The I.C.E Challenge (Recognizing a Rising Star)
Interest in being a co-host on this shoot was high, and after we auditioned a multitude, we had decided that we were going to go with 2 co-hosts. It was very simple. We had immediately identified one as being right for the part, but there were six others that were amazing, so it was not a genius decision to add another co-host.
The concept of the show is a fitness obstacle course, created by Curtis DeBerg, and in the callback, one person in particular took it took to another level.
On the day of the shoot, it was clear we were correct in our original assessment that Natalie Arias, with her own personal story and spirit, was a perfect fit and about adding another co-host.
The truth is Amber Lee Ettinger knocked it out of the park.
And the funny thing is that the day didn't start off that great for her. On the way to the shoot, she got stuck in major traffic and arrived past his call time. She had been keeping me updated on her progress, but it showed much of her professionalism to see she was visibly upset when she arrived. Apologizing profusely, there was a tremor in her voice, and I took a few minutes to reassure her that everything was fine and that our cameras weren't ready to roll anyways.
The extra time it took for us to be ready to start shooting gave her plenty of time of readjust her mindset, and once we started rolling, she took off.
Her charisma, interaction with the contestants and her quick wit brought great humor to this shoot.
Don't get me wrong, Curtis DeBerg is great as the straight forward trainer and Natalie Arias is great with her sweet, encouraging spirit, but seeing what I saw during the shoot and in going over the footage, it's obvious Amber Lee Ettinger is going places.
We are certainly honored to have worked with her, look forward to see her continued success, and hope to one day work with her again.