yeah, all conference. Yeah, played high school basketball. Same place.

Yeah, that was a pretty exciting time at SMU because Larry Brown was the coach. Yeah. And the program got really, really good. And it got to the point where you had to camp out for tickets and stuff, which was like a cool environment to be around around campus. So that was a really neat time. You had a couple of pros.

Speaking of sports, you were a college swimmer. Yeah, so I swim in high school. My brother swam in college at Duke, and like, swimming was always a big part of our family growing up, basically started swimming. I was three years old. And when I went to college, I was kind of over it, just because swimming is such a demanding sport. Why do they make you wake up so early for swimming? No, I still ask myself that today, but it's just like, well, fortunately in high school, our high school is one of the only schools. I want to say in the country, we did not have morning practices. So we would just have one three hour practice at night. The kids at my school, if they were swimmers, they had to be at the pool, like at the pool at

5 a.m. Yeah, it's, it's ridiculous. I don't, as, like, as a high school student, I don't know how one even could do that. No. That just sounds miserable. I was sleeping all the time because I was growing in high school. So you're just tired. And so like, what do you do? Go to bed at 8 o'clock, which I'm not against now. But in high school, I'm not trying to go to bed at 8 o'clock. I know. I don't even know how you be able to function throughout the day in school. Let alone, like, I can't even imagine swimming laps at 5 a.m. It would just be like, I'd just be like a robot. So did you end up swimming in college? Yeah. So when I graduated high school, or I guess when, when I was looking at colleges, I had been talking to some schools about swimming there, but ultimately I just like didn't,

it was kind of over it. Yeah. Because it's just like such a demanding sport. And it had been part of my life for 18 years, basically. But when I did get to college, I had made friends with some of the swimmers and I just really missed it. And I think what I missed more was the competition versus the actual sport. And I still love the sport, love watching it and everything. But I like, I just missed like competing with people. And I ended up, um, I talked to the coach and he was like, yeah, come, you know, come like try it out. If it works out, like we'd love to have you on the team. Try it out for a little bit. And they ended up having me on the team. And I did it for like a year and a half. And it was a division one team, so it was a really good, good swimming school to be a

part of. But I, you know, I kind of just had that realization of like, okay, I think I just like the competition more than the actual sport. Let me see if I can take that competitive side of myself and put it towards something else, like a, you know, like a job or whatever that was. Yeah. Well, we're going to talk about your jobs here coming up in just a second because you have an impressive resume, if this was an interview for a job. Though you also are up to some new projects now. But let's kind of frame this season of your life then, up until college. Talk about you in relationships.

Were you, did you date a lot? Did you have a long-term girlfriend? Or, you know, were you just focused on the sports and kind of the social life? Yeah, no, in high school, I was like the hopeless romantic guy for sure, loved relationships, love dating, love like Nicholas Sparks movies and all of that. I really believe in like the fairy tale, you know? Do you think that's because your parents?

I think a part of that. And I will say my sister was a big Bachelor fan growing up and she's four years older than me. And she would always watch it. And I feel like the show used to be more of like a fairy tale. type situation like I don't know to me when I would watch it with her I actually like really believed it um not that it's fake or anything maybe I don't know but um like I remember watching your season Ben and I was like wow you know this is like a cool dude you know finding like a

woman this is amazing and um like I just like really believed it and I feel like that kind of contributed just like the whole fairy tale thing that I was looking for yeah used to play cheesy soft rock songs during the proposal and then they would like end with this amazing montage that was like so Disney it was more romantic the show changed we've talked about it the show has changed I mean I could even look back on my time there and there was nothing about that experience that was not very real for me I mean I always see here today and say like there's nothing about that that I mean even if you know it didn't work out but like the growth from it the experiences like the tears within it, the emotions within it, it was very real for me. I wonder if somebody

today would say the same thing. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. And it's funny. There's actually a moment in the episode of this past week when I was watching it, whatever music they played with like the girls walking into the nighttime part of the date, I was like, is this, is this Love Island? I don't know if you know what part I'm talking about, but I like, I literally said that because it just looked like that and I don't know I feel like it has changed a bit but yeah in high school I was always just like very kind of the hopeless romantic fairy tale type guy had two like longer term girlfriends that were over a year and um one one went into when I was in college so it was my senior year of high school and then into college and then the other

