Never Say Never

So in 2021, I was contacted randomly by a major cable network to star in my very own TV show. That’s crazy, right? Well, just to give you a little backstory, it’s not that random. In 2018, I started this online community and social media channel called Chubby Diaries. And with Chubby Diaries, our mission was to inspire and motivate plus-size people to travel the world, no matter their size. And we did that through compelling content and also just me being that representation. So I would go out there and do things that you normally don’t see plus-size people doing, like scuba diving or climbing mountains. And that’s where our story begins, because this little tiny network named National Geographic reached out and said, “Hey, we want to make a show around you.” So in my brief time with y’all today, I’m going to share with y’all the process of how I got it.

It started with this email — I’ma paraphrase: “Hey Jeff, I’m a producer. We love your social media. We’re looking for a survivalist and a skilled outdoorsman, and we thought you would be a great fit. Can we get on a phone call?” And I was like, I’m not a survivalist. I was like, my name’s not Bear Grylls. But for me, I was like, you know what? I want to get my foot in the door, so let’s just go for it. And so from there, within that week, I got on five more calls and interviews. And one of the big things that we had to do was make a demo reel. And that demo reel is when they took that interview, and then they’ll take my social media posts and my YouTube posts, put all those things together, and they’ll submit it to National Geographic. And what they did there is, in a thousand submissions, only six people made it to the next round, which was to film a pilot episode.

And so to our surprise, I got two pilots. They wanted one in a cold destination and one in a hot destination, so I was going to Iceland and Hawaii. So I’m pumped up about this — like, I’ve never been to these places. Let’s go. I’m ready. But then fear kicked in. Like, literally, it was like, I don’t know what to do. Seriously, I don’t even know what to do with my hands. I’ve never been a TV host before. How do I do this? And I was definitely channeling Doechii — my anxiety, it was getting the best of me. And so it was while we were headed to Iceland, I was getting on the plane and I was talking to my producer, who’s technically the director as well, and I was telling him this. And he was like, “Jeff, you remember those YouTube videos you did and the social media posts? Be that Jeff.” And I was like, “That’s it.” And he was like, “Yeah, that’s all we need. We need you to just be you.” And I was like, “I can do that.”

So each episode, there was a challenge. The challenge for Iceland was to go find an ice cave. But to get there, I had to cross an icy lagoon with icebergs in it, on a paddleboard. And I have never in my life been successful at being able to stand up on a paddleboard. So fear was there once again. But how I started — I started on my knees. I realized in a moment, I was like, oh my gosh, I’m actually doing a TV show. But I had to conquer my fear. And I thought to myself, you know what? Life begins where your comfort zone ends. So let me just go ahead and face this fear and try to stand up on this board, because I know that if I try to do it and I’m successful at it — or maybe not even successful — it’ll get other people to go do it, too. And so I was so proud when I was able to stand up on that paddleboard, still terrified, knees shaking. But we also was able to make it to that ice cave, which was drop-dead gorgeous. I knew right then, I was like, you know what? I can do this. I’m ready to go try to do these adventures.

So I thought I was super prepared. But then our next place was Hawaii. And when I got to Hawaii, they told me what my challenge was. The challenge was, “Hey, we’re going to go swimming with sharks — with no cage.” And I was like, who’s swimming with sharks with no cage? And they even told me, they was like, “Oh, well, we’ll start with you doing it scuba diving.” So I was thinking, like, oh, we’re going to scuba dive and do it. But they was like, “Nah, never mind. The bubbles will get the sharks. So we’re going to get in with no gear, just the snorkel.”

So I’m freaking out once again. And right before I got in, the captain was like, “Hey, just so you know, don’t let your heart rate go up, because the sharks can feel that.” And I’m like, why did you not tell me this weeks ago? So I’m in the water, I’m trying to keep my heart rate down — that’s a whale shark right there — and it was so much anxiety. But I learned right there, once again, I need to calm down and just take a breath. And I did that, and it was such an amazing experience. It’s the same things that I had to take into the rest of my journey. I even got a tattoo to commemorate the whole ordeal. I was blessed by the family there to get this traditional native tattoo. It was amazing.

So even if I didn’t get the show, having these two experiences was incredible. Like, literally, I was like, oh, this is great. But they still had to put the tape together. And when they put it all together, it went ghost. It went super silent for over five months. So I was wondering, am I going to get the show? Am I going to get it? I don’t know. Have you heard anything from somebody? And then five months later, as I’m getting ready to head to Cabo for my anniversary with my beautiful wife, I get a call, and it’s the producer that I normally have been working with this whole time. And he said, “Jeff, unfortunately, bud, you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future — because today you just got green-lit for your very own TV show.” Thank you.