The Vegas Bash – Elvis Strange: The Road Less Traveled

Interview by Guest Blogger EllaMentry

For the unfamiliar, Bull Run was a television show based on the Bull Run Rally, a popular 4,000 mile, cross country road race that continues to draw auto enthusiasts from around the world. Though the show lasted only three seasons, it’s niche market enjoyed the mixture of navigation challenges and what can only be referred to as stunt driving trials. Two contestants from the second season are Elvis Strange and Steve McCabe. We caught up with Elvis poolside at the Rio in Las Vegas to discuss his reality TV experience, how to avoid post TV pitfalls and what he’s up to now.

Not a slave to fashion, Elvis rocks his own look, but don’t be fooled. This 43-year old eclectic dresser is a soft-spoken and thoughtful. Originally from Queens, Elvis learned to handle cars early on. Restoring autos from the age of 12, he and his buddies would fix them up and then play Dukes of Hazzard all over his friend’s New Jersey farm. His childhood experiences directly related to his desire to join Bull Run.

“I live in Hollywood and one of the casting people saw my car and said, oh you look interesting, your car looks interesting. My car is a 2001 Corvette and was all stickered up because that’s my style.”

Elvis worked with the production crew all the way to the final cut on season one, but did not make the top 12 teams. He watched the season unfold and was mildly relieved he didn’t put his car through that type of punishment. Still, after the program switched networks, he was approached again, got a new teammate in his friend Steve McCabe and it was off to the races. Besides following clues to checkpoints without the aid of GPS and the like, the stunt challenges include driving on and off moving car carriers, crashing through plate glass windows and evading explosions – the epitome of the road less traveled.

“It’s a risky proposition… You have to call Lloyds of London. The problem is your regular insurance is not going to cover your vehicle because you’re being filmed on a TV show. So you have to realize going in that the odds of your car getting severely damaged are very strong, no matter how good of a driver you are… We were novice stuntmen in a lot of these challenges.”

The stunt portion of the show is what enticed Elvis. He loves precision driving and proved time and again over the course of the season he knows how to handle his Corvette. This doesn’t mean stress didn’t factor into the 20-day race. Creating alliances with other teams to get from point A to point B was essential to their strategy. Who do you trust and for how long?

“It got extremely stressful and me and Steve handle things very differently and we found if he got very drunk the night before a driving leg and he was the navigator, we got there perfectly on time and we won every leg,” Elvis laughs.

This doesn’t mean there weren’t any ‘Bickerson’ sessions. The team wasn’t immune from arguing when lost in the middle of who knows where, thereby being forced into driving challenges, something they had hoped to avoid. For a while they managed to stay below the radar gun, but eventually Elvis was required to compete in a driving challenge. He and Steve were happy to be seen as a couple of Hollywood freaks by the opposition, but to survive Elvis, aka “Boots” had to prove himself. He did so by winning the challenge. That also put a nice shiny target on the pair. At the end, they took third place.

To date, Elvis enjoys being back to work as a busy production set designer in Hollywood. His credits include American Gladiators and The Glee Project among many others. He also takes the time to use his celebrity status to assist worthy causes along side other reality celebs. His TV experience has awarded him many friends.

“You have to have a certain makeup to expose yourself on TV and to put yourself out there and have that drive to compete and win. It takes a certain person to do it. So I enjoy the reality people… For me this has become a family. Maybe a slightly dysfunctional family,” he adds with a smile. Elvis also considers the fans he has met online and in person members of this extended family. “I don’t think of it as giving back, though maybe it is because I know as a fan you get a good feeling when you meet someone. I know how I feel when I get to meet someone I want to meet. It’s a great thing.”

This competition veteran is happy he received a decent edit during his season, but has seen others crucified upon leaving their respective shows. He offers a bit of advice for those who join the reality alumni, particularly contestants from shows like Big Brother or Survivor, where the social game is much more intense. In a world where perception is reality, he cautions those coming off a show to realize that while reactionary fans or in some cases trolls can be highly vitriolic, be assured this is only one side of reality TV.

With an insider’s appreciation of the entertainment industry, Elvis was very conscious of the cameras and consequently, the opinions viewers and fans might latch onto due to his own actions. He chalks this up to the wisdom that comes with age and maturity. While he understands you can be edited any way the producers choose, Elvis is adamant in his belief that no one can paint you in a harsh light unless you hand them the bulb. Yet, there is a fine line between not agreeing with someone’s game tactics versus taking it outside the confines of a show by threatening players’ families and livelihoods. This is a line that should not be crossed.

Even with the two-headed monster known as reality TV, Elvis Strange loved his encounter and wouldn’t hesitate to jump behind the wheel one more time.

“I would most definitely do it again. I would love to do it again with Steve. We got along so well, we understand each other, but I still would do it with anyone. I had so much fun.”

Read EllaMentry’s recaps of Big Brother 13.   Click the link or go to the Big Brother  category at the top of the page.