We're Here to Help - 17: The Criss Crush

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

Jake and Gareth talk to a caller about a celebrity crush and someone who’s here to help Gareth. Check out our brand new hats at heretohelppod.com! Want to call in? Email your question to [e-mail]. If you’re enjoying the show, make sure to rate We’re Here to Help 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts. Follow the show on Instagram @HereToHelpPod and TikTok also at @HereToHelpPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

and here we go again jake mr Mr. Gareth. Doctor. Another episode of We're Here to Help. We're doing it again. And might I say, what a gorgeous little chapeau you're rocking today. What's a chapeau mean? It's French for hat. Ooh. Yeah.

It's French for hat. You've got a We're Here to Help hat. Well, I mean, I like what I see. Kevin, jump in and talk about the beautiful hat I'm wearing. And we're starting with merch. Let's go. People want it. People clamor.

Yeah, so my fiance is a professional embroiderer. She does custom embroidery. She's also worked with Jake on Minx and a bunch of shows in the costume world. And she's helping us make hats she's actually doing it in the other room uh that i'm recording in right now and you can see there are flat broom hats trucker hats dad hats a bunch of colors uh and cool designs at here to help pod.com so if you like the show and you want a hat like jake uh do Also, if you want to see the show, we have a YouTube. We have good social media.

You can follow us on platforms. But let's just get into why people are here. Let's get into it. Because of calls. Yes. And we got some fun ones. People call, we solve. Go ahead. We got a really fun first one.

There's a woman who has a celebrity crush and wants some kind of help with it. And I think it's a fun one. It's an interesting one, for sure. And then we follow that up by I'm the Caller. It's more of a personal story about something that happened to me in the UK recently. And it's quite a tale. So we invite you along on that journey. Sorry, it's quite a tale. So, um, so we invite you along on that journey.

Um, sorry, I couldn't hear you one second. What? Give me one second. I cannot. What is happening right now? Is this another one of your little plans? I can't hear you.

Okay. Can you hear us now? Hi. Hi. This is Caitlin, our social media director hi hi garrett nice to meet you you too and she had she made a video where she's got a little qualms can you please pronounce her first and last name here caitlin tyrone rikino c can you please say it correctly so we can get on with the show? My name is Caitlin Tanwakyo.

So Caitlin... That's super close. You did really well. Yeah, why have you brought her here to tell me that I did pretty well? Because she made a video where she said you mispronounced her name. You've called me Garf, and

it's just... When did we start respecting names on this podcast we appreciate everything you're doing i'm definitely a gareth girl and kevin let's start this shit wait what hi hi there who are you lindsey lindsey how old are you? I'm 35. And where are you from, Lindsay? Toronto, Canada. Okay, this is Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, and you're on We're Here to Help. Hi. So welcome. Okay, now this is a silly issue, but I have a celebrity crush, and I feel like that's not unusual, but it's picking up a lot of my brain space.

Can I ask, is your celebrity on the show we're here to help? No, but I mean like... Hey Gar, that was embarrassing for both of us, McCain. Yeah, that felt bad on the way out and the way back. Hey my man Kev, let uh cut that weird news from the old

garf man lindsey we can do another take if you want to try again i don't know i don't know because that would be a problem for everyone if yeah but that was just yeah but lindsey that was just the wrong setup from the garf it was it didn't didn't work from beginning to end and that's okay it's the same space where we've created. And so you said it's taken up a lot of space in your brain. Yes. I feel like, um, I wonder if it's a problem to care about some random stranger just because, you know, you're a fan.

Okay. And if it's, at what point is it a problem? Interesting. So this is a real thing for you. You have a crush and you're kind of getting to the point where you're like, I'm spending a lot of time thinking about this person. And is it weird? Yeah. And I feel like I bring him up. Like if someone says something, I'll be like, Oh, well he has a song like that. Or he did that. Okay. So I hear you.

I hear you. So, uh So are you in a relationship? No, I'm not. Okay. So not because I have like a weird thing about that. I'm going to end up with this imaginary. He, he's just your, your crush has just become somebody you end up talking about a lot. Yes. And are we talking to somebody who's got some delusions?

