Road Rules:South Pacific
Challenges: Gauntlet 1, Inferno 1 (win), Battle of the Sexes 2, Inferno 3 (win), The Island, Cut Throat
1. First, thanks for taking time Abe. A popular question seems to be people want to know what inspired you to write your first book? MTV has given us a very different edit of the Abe we see now lately, a side of you we have never seen. Most people have been surprised to hear that some of your favorite hobbies are that you love to write and paint.
AB: First, thanks for the interview and I really like that first question. My inspiration for the Star of Happiness (my first published children's picture book) was the idea of inspiring hope and imagination in millions of minds. The book is all about pursuing one's own individual happiness, and what is right for one person may be different for you or me. It was not just those ideas that I wanted to convey, I also wanted to have beautiful and colorful artwork that could help to get people's imaginations going. It was not just overnight either- I have been working on this book for seven years before I finally got investors and was able to publish.
As far as MTV "editing" and showing a different side of me - I did and said all the things on the show and I am not going to try and say I am totally different person, its just that you only get to see a fraction of me in a very strange setting. Outside the shows I run my own business, Boise Buildings, an energy efficiency architectural design company. I have used the money from the shows to invest in my first independent project- The Sun House - Villas & Executive Golf Course. Its a 40 acre development in Paradis Valley, Montana with the first main 5500 sq ft vacation house complete and now available for rentals. What I am trying to say with all this is that you are only getting a small glimpse of everything I do and who I am.
2. Where can people purchase your book and the rest of your material?.
AB: You can see samples of the book at starofhappiness.com and also order the book or/and the blanket that goes with the book.
3. The most popular questions out of all them I must say everyone is curious as to will you be back?will you ever do a challenge again?.
AB: I would - I really hated the shows for a while, peaking when I did The Island, but I always seem to make it to the end and even if we lose the final I still make it out with a good chunk of change which I can then reinvest. More than the money I really just want to be challenged mentally and physically - I was really hoping to get scared on this last challenge, but I was really bored for the most part - I want to do something epic, like what I do off the shows. I am a whitewater raft guide at Paradise Adventure on the Yellowstone river and I take people through class 4 rapids, and we go rock climbing on some pretty gnarly stuff that will put the fear of god in you...I want that, and I am hoping one of these challenges will provide that.
Also the challenges give me a lot of publicity for my projects (The Sun House, and my book The Star of Happiness) which is the real reason I even did this last challenge, Cutthroat. Winning the money was really secondary.
4. Name five castmembers that you would love too see make a comeback. Anybody you would love to do a challenge with?
AB: I dont care to see anybody come back - I don't watch the shows. But I do love competing against Derrick. I will say that I miss the old cats I used roll with back in the day - I don't know who any of these new kids are.
5. Tell us two things the viewers don't know about you.
AB: Wow - that's a tough one because I really always just lived my life in the open with the shows and never tried to hide. Here you go - and this one is juicy - I am still in love with Coral...I will love her for the rest of my life even if we are not together....and I am totally head over heels in love with Cara Maria. You heard it first here - I probably won't say that anywhere else - I guess I am in just a rare mood and want to be me and not hide it.
7. What made you comeback for Cutthroat?
AB: My only reason for going on Cutthroat was so I could get some attention drawn to my book, The Star of Happiness, and my vacation rental development, The Sun House, Villas and Golf Course.
8. I don't know if you watch the shows so I'll explain The Duel format. The Duel is a new challenge where it is basically a singles challenge. If you get the call for the next Duel would you accept?
AB: they dont tell us the format - so I would not know it in advance. Every time I say yes it's a surprise when I get there. So it doesn't matter which format to me - once I commit, I commit. I would like to go head to head just to see- I love competing against an unkown competitor. I have tons of philosophy behind this, it's a big part of my life.
9. Your personal opinion how have the Challenges changed? Compare the first few you did with The Inferno3 and Cutthroat.
AB: The first few challenges I did were way better. Not only would we do crazy stuff, like flying fighter planes in a dog fight, we also had the weekends to go out and have fun- I have some of the wildest stories of my life from partying while at the location of the show when the cameras were not around. Now it's worse than military reform school. I also think personally that they are focusing more and more on the bull**** petty drama, and I also have seen that the cast members are not as cool as the old ones- not as interesting. It seems like most of the new cast just want to scream at each other without saying anything at all, get drunk, make out with everyone, and then act like they are all that. It might as well be Jersey Shore - a true low point in human civilization.
10. Anybody that just makes your blood boil? Any castmember you would love to face on a one on one elimination and just devour them? Or anyone thats just a thorn on the side to you at all?
AB: I dont hate anyone - sure ,some are outrageously annoying. I just try to avoid everybody. Laurel was impressively disrespectful though - out of everyone I have ever met on the shows.
Questions(Topics) to come on Part 2: Update on him and Adam L., Wildest Memories, Future projects, C.T and Tina, Jenn, The Future of the Challenges, His opinion on the FM2 Cast, His thoughts on The Cut Throat Challenge Drama.
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