Andrea's encounter with Richard Branson
Hello Folks,
OK...here is my story. It started this morning at about 11:45am when a car picked myself and Jill up outside the Hyatt and drove us a block and a half to Club Circa. When I got there my birth mom Janice and half sister Tanya were waiting in line - a very cool welcome.
I got ushered inside and upstairs to a back lounge area where they dressed us in coveralls, we met the other two participants (Aaron from Cambridge and Star Spyder from Toronto). We hung out for almost an hour. They told us what we would do....which was no biggie and we waited for Richard to get there. (more stories from backroom if I talk to you in person...)
While we waited they gave out phones. Of course my sister was front and centre (its in the genes) and was willing to do something crazy for a free phone... alas she won - way to go girl. Also in the audience was my friend Jill who came with me and my friend Laurel who drove in from Orillia for this (thanks girls).
OK so Richard got there and it all begun. The first thing they did was pick three more participants from the audience. Us online winners went first. They put us in front of a glass container filled with maggots. Inside were scrabble tiles and we had to pull out one at a time the letters to spell FEARLESS. The maggots stank, but I didnt see them - I blocked them out and only saw tiles. We only had one minute and the top three of the six would move on to the next challenge. and GO.... 46 seconds later the word FEARLESS was on my scrabble wood and I was screaming.... After one minute the buzzer went off and I was one step closer to the next challenge. The other two sat on the couch with me worried….
The next three went up and only one of them finished in time. So it was based on points. 2 audience members (both guys) and me advanced to the next round.
The next round I had to lay in a glass box. My left arm was wrapped in chains and locked, my feet were wrapped in chains and locked. Then a tub of snakes (19 of them) were dumped on us. I had not had contact with Richard Branson before this… but he unbuttoned my coveralls so the snakes could get in and locked me up – Yes ladies and gents Richard Branson wrapped ME in chains and locked me up. NOW THAT’S SOMETHING TO CROSS OFF THE BUCKET LIST!
I wasn’t allowed to GO until the snakes were on me and Richard handed me the keys. It all happened so fast… I didn’t even see the snakes. I concentrated on Richards hands and the keys. As soon as I had them I was trying to unlock my hand. Boom…and then my feet…OH YA…. 38 Seconds later I was free and the snakes were being plucked from my body.
The next two guys went… 1 minute 26 seconds, then 1 minute 4 seconds… I was the clear winner and I advanced to the finals with this muscle man from the audience.
The final challenge was to climb a rope later up to a highwire strung across the bar with ropes to hold onto. NO PROBLEM FEARwise… the problem all along was the inability to control how well the others did…. So I smoked the high wire… it took a minute and 12 seconds to do it – faster than anyone who had attempted it before (all the virgin staff had tried it)… I was pretty stoked as Richard cheered me on from below and people were shocked at how well the GIRL was doing J Alas spiderman was up next… he pulled himself up the ladder like a rope (no feet) then scaled across the highwire like spider man – everyone was shocked – I had to laugh… I secretly hoped he would fall, but I was impressed. He did it in 46 seconds… Nice work spiderman…he took home the $5000.
We stood on stage and as he was awarded the $5K I was somewhat disappointed because I really wanted it, BUT I did my best and I did what I set out to do – Finish the Competition by completing all the challenges without FEAR. AND sort of meet Richard Branson. We were never officially introduced but I got a kiss on the cheek…not once, but twice AND I handed him one of my calendars signed “Screw it Just Do It” and told him I was on a path to entrepreurial success!
And it was over just like that. He walked out the door…
