Jillian Michaels was the second celebrity experience and first successful encounter that my friend Shari and I did together, Chris Mann was the first but his show was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
When I found out Jillian Michaels was coming to the Playhouse Square I got super excited and prepared my hunting kit.
I love and watch The Biggest Loser and of course am big fan of hers, why wouldn’t I want to add another notch on my bedpost in her honor. The calendar was marked and the countdown began, I was super excited. It had been a long while since my run in with Robin Williams and I was jonesing for more.
The day had arrived, I got my phone and camera ready, grabbed some permanent markers and headed out the door. My hair was looking good, my adrenaline was pumping, and the smell of stalking was in the air.
On my way down I decided to record a small introduction, see I had decided we should record our outings, post them and eventually become famous.. this was the first video.
I don’t quit remember times but I think I rolled up to Shari’s around 8ish hoping to arrive in Cleveland before 9, we figured her show would not pass 2 hours. Jillian was on tour, Maximize you life in which she was speaking to people across the country and educating them on weight loss and healthy living. Another show we passed on, however it was probably very educational but we decided to lurk in some bushes next to her tour bus instead.
We arrived, parked and found our spot next to a giant tour bus, it had to be hers. There was a woman outside the door playing with a small black child, we walked around the bus and searched for other possible exit strategies. Within a few minutes I realized that the woman and child were probably Jillian’s partner and daughter, a quick Google search helped confirm that. By this time they had disappeared back inside but our suspicions were right abut the bus and we knew she had to get in that to leave.
We tried getting closer to the door but our favorite one armed security friend made us back up to the sidewalk, he also informed us Jillian would not be coming out these doors and that she would not be signing.
Below is a video I took of him and his security bff talking strategy or kiddie porn or mashed potato receipts..
Just some obstacles we ended up brushing aside anyways.
And so the night went on, the longer we waited the more people started to show up and cramp our style. Which was also a good indication that we were in the right spot.
Some ebayers showed up, 3 dudes with armful’s of pictures for JM to sign and then later sell them on ebay. They were totally cool, tossing around a football and playing catch across a busy Cleveland street as cars were passing. We just took pictures and made fun of them the remainder of the night.
It was starting to get late and we both had work tomorrow, figuring she was done talking and had hopefully moved on to the question and answer portion of the evening we decided to set a time when to leave. It was about 11:30pm and we were getting ready to bounce when there was movement up ahead. The swarm of people, which suddenly got bigger within the last 30 seconds started to file towards her.
She came out with a bird in a cage…don’t ask me and informed us she was going to put it in the bus and be right back.
She came out, marker ready and began her decent down the line of people. At this point I realized I didn’t really prepare much and had nothing for her to sign, thanks to Shari I got a page from her autograph book. During the commotion I turned on the camera and started filming the whole experience, it’s about 6 minutes long because the “ebayers” were being dramatic and taking up life with their shit. Below is the video, it’s a bit shaky because I didn’t want to appear like I was filming and draw unnecessary attention to myself. Sometimes heads are cut off and at one point when I was getting my picture and autograph it went black since I was the one holding the camera. You can hear me, I get a little giddy around stars and tend to ramble and screech so be prepared to be annoyed. Also keep an eye out for our friend Captain Hook trying to act tough, oh and by the way.. She came out this door and signed. Booya!
During my moment, I asked her to sign my paper… “Keep up those squats” and then I proceeded to tell her how I was in a 30 day squat challenge… which I completed by the way. In all the excitement Jillian handed me her marker and I started to walk away with it but we established this right away and all was calm with the world once again. My turn was up and I headed to the end where I continued to film the last bit of people, at one point she brings up the “ebayers” and how it was weird they had a lot of stuff but that they had her make it out to specific names so she signed just in case. Listen closely you can hear that conversation. Not long after that the.. “Ebayers” came back and wanted a picture, the security guy was like scram you already got 12 things signed..they felt salty and left.
Jillian was SUPER-DE-DOOPER cool, she talked, laughed, signed, and took pictures. I give her an A++ infinity. It was late and I am sure she was tired beyond belief but she was all about her fans and I give her credit.
There we are, hanging out like best buds.
Just a few things to point out. 1) My hoodie string is very long and uneven, it drives me crazy every time I look at this picture… you’re welcome. 2) My hair had fro-ed up something wicked but Jillian’s’ sexy doo covered it. 3) Jillian is gorgeous up close, a real beauty.. and 4) My friend asked me if she was big and muscular, I didn’t get to see her without clothes on or try to pick her up but she looked pretty normal sized to me.
Thank you!