Workout: Chatting With Jesse

Us: Do we get to see the real you on the show?
Jesse: It is reality television isn't it? So to answer your question- it's up for interpretation.

Us: Is there anything you thought would make it on the show that didn't?

Jesse: There was a story that followed my best friend Jasmine through her cancer treatment and recovery... we spent many many days filming different parts of her experience and my experience supporting her... but most of the story was cut out of the series. I think that with the passing of Doug, we needed more lite material. I was grateful that we were able to get a bit of the story in the last episode, but I would have loved to have seen more of her story come to life.


Us: Are there any changes you would like you would like made to the show?
Jesse: Of course. No one likes being called fat- especially on national television.

Us: Are you friends with the other trainers?
Jesse: Everyone is so busy doing their thing that there isn't tons of social interaction. I am cordial with everyone... it is hard to go through the experiences that we have and not have some kind of relationship with one another.

Us: What is a typical workday like?
Jesse:Like a work week for many people.

Us: It was hard watching this season knowing Doug had passed,was it hard for you to watch too?
Jesse:Yes, but mostly because by the time that the series aired, Doug had already passed. We already attended his memorial service, and we were all trying to heal from the experience. It was hard to heal seeing him everywhere, seeing footage of the extremeley hard time we all went through, and having to relive it. I don't have a ton of experience with death, so it was hard to live in the grief for so long.

Us: Gotta ask, what was Mimi really like?
Jesse: Firey.Fun.She can kick your ass if she needs to.

Us: Your run in with Rebecca,care to elaborate?
Jesse:I'm so over it that I don't think I need to. We are as friendly as Ross and Rachel now, so we both have moved on.

Us: Are you and Jackie still close?
Jesse: I love that Lesbian with all my heart.

Us: If not a trainer,then what?
Jesse: Well... a chef. But if I was doing something totally different with my life- then I would have to say a psychologist or spiritual counselor. I love figuring out what is going on in peoples' minds, and I am a natural advice giver... with these two qualities combined, it seems like a natural choice.

Us: You are a trained chef,correct?
Jesse: Sì. I specialize in organic dinner parties... I have had the opportunity to share these events all over the country... it is a lot of fun. In Los Angeles I operate an organic food delivery service at jessebrune.com so basically, if I'm not in the gym, I'm in the kitchen.

Us: What do you do for fun?
Jesse: I love the theatre, movies, lectures on spirituality and business (odd- but true), I love art, dance, yoga, chilling at home and watching cartoons with my dog... typical sensitive boy stuff.

Us: Any embarrassing moments,in the gym or out, you'd like to share with your fans?
Jesse:Just watch season 2 of Workout.

Us: What are your favorite:
Movie: Moonstruck
TV Show: South Park/ Sponge Bob/ Grey's Anatomy/ Ugly Betty
Book: "I love you forever"- it's a kid's book and a frickin' tear-jerker.
Guilty Pleasure: Sweets/ Keanu Reeves/ musicals

Us: Is there anything you would like to say to the Work Out faithful?
Jesse: Thank You!

Us: Any charities you'd like to give a shout out to?
Jesse: 1. weSpark- it's a support system for cancer recovery patients, it has helped many people I know.

2. Hot in Hollywood - it's a great event supporting AIDS research... go to the website, there is a fabulous event coming up in August!!!

Us: Last question and the silliest by far,if you could be anyone for a day,who would you be and why?
Jesse: Oprah, of course!!! She can do anything she wants!!! (And maybe Victoria Beckham- I mean come on... not to be gross or anything!)

Us: Thank you so much for your time,
Jesse: My pleasure. Be blessed!

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Rebecca

So, you want to know more about Rebecca of Bravos Work Out, huh?
Well so did we!...

Us: Tell us a bit about yourself. Why did you decide to become a trainer?

Rebecca: I love to work out and feel I am a good motivator...so I combined the two talents. Plus I enjoy helping people achieve their weight goals.

Us: Were you working at SkySport&Spa when Bravo came calling?

Rebecca: I feelance...all of the trainers do.

Us: Do we get to see the real you on the show?

Rebecca: Certainly aspects of me. Each person is a character so the editors showcase one part of your personality.

Us: Is there anything you thought would make it on the show that didn't?

Rebecca: I have no preconceived expectations when it comes to what they air. I just sit back and watch with the rest of ya'll.

Us: Are there any changes you would like you would like made to the show?

Rebecca: Loose the cheesy music and bad lighting.

Us: Are you friends with the other trainers?

Rebecca: Yes, we are all buds..I really only spend time with Jackie though and sometimes Erica.