one was my whole junior year of high school so and honestly it's it's interesting because those were the last two relationships I had and then didn't date anyone the rest of college. So sophomore year through senior year and then didn't date anyone for two years after college and then I went on the the bachelorette. So it was just like an interesting time. I feel like after those relationships, I kind of just had like maybe an idea of what I was looking for, like that feeling that I was looking for with someone and I just never really found it. Did you, do you feel like you you manifested then this bachelorette experience like was this something coming out of college and being single that you thought oh because of your you know your time watching it

your respect for the show that you were like i want to do this uh no no no i definitely didn't like work worker towards being on the the bachelor but um i think that kind of just happened from like the point I was at in my life and you know I was well I was like 24 at the time single um you know it was like trying to do some cool stuff and I I felt like the thing that was always missing for me was just someone to do that stuff with and just like that that other person in your life and I had never really found that and um obviously like going on the batch was a bit you know now thinking of it like a bit of an extreme situation to go to to have to find somebody, although it does work out for a lot of people, like you, Ashley.

But I just thought it was a really cool opportunity. And it's funny because there's, you know, I used to watch the show when I was younger in high school with my sister. She went to college. And then I would watch it with this group of friends that I had at home. And when we were younger, it was always a joke because I was that like fairy tale, you know, person. And they all knew that. Like, I love, love that stuff. And they were like, Connor, when you're, you know, like, 24, 25 and single, like, we're going to, like, we're going to nominate you to be on the show. And I remember I was, you know, like, finally 24 and the group chat I have with my friends, they were like, all right, you know, like, I think this is, this is the year for you, Connor. And they actually sent in, like, a nomination for me.

And then it kind of led to that. So it was just funny how the whole thing kind of came full circle from, you know, being younger to actually finding myself. on it. That's awesome. I feel like our stories are very similar since I was also that like dreamy romantic and we always joked about it too. And it was like, well, I guess this is the time. We're just going to go for it. It happens. But meanwhile, you were working at Goldman Sachs and listen, I don't know a lot about finance and stuff, but I know when you drop the name Goldman Sachs and it means like you're doing something right. So what was your job before the show? I was on there there's kind of like a secretive group within Goldman called the special

situations group and so obviously you have like investment banking that's the one a lot of people know but within the firm even a little deeper it's the special situations group and we would actually invest Goldman's money into essentially like startups and middle market companies so it was like a really cool group to be in and they have an office in Dallas and New York. And, you know, the office in New York is just full of, like, Harvard, MIT, Penn, like all these incredibly smart people. And then they have this little Dallas office, which does the same exact thing, part of that same group. But it's all like SMU, UT, TCU. So it was like such a unique and cool opportunity to essentially be in like one of the better groups

within the firm at Goldman and just be surrounded by like all these. these cool people from Harvard to MIT and then like, you know, have a little Dallas outpost of all the SMU TCU people. So it was a really, really unique and cool spot to be. I think the thing for me is I had always like grown up and gone through college thinking that I really wanted to do finance. And my dad used to do finance. My oldest brother, he does a lot of stuff with investing in finance. My other brother did a lot of stuff within finance. And so going through college, I was like, this is what I need to do, like to be successful. And that was like really heavily pushed to SMU. And finally, when I got there, got into the job, I think it was maybe three months into the

job, I was like, I hate this. This is like the worst. This is like the worst thing ever. And I don't know what it was or like what specifically it was with the job. I think I just really didn't enjoy it. And it was really frustrating. And I think a lot of people go through this when they graduate college is you go into this career and you're super excited to get there you finally get there and it's not all what you thought it was going to be and it takes a lot of like soul searching or at least it did for me to figure out like okay what what do I really want to do you know um I basically spent four years of my life trying to work towards this career and now it's not what I want to do like how can I pivot and really get into something I want to do here and that kind of started like

the more entrepreneurial journey for me. I just reached the point within the job where I got so frustrated and waking up every day was just in a way like miserable. I was just so unmotivated to go to work and do that job. And it wasn't because of the people or anything. There were great people that worked there. It was just that I wasn't excited about it. And I ended up meeting some great people in my life that kind of like mentored me and helped lead me in the right path of like inspiring me I guess with stuff that they had done within starting a business and and all of that and it really just inspired me to kind of take action myself and like fully just just go for it and it's funny because all this stuff kind of happened around the same time like I um when I realized