Do you think that you guys are actually, okay. You just think he's a hot guy who can sing, right? Yeah. And via his interviews, you kind of like, you feel like you like him. Yeah. And I've met him. Ooh. Well, first of all, Lindsay, I think we got to figure out who the hell this guy is.

Oh, okay. His name is Darren Criss. He is a actor, singer. He was from Glee. Yeah. I don't know who this person is. Hold on. He, look him up. He's a actor, singer. From Glee? Yeah. I don't know who this person is. Look him up. He's a super handsome guy.

He's a singer. He was on Glee back in the days when New Girl was first starting. Yeah. I remember this guy. He's married. He's Married Versace. The Assassination of Gianni Versace won a lot of awards for it. Gareth, did you just say married? Married, right?

Yeah, he's married. right yeah he's married yeah he's married and so lindsey your question is is it weird that you have a crush on a married celebrity who you don't know yeah no just in general is it weird to be this interested in a celebrity no at all no lindsey it's not weird here's what's weird if the call if you said this here's my call guys darren chris claims to be married but we're in a secret love story that we communicate via non-ver ways of communication, then you're having mental problems. We have a secret language that's communicated through blinks. All that, I would say, like, this isn't the show for that. You do need some help.

And Darren Criss has no idea who you are and leave the poor man alone. What you're saying from what I'm getting is you find him really attractive and charming, and he brings you a little bit of joy to think about. And sometimes when you're out with friends, you bring them up and get a little embarrassed, right? Correct. God bless. That's the whole fun of celebrities like Darren Criss.

Gareth, am I wrong here? No, you're not wrong. But you did also ask, on top of that, is it affecting your dating life? Do you feel like it is? Do you feel like? No, no, no, no. Because it's not like I'm sitting here like, oh, one day this random celebrity like it's

not even remotely like that. I got a question for you on this, Lindsay. Have you ever been with a guy and thought that's not what Darren Criss would do? No, but you know what? That's so funny because I do think that that's where I would draw the line. Like if I started going, oh, this guy doesn't, I'm not like going to go on a dating app and look for a guy that looks like him or something. That would be where I think it would get weird. Like, you know what I mean? Like, it's not like a type of it's like, really, this is doppelganger. You just like Darren Criss.

Have you dated someone while you had the Darren Criss crush? Criss Crush is a good name, too. Yeah, that is a good name. Yes, I have. I don't know how to describe it because it's not like a romantic crush or anything. Did that person know your feelings for Darren Criss? Did at any point they say to you anything like, oh, know your feelings for Darren Criss? Did at any point they say to you anything like, oh, you really, you like that Darren Criss a lot, huh?

Well, yeah, but only because I would go to like, let's say his concerts or plays. So it was pretty obvious that I. When you go to these concerts and plays, what's the volume of attendance? How many, are you seeing the same show more than once no no but you're going to a variety of his performances because he seems to be very talented he's a multi-hyphenate right so like if he has a show like a play on broadway i just saw him in broadway last year

with sam rockwell so it was a good show But yeah, it's not like I'm living there. Right. But your significant other at one point maybe mentioned, I don't want to say jealousy, but acknowledged that it seems like you really like this guy a lot. Yeah. But not in any way that was like threatened or anything. I feel like it's sort of like how he likes sports.

Like he likes a hockey player, right? And you're a fan of that. Lindsay, this is innocent stuff. You know what I think? And look, if I'm wrong, call me out. I would say my batting average is, well, not a batting average, but I would say maybe a 50-50. Good advice, bad advice, good reads, bad reads. Here's what it seems like to me.

You know who a lot of people, a lot of younger women have this with? A guy named Justin Bieber, right? And it's very normal. And a lot of guys have it with Olivia Rodrigo. And a lot of people, and I'm going to keep mentioning names here. A lot of people have it. Are you going to keep doing it in that voice? Yeah. I don't know why I leaned into this voice, but it didn't feel right until we made eye contact on the Zoom. And then I got insecure about the voice. But here's what I will say, Lindsay. Is your question, and God damn it, tell me if I'm wrong here. But is the question, is having a celebrity crush something that you have to age out of or it then gets weird?

