Trading Secrets - Chris Harrison Pt 1: The secrets behind building his hosting empire revealed! From $500/weekend hosting the morning show to landing HGTV, The Bachelor, and everything in between and beyond.

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

This week, Jason is joined by good friend, Bachelor Nation Hall of Famer, former host of ABC’s The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and all the franchise spinoffs over a 20 year span, the one and only Chris Harrison! Chris spent 20 years becoming the face of one of reality TV’s top franchises and establishing himself as one of the top hosts in all of television. His host resume is extensive outside the Bachelor Franchise as he has hosted “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and the Miss  America pageant, and of course, carpet coverage at the Emmys just to name a few. He is also the author of The Perfect Letter. In recent years, after a highly publicized departure from his host title of The Bachelor shows, Chris has looked to embark on other career endeavors. In and out of the media space, he is now hosting one of iHeart’s top podcasts, “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.” Chris gives insight to how playing soccer ended up kicking off his career in hosting, how he made more coaching soccer when he first started working the weekend morning show on a top 50 market, how he worked his way up KWTV, why he passed up his dream job for a job in LA, how his newcasting experience helped him land a movie role, and how he kept his eye out for new opportunities. Chris also reveals how he was able to balance the horse racing job and hosting on HGTV, the difference between game show host compared to other hosting jobs, how doing a favor landed him the Bachelor hosting job, and always trusting his gut.What was the funniest business moment of his life? What was his dream job? Was it a risk to take the unscripted reality dating TV show?  Chris reveals all that and so much more in another episode you can’t afford to miss!  Host: Jason Tartick Co-Host: David Arduin Audio: Declan O’Connell Guests: Chris Harrison Stay connected with the Trading Secrets Podcast!  Instagram: @tradingsecretspodcast  Youtube: Trading Secrets Facebook: Join the Group All Access: Free 30-Day Trial 

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. I'm your host, Jason Tardick, and welcome to the pre-market trading segment where I tell you a little bit about what you can expect from our guests today, an update from the market and some news for my personal life. First and foremost, the moment I know most of the Money Mafia has been waiting for, we have Chris Harrison on the podcast. This is a guest we have wanted for quite some time, a close friend, and if you think one episode would do Chris Harrison's career justice, you thought wrong. This is a two-part series.

So, what you're going to be listening to today is part one. And then, of course, the recap, and then we'll pick up back with part two. If you're new to trading secrets, one thing I would suggest, whether you listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you're listening, just hit this subscribe button. So when part two comes out next Monday, you will get an update and notification because this whole episode, which is recorded in about 90 minutes, is an episode in stories from Chris's life that you haven't heard before. He even prefaced most of the stories with, I haven't told this story before.

So you're going to want to make sure that you listen to this. Now, what can you expect from this episode? Well, first of all, Chris's career has been an absolute mosaic. And I'm going to take his quote and not mine. It took a long time to become an overnight sensation. I work damn hard to get that lucky. And you'll see evidence of that because we're going to talk through each step of his career. And of course, of course, the dollars and cents behind it. We talk about him working in Oakland. Oklahoma, covering news like the Oklahoma City bombing. He was a journalist, and then he landed his dream job in Dallas with the Dallas Cowboys, but didn't take it to go to the horse racing network.

And without taking the job of going to the horse racing network, there's no way he ends up on The Bachelor, and he tells you that. There's several stops in between. You're going to hear how Chris Harrison went from making $500 from his first job, to then landing the big gig, baby, at $22,500. And then you're going to hear all the stops in between, leading him to six figures, and even all the jobs he still had to work once he took on the role of being the host of The Bachelor. If you think we're talking dollars and cents when it comes to Bachelor, you thought right.

You're going to find out how much he made per his first episode, how he negotiated, and much, much more. I'm telling you, this is a really good episode. The beauty, too, is you're going to hear career lessons, you're going to hear money lessons, you're going to hear someone with a lot of experience in a wild, excuse my language, a wild fucking industry that you can take home to your day-to-day living. Towards the end, you're also going to hear him talk and start to foreshadow about what his interview process was like at The Bachelor. Who else he was in contention with?

Who else got the opportunity before him in his relationship with the creator from day one? There's just a whole lot of action in this episode that I'm excited for you to see this side of Chris. He even talks about when he was brought to tears, tears when he was given that first offer in 1993 for $22,500. Now a little update from the market. I'm actually going to give you a news article because it connects to the market and it also connects to this episode. Have you guys ever heard of the app called Cameo? Well, Camio went to the moon and came back down a little bit. Now the article out there that was actually said to me by Lauren Zima, Cameo to the Moon and back. And it's an article all about how Cameo took off. Had over 400 employees with a valuation of

$1 billion now down to 33 employees. Now, Jason, how do you connect this to the world that we live in? Well, if you're not familiar, tech companies and especially startup tech companies, which Cameo would be considered, took a beating when interest rates went up. When the cost of capital went up, tech startups took a beating because the alternative for money could be made at a higher return with less risk than investing. into small tech companies. Small tech startups need capital to grow. And when the cost of capital went up, that was one of the moving parts as to why these companies got smoked. And of course,

there's industry specific, like Cameo blew up, blew up during the pandemic. So this is an interesting section in here, though, that relates to Chris. I'll ask you this before I even read it. How much you think Chris Harrison has made on Cameo? Well, let's read this little blurb from the article. I'm picking up at Brett Farr, Sonia Morgan of the Real Housewives of New York City, Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank, and Chris Harrison of The Bachelor. Each of the five showed lifetime sales of more than $1 million. That is incredible. And my cameo lifetime sales just pass over $100,000. So there's Chris Harrison at much more than 10x. It is a beautiful thing. I'm also going to give you another little dabble of numbers because with chris's story i could have talked to him for seven hours

literally seven hours i wanted to know so much i got 90 minutes that was the most i could get and not only that i got 90 minutes after bawling my fucking eyes out right before his show so if you think that i was a little off this episode it was probably because for 90 minutes straight i was bawling my eyes before this but when i listen this episode i feel really good about it but we could have gone deeper so i'll give even more information. We know he made well over a million dollars on Cameo. And also with Miss America, we didn't get into this, but he made around the 75K to 100K range for his work there. But we're going to talk about all the stops in between. It's a little bit about part one. It's a little bit of an update from the market that also connects to Chris's earnings and a little update for my

personal life. I'm in New York City. This week I got LASIC eye surgery. So more to come on that. I'll give you an update, but probably the most important thing. I'm very close to locking in a place in New York City. It's always been a dream for me to live here. Always. Life got in the way, work got in the way, relationships got in the way. Now there's only one priority in my life at this moment, at this juncture, and of course it's my health and mental health, all that stuff, but it's me. And so I think I'm going to check the box to living out that dream of being in New York City. Now business-wise, how am I going to do it? Well, I'm going to have a place in Nashville. Caitlin and I split the dogs. Right now, the situation is half the month she gets

some half the month, I get them. So half the month, I would live in Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, I still have time with my dogs, which is super important. I also will have no state income tax because I'll be in Nashville resident. I will also buy real estate in Nashville, which historically has been appreciating at a very high level and can also be transformed into investment property, short-term or long-term rental should I need to. Then what I'll be doing in New York City is renting for 18 months. Through the 80s, We looked at office space. An office space was more than the cost of a nice apartment. So we're going to take the apartment that I'm likely going to sign this lease for, make it an office

and living space for the agency. And additional, with this space, this place has so many amenities that have a podcast studio there. We pay $250 per time we go to the podcast studio for audio and video. We can now podcast from our apartment building. As a result of that, if I do 10 episodes, that's $2,500. I usually do 10 episodes a month. So we're justifying costs. We're checking boxes. More to come. Please remember to subscribe, follow, give us five stars, and let us know what you think about this episode. Enough of me. Enough of this pre-market trading segment. Let's ringing the bell with the one, the only, the legend, Chris Harrison. Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets.

