A Story Worth Sharing
I went to my first Costa Rican Adventure in January 2009 with the Kanes. What a week! It was emotional, cathartic and overall just a great week of my life that I will not soon forget. I must admit, I have an “automatic no” which comes from the “don’t tell me what to do” part of my brain. So, when Costa Rica was first suggested as an option I made the excuse that it was too much money to spend and it was too long of a trip to take, blah blah blah. In the back of my mind I knew I was going to sign up anyway. My beautiful and talented girlfriend Grasie took the initiative and put a Costa Rica 2009 form in my hand and I just filled it out without “thinking” too much about it. It actually felt REALLY GOOD to take the plunge. I had a few moments of “what am I getting myself into?” along the way before the big trip, but those feelings vanished once the wheels were in motion. So, I spent an entire week at Sueno Azul – eating tremendous food, having great conversations, learning more about myself, riding horses and so much more. I came back to the US thinking to myself, “Wow! That was one of my life’s top experiences for sure. So…now what?” Well, I immediately started to focus on the fact that the TV show that I had hosted for seven years on MTV called TRL was no longer on the air and I felt moments of, “What the hell am I going to do now?”. I started to practice what the Kanes preach…be here in the moment, notice things and let the universe take care of me and most of all…and perhaps my favorite of all that the Kanes have taught me…BE KIND TO MYSELF. I felt empowered and listened to what the moments in my life we’re saying. So, I moved to LA with Grasie and felt that would be the start of something great. I didn’t know exactly what, but I had confidence something was coming and that I’d be supported in some way or another.
About a month or so ago, I got a call from my manager saying that NBC wanted to meet with me about hosting a new show this summer on the network. I remember driving to that meeting and thinking I need to take the Kanes’ advice and be passionate about this because this is the only MOMENT I have right now. Make the most of it. I was a bit nervous to meet with NBC once I arrived in the offices. However, I took a deep breath, took the focus off “how I was doing” and just let the experience unfold. I was called into a huge conference room with 6 or 7 executives and they started talking about this show that takes celebrities and puts them in the jungle to fend for themselves and perform in stunts and challenges, the show is called, “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!”. So we talked about my career history and then one of the executives asked me, “Have you ever been to Costa Rica?”. I laughed, “Yes! I was there in January.” He came back with, “What part did you stay in?” I simply replied, “I don’t remember where exactly I stayed, but I stayed at this resort called Sueno Azul.” The room went silent! “THATS WHERE WE’RE DOING THE SHOW!!!” This was one of those moments where everything just clicked…where everyone in the room knew that this was undeniably right. So, a few meetings later and a screen test, I am now the host of a prime-time NBC show called, “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” starting on June 1st (my birthday) at 8pm.
This whole thing is still insanely wild to me. I never thought the Costa Rican Adventure would be the icing on the cake that would land me the biggest job of my career. I’m extremely thankful for what the Kanes taught me and what I’ve learned from everyone else. Life is an adventure and you never know what is around the corner, but instead of stressing about it, I’ve learned to enjoy it. It has paid off big time.
Thanks,
Damien Fahey