Because if you were 18, there's no quite who cares 17. It sounds like you have no real issues. It doesn't sound like you're a weirdo. It doesn't sound like it affects your life. I think your only question is like, is it weird at 35 to have like a girlish, innocent crush on Darren Criss? I think so. Because I think it's so specific, right? It's not like I'm like, oh, I like a few different people. I like one specific person. So then it does feel like, you know, his poster is in my locker kind of thing. It's hilarious. Can I ask a question? When it started? Oh God, like 10 years ago, probably when he got on Glee. So

uh, 10 years ago, probably when he got on Glee. So longer than that, you're talking 15 years ago, something. Yeah. So your crush on this guy started when Glee started and it's been carrying up to this point. Have there been periods where it's really peaked? I guess it was bigger at the beginning and now it's just like someone I'm i'm sort of following the career of so it's not you know intense in that way but it is somebody that is very specific like if he does something i'm probably gonna go see it or see yeah here's the thing i think i think you're i think it's okay i do think i i'm trying to put myself in your shoes and I'm like, is there anyone that I like love on that level? And I do feel like I've sort of grown out of it. I,

my advice to you would be, you have a green Bay Packer tattoo on your fucking arm. You've grown out of nothing. I own stock in the team. No, you don't. I do too. I have it hanging on my wall because i'm a grown man as

normal you're wearing a jersey of milwaukee and you're acting like you've outgrown this stuff you have a painting of a kitten behind you all right lindsey listen it's a cat he's a full-grown cat he's my best friend and lindsey what jake's doing is he is certainly putting a finer point on uh the fact that it isn't an issue and that yes if i had a painting of my cat hanging up and a greenback packer tattoo and hell let's have a tattoo of my cat those things are fine once it if it grows into the point where you feel like people are like hey lindsey what's going on yeah that's when it's a problem i don't think you're there yet. Can I jump in on that?

Because Gareth brought something interesting. And Lindsay, we need the truth now. Okay. Have you had a moment where a friend gave you a weird look in the middle of a Darren Chris story? No. Promise? I promise.

I promise. Has anyone ever said anything like flagging it a little bit? Has anyone ever been like, this is weird? Has that ever happened? Half of my friends also like him, like to an extent. So I feel like nobody's going to be like, oh, why? It's not like I like somebody kind of. So you're around enablers.

Yeah, I have enablers, but not in a. I still think like, OK, I think the reason I thought this was a problem or that I feel like other people do, I feel like a lot of men kind of talk down about it where sports, like, they're fanatic about sports. You're right.

It's basically like that, right? Being a fan. And it's not... I'm supporting his career. But yeah, I think it's cute. But Lindsay, so Lindsay, here's my question to you. Would you ever be dumb enough to get a darren chris tattoo on your arm dumb is such an aggressive never

never right so lindsey never someone so you just like him right yeah uh yeah would you judge someone for getting a tattoo of him yes um the answer to that is we're all saying yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The answer is yes. So I've got a question for you.

I feel like that's different. Yeah. So Lindsay, I think, I think we're going to lean on, I think we're going to end this with us for sure. Being, uh,

you're totally in the clear. You've done nothing weird. Lean in on this, but now, because the truth of the matter is, is we probably could get to Darren Chris pretty easily. Is there anything that you would like to say to him directly right now? Um,

okay. Well, you know what, but is this, is this too, it might be too heavy. Do it. Heavy's okay.

Okay. So my dad had an Alzheimer's and I met Darren last year on Father's Day and I was in New York and my dad was here in Toronto and I called him my dad had no idea who I was so I was upset and that day I met Darren and he was so nice had no idea obviously I'm not going to tell him that. And I'm like, this is what I think people don't get. That, like, just being nice, someone I'm a fan of, right? Like, that made my day.

Well, that's really lovely. Yeah, you've made it very sweet now. But I think what the takeaway is, you don't have a weird thing with Darren Criss. You just like, you think he's handsome and talented, and you like that he seems to be a sweet person. And that is something you're looking for in your life. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. I agree.