Today we are joined by my good friend, Bachelor Nation Hall of Famer, former host of ABC's The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and all of the franchise spin-offs over a 20-year span, the one and only, Chris Harrison. Chris spent 20 years becoming the face of one of reality TV's top franchises in a sense of establishing himself is one of the top hosts in all of television. His hosting resume is extensive outside the Bachelor franchise as he hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and the Miss America Paget and of course carpet coverage at the Emmys just to name a few. He is also the author of The Perfect Letter.

In recent years, after a highly publicized departure from his host title of The Bachelor shows, Chris has looked to embark on other career endeavors in and out of the media space, which we're going to get into. And he is now hosting one of IHeart's top podcast, the most dramatic podcast ever. I can tell you, from experience, just coming off the hot seat seconds ago, it is the most traumatic podcast ever. But today, we are going to chat with Chris on his career, Bachelor Nation, where he sees the franchise going, and what are some of his career goals now and moving forward?

And of course, we're going to dabble in some finance and money talk. Chris, thank you so much for being on Trading Secrets. Jay, thanks for having me, man. It is good. It is good to be here. Welcome to my hot seat. And let me tell you, payback is going to be friendly. Hey, let's keep this above the bell.

Let's keep it friendly. We're just a couple guys having a beer here in Austin, Texas. Cheers. It's good to have you in my home. It is good to be in your home. Thank you for having me. And if you guys haven't listened, go tune into the most dramatic podcast. I was just on Chris's podcast and we get deep.

I get emotional. Man, I really appreciate it. It was a great talk. And I know we'll do the same here. And it is the good and the bad, I guess, of podcasts in these long, form interviews, especially when you're doing it face to face with someone who you really love and admire, you're going to go deeper, you know, the gloves come off, the walls come down, whatever analogy you want to say. And it's good because you get the honesty and that's what these things

are all about. It's why I don't know if I'll ever go back to doing regular interviews where they're going to frank and bite you into 10 second sound bites. When I can come on and talk to you or do my own show and I can say what I really want. And I'm not going to be edited. Exactly. In the authenticity and I think the vulnerability that comes with it when you do already have an existing relationship and there's already so much context and history, it makes for such a deeper conversation. And this is a business podcast,

so it's one of the reason why the whole podcast industry is blowing up. You have a podcast, we'll get into that. But Chris, what we're going to do, we're going to rewind to the start of your career. Everyone knows you, of course, from the Bachelor franchise, but you are a sports reporter at a CBS affiliate. You were also with a horse racing channel. You're the host of designer challenges.

is you've done a lot of things in TV before The Bachelor came knocking on your door. So I want to go back into those days. When you got into those roles, let's just talk about your first hosting career, right out of school. What does the audition process look like? What does the pay look like? Tell me about what that career is like from an entry point perspective. Yeah, I always say, you know, I took a long time to become an overnight sensation.

You know, it's true. It's, you know, people always see the top 10%, whether it's in sports. And you see Tiger Woods or Serena Williams. and you say they were made to play tennis or made to play golf or, you know, Chris, you got so lucky getting the bachelor. And I'm like, yeah, I worked damn hard to be that lucky. You know, I was at this for a long time before I popped up on ABC. And it started back in 93. I was a soccer player like you. I played in college. And I got into sportscasting in school. And I was doing local play by play on the Cox Cable Network for our basketball team at Oklahoma City University. And we happened to be

amazing. We won the national title like two years in a row. And I was calling games. I was doing play by play. And it was the first thing that made me think twice about soccer. Like I was not a great student in high school. I didn't love school. I got to college and I just wanted to meet girls and play soccer. That was my life, like most 18-year-old boys. And I had the ability to kick a soccer ball and run pretty fast.

And so I was a good soccer player and I got a scholarship. And that was such a blessing because it opened up the next door, which was I got into mass communications and broadcast. And this gentleman, Chris Weish came to me at school. We're still friends. We still talk. And he said, hey, I'm about to start a program. I need someone.

I need a student to start this program doing play by play for the basketball team. I'm like, dude, I have no idea how to do that. I've never been on TV. He's like, if I teach you, will you do it? And so I dove into it. And really, I don't do drugs, but it was like, I guess heroin. I don't know. But it was the first thing.

I'm just like, I'm addicted to this. Interesting. Like, A, I was good at. it. I could tell. And I had a knack for it and it felt right. And it just, it everything clicked. And it was the first time, I don't really care about soccer anymore. I don't care if I turn pro, which by the way, I wasn't good enough to go pro anyway. But in my head, I'm like, I don't know. I didn't have another out. But now I'm like, I have this love of my life that I am diving head first into, got an internship at the local affiliate. You mentioned CBS.

It was KW TV and this amazing mentor of mine, Bill Teigen's, who his book is sitting right over there, the late great Bill Teagans who passed away. But he took me under his wing. And I could not get enough of being around him, being around the station. In sports, you call it a gym rat. I was a station rat.

I couldn't be around the station enough. And I was all in on this. And I luckily got my first job right out of college at KWTV in Oklahoma City. And I know you're thinking, oh, that's not a big deal. It is. It's a top 50 market. It was a small job. It was a morning show on the weekends. I'm talking 6 to 8 a.m. Saturday mornings. It started to be Saturday and Sundays, but it started off just Saturdays. Okay. I honestly, I think I was making $500 a weekend

doing it. And this was your first job out of school day. My first job. Okay. And I was not qualified. And I know you're like, that's a small job, but I was not qualified to get that job in a top 50 market. That was a pretty good job. A lot of people had auditioned for it. I had this one moment in Dallas, Texas, covering the Cowboys. When Jerry Jones fired Jimmy Johnson and hired Barry Switzer, we were down there covering it. And I was really just a glorified intern. I was down there just helping. And the truck went down. We couldn't run any of the tapes that the sportscaster had put together. And he said, Chris, put on your jacket. I was ready in a suit and tie, ready to go. Not thinking I'd be on the air. It's just how I dressed.