Us: What is a typical workday like?

Rebecca: Train people throughout the day ..go out for sushi...go thrift store shopping in West Hollywood...hang out with my buds..I"m pretty low key.

Us: It was hard watching this season knowing Doug had passed,was it hard for you to watch too?

Rebecca: Yes....I miss him tremendously

Us: Gotta ask, what was Mimi really like?

Rebecca: No comment..if you cant say something nice...

Us: Your run in with Jesse,care to elaborate?

Rebecca: It was what it was...my side of the street is clean and thats all I care about

Us: Are you and Jackie still close?

Rebecca: Very..I adore her to pieces.

Us: If not a trainer,then what?

Rebecca: The host of a travel show that takes me to exotic locations and enables the people watching to feel they are experiencing it with me.

Us: What do you do for fun?

Rebecca: My whole life is fun..I try not to ever be too serious! love to travel...my favorite thing to do is get out of LA! Just returned from a week in Puerta Vallarta...I'm going to San Fran in a few weeks..I can not stay put! I also love to play with the puppies at the pet store.

Us: Any embarrassing moments,in the gym or out,you'd like to share with your fans?

Rebecca: I don't really get embarrassed..I'm missing that gene.

Us: What are your favorite...

Movie: Sliding Doors
TV Show:Big Love (right now)
Book: ,The Giving Tree
Guilty Pleasure:Trash Mags

Us: Is there anything you would like to say to the Work Out faithful?

Rebecca: Thanks for letting us into your lives and I hope we can continue to entertain you season three

Us: Any charities you'd like to give a shout out to?

Rebecca: Art of Elysium...my old roommate started this charity and it is really growing and helping terminally ill children.

Us: Last question and the silliest by far,if you could be anyone for a day,who would you be and why?

Rebecca: Angelina Jolie...I would hand the kids over to the nanny and just stare at myself all day

Thank you so much on your time,

Brian Peeler

Hello Work Out fans. Today I have the hottie..err, I mean the amazing trainer Brian Peeler of Bravos Work Out on the phone.

Brian Peeler: Hello.
Us: Hello Peeler.

Us: First off, congratulations on your recent nuptials.

BP: Thank you.

Us: So, do you read the Bravo boards?
BP: I have read the message boards. There are a lot of haters there. People are like he’s a douche, prick, they are mean. Once, someone made a bad comment about Doug. I got so mad. I responded. They didn't post my reply though. I waited the 24 hours it takes to get it approved but it didn't make it I guess.
Us: People are brave at their keyboards.
BP: Right. If they got a problem with me, they know where I'm at. I'm at 35 Wilshire from 8am until 9pm.

Us: Are you portrayed accurately on the show?
BP: Yeah, I think so. You don't get to see the nicer side of me.

Us: We got to see more of you this season. Do you think it was because of your friendship with Doug?
BP: Laura Alverez is the producer and let the audience see the real me. She wasn't like our producer from season 1. She liked to stir up drama and made me a meathead. I'm really easy going.

Us: Are you close with any of the other trainers?
BP: I was close with Doug. He was like family. We hung out. He was my girl-gurl. I am close with Andre, Jesse too I guess.
Us: Do you get fans coming up to you, recognizing you?
BP: Yeah, all the time. People do think they know me when they see me and that’s ok. I'm very personable and friendly. If it wasn't for the fans, I wouldn't be anybody, know what I mean? I'm very approachable. I also used to be a ladies man. I met my wife about a month before the show but before that, there were 3-4 women a week in my bed. There were no complaints though. They knew what they were getting into. I wasn't looking for a relationship.

Us: You both were consenting adults doing what you wanted to do, right?
BP: Right.

Us: What do you do other then training?

BP: I race cars and motorcycles professionally. I also do stunt driving. I fly planes and helicopters. I used to be a flight attendant for US airways.

Us: Wait a minute, a flight attendant?
BP: Yeah, they had a program where you didn't need a 4 year degree to get your flying time in. I also modeled in Miami. I decided Hollywood was where I needed to be. I have been here about 3 1/2 years now.
Us: You're very funny. We saw Zen try her hand at stand up. Have you ever thought of giving it a try?
BP: I am a comedian. I will have you pissing your pants. I should charge people for a work out when I get them laughing. That’s $135 an hour. But I'm not comfortable trying to be funny..I'm very competitive. I drive the fastest cars, fastest motorcycles. I can't be put on the spot and be funny. It doesn't work that way for me. Stand up comedy or theatre is not my thing.

Us: Is there anything about the show you would like to see changed?
BP: Less drama.
Us: Lesbian drama?
BP: Lol, Less drama.