I wanted to leave Goldman I didn't know what I wanted to do I just knew that like I wanted to maybe start a business, didn't know what it was, but had the right people around me in order to make that happen. And the week after I quit is when I got a call from the Bachelor, asking, you know, saying that I had been nominated, asking me if I wanted to kind of like go through that process. And so it was just like really bizarre how all these different pieces started to fall into place in my life. And I think to me it was kind of like the second I started to almost take action and instead of like living a passive life is when things started to actually like happen for me. So it was kind of a cool cool thing to happen for me. It was it was it was the

question that I was going to ask. I mean I worked in finance after I was the bachelor. So I was I worked in finance for three years. The bachelor it happened took a sabbatical came back, worked for another year after I was the bachelor and then left to pursue some stuff that I was dreaming of doing um and my job would not even be on a scale of wonder hunting it wouldn't be rated compared to having a job at golden sacks uh i in fact probably serviced a lot of what you tried to do so i was like the guy in the back end helping you uh as best i could um but i was nervous to leave that job so i was going to ask you were you nervous to leave this job to go on to a reality show but i mean it was already set up for you like it was already kind of like the doors are wide open it sounds like

yeah well i mean i think for anyone leaving a job it's incredibly nerve-racking and honestly terrifying to do it just because you're stepping out of this comfortable situation where you're making a paycheck um to totally unknown and um at that point in my life i just you know and i I hadn't even heard of going on The Bachelor at that point, too. That kind of happened later on. So it was really, really like an unknown situation. I think it was more so like, okay, do I care more about my happiness or collecting this paycheck and saying I work at Goldman Sachs every week? And I think I just reached that point. I was like, you know, I'm a human. I think humans have a great way of when your back is against the wall. You figure out a way to make it happen and like get stuff done and I felt like I was just too comfortable in my life working at Goldman getting that paycheck every week. You know, things were like on the surface going really well for me. And if someone looked at my LinkedIn or my Instagram, they're like, wow, you know, this guys live in the life, right? But in reality, deep down, it just wasn't there for me. And I felt like I needed

to put myself in a very uncomfortable situation in order to grow. And to me, the only way to actually do that was to quit, go do a little bit of soul searching, figure out what that business was that I wanted to start or what I wanted to do. Maybe I wanted to work somewhere else, but I needed to like remove myself from that environment where I knew I wasn't happy. I wasn't thinking clearly. I wasn't thinking straight. Just remove myself in that so I could get more clarity, I guess, on what do I really want to do with my life? Do you ever regret it though? I mean, looking back now, Connor, obviously is a huge risk. Obviously, you gave up a stable. income. You're a few years removed now. People are listening. I'm sure there's somebody listening

going, yeah, I'm thinking about leaving my job. I'm not happy. I'm not fulfilled, but I'm scared. What's been in your emotions wrapped around it since then? Yeah, I mean, at this point, I definitely don't regret it. I mean, I'm super happy right now. Things are really going well, but there were moments where, you know, especially during COVID, I think that was a tough time for everyone when that first started um where it's like what am i doing you know like the i've left like this really good job um i had other like job opportunities too within the finance space from different firms that you're trying to like poach people away and i left all of that to essentially like start a business um which i did but like because of covid and everything it wasn't

going that well to like go on this TV show ultimately it you know that was definitely like a big soul searching time for me too but I think looking back on it the only thing I would change is I think when I was working at Goldman I think I would have been more thoughtful in trying to think through what I wanted to do next and to me the way to do that is just networking with people and trying different stuff and I used to love doing that in college I did a really good job at that I think that's largely the reason I ended up working at Goldman to begin with, just from like the people I met and talked to and just being good at the networking process. But I seem to like stop doing that when I got to the job.

And I think it just leads back to the comfortability standpoint. And I wish I just would have put myself in more uncomfortable situations, try to meet other people, learn what they're doing, and see like what am I really interested in? What do I want to do? And I think once I did make the leap to quit, I would have maybe have. had better clarity on what I wanted to do next. I think ultimately because I didn't do that, it maybe took a little bit longer for me to end up there. It took a couple years or a few years, but I would say now, at least in my life, I'm super happy and thankful I made that decision.

That's great. Let's talk about The Bachelorette and how you responded to that process. Did you feel like, how would you get out of it? That's a great question. I, I feel like, you know, I was, I'm the kind of person. I take a long time to warm up to people and be comfortable, like, talking to them and living with them. So the first couple of weeks in the mansion were like super uncomfortable for me, just like around all these new dudes. It was just like a weird environment.