Sure. And he said, you're coming on the air. So, A, I was ready. Whether I knew it or not that day, I wore the suit and tie for a reason. I believe in being overdressed for every situation. And he pulled me on. And I said, what am I doing? He says, just talk. I'm going to ask questions. You have forgotten more about the Dallas Cowboys than any of us ever know. Just tell me what you saw today. Tell me what you heard. How is this historically significant? Okay. And I jumped into a live shot and crushed it. And I went home and my boss was like, you're going to get this job that you're not qualified for. We're going to take a leap of faith and we're giving you this job. And I did it. And I was coaching two soccer teams. I coached a high school girls team and a

boys club team making a lot more money than I was making in TV. I would go in on Friday nights and they would pay me like $50 to work the Friday night high school football show. And so back then you had to call, right? We didn't have the internet. We didn't have texting and all that. So we had a rolodex and we would call and get all the scores from all the games around Oklahoma. And that's what I would do. And I would help edit tapes and put the show together. And then everybody would leave around 11, 1130 after the late news. And my night began. I had four sportscast to put together for Saturday morning by 6 a.m. So I stayed up at the station all night, wrote, edited, produced all my own shows finally would go to sleep for about an hour on the floor of my office. Get up, do my own

hair and makeup, get dressed, do four sports guests. 500 bucks a weekend. You're coaching. You have the internship. You're doing this and grinding this on a weekend. And by the way, what's wild is you're describing this and it seems like entry level. But this was a huge stretch job for you. Yeah, top 50 market, which is big. Usually, you know, you leave and you go to Beaumont, Texas, or Wichita Falls. Williamsville, Buffalo, New York. Yeah, exactly. You know, you go to these markets. that are like market 75 through 175. And by the way, if you don't know, market size is like New York and LA

or like one and two and Dallas is big. And you know, as you would think, the bigger the city, the bigger the market. How long were you in that role for? Not long, maybe only like six to seven months. And then the number three guy left and went to New Orleans. And again, I was not ready for this job.

And my boss was, it was really depressing because I wanted that job so damn bad. I loved him. I loved this station. And I just knew I wasn't going to get this job. I was sending out resume tapes. And, you know, you talk about the audition process. You would put together resume tapes and, you know, your best stories, your best sports

gas and all that stuff. And you'd send it to Poughkeepsie and, you know, Tukum Carey, New Mexico. And you're asking for a job. And so that was my lot. I was going to leave. And I wasn't going to get this job. And my boss was looking at all these tapes. And again, he's just like, you know, I just went through a thousand tapes.

And it was depressing because these tapes would be stacked up on my job. on my desk, and he was looking at him. Yeah, looking at people. So you're seeing all the people you're competing against. It's like, it'd be like, you know, the girl you're in love with looking at pictures of guys that aren't going to be you. And so my boss- Sounds like an episode of the bachelor.

Yeah, he was an episode of the bachelor. But, you know, my boss went through like tape 5,000 and he finally was just like, no one's better than you, dude. He's like, you're not ready for this. But, and he called me and I'll never forget, this is the funniest business moment of my life. I've never told this story. He calls me in. I think it might have been on my day off.

And I go in and he calls me in the sports office and he's like, I'm giving you the job. Wow. And goosebumps. I got tears in my eyes. My life in this instant just changed. So he goes, we got to go talk to the news director, Joyce Reed. So we're walking to Joyce's office and we're kind of backstage from the sports office. You had to walk around the set.

Then you got to the newsroom. So I stopped him backstage and I said, Bill, Bill, in my excitement, I'm like, hey, shit, I didn't even think about this. What do I ask for? Sure. How do I get paid? What was your title, by the way, this new job? At this point?

Yeah. I wasn't even on the team. I was the Saturday morning sports guy. Okay. I wasn't even doing stories for the main newscast. I wasn't even a part of the five, six, and ten o'clock team. Okay. There's the five, six, and ten guy, like the guy, right?

That's your sports director. We all know. Yeah. And then there's the number two guy who usually does weekends. Okay. Sometimes Friday nights, usually weekend show. Then there's usually a number three guy that's just a reporter. He can fill in an anchor, but usually he's out on the beat doing the local stories and that kind of thing.

This was for that job. It was for the number three job. And so I stopped and I'm like, Bill, what do I ask for? And he goes, dude, you know how lucky you are to have this job? You walk in that office, you say thank you, and you get out of there as fast as possible without saying anything. When they say the number, if it's completely egregious, I'll speak up. You don't say a word. Just say thank you.

Interesting. The F out of the office. Well, the natural question. What was the number? 22.5. $22,500. My first job ever, this would have been 1993, 94, probably 94 by then. I graduated 93.

So by now, probably calendar year, it's switched. So probably 94. Yeah. I still have the contract right over there in my desk. We'll talk a little bit more about your career stops. along the way. But let me ask you this. Things we learn in an early age tend to stick with us a little bit. Do you think any of that has been instilled in you in the fact that you got that offer, take it, don't negotiate? And do you think of that's something that's stuck with you because

the first ever opportunity to negotiate, that's what you were told in this industry? No, you know, not in a bad way. It was something that I talked to kids about all the time. My son is a senior. Josh is a senior at TCU. And I'm trying to impart on him some of the wisdom I didn't going into this world of business. And I see this on the internet, a lot of people like, I don't like working. I can't make enough to live. I feel for this generation graduating, I know life is hard right now, and I'm not saying it's not, but I also see people that are worried about the wrong things entering the

business world. You're worried about a title. You're worried about money. I have always felt, and I'm not saying this is the golden rule. There's just me. Money will come. Yeah. I have in that lesson, we'll talk about later when we get to Miss America and some of these

other things, that lesson has really paid all in spades for me. Trust yourself, trust your skills, trust your work ethic. The money and the title will come. And I've been lucky enough that I love what I do. I've always been passionate about what I do. And my mom always taught me if, you know, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. And I believe that. And so I I didn't care. I'm like, I'll wait tables at Olive Garden, which I did. I'll coach two high school soccer teams, which I did. I'll coach a club team, which I did. I'll come in and work Friday nights just for the opportunity to do what I love because I know once I do it, I'm going to crush it. Especially in your space where experience is your resume, your resume is your experience, and

that's what's going to get you the next opportunity. Inevitably, all of this ended up paramounting to landing you with ABC, The Bachelor. But before we get into that, what stops did you have along the way before ABC comes knocking on your door? Well, once I made it in Oklahoma City as the number three guy, quickly moved up to the number two spot. They were not, you know, they graciously gave me that job. So now I'm number two and I'm doing the weekends. And I'm filling in for my boss.

I'm doing a lot of the five, six, and 10 o'clock shows. So I was really doing it well. And I saw a world in which do I stay here in Oklahoma City and have an amazing life? Be the guy. Yeah, be the guy. You're a big fish in a smaller pond, cover in Oklahoma football at Oklahoma State, Dallas Cowboys. But I had this dream, this dream to always move back home to Dallas, be a sportscaster in Dallas, and be the voice of the Dallas Cowboys.

Wow. I wanted to be, that was my dream job was be the play-by-play guy for the Dallas Cowboys and be a sportscaster. And in 99, I made that come true. And I got a job offer to be a sportscaster in Dallas, Texas, a guy named Mike Ducey, who's still there. He offered me a job. and it wasn't the job, but again, don't always worry about the job. That'll come. It was just the gateway to get to Dallas.

And then I was going to figure out a way to be the voice of the Cowboys. At the same time, I had this agent who called and said, hey, there's a horse racing network that's starting up in L.A., they really want to see you. And I went out and auditioned, and I knew very little about horse racing. You know, I was a sportscaster. So I covered the derby. I covered the big three, and then I covered the Breeders' Cup. kind of stuff, but I wasn't intimate with it.