I think I think that's to be celebrated. And, you know, if you did get a tattoo of him, nobody's going to judge you. That's everybody. You guys. Nobody would judge you that's everybody would judge hold on a second you guys nobody would judge you that's fine but now i'm gonna lindsey i'm gonna ask you now that was the sweet real answer okay there's a silly one no girl there's another side of you and you have been crushing on this man long before last New York. Right?

So now one side of you that's very mature and gave a great answer about your father and his sweetness. But now there's another Lindsay, the wild girl from Toronto. Lindsay after dark. So what would that Lindsay like to say? And it doesn't have to be after dark, Garrett. Come on. We're having fun. We're loosening up.

We're all getting tattoos. Relax. There we go. It's got to be something stupid like, he's my teenage dream or something stupid, right? Because he did that song on Glee. So it has to be like, be my teenage dream. Oh, no.

Ah, you broke up. Oh, she's gone. Did we lose her? What amazing timing. Oh, man. Is that not incredibly poetic? Please tell us you hung up on her. No. No.

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on let's get him kevin doors open oh you meant Gil. I meant Kevin. I thought Kevin was going to do it. No, I thought we were talking about the closer. We were. He parked in front of all our cars, so might as well. Oh, he can't leave. Well, what's the problem? Go ahead.

So that old jalopy is Gil's? Yes. And you can turn it off, I guess. No, keep it running. It's bad for something. A lot of smoke. I'm pausing a serious accent. Now, listen.

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We're going to want you to babble. We want you to babble. I'll tell you what, I don't want to babble your ear off. I got to go back to the jalopy. Rules and restrictions. I am fine. This episode is brought to you by ZocDoc. ZocDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare highly rated in-network doctors near you

and instantly book appointments with them online. Garth, what does that mean to you? Well, it means a lot because, as you know, my mother was in town for a while. She had a hip replacement and it was crazy. It was a crazy situation. And there were so many times, so many things like complications were popping up. And there were multiple times where we wanted to find a doctor appointment quickly, somewhere close. You use ZocDoc. Yeah, you would use use zocdoc because it's just so much harder if you're just like you know like using search engines to try to find someone and then you call do they take your insurance the problem has it's all there for all the problem with also just

searching it is all the ads pop up yes and what i like i actually use zocdoc we since we started doing it i do like that it keeps it really clean and you can put all your information in. Yeah. Did you use ZocDoc for your knee? I did use ZocDoc for my knee, which I am going to get an MRI on. Oh, you are? But we don't think it's a tear. That's the good news.

But I am going to get an MRI. The doctor report back, it's just an old man's knee. It's actually pretty much what it sounded like. That's what a doctor said to me about my hips. I'm getting to the point where it's sad when doctors are just like, yeah, you're just the. I've had a doctor who looked at my body and then went like this. Well, you're mid 40s. Yeah.

What a jerk. Well, that guy's hopefully not on ZocDoc. But but again, it really does. It filters specifically for doctors that take your insurance located near you. Treat basically. And again, you can get an appointment quickly. You can also get it same day. That's absolutely right, Jake,

if you're lucky. That's right. Gil Buchanan, ones and twos, 68 balmy. Don't worry about it. That's right. I've been kept in the closet

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slash HTH and download the ZocDoc app for free. Did you hear, how much does that cost free free that's right and then find and book a top rated doctor today that's z-o-c-d-o-c.com slash hth zoc doc.com slash hth all right jake so this again, this is sort of a meta one. This is similar to Fake Jake, which we just went through, where this is a bit of a meta episode.

Nobody's calling in with a problem. I actually had a problem. I know you know a little bit about this. I know that we had a New York Times photo shoot. Yeah, scheduled, and I had to pay. Hours before you texted, I'm at the airport in London. They won't let me on a plane. So I was in the UK for about three weeks. And the long and short of it is I'm a dual citizen. So I have two passports. I have a US and

I have a UK passport. And I've traveled just on the UK passport before. And so this last trip, I remember distinctly looking in my desk at both of my passports and thinking, I'll just bring the UK passport. Sounds fair. And so no problem. I did some gigs and traveled very fine. Lived with your mom? We don't need to keep on our thing wise. And basically, I'm at the airport. I'm at Heathrow. I have an emotional goodbye with my family. We ate a bunch of snacks in a parking lot. It's normal. And then I go there and I have my bag on the thing.