And it wasn't until we got to Rhode Island. And we had this, like, rugby group date where that was when Luke P was kind of turning into like the villain of our season. And I was just like this little quiet guy the whole time. And then when we were going out on the field before the game started, we like huddled up in the middle. And I gave like our team the pump up speech. And no one expected.

I remember Mike and Dylan were looking at me just like eyes wide open. They're like, what is going on? And I was like, you know, like, let's like. kill this guy like you know i was just like amped up ready to go and that to me that was like the whole change of the season and the experience for me and i just actually felt like i you know was able to like get to know people better make friends and actually like enjoy it um but i think one of like the big things for me that i learned and it's frustrating being a contestant because a lot of times like the time you spend with the lead isn't really in your control but i think what it made me realize is

like when you do have that time or those moments, like you really have to make the most of them. And I felt like a lot of time in my life, I was just living very passively, kind of just like letting things happen. And it wasn't until right before the show where I had like maybe taken back a little bit of control in my life.

And so I think it kind of just reiterated to me of like, okay, you know, if you want to make things happen in your life, you got to go like, go do it. You know, like, and I, there's moments on the show where I wish I had maybe done that

more um but i think that kind of reiterated to me of like i need to actually follow through and do that stuff and then when i do have those moments to make stuff happen to like really make the most of that that was that was probably like the biggest takeaway for me and i feel like since then i've really tried to take that to heart are you glad you did it then i mean looking back now uh we're just talking bachelorette we're going to talk bachelor's in just a second but are you glad you did The Bachelorette? 100%. Yeah, I mean, it was such a cool experience.

I am so thankful for the whole thing, like everything that came from it. I would say it's interesting. Like, obviously a lot of cool opportunities come from the whole show and everything. But like, people have asked me and we'll talk about it in a little bit, but the business I'm doing now, I think I would still be doing that, whether the show happened or not, it may have taken me longer to get there. But really being on the show hasn't necessarily impacted. how successful that's been or anything it's it's just all been through other means so i i think it's

kind of cool like obviously very thankful for everything from the show but still you know would like to think i'm the same person i was before as i am after that makes sense i mean with generous you know i started it four years ago after my time on the show and i mean it's it's a great launching point for a business uh but today you know the people that have heard about generous through my social or whatever have already heard about it. And so, you know, I'd like to, I've asked myself that question. Would I be doing this without the show? So part of me it says, no, the show definitely gives me the platform to do it. But I, I would like to hope I would have tried. And so we're going to talk about your business in just a second. Let's take a break here. We come back. We're

going to talk about Bachelor in Paradise and what Connor is doing today. My name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psycho babble.

Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hey, sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance, bro, tell you how to manage your money again. Welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now.

When you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan, starting with your local credit union, shopping around online, looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt when it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse.

For more judgment-free money advice, listen to Brown Ambition on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer. And my mom is a cousin. So, like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality. years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. The 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack.

where stand-up comedy and murder take center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hola, it's HoneyGerman, and my podcast, Grazacus Come Again, is back. This season, we're going even deeper into the world of music and entertainment

with raw and honest conversations with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in, like, over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah.

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I won't say whitewash because at the end of the day, you know, I'm me. Yeah. But the whole pretending and cold, you know, it takes a toll on you. Listen to the new season of Grasasas Come Again as part of my Cultura podcast network on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Janica Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcover podcast, I'm taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time?

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I just want to go off of what you were saying about like kind of like finding your groove on The Bachelor at for a second. do you find that you grew it all or like gain confidence at like any personality traits that you think came through through the process i think definitely gained confidence and i feel like i mean you all can probably speak to that too especially like coming off the show and starting to

watch it on tv i think you know just like hearing all the love and everything people are giving you um it definitely like boosts your confidence and so i mean i know we'll talk about paradise the second but i feel like going from the bachelorette to paradise remember going into paradise just like super confident uh felt honestly like felt like i was on top of the world but um i would say confidence was definitely something had gained and i i think that was maybe something that was lacking for me before the show just because i hadn't found you know that person for me i i'm not the most like the biggest party or anything and so i wasn't like going out that much the years leading up to being on the show. So it was really hard to like meet people, I guess.

And so hadn't like been on a ton of dates or anything, you know, obviously a few here or there. But like just confidence was definitely a big, big one that changed for me. I can totally relate to everything you just said there. Did you know this, Ashley, with that Connor and I have a little bit of a big night together? Did you know this? No. So Jessica and I go down to Bachelor in Paradise, the year that Connor is going to be down there.