Rimmington Park, there was a track in Oklahoma City. I kind of kept up with it a little bit, but they really were looking for sportscasters to work with professionals, and they offered me way too much money, six figures, just over six figures. Let me ask you this, though, you go from 500, you go to 22-5, you then go to Dallas. Again, one takeaway. No, I didn't go to Dallas. You ended up not taking that.

I had the dream offer, and I turned it down and went to LA. Because of this. Because of TVG. Okay, dream offer. What was the dream offer? much. I don't, I don't even know if I negotiated the Dallas job. Um, it probably would have been, my guess, 65, 75,000. I think I was making. When I left Oklahoma City, I still wasn't making six figures. I was probably making 60, maybe, probably in the 50s. I was probably making in the 50s.

And how old are you at this point? Oh, gosh, I was, I was, I was young when I graduated. I was only like 21 when I graduated college. So this is, well, by now, what, 99? I got to do some math here. What am I 20? Well, no, I came to L.A. when I was 28, 29 years old. Okay, so 28, 29, you pass on the dream job because of the horse racing opportunity out in L.A. It's a six-figure deal, though. I just had this idea that, like, I could always go home. Yeah. Like this weird opportunity came up, and I don't know, I'm not an, I never had a dream of going to Hollywood or L.A.

But I went out there an audition and they offered me, I think it was $125,000, maybe $135,000. And I'll be honest, I didn't grow up with money. My parents did not have a lot of money. It was more money than I ever thought I was going to see in my life. I couldn't fathom making six figures. My dream, honestly, if you said, hey, 25-year-old Chris or whatever, what would be your dream number to make money? I always had this idea of could I be a sportscaster and make $100,000?

If I do, I will be the luckiest richest, richest SOB in the world. And that was my dream. That was all I wanted to do. And then I remember sitting in the back of my house in Oklahoma City and I had these two offers on the table. And I just thought, let's do it. Like, you know, it's the country song, you know, heads Carolina, tails, California. It was like, I'm like, you know, heads Dallas, tails California.

I'm like, let's go, let's just, I'll go surf for six months. I didn't think much would come of it. I thought, oh, you know, I'll be there for six months or a year. I can always come back home to Dallas and jump back into the dream. But just stretch your wings a little bit. Is it fair to say if you didn't take the horse racing opportunity in L.A., that inevitably the Bachelor probably would not have found you? 0%.

0%. So they only found you because you were in L.A. with that opportunity. Because there were a number of other things that happened that led me to get on the list and remain on the Bachelor list host listed for over a year. I heard about this job for a long time. I forgot about this job. And then ended up getting a call back that you were down to the Final Four.

And we can talk about there were a couple of things I did. Again, lessons I've learned of things I was doing just out of the kind of of my heart that led to me getting the bachelor job. One thing I talk a lot about, though, is based on your profession, based on your passion, based on your interest, there are certain cities that will revolve around whatever those industries, passions, and places are. If you don't put yourself in a position to get lucky or find that golden opportunity, it never will come, but you did.

So you take the job, you're in L.A. You're making, a bucket a quarter in the late 90s is a mid-20-year-old. If you take into inflation, that's huge. You're rich and killing it. And I was married at the time. and my then wife was doing pretty well. She was an accounting major and working in, I think that time she was working for a medical company and she was doing well.

How old were you when you got married? I was 23. And did you get married in Dallas? We got married in Dallas. Interesting. Yeah, she was, she was an Air Force brat, but went to school in San Antonio and we went to college together. We were college sweethearts and we got engaged on like spring break of my senior year.

We were kids. How things have changed. Yeah, we were children. Obviously, we grew up and we were. We're still friends, and she's a great mom. But obviously, when you're, I was 18 years old when I met her. I was 19. I was 19.

You're a little bit of a different man. You grow into a different person from 19 as the years pass. All right. So then you're in L.A. Tell me about what the process is from the horse racing network in L.A. to all of a sudden getting a call from a reality television opportunity. What does it look like? In business and in life.

The world's worst clone. is desperation. I didn't smell like desperation. God, I love that line. I was new. I was new to the business. I was new to the city. I was a fresh face.

And I was making what I thought was bank. So I didn't care. I didn't give a shit. I started to go on on what's called auditions. And I say that laughingly because I just didn't know, I didn't know what an audition was. Yeah. I never auditioned.

You know, I went to job interviews like a normal human being. I never auditioned. I, you know, and I'll never forget when I got, you know, my agent would call and they would say, oh, do you want to, you know, do some acting stuff? And I was like, sure, that sounds fun. Movies are cool. Yeah.

I've been to some movies. Yeah. And so I went for this movie called Bounce. Okay. With Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. And the lady, the casting director calls him back. She says, you got a call back. I said, that's great.

Did you act at a day in your life going into this? Never. Not a lick. Never. I was a sports. I was a host, a sportscaster, whatever. I hang up the phone. I call my agent.

Hey, what's a callback? Yeah. And they're like, what? I said, I just got a callback. Is that good? Is that, you know, it's like, you're an idiot. I said, no, I know. I'm like, cards on the table, man.

I don't know what this is. Did she say a time? I said, yeah, two o'clock. She said, that means you need to be back today at two for a callback. And I'm like, oh. And you know, you get what's called sides, right? They give you a piece of paper and it has this, you know, what you're going to say. And it was for a CNN reporter, like a newscaster role.

Okay. And so I go back in. And the first time you're in, you know, in front of a video camera, you know, a little Betamax thing that we all had back in the day. And they record you. And it's just the casting director. And you read your lines. And then they give you a call back. And I go back in.

And now the room's full. There's 10 people in there. I don't know, director, producers. I don't know who the hell it is. And I, they're like, oh, I go. And I'm like, all right. And I'm literally just having fun. I did not care, which was the genius behind it all.

I wasn't desperate. I wasn't a starving actor or whatever. I was just like, I'm, I'm, this. just doing me, man. And so I had been a newscaster. I really had done news. I did tornado chasing. I did the bombing in 1995 in Oklahoma City, things that really shaped my life. And I was a journalist at heart. And so I went into this and I started reading and I kind of changed some of the lines because I was like, their writing was terrible. It wasn't good as a journalist. It was some Hollywood writer trying to write like a newscaster. And I'm like, no, dude, we would never say this. So I did a whole breaking news thing

because Bounce, the movie was about this plane crash. Okay. And they were like, they said, stop, Stop, stop. Stop. And I was like, oh, sorry. I changed some things. I go, who did? I go, well, I kind of told him my story. And they're like, you got the job. Wow. I'm like, really? That's cool. But I learned a quick lesson. When you're in a Ben Affleck movie, you're going to see a lot of Ben Affleck, not Chris Harrison. Lesson learned. I went in. I was humbling for a 25-year-old Chris. So, Jay, I'm so pumped, man. I told everybody, right? I'm on top of the, you know, Sears Tower. I'm yelling, I'm in a movie with Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. I'm so pumped.

I'm calling my friends. I'm calling friends I don't even know. And I go to the movie, you know, they gave us premiere tickets. Yeah, I'm a big deal, dude. I walk the carpet. I'm crushing it. Yeah. And, you know, I'm not doing The Bachelor yet.