You know, I mean, fully. You know how it is when you're like, travel, I got to fly all my life. It's so hard. I'm like in that headspace where I'm like, oh gosh, 11 hours woes me. And I have my bag up and I hand him my passport and the woman's like, and we just need your US passport. And I have my bag up and I hand him my passport. And the woman's like, and we just need your U.S. passport.

And I'm like, oh, I don't have that. I'm like, I just, I'll use that. And she's like, no, no, you need your U.S. passport. I'm like, no, I don't. I'll just use that. And she's like, no, you do. And I'm like having this, I felt the blood drain for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because there were multiple things planned you know how it is you're flying you're like i mean first of all the next day we had a photo shoot yes so and i go on tour this weekend with uh with the dollop so it was like you had to be home had to be home so i'm like what and i i spend the five minutes you spend in that sort of quandary of like, but please may I, I'll jerk off the pilot. Well, please.

And, um, and then the next thing I know I'm outside Heathrow and I'm trying to call, uh, my buddy who's looking after my place. It's probably three in the morning at this point, call and call and call freaking out. Tell my mother,

my mother is just who I didn't live with. Uh, my mother is just beside herself. Beside her. So more emotional than I was like, please don't get this emotional. And my friend eventually calls me back and he's like,

I'm like going to my desk, get my passport, go find a FedEx. This is on Sunday. Go find a FedEx and see how fast they can get this. I mean, the fastest is 30 hours. No.

No. Okay. No. Okay. No. Listen, I didn't exhaust every option, and you'll find out why in a second, but I was calling the embassy. I was calling the consulate. Oh, my Lord.

So they were a hard, you're not getting on a flight without it? I called American Airlines. I Googled. You know, my family, my Scottish uncle was like, you go there and tell them that you'll get them bloody fired.

And I'm like, I don't think that is a fruitful tactic. And, um, I don't think I have that authority. Yeah. I'm just kind of being a realist about it. I'm like, I've been in these situations before and I'm like, this is not fight the system become Tom Hanks in the terminal. This is let's bet, you know, please let me figure out a way to get home. So my buddy gets my passport, but since it's Sunday, no certified international FedEx shipping place opens until noon. So he's like, well, I'll go to the one right near LAX at noon, and I'll see what they say. And looking online, to me, it said two to three business days was the fastest.

So I'm on pins and needles. At this point, the ship has sailed. So I go to a hotel. Wait, so the, you have now officially, there's no move. You've missed the flight officially. The flight hasn't even taken off, but I've resigned myself to the fact that this is probably not going to happen, barring a miracle. And so I check into the hotel, I get a Heineken at check-in, I drink it, I get another Heineken, it's probably 2.30. And then I go to my room and I'm sitting there. And then my friend calls and he goes, I have bad news and fortuitous news.

And I go, I don't love this. So, you know, it kind of sounded wizardy. I'm like, what? He said, the bad news is FedEx says it'll be Thursday the earliest. They can go Sunday. This is Sunday night. Yeah. And I have shows on Saturday.

So I'm like, what? I'm like, that's crazy. He goes, the fortuitous news is when I was confounded by the answer, there was a guy behind me in line who said, I'm about to go to Heathrow. I'm flying to London in like three hours. Wait, what?

Is this true? Yeah. And he goes, he seems like a nice guy. He goes, he goes, he seems legit. And I go, seems, I go, just because he's in a FedEx. Yeah, he's a random guy in line. But he's like, he's like, I get a good vibe. And, and, and it's my buddy luke and he's

a very uh the universe might be sending us and i'm also like yeah but i'd also like to get back you didn't have to tell me that about luke you find a stranger in line who goes i'll take that passport overseas and he goes he's got a good vibe every con man in the world has a good vibe so i don't know who this guy is. He puts the guy on the phone for a minute. The guy sounds nice. And what's the guy saying to you? I mean, I guess now is a good time to bring the guy in.