Us: Speaking of lesbian drama, how real was the Rebecca/Jackie fling?
BP: It was real. Rebecca was like how can I get more face time and it was Fuck Jackie. So she did.
Us: So Jesse was right when he said that about Rebecca on the show?
BP: Yes.

Us: When will you be shooting season 3?
BP: We start shooting in Oct. But I'm not sure who will be there. I'm going to have to go Omorosa to stay and get more face time.

Us: Why wouldn't you be on the show?
BP: Jackie had trainer tryouts and she hired two trainers, Agostino and Chris (we couldn't find any information on the new guys) and we are not sure what they are going to focus on. We think the seasons focus will be on SkyLab.

Us: How did you hear about the show? Did you already work for Jackie?
BP: No, I was a trainer somewhere else. I had tried out for a documentary then six months later I get a call saying I had got the show for Bravo. I was like Bravo? What’s Bravo? I had never heard of it or watched it. So I was like Ok, Bravo, a predominately gay network, that’s fine. I'm no homophobe. Lol, Doug and I went to gay clubs, and Doug would be like " We are like gods, lol" It was amazing. You remember the house, where we had Doug’s birthday party at? That was Doug’s place. He lived with the creator of Desperate Housewives. It doesn't pay nothing though, being on Work Out.

Us: You don't get paid for being on the show?
BP: We get paid but it isn't much. For season 1, we got $350 per episode. For season 2, we got $500 per episode.
Us: That’s it!?!
BP: That’s it. That’s why reality shows are so popular. They are cheap to make. I'm a SAG actor and with the minimum pay per week, we should be getting $3000-6000 per week with the hours we put in. The shows budget was $1.96 million. That’s nothing.

Us: Wow, that’s terrible. Does the exposure help you get clients?
BP: Not really. I’ve not had a lot of extra people to train since the show. I charge $135 an hour. Jackie charges $400 per hour. People want Jackie. It’s a 70-30 split with Jackie and I pay a $15 gym fee. People want to see, not work out. I get more people from Myspace wanting to work out then I get from people who watched the show. I am a teacher and I care about my clients. If you don't plan on taking care of your body where do you plan on living for the rest of your life? I want to teach them to take care of themselves.

Us: I think I would ask for a pay raise.
BP: I am. If they don't want to then I'm going to try for my own show. Right now I'm locked in, no training anywhere else. Something I want to try to do is workout videos on the web. It will be $10 a month for six videos and four new ones added a month.

Us: That’s a great idea for people like me who can't get to you or your gym.
BP: Right. It would be basic stuff you can do at home.

Us: Tell me about Jesse.
BP: Jesse is Jackie’s puppet, Rebecca too. Jesse puts on a show, its who he is.

Us: Was Mimi as bad as she seemed on TV?
BP: There is a reason people are the way they are with Jackie. Mimi painted a picture of Kate and I kissing. I have that picture. She was all right. Jackie was edited to look better. Jackie has a lot of issues I think. She’s kind hearted but I think issues with her dad and other stuff have affected her. I’ve tried to get to know Jackie but she doesn't return calls. Jackie and I are competitive too. Jackie was like I can take any girl away from her. No, you can't.

Us: Do you watch any TV?
BP: Yeah, I like Prison Break, Greys Anatomy, House, Entourage. I was watching Real Housewives of Orange County before we got our show. I watch Kathy Griffin but I can only take her for a little bit.

Us: Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?
BP: I'm gay.
Us: Well, your wife will be upset to hear this.

BP: Just kidding. No, I want to thank them and let them know to feel free to approach me. I was getting ice cream for my wife a few days ago and I could hear this girl going "is that the guy...?" and her friends were like go ask him but she wouldn't. Go ahead and ask me, I don't mind. I'm not psycho. I will not turn on you.

Us: Some people wouldn't want to be approached, that their "private life" was being imposed upon.
BP: My Private life is in private, at home. When I am in public, it’s not my private life. Also, don't forget to check out my website, http://www.brianpeeler.com/.

Us: Thanks for calling Peeler. Feel free to contact us if you ever have the anything you'd like to promote or to tell your fans.
BP: OK, will do. Maybe tell Bravo we need more then eight episodes.

US: Well, we started a petition at our Top Chef blog to get Ted Allen on TC full-time and it worked. Maybe we could do the same for you?
BP: Hell yeah, do a petition. Do a petition to get me my own show, lol.

Us: We will get that petition started Peeler, good luck.