No one knows who the hell I am. Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow over there watching the movie. In my movie, in my scene, I knew it was in because it's pivotal. It's kind of this come to Jesus moment at the end of the movie with Ben Affleck sitting on the bed. And he's, I'm kind of reciting and recaptulating the whole thing. So, you know, he's listening to it and kind of just has this moment. Well, it's his moment.

It's Ben Affleck. It's not mine. You can hear my voice and then you can see my face in a reflection in a picture behind Ben's head. So that's how I'm, it was so humbling. I'm like, oh. Welcome to Hollywood. That was my welcome to Hollywood moment. I made, I made scale.

I made no money. But, you know, I did. I went to the party with Ben and Gwyneth and I was like, you just said an industry jargon that people won't know. I made scale. So, yeah, I wasn't even a member of the union yet,

which is SAG Aftera, the Screen Actors Guild, but this movie got me into SAG because the jobs I'd done up to then weren't union jobs. And so there is a set amount of money that you will at least make, which is, they call it scale. And it was, I don't even know what it was,

maybe $1,700. So if you have a speaking part, you have to make this amount of money they can't go any lower than that understood so you're making the minimum that you can make you do this audition you'll land it you'll have a very very coming i would have traded it all for two tickets to the premiere exactly all right so unbelievable but how does this experience with the acting and then the hosting connect to how the bachelor finds so really what led to it i kind of jumped ahead but really what led to it i started auditioning for some of the stuff i realize i'm not an actor i don't that's not my love

I've done it. I was in another movie with Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro and that was, it was oddly, ironically, about reality TV. Come on. It was about, it was Renee Russo and they were producers and they were following these two cops. And I had a really funny scene in there. And it's like the worst acting job of my life. But so I did some of that stuff. We just doofing around. Hey, we got to dig these up. It's gold. You'll see me overact because De Niro had just shot a camera with a gone. He got mad and he shot this camera. And so I was this, you know, scared reporter asking him questions and he turns around and I was supposed to be like, hey, you're supposed to be scared like he could shoot you.

Yeah, yeah. And it was like this overacting moment where I, my eyes get big. It's like, oh, you know, it was like overacting 101. Directors like cut. Yes. Less, Chris. Dude. Like you're at a 15, take it to a four.

But overacting aside, my next big gig and the next big breakthrough was Home and Garden Network, designers challenge. I mean, you're going from the Dallas Cowell. boys to horse racing now to home and garden network i mean the world you know i'm a big fan of chase your dream follow your passion relentlessly but just pay attention to win other doors and windows open yeah i'm a big believer of soccer got me to this level because i went to college but it wasn't going to get me any further but it it opened the door to sports casting interesting that opened the door to moving to la that opened the door to the so i'm a big believer of

of wait till that door's cracked open, whatever. Don't be so stuck on your dream that you're not afraid to pivot and go somewhere else. And Designers Challenge, that's with HGTV, which at this point is like a legit network. We were killing it. And Designers Challenge became the number one show on HGTV. It was right as the design craze was taken off.

What was the big design show on ABC? Were you remodel a house or whatever? Home makeover. Home makeover, design makeover. Move that boss. Yeah. So I was really. Right as that was happening, so we'd been on for a couple years.

So everybody was clamoring to get a design show. I was already on the air. So all of a sudden, my show just blows up, and we are cranking out episodes. Are you making more than you were making at the horse racing gig? By now, yes. So now you're in your late 20s. I'm doing both, but I kept both jobs. Oh, so you're doing the old double debt?

Oh, yeah. Okay, what do you get paid to be a host for Designers Challenge for HGTV? Oh, God. It was per episode, and at first it wasn't a big deal. I mean, oh gosh, maybe five to ten grand is what it got up to. Okay. Which was great for HGTV. But then we started cranking out about 65 episodes a year.

Damn. Because we were just, we were double and triple ordering. We were killing it. And you were still managing the horse racing gig while doing this. I was working there four or five hours a day, traveling a little bit. The great thing about HGTV is I would go in and it was all green screen. Okay. So I would crank out seven or eight episodes, then go do voiceover for it.

And that would take two days. so I could crank out those episodes and then disappear. You were Ryan Seacrest before Ryan Seacris was Ryan Seacrest. I was hustling, dude. I went back and forth. I love the hustle.

I love the work. I love the journey of it all. That was the, those are the best times. I mean, when I look back on my career, it's like, yeah, the Bachelor was great. Nothing beats sleeping on the floor of your office at a sportscaster when you're 23 years old and you're scared to death and you don't know if you're going to make rent.

Right. That's the stuff. But later in your 20s, it sounds like you were not only making rent. You were banking. It's probably like 300K now. if I'm doing the math, right? So you're like late 20s, 300K, HGTV behind you, the resume of horse racing.

You have Oklahoma City sports casting. I mean, you have an agent that's in your corner now in L.A. Tell me how the whole package finds you. Then comes a game show network. And I did a show called Mall Masters, the Mall of America in Minneapolis. And so we shot, it was, God, it was horrifyingly cold. God bless you people in Minneapolis listening right now. I was there in November, and I was there for like six weeks.

It was like, it was the longest year of my life. But I did that and I met this great production company, Stone Stanley, and they taught me how to be a game show host, which later would become an invaluable asset as I take over millionaire. I had the vernacular and I understood how to do it because I was a host, but I didn't know how to be a game show. So he taught me the lingo, taught me the, you know, this leads to this, which means this. Give me one trading secret.

from being a game show host that you learn then that us as consumers, viewers, and even participants would have no idea. It's just the game show hosting is more X's and O's. It's more the bachelor take, for example, or being a sportscaster, I can weave a tail, I can tell a story. And there are moments when you can do that as a game show host, but you've got to pick your spots. It's more of traffic cop.

Jason, if you get this next question right, you're going to move on to the next level. and that means a shot at $1 million. There's not room for anything else in there. If I tell a story or if I get off track, I've lost that thread. And so you've got to handle the business. Then I can say, Jason, what would that $1 million mean to you? What would you do with it? But you got to know where to put that.

And so it's just being, you know, you got to be the traffic cop and you got to know when to hit those moments, when to really punch it and, you know, when to lay out, when to shut the F up. which is important as a host. Interesting. Those are things that we don't get to see behind the scenes, but it's interesting how that game show is what connects you to a millionaire. It's interesting that acting with Robert De Niro needing a reaction probably is what led you to be the best host

with reaction to emotion during The Bachelor. All these stops led to, you know, a massive, massive career change for you. So was it after the mall show that you got reached out to? I met these guys at Zoo Productions to what went on to do, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grater? Okay. Which obviously was massive. Huge.

And they called me for a favor. And they said, look, we have a show. You know, you're not going to host it, but we need someone who will come and do the pilot. And we know you're a great host. You'll come in and knock this out of the park. And you'll help us build a tape. They tried to sell that show to Warner Brothers, telepictures at the time, which is the company that was producing the Bachelor.

