How it All Began...

How to begin? A difficult task in itself, primarily because I do not know what I have gotten myself into, and I can't even begin to describe how scared I am. Let me start by telling you how this crazy experience got started.


I have been a loyal consistent listener to Hot 89.9 for many years, and the Morning Hot Tub definitely helped me push through those morning work blues. I've heard them pull off many crazy and exciting contests over the years, but recently, Mauler & Rush announced they would be giving listeners the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to have their lives changed in drastic ways, for the better. The crazy idea of allowing the dynamic duo to take control of a listeners life, pushing them out of their comfort zone so they can overcome personal demons, and ultimately become a better person at the end of it all.


I'm a 24 year old female, born and raised in Ottawa. I'm not sure if anyone can relate, but lately I've been feeling as though all the excitement, adventure, butterflies, had just dissipated from my life. I had stopped putting myself first, constantly making excuses, procrastination 101 is the story of my life. Rewind about 4 years ago, and the difference between the me then, and the me now, uncanny.


What did I have to lose? All I needed to do was fill out a questionnaire, attach my photo, and send it over. I figured my chances were pretty slim, but what the heck. I randomly received a phone call from the station a few days later saying they received my application, and that they wanted me to come in for an interview, which was a shock. Even still, I figured my chances were still pretty slim, thinking they were calling almost everyone in for interviews. But yet again, what did I have to lose? Right?

Saturday, January 17th, 2009, 11:00 am. Hot 89.9 Radio Station on Antares Road.

I walked into the station, not feeling the least bit nervous, I figured all I had to do was just be open and honest about the lack of excitement in my life, and that would be all. However once I walked into the boardroom, it was 5 against 1, the nerves kicked into high gear. The questions were very in depth, they really wanted to know the inner feelings of their listeners, and I couldn't hold back if I tried. Something about them just made me open up, I told them my dreams, aspirations, fears and regrets. The fact I was opening up to complete strangers was un-real, but the fact they wanted to hear my story made everything come out, things I probably haven't even told my best friends. I left the room feeling a release, as though I had been holding these feelings in forever.


I expected to hear the name of a female I never knew being announced as The Chosen One Monday morning. However, not too long after my interview, a man referring to himself as "The Almighty" called me on my cell phone. Almighty Rush had called to let me know, that they had chosen me, to be the Contestant in Mauler and Rush Almighty. WHAT THE HECK???? ARE YOU SERIOUS????? Shock, disbelief, scared, freaking spastic are some of the ways to describe how I felt at that moment. But the second after he hung up the phone, I sat down thinking, holy hell, am I in trouble? What are they going to make me do?


I will not walk the streets in a bikini, I will not shave my head, I will not get a tattoo, I will not ingest anything that makes me heave. Thoughts such as these kept going through my mind for the rest of the weekend. I couldn't sleep, the anxiety was almost too much to bear. Handing over your life over to complete strangers sounded like it could be fun, until now. Now I was in complete fear. To be continued...