So Ben, Ben, welcome to the show. We're here to help you out with Jake and Gareth. And this is a time where I needed help. So my head was spinning. Ben, do you remember what the conversation was? I don't remember the specifics, but what I'll say is, and I'll tell you in just a second, but like while I'm in the line, I can see Luke and he's, you know, the white just drained or the blood just drained from his face and he just went white. was like i don't know what to do and i've kind of been in a similar situation where i need to send something internationally and i knew you guys were screwed you know i knew there was no way fedex was going

to be able to get anything out you know it's sunday they're not going to send it until monday and as they say the best thing you're going to do, I thought maybe Wednesday, but Thursday wasn't outrageous. So I was sitting there and I basically am like, like you said, I'm just like, hey, I am flying to London. I don't know how you feel about this, but I was coming back from a wedding up in Santa Barbara. I had two bags. I love to travel light. So I was just like, all right, I'm going to ship this one bag home and I'm going to head to the airport. I said, Luke, I'm going to ship the bag, talk to your guy, see what he feels like. And then I'll talk to you afterwards. So then, you know, we get, I finished my shipping, get out there and Luke hands me the phone. And I don't remember exactly what it was, but I could hear the desperation in your voice. It was bad. You were just like, I don't know what, I don't know what I'm was, but I could hear the desperation in your voice. It was bad. You were just like, I don't know what I'm going to do. I need this thing. I'm like, hey guys, I'm game for this. I know this is kind of strange, but I'm happy to do it.

You guys figured out the one condition that I had was I had a little bit of a connection and I was like, okay, look, I can't get out of the terminal. So we're going to have to figure that portion of it out. You weren't finishing in London. You were going from one plane to another. Yeah, I was going to Glasgow. I'm still in Glasgow right now. But yeah, so we were like, I have some time, but I don't have a lot of time. So I'm like, look, if you guys, if we can figure this portion out, I'm game.

And if you guys want to, you know, trust the stranger that kind of came up, I'm good to go. Really fast before Gareth, you walk us through the next part of this. Just for a question to you, Ben, what were you thinking of getting out of this at this point? Or were you just being a good human being? I had no idea who Gareth was, you know. Which is really uncommon. Let me just jump in, Ben. A lot of people, that's a very uncommon headspace, but keep going, keep going. No, no. So the short answer is I really wasn't looking for anything.

I just was like, look, this may work out. This is pretty easy for me. Assuming you can meet that condition. It's like, you know, hey, I'll do it. The one thing I'll say is that I've had, I'm a dual citizenship as well. I traveled once and I used to go in with my British passport to the UK and then come into the US with my American passport. And one time when I did that, the border patrol of the US was

like, you cannot do that. You have to travel on one passport. So I was kind of hearing from Luke, hearing the story. I was definitely empathizing with where he was at. And I definitely, a decision had to be made quickly. That's the thing about this. Yes. Luke basically said, I'm going to drive you to drop off your rental car and I'll drive you to the airport. The plan was to go to the airport desk and say, because Ben had a connection that was two hours away, he couldn't leave the terminal, meet me, go back in because of security and customs and all that bullshit. So the idea was we'll ask someone at the desk, hey, if he brings it, can he drop it off to security? And if I meet security or can I say I lost it and someone handed it?

You know what I mean? Like we're trying to conceive some of that, but a decision has to get made. Are we shitting or are we getting off the pot? Because if, but by the way, Gareth, if you make the wrong call here, you don't have a passport and you're not coming home indefinitely. I've seen so much locked up abroad.

Me too. Where this moment is the one where you go all right yeah put heroin up my ass and then that person's like telling this story with like a scar on their face like that was the worst decision all i've ever made so the decision gets made i'm doing it i'm in for you we at we start a text thread so i'm going by the way, by the way, Gareth, you are earning the nickname option one again, dude. It is it. Let me tell you, I am. I the harder thing about my headspace is when you get older, it ages worse. I agree. Because this is this is a twenty nine.

This is a twenty nine year old's decision. This is not a great decision. This is a chance decision. But it's I'm in my 40s. This is now where the fact that older relatives of mine are going like, this doesn't sound like a good idea. You have one passport. You need it to

leave. You're trusting a stranger to fly with it. A guy that Luke fed in a FedEx line 20 minutes ago. So I go, let's pull this trigger. Ben sends me his flight information. And now what I have to do is figure out how to get into the airport. So I have to.