So I was already on the list of hosts for this Bachelor job. they then saw this tape and they said, hey, we're not going to buy this show, you're pitching, but who's that host? And they said, oh, it's Chris Harrison. And they said, tell us about him. And they go, well, you know, he's married. I think he just had a baby or he's having a baby. And they were like, huh, because the bachelor was looking for the guy next door, you know, a guy that was married so it wouldn't seem like a creep hitting on the ladies. And at the time, which is really rare now, looking for an unknown. They were looking for an unknown. They were looking for an unknown name that would come in and just be, you know, the backstory. You're not the star

of the show on The Bachelor. Really, when you talk about things that really set me up for life, journalism, being a sportscaster, my mentor Bill Teagans, who said early on, get over yourself. You're not the story. Yeah. And all the great jobs I've had, Millionaire, Miss America, Bachelor, I'm not the star, which is fine with me. Get over yourself. Because people will know me if I do a great job. Yeah. And so I really relished that opportunity to just work, do a good job, and be in the background and make the bachelor the star, make the bachelorette the star, make the

contestant on Millionaire, the star of the show. Yeah. And I always said, if I do a good job, you'll know who I am. Right. But that is what really, I was on the list and then just doing that favor. Again, I wasn't asking for money. They did not pay me to do that pilot. I could have.

I could have been a jerk and said, oh, give me five grand. you know, but I just did it. And that is what got me in front of and moved me up the list on the bachelor. And then eventually they called me in and I had a meeting with him. Interesting. All these moves that you're making, whether it was the negotiation at 22,500 or was doing that pilot at no cost, even when the value of your brand is at a significant level, all of them you're not leading with any form of ego. You're just leading with like logic and heart, which I think is a really good takeaway for people back home. They're trying to find that next step. But then they do find you. They do bring you in for a meeting? Are you auditioning against other people? Do you know if you have the job

secure? You got the job right away. I did less to get that job than any job I've ever had. It was really weird. It is the most desirable job. I think they had done so much due diligence. And I went in for a meeting with the then creator and had a horrible meeting. We hated each other. It should have been a precursor for what came 20 years later. But I wasn't that savvy. Yeah, wasn't that savvy at the time. But we just, we were like oil and water. We're, he's LA, California guy, sunglasses on board shorts, you know, and I'm, you know, suit tie, hair slicked over, probably had my polo clone on, you know, just Midwestern guy ready for a job interview. Sure.

And, you know, I was warned, get ready for a long conversation. How long was it? Four minutes. Stop. We hated each other. And he's like, thanks. And I left. It was the worst meeting in the history of mankind.

So you walk out thinking there's no way There was no way They offered the job to somebody else They offer the job to somebody else Whose name I won't mention That's one name I've always kept secret I will respect all your boundaries Until well until he says it

I'll never say it Okay Is he still relevant? Like wouldn't that his name? No no no no Understood I think he is still hosting though I think he is still doing some stuff Okay

But he was like you know And we bounced around doing Because there was a group of us That was auditioning for a lot of the same jobs At the time Yeah like we would we were all good hosts and we were all getting gigs and we were all kind of crushing at the same time it was kind of fun guys i didn't know we were all just kind of moving to la and then i you know

they offered the job to this other guy they were negotiating with them they were full in and all a sudden i get a call they want to meet with you again i said what to make fun of me like do a hidden camera show like no thanks i'm good i said and plus aren't they negotiating with this guy and they said well apparently not i'm like they wouldn't be calling you in for nothing so they called me in and there was look revisionist history everybody claims to be the person that was Chris Harrison's fan and the guy or the woman that said no man like I'm the one that said you're the guy and you know that was the genius and I'm you know I stood up for you so everybody claims to be that person I don't know who it actually was but somebody did stand up and say

no no no no the guy I was going against you know I will say he was very hosty yeah he was very over the top kind of game show hosting. I was not. I was very, kind of like I am, you know, as you see me on the show now. I was very kind of laid back and just me. I've always hosted in that my own voice and my own way. And I think if you watch any of my shows, you're going to, that's who I am. And so they wanted that more down home feel instead of an over-the-top host. And so I think they pivoted and I went home for Christmas and I just got this gig and we're going to start production in January or February and I'm like, I'm not going to tell anybody because I don't even know if I really have a job. They just took it from this guy. Why wouldn't they take it for me? It's good point.

I'm like, until I see myself on camera on TV, I'm not going to say a word. And another friend of mine had kind of lost a similar job on a dating show where I got, we all got called back in audition for his job. And so it just, it's a dirty business and it put the fear God in me. And we all told him like, dude, I'm auditioning for your job today. And so it, you know, I was very reluctant to celebrate. Did you have to leave your former job to take this role on? No. So now I'm working at the horse racing network. Okay. I'm hosting designers challenge on HGTV and I'm the host of the Bachelor on NBC. You got to be kidding. Dude, I didn't grow up with any money. We had zero money. And so I talked to Joan Rivers and God bless her soul. I got to be kind of friends with her

before she passed. And she had the same mentality of take it all. Don't ever quit a job. Don't ever turn down at job. It's like Jay Leno do the same thing. Jay Leno would walk off the Tonight Show set and go host stand-up gigs in Vegas, like just relentlessly working. And it's, yes, we loved our job, but we were just scared. We were scared because we've all lived with no money. Now that we are making it, you know it's fleeting. You figure it's going to go away. I'm going to strike while the iron's hot. And at The Bachelor, you think, all right, this dude's making millions now. He's killing it. My first contract was for $12,500. And I was going to ask you for the first show you ever did with The Bachelor, what were you paid for the first show?

12.5. Is that per episode? Per episode. Okay. And it was six one hour episodes. That's it. Okay. So relevant to your other. I'll do the math for you. That's not even 100K. Well, that's what I'm thinking about compared to your other opportunities. I'm making more money at a horse racing network. Double. Double the network. And I'm making double that at HGTV. So, you know, I can't quit. So you think about a dating show like that, you can't quit. The money's not what you think it's going to be, although 12,500 at that time per episode is pretty solid. But is there any type of, especially in the world of L.A., every decision you make, they say,

needs to be thought through because it could ruin your reputation to do something. If you go on reality TV, it's very hard to be an actor, things like that. If you take on an unscripted reality TV in dating, was there any risk in that at this point or no? There was because, well, the creator of the show was only known at that point for, who wants to marry a millionaire. It was this very critically pan show. Actually, the ratings were good, but turned out the guy wasn't a millionaire.

Turned out he had some legal issues and there was no background checks back then. So it was on Fox. It was kind of salacious as Fox was then. And so I'm like, hmm, well, it is on ABC slash Disney. So, you know, there's going to be a modicum of respect and dignity in this love story. And I'm like, you know, will I be able to show my face at church next Sunday? I don't know. So I was a little scared, but the good news is I didn't really have a big enough name to worry about it at the time. Okay. I was, you know, Home and Garden wasn't going anywhere at the time and the horse racing network didn't care. Yeah. You know, we were all kind of hustling and trying to do other stuff. So, you know, while I was worried about it, I didn't really have the gumption and the name to worry about it too much. Okay. Let's go back to 22 year old Chris negotiating $22,500 deal who accepts it immediately. They bring $12,000. 500 you per episode, you know it's significantly lower than you're getting paid. You think about

negotiating that. Well, we did negotiate. And again, I wish I knew I'd have to go back in the old archives to figure out, you know, did they offer me eight to start or nine or something? And we got to 12.5. And, you know, they wanted me to be non-union. And I said, I'm not going to give up my union membership. And so there were things that, like, they were willing to pay me more if I would do that. And so a lot of things win it. There was a lot of negotiations going back and forth. But, But, you know, to their credit, they had me over a barrel. I had never hosted a network show. I was a good host.