And if you remember right, from Connor's time on The Bachelor, I was a fan of his. I thought he was probably going to be chosen. And Connor is in line walking into the wedding of Chris and Crystal right behind Jessica. This is Jessica's very first time around TV stuff. So she's freaking out.

I mean, the girl is just a mess. and she still would be if we did it again. But Connor's standing right behind us since we were making small talk. And I was like, oh, how's the show going for you? He's like, it's, well, it's not going. I was like, what do you mean? He's like, I've been quarantined.

Connor, what was it, 10 days at that point? Yeah, man, that was miserable. Quarantine for 10 days. Yeah. What the worst part about that is, and I guess, Ben, you didn't go to paradise, but Ashley, no. You did. So you go to that hotel beforehand. And I flew in there. I think the day after filming

it started. And I, I feel like I was told maybe that I was going to go in like a day or two later. Which would have made sense for you to be part of the original cast. And just to clarify, guys, we're not talking COVID quarantine. We're talking bachelor quarantine. I keep you in the room for a couple days. Yeah. And so I was like amped up, ready to go, fired up for this whole thing. and then the producers came in my room like a few days later and they were like hey just so you know some things like changed down on the beach and we don't want to send you in yet so you're going to be this room for another week and there's a special they told you right off the bat a week yeah so in total i was stuck in this room for 10 days um and it i mean honestly i feel like i reached a bit

of a groove towards the end of the 10 days, like just had a routine down, you know, wake up, the sun would hit the balcony. This is time out. This is exactly what I was going to say. I still remember the exact words you told Jessica and I, because Jessica at this point is so confused. She's like, you're kidding me. They have you in a room for 10 days and you go, it's not that bad at 2 p.m.

The sun reaches over the other hotel. And I can tan. Yeah, yeah. And she's like, this is ridiculous. Yeah. It was like 1 or 2 p.m. The sun would reach over the other, like the, I guess the top of the building. And then I could get sun for like four hours.

And so I'd just go like lay on the balcony as close to the edge as possible so I could hit it. And then I'd wake up, order room service. I mean, I probably racked up. The room service is unlimited, guys. And they let you get drinks and stuff. I mean, I had some real introspective moments locked in that hotel room for five straight days. Like I was just so in my head. I was.

Talk about just getting to know your. yourself. That's what happens in there. No, for sure. And I, I will say, okay, so I did try and go, they told me that, like, because I was there for so long, they let me, like, do some stuff. They don't normally let people do. Did you get to go to the pool a little bit? So they took me to the pool one day, or two days. They took me to the spa a couple days, which is like, and then the other thing, they were like, oh, you know, do you want to go golfing? I was like, oh, yeah, I'd love to go golfing. And I ended up not being allowed to go golfing, because Chris was golfing, like, the whole time, I guess.

They didn't want Chris to see me, so I couldn't go golfing because of that. Oh, Pooey. That's a terrible excuse. That feels like a terrible excuse. So you just mentioned this, Connor. And we have a couple more minutes left with you here. But you said they told you, hey, there's going to be this special event. And what did they mean by that?

So ultimately, they meant that it was going to be Chris and Crystal's wedding that I was going to be walking in at. And at the time, I had no clue what they were talking about. I didn't know there was a wedding planned or anything. So I, you know, for a week, I was just kind of sitting in the dark having no clue. But the wedding ended up being the kind of the event that we walked in at. And I walked in with Chase McNary. And then I'm blanking on his name. He's, uh, he was on the show a while ago. Oh, it was Brooks. Brooks. Yep. The three of us walked in. And, um, That's when I met you, Ben. And Ashley, were you there?

I did meet you that. I met you that day. Yeah. My moment from that wedding was that I fell off the chair. It's the second I got it. I remember that. You remember that. That sounds like Ashley, making an entrance.

Well, Connor, your time in paradise maybe was shorter than expected, but still impactful. You became somebody that people love from that. In fact, so much so that you have a very active TikTok following now. Are you meeting anybody through TikTok? Where did TikTok come from for you? Tell us about life now a little bit. Yeah. So I don't know.

I mean, I feel like you all might be able to relate to this, but I feel like Instagram, it's just not like fun for me. You know, I feel like a lot of times, and you know, you guys are probably better at posting and everything than I am. I'm absolutely terrible. But I just like can't. I don't like taking pictures. I don't like doing any of that.