So I with with Luke's help, I figure out the terminal. What terminals are leaving there? I'm just going to book a ticket to a flight that I'm not going to take. Get in there. Cheap local one. Cheap local. A Glasgow flight, actually. So I could have accompanied Ben if I wanted.

I book that. The next day, get up early. The next day, I wake up like in Locked Up Abroad. I'm like, now I actually have to strap tequilas of coke to my chest. You're about to be dressed like a snowman of cocaine. And you realize, maybe I didn't make a great decision in that hotel room. And yeah, it's exactly like in Locked Up Abroad. It's an amazing show.

And then so I'm like oh my god and and my mother is who i didn't who i don't live with and i i stayed with she's calling me and she's going what what do you think do you think he'll do it and i'm like i don't know i please stop questioning too deep now if you ask too many questions i'm gonna get really insecure it's over it's over and um and But then Ben starts texting me. Hey, looking like I'll get in a little early. He wants to meet at this lounge. All this stuff. I'm texting Ben.

And then Ben, basically, he tells me to meet him outside of this lounge. And I'm taking the escalator up. And I'm like, if this is a catfish, it is epic. Like, what's his kick? Agreed, yeah. And instead of it all being a ruse, Ben is standing there, sends me a picture of what he looks like.

I send him a picture, and I'm like, he hands it to me, and I'm like, this cannot be fucking real. I'm like, dude, you're a legend. And I mean, Ben, I don't know what I looked like when I said he was he Ben, you understood the emotions I was coming with. Because you were very much. Oh, yeah. You'd had time to think about it because you're like, no, it's cool. And I'm like,

what do you want? You name it. Even at this point, I will say I hadn't you had mentioned the podcast and I was on the plane and I was just like, it's a 10 hour flight watching a couple movies. I'm just going to try to get some sleep. So at this point, I have no idea kind of, you know, the magnitude of your, of your podcast or however you want to put it, but I'm happy to do this. I'm, I'm, I'm, I see, I see the joy in your face that I'm actually there, you know, and that, and that, you know, cause I'm also thinking, you know, not that I was ever going to do anything, but what happens if the plane's delayed? What happens if like, uh, you know, and I have to one to my, now, what am I going to do? You know,

I've taken on this responsibility of this passport and I was happy and relieved as well because I didn't want to have to get into a situation where I had to make a choice of like, am I going to have to sprint to my flight and potentially screw this guy? Or, you know, so it would have been amazing from both aspects. It was like, you know, well, you know, I guess you might have even been you could have come to Glasgow to get it. So, you know, that could have been an extended story. And but but yeah, so I was equally maybe not equally, but I was also happy that that this was actually happening.

And we were, you know, in some ways it came to a, you know, good close. Well, it was amazing. And I posted it on my social media. And I think the thing that is, I think what happened was when I posted the A side of I did this, and I don't know how this is going to end. So many people were like, hey, dumbass, enjoy the UK forever. You know, like there was a lot of that. That would have been bad for the next two months. There were a lot of people who were like, if this works, this is going to restore my faith in humanity.

And not only were you so gracious to speak up, so nice to be like you want nothing, but also to just do it. I think for me and a lot of people, it was like, like, I don't know where the karma will come from. Not me, obviously I got nothing, but you will.

You're just, it was so awesome of you to do. And when I called my mother after this, Jake, she cried. Good. Of course she did. Ben,

thanks so much, man. Thank you, Ben. Hey, she cried. Good. Of course she did. Ben, thanks so much, man. Thank you, Ben. Hey, my pleasure. We're Here to Help is hosted by Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds. The show is produced and edited by Kevin Bartelt. The theme song is made by Oliver Raleigh and you can check out all of his work

at OliverRaleigh.com. The album artwork is by James Fosdyke. You can find him on Instagram at james underscore Fosdyke. And if you'd like to see me do stand-up on the road, go to garethreynolds.com. And if you would like to be on our show, please email us at helpfulpod at gmail.com. That was a HeadGum Podcast.