I've done some game shows and stuff like that, but I'd never been on a major network. Okay. So it was, they knew it was a big gig for me. This is a big breakthrough. So in that regard, I didn't have that much leverage. I would have my leverage later, but not then. And I knew that. And again, I didn't care.

You know, sure, I would have loved to have made millions, but I just knew this was the next step. I'm a big gut guy. I believe in if it feels right, I'm going to do it. And I don't have regret when I do things. I'm just going to do it. And it's not that he won't make mistakes and it's not that I'm always right, but I never look back and think, no, because I'm like, I trust the guy that made the decision at the time. It's not that I'm always right, but I never look back and think, no. I trust the guy that made the decision at that time. That is where we're leaving off part one with Chris Harrison. Part 2 is coming soon. And as you could tell already, we're starting to get in the weeds of the transition in Chris's career to Bachelor Nation. Without

further ado, let's ring in the bell with the one and only The Curious Canadian. Ding, ding, ding! And we are closing in the bell to the Chris Harrison podcast. That was part one. you heard all about Chris's life story right up to the Bachelor job, which we know changed his life. And I'm sorry, guys, I had to leave you on a cliffhanger because part two, part two is an episode you literally cannot afford to miss. But David, I know you were excited about this episode. I know you were pumped to have the one, the only Chris Harrison on. I know you wanted numbers, and especially in part one, you got numbers. So what are you thinking, brother? You tell Chris Harrison is a fan of the pod, could you say, because he was prepared to share some

numbers for the people. So always good to get some numbers out of them. You know, Jay, on this recap, I definitely want to get into a little bit about your personal relationship with Chris, how you got to know him, what your experience were with him. But for the people at home, for the people will listen, I got to rattle off some numbers here. I'm going to see if any jump out to you as I rattle them off. So here we go. I mean, we're talking his first job out of college, $500 a weekend. That's all he's making. And he's He's coaching two soccer teams. We're talking 22,000 for his first sportscaster job that he was extremely underqualified

for. We're talking the first time he ever left what he thought his dream job was going to be in the Dallas Cowboys Broadcasting team to make six figures, six figures for our boy Harrison that brought him out to LA to be a racetrack announcer of all those things. We're going to talk about the first episodes that he did for The Bachelor, $12,500 per episode. Lots of numbers being thrown out there, five to $10,000 per episode for Holman Garden. Here's what my favorite stat was. He did 65 episodes per year, seven to eight episodes a day recording for that designer challenge, home and garden episode. So a lot of numbers that he shared

us. I mean, the guys had a ton of different jobs. What an incredible path to get through he was today. So a lot of takeaways, but we're going to start with the numbers. Yeah, it was really cool to hear just all the stops, all the numbers, the way that, how fast it moved, right? From 500 a weekend to 22,000, to then six figures, to then he's working while on The Bachelor 12, 5 per episode, but you think about the speed at which he moved, it's pretty incredible. I also want to put in perspective to people, if he has these three jobs and he's hustling all these different areas, and let's say he's making a few hundred thousand dollars, $300,000 in around 2000 was around $550,000-ish today. So he's in his fucking mid-late 20s, wheeling and dealing, his face,

is increasing. His wealth is increasing. He's then jumping on this show that takes over the entire international attention of all things. I mean, what a trajectory. And I think it's cool how he stepped into that he didn't come from much. It's pretty interesting. And I also like some of the takeaways about how he decided and navigated his career and how money really wasn't a driving force, but ended up becoming a massive part of his story. And what an incredible storyteller he is to tell all those stories and I agree with you the fact his upbringing played such a part into where he is today and his motivation and overall just his demeanor like he he clearly got to where he is today by just really leaning on himself yeah and and who he is

and not trying to fake it especially when he got to LA where there's a lot of people trying to fake it so I thought you know I'm very appreciative that he shared the numbers and I think sharing the numbers yeah it's great for our podcast how much does it add to the storytelling like how much are you more like into the moves that he makes and get to where he goes because he was able to share the numbers adding to the stories of where he got to where he was. I think it was really cool. And I know contractually, Chris can only speak to so much. You're going to see him part two, me dance and Bob around a lot of the moving parts there because, you know, there are some things that he can't speak to. I'm sure everyone could read through the lines there. Yes. So I didn't know what he would

and what he wouldn't share. And I also wanted to be very respectful of the fact that this is an area he doesn't really tap in too much, and I don't think he has before. So for him to share that stuff, I think was really interesting. And I want to give Chris a shout out. For people that don't know, he is extremely intuitive and intelligent when it comes to overall business acumen. Chris is an investor. He's very intelligent with his real estate moves. He looks and invests in a lot of CPG companies, which are consumer package goods. There was a deal that I ended up getting out of, but he got into goat energy and laundry sauce and a bunch of others. Like, Chris is very, very astute when it comes to the numbers behind his career and also

the finances and investment he makes. Some things you probably don't know about Chris Harrison. 100%. Now, before we get into our biggest takeaway from the episode that we're going to apply or that we could relate to in our lives, I want to take a step back and say, and get into a little bit about your personal relationship with Chris. I truly didn't really maybe understand the levels of your guys's relationship. Do you consider him a friend, or is this still a means of like a business friend with Chris?

How would you describe your guys' relationship? I consider Chris a good friend, honestly, like truly. So, so Chris and I, I'll never forget the first time he walked in in the mansion. You know, he comes in, does the little, the knife thing and does the ding, ding, ding. And I was like, oh my God, that's fucking Chris Harrison. That's nuts. The first time you met Chris Harrison was the first, like, limo night? Yeah.

No, no, no. It was week two. So we do the limo night, right? I didn't see him that night anywhere. And then we were up to like five in the morning. We get our rows. We go back. We come back for week two.

Then we, that's when we move into the mansion. And then he comes into like, we're all sitting on the couch. He comes in to do the date. And that's what it hit me. I was like, holy shit. I'm on a bachelor, man. This is crazy. That's Chris Harrison.

And I remember the first time he was getting conversation going. He's like, all right, Colton, what did you think? And then he's like, and Jason, how did you feel about that? I was like, oh, shit. Chris Harrison knows my name. This is nuts. And then I think it was like after the show, too. And in Thailand, when I got my heartbroken, I got to meet Chris and got to know.

He references this a little bit, got to know him a little bit better. And then just throughout the years, our relationship evolved and evolved and evolved. And always stay in touch, always talk football, always talk golf. When he participated in the Tiger Woods event, Caitlin and I went there to support him. And so just every step, we became closer and closer. We were in group chats, side chats. You know, there's a big producer from Buffalo, him and I and Chris had our own chat. Like, we just talk a lot.

We became good friends. And now he's a really good friend. Someone I confide in, someone I check in with, someone that we do business and stuff here and there. But yeah, I think that summarizes the friendship. And Lauren, I absolutely love and adore Lauren. We also context, David, we podcasted in Chris's house. Chris opened his house up to me to podcast.