Lady Finger Rates Top Chef’s 4 Stars All Stars

8. "What profession would you not like to participate in?” Septic Tank Cleaner. That’s a bit beneath my dignity.
9. "What is your favorite curseword?" I don’t curse.
10. "If God exists, what would you like him/her to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?" Next to my Son, you’re Da Bomb!

Lady Finger: Ha, ha, ha! One last question, "What do you think about Padma's clothes?"

Stephen: "I missed seeing her belly button. We had Billy Joel's wooden faced child bride during Season One, so I was really looking forward to seeing Padma wear her low rise jeans and tiny tight tops. No belly button views this time."

Disclaimer: Lady Finger's post is a fig newton of her imagination. She and Stephen had this conversation only in her brandy soaked dreams.

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Kathy Griffin’s Most D-Listable Moments

3. The Vagina Dialogues

After Whoopi interviews Kathy on radio about her first performance at Carnegie Hall, they began to chit chat off mike.“My foot is too small but my vagina is normal,” Kathy remarked, continuing to discuss her vagina in a way that had Whoopi and me rolling on the floor. The conversation then turned to Kathy’s first appearance at Carnegie Hall. Whoopi tells Kathy to just be herself during her sold out performance. “The gays, the unshockable gays, and the unshockable straight folks are coming to see YOU; they do not want a toned down act.” To which Kathy archly replied, “I’m not toning down a f-cking thing.” Amen to that, sister. And thank you for not toning.

4. Tom, Company Whipping Boy, and Kelly Pickler

Kathy and Tom, her new house mate and overall whipping boy, were in the dressing room at The View's studio, waiting for Kathy to go to make up. Learning that Kelly Pickler from American Idol will host instead of Barbara Walters, Kathy quips that no one will mistake one woman for the other.“She might confuse a head of state with a head of lettuce.” But it seems that our Tom doesn’t care about Kelly’s lack of gray matter. It’s obvious when Kelly enters the room, that he’s got a major thing going for her. “Tom,” our sensitive Kathy quips out of Kelly’s earshot, “Want to offer to do her chest makeup?” At this moment I knew – Tom will provide the kind of comic foil that Matt, the ex, never could.

5. Divorce talk

No, this moment isn’t funny. It showed Kathy at her most vulnerable, fragile self. As I heard this complex woman say in a thick, pained voice, ‘Divorce sucks. I feel like a failure,” I knew why I like her so much. Aside from being brilliantly and fiercely funny, she’s genuine.

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For an excellent recap of Season 3's First Episode, click here to go to Marius’ blog.

Conversation With a D-Lister

Ms. Place: Don’t take this personally, dahling. I'm just the messenger. What if you fall to E-list status, or rise to C?

(Laughter in the background).

Bravo’s got to think about the network's future. The next D-lister could be Brooke Shields. Have you noticed how her rising star stalled after Tom Cruise stopped pickin’ on her? They fear that you really ticked her off dissin’ her momma’s alcoholism in that hilarious wedding skit. But that’s neither here nor there. Once Brooke falls to D-list status, Bravo might have a hard time convincing her to front a series for them. And that would be ALL your fault.

Kathy G: (Sputtering and choking) Whothehelldoyouthinkyouare? I am a comedic ARTISTE. No one tells me my business! Specially not a sniveling little nobody like you. I got nominated for an EMMY! I promoted my dog walker to tour manager!

Ms. Place: Hey, I'm with you, girlfriend. Look, Bravo WANTS you to follow your BLISS. I'll only be emailing you a teensy Quality Report after every show suggesting improvements. Like where you might have been a tad kinder towards someone. That's all.

Kathy G: (Voice rising) Kinder? TO WHOM?

Ms. Place: Ryan Seacrest and Clay Aiken, for example. Dakota Fanning. Lindsey Lohan. Need I go on?

Kathy G: You and everybody at Bravo can suck it!

(Sound of phone slamming)

Bravo Brass: How’d it go, Missy?

Ms. Place: (Sighs) She's pissed, but I think our Kath will come around. Where else can she go? The View?

(Snickering and guffaws all around. And the sound of the Bravo Brass leaving Ms. Place's office.)



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Disclaimer: This conversation came purely from Ms. Place's fertile imagination. Although she is convinced that she and Kathy are soulmates, they have never spoken. In other words, don't get your knickers in a twist, dahlings. This post is all about fun and sport.

Shear Genius Finale: the three stylists you will meet in heaven!

Posted by Eric3000

Eight episodes? Really? That's it? I thought there would be at least one more. I thought this episode would narrow it down to the final two, who would compete in the finale next week. I should probably pay more attention.

