Mike Holloway is thoroughly enjoying his 15 minutes of fame, even though, technically speaking, the clock hasn't started ticking yet.
The 38-year-old from North Richland Hills is one of 18 castaways competing this season on Survivor. Strangers already are recognizing him in public and making a fuss.
"I went to a Dallas Stars hockey game the other night," Holloway says. "This young lady comes up to me and says, 'You're on Survivor. I just watched your video today. Can I get a picture with you?' It's so strange to have anyone ask me that.
"I'm just a guy who had an amazing opportunity to compete on the TV show that I love. This whole whatever-this-is is insane, but it's fun at the same time."
Survivor: Worlds Apart premieres at 7 p.m. Wednesday on CBS with a 90-minute episode, bringing contestants to Nicaragua and dividing them into three tribes: White Collar (rule makers), Blue Collar (rule followers) and No Collar (rule breakers).
Holloway, who works in oil fields as a directional driller, is a member of the Blue Collar group. The sole survivor will pocket a $1 million prize.
Holloway talked last week about his experiences on the show.
What compelled you to sign up for Survivor?
For the past 10 years, I've been making Survivor casting videos, but I never sent anything in. Then there was a contestant that quit. Twice! I was watching with one of my buddies and I said, "I can't stand it when somebody quits." And he said, "What are you going to do about it?" I said, "I'm making a video and we're sending it in."
About a month and a half later, I happened to be home when the phone rang. When I answered, they said, "Hey, I'm calling from Survivor," and I was like, "SHUT UP!"
What is your approach to playing the game?
I think viewers will see me as a combination of good guy and villain. I mean, that's kind of the role I wanted going in. In real life, I want to be a good guy. But in this game, you have to be villainous to succeed. If not, you're going to be road kill. And nobody wants to be road kill.
How quickly did you grow accustomed to having a camera crew shadow your every move?
Obviously, somebody standing right there with a camera is a little unnerving. The first day is, like, whoa. So many things going on. You can watch the show and think you know what it's all about and then get out there and it's a whole different ballgame. But probably within the first day I got used to it.
I'm kind of a loud, boisterous guy by nature. I'm - I hate to say this - a life-of-the-party guy. When I'm around friends and we're having a good time, I'm the one being a big kid and being stupid, because I'm 38 but I don't want to grow up. I want to be a Toys R Us kid my whole life.
So I don't let things like a camera crew faze me.
How deep are your Texas roots?
I'm a sixth-generation Texan. Anyone familiar with Texas history has probably heard of my great-great-great-great-grandfather: Oliver Loving of the Goodnight-Loving Trail. Loving County is named after him.
I was born in Odessa. We lived for a while in Abilene, and when I was 14, we moved to Dallas-Fort Worth. I've been here ever since. I went to L.D. Bell High School in Hurst. Blue Raiders!
David Martindale is an Arlington freelance writer.