And so when it comes to like posting on Instagram, I can never do it. But TikTok, to me, it just seems like more of a fun, like safe place, you know, and I feel like I can have fun,

be a little silly, be stupid. And it didn't really start until COVID started. And I, you know, obviously like everyone started dancing on there. And I'm a terrible dancer, but I would just like,

you know, start doing a little bit of dancing to the trends or whatever. I just thought it was funny and ended up like, you know, doing some cool stuff with it. So it's been a lot of fun being on there. And I feel like it is more of a kind of a safer, more fun, enjoyable environment for me than Instagram is. And it's led to a lot of cool things with, you know, the business that I ended up launching. And we've really only been doing stuff on TikTok for that. So it's kind of been cool to, you know, to be a part of that.

newer platform. Well, before we jump into your business, just want to talk about your roommate situation because we had Mike on the podcast. He was telling us the last time he was here that you guys were going to be living together in Austin by you who told us behind the scenes that you're no longer living together. He is living in where? He is living. I believe it is Port of Iarta. he's learning he's learning Spanish down in Mexico he's gone back to his paradise roots he has paradise is right around the corner maybe he's just waiting until next summer to to pop back down there I don't know is this a gorgeous split was this a good roommate split it was it was it was Mike Mike was a great roommate loved living with him and I would hope you would say the same thing

about me I will sound more of a messy guy and Mike's very tidy I think he may have mentioned that Yeah, so although we were roommates on the show, so he knew what he was getting into a little bit. But I think he, it was really cool living with him because we have a very similar kind of like outlook and everything on life and business and what we're trying to do. And I think we, you know, really motivated each other. And before we even like moved in,

I remember I drove down to San Antonio to visit him. And the whole weekend, we just like wrote goals. and everything we wanted to achieve. We were living together and everything. And it's cool to see, you know, some of those goals came true. Some didn't, but I think we really, like, planted some good seeds to have a successful year this year and going forward. And, you know, obviously, like, I'm super thankful to have lived with him. And I would hope he would say the same about me, but we had a great time together.

And Austin was like a great city to live in. And I'm excited to be back living here now. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect.

And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercoms the podcast. for you. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search emergency intercom, and listen now. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness, the way it has echoed and reverberated throughout your life, impacting your very legacy. Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the profound and powerful stories

I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million downloads, we continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you, stories of tangled up identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary

guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases,

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It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt when it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment-free money advice, listen to Brown Ambition on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hola, it's Honey German. And my podcast, Grasias Come Again, is back. This season, we're going even deeper into the world of music and entertainment with raw and honest conversations with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in, like, over 25 years. Oh, wow.

That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah. We've got some of the biggest actors, musicians, content creators, and culture shifters, sharing their real stories of failure and success. I feel like this is my destiny. You were destined to be a start. We talk all about what's viral and trending

with a little bit of chisement, a lot of laughs, and those amazing vibras you've come to expect. And of course, we'll explore deeper topics dealing with identity, struggles, and all the issues affecting our Latin community. You feel like you get a little whitewash because you have to do the code switching? I won't say whitewash because at the end of the day, you know, I'm me.

Yeah. But the whole pretending and code, you know, it takes a toll on you. Listen to the new season of Grasas Has Come Again as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Well, you know, you mentioned it a little bit ago. You've mentioned it throughout the podcast. It's a huge part of your life. In fact, you just got back.

to Austin because you're in L.A. for a bit. Tell us about what you're doing now. Just give us the rundown the greatest sales pitch you can on your new business and where you hope this goes. Yeah. So I met my friend Mike back in December a little bit over a year ago in 2020, I think. It's 2022, right? Yeah. Two years gosh. I keep forgetting. But I met him and he had this idea to create kind of like a hangover hydration products more of not necessarily for hangovers but just a hydration product and we you know just clicked and started working on this thing we ended up manufacturing it in Los Angeles but before even manufactured it we just started making some TikTok videos on a business account that had no followers a couple of them went viral and they we decided to do a pre-sale for the

the product before we even had it. We ended up selling out all of our initial inventory in about 30 minutes when we opened the pre-sale. And so it was just like crazy seeing this thing evolve. And that was in May. And we didn't get more inventory until August. And now we're, you know, getting into some really big production runs with it. But it's just been crazy to kind of see this thing grow. And it's always been like such a dream of mine to start a business and grow it and like really grow it into something big and um make a big impact on people and it's it's honestly just been like surreal being a part of it um what's the name of it it's called water boy water boy but right now we have a uh it's a it's more of a hangover