I went on his show. If you guys haven't heard it, go check it out, most dramatic podcast ever. But I stayed there that night. And they're just such, we all had, we had dinner together. And they're just such really, really, really good people. And I love them as a couple and I love them as friends. I mean, obviously pretty rare for someone to be on the show as a contestant, not even as a lead to end up forming that type of relationship with Chris, would you say?

oh for sure 100% and I think that's what when I went on his podcast one of the challenges he had he's like I've never really first of all never been this intertwined and this close to a couple and if I have been it's always the lead that was like my person right and he's like it's almost like even when he interviewed me he's like it's almost a little backwards that I have you here but that's also a testament to our friendship so to your question I do think it's out of the norm but it is what it is, you know? Here's a curious Canadian question. You mentioned the first time you met him was in the mansion on the second day when you moved

into the mansion. When he comes in, does he like stay and like chum it up with the boys and like get to know the contestants at all? Or is he in and out just like it shows on TV? It comes in, says his three sentences, like, and then walks out and then you just never see him again. See, the best part about this question, David, is this is the challenge I had with the podcast because this podcast I had and you guys will see in part two.

We get into everything from like the process of who he thought might have filled his job and everything in between. There's a lot there, okay? But I could have spent five more hours talking to the guy asking him all the ins and outs of the bachelor stuff. Right? So that was one of my challenges. However, to answer your question, no. He is at a host level, an executive producer level. You know, I didn't find until later when we were down to like four, then he became more friendly.

But until then, there was a direct separation between his job and the cast. But once we get to the final four, that's when you started to build a relationship. That's when you started talking to him and things like that. So, yeah, does that answer the question? Oh, yeah. No, it absolutely answers the question. Is his presence in the room? Can you compare his presence compared to, like, anybody else in the business world or celebrity world?

Or like that, oh, my God, that's Chris Harrison moment that you had on the show on a night two. And I guess grocery store Joe just didn't meet Chris Harrison. that season because he got kicked off on the first? I guess not. He had to wait till paradise. So Chris, when you're in his presence, he's very confident. He doesn't even get close to arrogant, but extremely confident, but he has a very, like, humble, soft down to earth side.

So extremely approachable, extremely kind, but extremely confident, right? If that makes sense. He carries a big energy. He is so good at what he does. He knows he's one of the best to ever touch TV. but he's also very, very sweet and very, very kind. Would you rank him in like, when we started the podcast in 2021, where would you have put him on like, if we could get Chris Harrison on the show?

Is he like a top five like sought after guests for you? Yeah, he is. I think so. And also after this conversation, we were, you know, again, we were in his studio. We were in his house, like with his setup. I didn't have my camera. So I'm working off a phone camera lens. Okay.

We're going to have Chris back on. I mean, Chris, we have two parts here, okay? You're going to get a great part one and wait until part two. Holy smokes. You're going to get a great part two. But there are so many more trading secret bachelor-type questions. I don't want to know, David. I need to know.

But I do get into those. You're going to hear a lot about how he handled different management levels. What his process was like, how he negotiated. you know, did he make over a million dollars at some point per year? I mean, we're going to get into it on part two. But you'll see after part two at some point, we're going to have to bring Chris back. But yeah, I would say he was a top five and one of my favorite guests. And here's a thing about interview. I fucking love interviewing. I love hosting a podcast. I love the angling and the maneuvering and all this. He's such a professional. I didn't even like get a chance to host.

He was the host. He just like, I didn't even get to ask questions because he's such a great storyteller. I'm like, all right. I don't even need to be here, honestly. I'll just pop in once in a while. He said, Jason, just moved aside. I'm Chris Harrison, and I'm the host and guests. And let me tell you about my story. And I'm going to ask my own questions. Get the fuck out of here. Yeah. You're out. Yeah. No, I mean, it's definitely top five guests. I mean, he is, he is the bachelor. I mean, I think he still is the number one significant figure from the bachelor. And all their bachelor episodes on our podcast, they do the best. They do the best for ratings they do best for reviews for engagement so to have have the big guy on was great i can't wait

for part two j i really can't i feel like i'm licking my chops because i want to know some of the things that you're referencing but before we get to part two let's close out part one here and i want to hear from you and and i'll give mine to your biggest takeaway from the episode from part one whether it's something that you want to take into your personal life or professional life or something that you want to manifest or something that you admire about him what's your biggest takeaway and I'd love to hear from people in the comments on our reviews what your takeaway was from part one Chris Harrison David one thing I got to tell you before I give you my big takeaway I'm going to tease you yeah we talk about where Chris was in part two

we really get into where he's going so I want to tease you with that too that's coming you're going to get excited before I tell you my biggest takeaway I got to remember to tell everybody make sure you subscribe to this podcast so just go to Apple or Spotify you're listening right now, please just hit the subscribe button. It's free to do so. You have no idea how much it helps our show. Our show is growing week by week, and that's because of you. Also, remember to give us five-star reviews on Apple. Let us know your biggest takeaway or a guest that you want on. David, I have a huge announcement for us. Oh, right here. Huge. Right now. Love. We have just hit 5,000 reviews on Apple Podcast. Wow.

5,000. I'll tell you what. This is a moment because I never expected we'd have Chris Harrison on the podcast. I never expected in a million years we would have 5,000 reviews. And because of that, we are going to give something away from the influencer closet, something that is sent to me that I don't use. It collects dust and it's going to be shipped to Yoga Janie. Love the dynamic duo. Jay and the Curious Canadian. Great episode with Luann. I'm not a real housewife fan and I still love hearing their stories and numbers. Definitely do the Diana Deepdive. Remember we talked about Princess Diana Deepdive? appreciate your openness and honesty always Jason thank you yoga Janie just shoot me an email

trading secrets at jason tark dot com send me your address and we will send you something from the influencer closet guys make sure to subscribe let's go to my biggest takeaway my biggest takeaway from chris harrison i loved his comment about desperation yes i mean there is a beautiful quote right there right and david do you have the quote specifically yes tell me the worst Cologne is desperation. I didn't smell like desperation. The worst cologne is desperation. I didn't smell like desperation. And I think there is a happy medium of knowing what you want, asking for what you want, getting what you want, but making sure that you stay far from the world of desperation. And I think there's a lot to take away from Chris. But for me, that one really landed. How about you?

So I've said this on the podcast before and it resonated with me. It made me feel a little relatability with me and the big guy, Chris Harrison there, but I've said on this podcast, I live my life by three things. Do what you love, do it to the best of your ability and treat people the right way. And if you do all those three things, like good things will come and opportunities will come. He said himself, he goes, chase your dream, follow your passion. Pay attention to the doors that opened because money will come. The money will come. The money will come. And if this part one isn't a testament to that and his path and where he's been, then, you know, nothing will be. So It was awesome to hear that that was kind of his mantra and then to see where it's gotten

him. And I literally cannot wait for part two. The worst cologne is desperation. The money will come. Trust your path. Take your shots and everything in between. This was the side of Chris Harrison. I expect most people here haven't heard.

These are stories from his career, the money he made, the challenges he overcame, the successes as he had and just a different side of Chris's story that you guys have yet to hear. Buckle up, get ready to go, because we know if we take his storyline, it gets wild. For the good, for the bad, for the lefts, the rights, everything in between. And you guys know that Chris is a good storyteller. So just imagine how well these stories are told. Thank you for tuning into another episode of Trading Secrets. One you can't afford to miss.

Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Because you cannot afford to miss. Part 2 next week with Chris Harrison. Living the dream