We start the episode with the three final geniuses sitting with Rene. It looks like Rene should be interviewing them but he is really just telling them what has happened on the show:

Rene: "Hi hi! First you all came on the show and then you cut some hair and people got into arguments and you all cried like little girls and some people were sent home and a bunch of other stuff happened and now we are just left with the three of you!"

Geniuses: "We know all that, Rene. We were there."

Rene: "OK, Mr. and Mrs. Smartypantses, why don't you give us a sound bite."

Anthony: "I have 43 years of experience in the styling industry. And that's pretty impressive because I'm only 39."

Daisy: "At the beginning I was completely misunderestimated."

Ben: "Making it this far on the show is really an accomplishment. But I don't care about all that shit; I'm just in it for the money."

The geniuses learn that they will recreating a Vidal Sassoon style made famous by Olympic silver medalist and hair legend Michelle Kwan. Then they are introduced to the guest judge: God.

God: "Many people don't realize this, but I invented hair."

Daisy: "This is such an honor to meet God! He's always been such an inspiration to me. If it weren't for God, I wouldn't be a stylist today. Well, I guess I wouldn't even exist."

God tells us about his charity helping the victims of hurricane Katrina:

God: "So I went to New Orleans after Katrina and it was such a disaster. I've never seen so many people with bad hair in my entire life! One woman told me it had been months since she'd had a hot oil treatment! It just broke my heart. I decided right then and there I had to do something to help. I realized that if all the hairdressers in the world worked together, we could prevent hurricanes and other natural disaster from ever occurring."

[Click here to learn about Vidal Sassoon's organization Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, which is helping to rebuild homes destroyed by Katrina]

For the final challenge, the geniuses will be creating three looks:

Rene: "Just as in selecting a diamond, you will be using the three 'C's of styling: Color, Creativity, and Kwan."

Ben: "I'm pretty sure Kwan starts with a 'K.'"

Rene: "Whatever."

The geniuses pick boxes with numbers, which will be the order they pick collections of clothes for their clients. Daisy is first, Anthony is second, and Ben is last:

Ben: "This is why I haven't gone on that game show with Howie Mandel; I know I would pick the wrong briefcase."

[Eric Three Thousand has never actually seen that show but is guessing it has something to do with picking a briefcase.]

Ben: "Have I mentioned that I really want some money?"

They pick collections, from which they will choose outfits for their three clients. Daisy picks some boring black and white clothes by Luca Luca, Anthony picks some predictably hideous clothes by Cynthia Rowley, and Ben is left with a collection of quite cute clothes by Dina Bar-El (though he doesn't select the best ones). I'm not quite sure how this worked. I don't think the geniuses saw the clients before they picked the clothes so they weren't able to choose things to suit the specific women. And their clients were not models and came in a variety of shapes and sizes. So how did the dresses fit all of them? Did they have each dress in a range of sizes? Most of the dresses were not very flattering to the women who ended up wearing them. It was a very strange assignment.

They have three hours to do three heads (that's industry speak for doing three people's hair). Daisy has a Marcel-wave-iron malfunction, as usual. Anthony gets in a fight with his client:

Anthony: "What are you doing here if you don't want your hair cut?"

Client: "They told me this was a taping of Two and a Half Men."

Then he gets in a fight with Rene:

Rene: "What are you doing, Anthony?"

Anthony: "Bite me, Rene."

Rene: "Well, if you're happy with that look, it's fine with me."

Rene announces that they are almost out of time:

Rene: "You have five minutes left. I can't believe this season is almost over. I have tea in my eye."

How did you get tea in your eye?

Rene: "No, no, no. Teah! You know, I'm verklempt."

A tear in your eye. Of course. Sorry. God, I'm going to miss trying to figure out what the hell you're talking about every week.

Anyway, on to the hair:

Long story short: it was crap. Daisy did all this weird curly stuff and none of it quite worked. Ben did two pretty nice styles and one terrible up-do. Anthony's were fine but not very exciting and he didn't do a very good job with color.

What do the judges think?

Vidal Sassoon: "Shake that bob! Shake it!"

Rene: "Hey! That's my catch-phrase!"

Vidal Sassoon: "Well, I just think they all did such a wonderful job! They have so much heart! They chose everything perfectly and they really made that cut their own!"

Sally: "Christ! Who do you think you are? Paula Abdul? We have to pick a winner here, Vidal."

Daisy is out. Anthony wins. Ben loses but, for some reason, gets to stay on the set and drink champagne with everyone while daisy is stuck drinking Miller Lite on the loading dock.

That's it! Thanks for reading!

Vidal Sassoon: "Shake it!"

Rene: "Stop that!"

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