hydration product and so a lot of the hydration products you see in the market have a lot of sugar um don't really have that many electrolytes and we took a different route no sugar uh more electrolytes than any other product on the market, ginger and camomile for stomach nausea, L-thene, which relaxes you, and then vitamin B and C. And so everyone that's tried, it loves it so far, I will say we've kind of refined the taste a little bit, so it tastes a lot better. And then we're launching two more products probably within the month. So it's been a pretty exciting time for all of that and just honestly been really cool to make it happen. I wish I would have had this when I was throwing up every day, mainly because I felt like liquid IV was too sweet, and plus it

didn't have anything like the ginger to ease the stomach, Nasha. Yeah, yeah. And what I will say, no knock on liquid IV. I do love liquid IV. Yeah, yeah. It is a great product. And pediolite, too, a lot of people take that for hangovers. But I don't think a lot of people realize when you buy liquid IV, 70% of what you're buying is sugar.

and do you really need that for hydration? No, you don't. And so we really just packed it with everything that you need that is essential. And it really works. It really does a good job. And, you know, people have loved it so far. But we'll have to send you some to try out. We have some some good flavors going on. Ashley's big on TikTok also. Strawberry lemon. Yeah, she can get some TikTok followers. Big on TikTok now. We need to be more active on TikTok. for sure you got you got to get on tic-tok you know mike and i had a rule for tic-tok dances it was more so my rule but i think a lot of people spend too much time thinking about like doing a dance and getting it really good before they post it my rule is one take you watch the video

the dance for one minute and then you do one take and you post it even if it's terrible and so mike and i have some pretty bad dances out there it's my fault but i feel like like it makes it more fun because it's it kind of like makes you laugh at yourself a little bit because it's it's just so bad i like that probably works for two single attractive men like a married couple i don't know if that's too funny or too engaging i think it is you all you all could do some good stuff on there yeah i already have some ideas we we've got some ideas too we just feel like we're just like production people or we like oh my god it'll take us like four hours to do it TikTok and then we'll argue about it because like some because I'm so bad at acting and he's so

good and it takes me forever and he could do it a one take wonder anyway that sounds like my nightmare well hey we got to talk about his love life we will we will but before we do here Connor last time you're on if this is a sore subject I still think it's worth talking about uh you were creating some gummies. I believe they were, they were like vinegar, apple cider vinegar gummies, right? Yeah, yeah. So we had a, we had a sleep gummy and an apple cider vinegar is that still going on or is that, has that been diluted? So I, that's an interesting one. I actually, so I was pumped to start that, put so much time and energy into it. And then COVID started and it was like, oh, this is the worst time to launch a business. It ended up being like someone

of a good time I guess because online products and sales and wellness stuff did really well and so it did start to do well I think I just reached the point where I was like I didn't really think through this before I started it if I was actually like really interested in doing this I kind of just did it and I it was December of 2020 I was like what do I want to do next and I I honestly wasn't sure with that business, but it ended up being perfect timing because some people reached out and actually wanted to buy it from me. So I ended up selling that business in December of 2020. And that's kind of when this whole water boy thing started. And it was kind of trying to think of like the next chapter in my life of what I wanted to do. And the hydration stuff

was actually the other thing I was considering of starting when I started the gummy thing. It was just the gummies were easier to make at the time. So it's kind of interesting how it's come full circle, but yeah. Well, I wonder. I cannot take apples later vinegar shots. So those gummies are... You should try

the gullies. I don't know if you've tried the goalies. Yeah. Yeah, they're not bad. Not bad. Well, obviously, Ashley has some questions for you about your love life. And then every time we end in depth, Ashley, I'm going to prep you now. Get your questions together. We're going to do a rapid fire

around. So one more, two more questions here and then rapid fire. We'll get you out of here, Connor. Perfect. All right. Well, there are rumors that you're dating someone named Jenna Palick. She has a pretty good social media following. She also lives in Texas.

Spell it. It's Jenna. Jay. Okay. Can you confirm or deny any any relationship? you know I will say I am off the market currently I think that's that's kind of all I can give you at the moment not not that I'm trying to hide anything I just I kind of like and you all can probably relate to this it's nice to have like a little bit of privacy for for a bit yeah on

some of that stuff and so I think it's it's not trying to hide anything I just there's like certain things it's kind of nice to like at least for now keep keep that to myself but I will say I am off the market at the moment. And just very happy spending time with somebody. Well, Jessica and I kept quiet for probably five or six months and it was the best five or six months. At some point, people are like, you know, you need to come out and tell people. And I'm like, why? It doesn't, it adds a whole new level of pressure. Well, if it's not with Jenna, this conversation just got really weird for whoever is with and they're listening. Yeah. Okay. Well, I guess I won't pry anymore um yeah okay fine i won't pry anymore but you're happy and you're dating someone

and that person lives in texas yes but i'm not going to pry anymore but i promise trying without pride okay fine yeah i don't know yeah yeah okay um and now we should we do rapid fire. Ben, do you have a question before we go rapid fire? No, before we do, this is how we'll send it off. Connor, thanks for joining us today. Thanks for doing this in depth. It's great to learn more about you. Um, all jokes aside, we, we were very happy that you're happy. Best of luck, uh, with the water boy and to the new things coming out. But this is where I pass it off to Ashley for rapid fire. Uh, so Ashley, take it away. All right. These are all fun questions. All right. Love it. Favorite. Favorite. Favorite bad.

A Machelorette memory that didn't make air? Probably hanging out in the kitchen with John Paul Jones late at night and him talking about his greatest fear. I can only imagine. Honestly, I've told this story so many times, but I've just forgot what his greatest fear was. Oh, my gosh. We'll have to ask him. Yeah, you'll have to ask him. Okay.

Who's your celebrity crush? Zendaya. Oh, that's a good one. That's a very good one. What's your favorite movie? Um, oh, shoot. You can name a few.

I look, yeah, I feel like this isn't a good one, and I might get crap for this, but I love, like, national treasure. That's hilarious.

I never saw it. I feel like people always laugh at Nick, Nick Cage, but I, you know, those i love treasure what's your favorite chain restaurant um i used to be a big taco bell guy great one used to be i you know i'm trying the whole gluten and dairy-free thing so it's not very conducive to a taco bell okay um what's your favorite food pizza do you do the dairy-free and gluten-free

I do. I do. I do. Um, and what is your, um, what's your best memory from the past year, 2021? Um, from the past year. Honestly, I think, I think just like living living with Mike was a really cool experience. Um, just like the whole, the whole year. I think I learned a lot about myself. He did too. You did a lot of cool stuff. I actually, one of the more fun things is we went to Tulum for a weekend with another friend. And that was, that was just like a really good time. And I felt like it was cool for both of us to maybe branch out of like the business, everyday life of living in Austin, like go on a fun little adventure, ATVing around Mexico. So that was fun. That was a good time. Okay. So what was the worst part of Mike being your roommate? So Mike, Mike is like a, he's like a natural

alarm clock every morning when he wakes up he screams as loud as he can he does like the woo he does that thing i could hear him our rooms were on like very separate ends of this apartment we lived in i could hear him like he was right next to my ears it was so loud so whether i wanted to wake up or not it was like the same time every day he wakes up jumps in a cold bath yells whoo punches the wall three times and gets his butt outside I did a boy. Basically, basically, I will say one thing I love about Mike, and this is a great memory that I have, I bought these like affirmations on Amazon that I like, they were like wall decals. I was told I'm like one of those live, laugh, love girls. I have like signs all over, but I, I put

this up right next to our door and it was five different affirmations. And whenever we would invite someone over to our house, we would make them yell the affirmations. And it was like, it was like you were in like the huddle of a football game or something. We would just like hype each other up and yell them every morning sometimes like get amped up. There's a funny Instagram post on Mike's Instagram actually. We like took a video of us making this one of our friends do it. And I just like loved, love doing that because it just brings so much good energy. Wow. This feels like a very, very energetic house. Trying to make it. That's right. Hey, Connor, follow our lead here. You're going to understand in a second, just repeat after us, but use your name.

This has been Connor Saley on an in-depth episode with the Almost Famous Podcast. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. I've been Connor. Good job. Bye. Woo!

Follow the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called emergency intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you.

But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psycho babble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now.

I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club. Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story. Does anyone know what show they've come to see?

It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Smokey the Barre. Then you know why Smokey tells you. when he sees you passing through

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And remember Only you can prevent wildfires Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service Your State Forster and the Ad Council Have you ever wished for a change But weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in job, a place, or even a relationship.

I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweetie. Monica Patton. Elaine Welteroth. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Listen to these women

and more on She Pivots. Now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I was diagnosed with cancer on Friday and cancer free the next Friday. No chemo. No, no radiation, none of that. On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast, I sat down with Warren Campbell,

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Listen to Culture Raises us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Thank you.