AE: I’ve seen one screen cap from it, and my only comment was, “His hair looks really good."
ML:
Yeah, his hair looked great. So I was just trying to cheer him up and
he wrote back and said “Thank you” and he really appreciated it. And
Trish even wrote to me and said, “Thank you for supporting Mikey – it
means a lot to him and me," because you know, they’re best friends. And
that was it, so I kind of left him alone after that, because I knew he
was on administrative leave, and at that point I figured this is now a
legal issue, and I’m not even going to contact him until it’s all over.
AE: I was really sad that they didn’t bring him back last night for the finale – did you know that he wasn’t going to be there?
ML:
I did – I had heard rumblings about it and it wasn’t something that
anybody actually explained to any of us, until that day. And so –
AE: Did they actually give you an explanation?
ML: Yes.
There’s one explanation that they gave: they said we could choose not
to talk about it at all, or we could say that Mikey wasn’t honest on
his background check.
AE: We all know why he wasn’t there, and it’s just a shame, because I like him a lot.
ML:
Me too – and he was missed. Because you saw how much he was featured in
the clips because he was really a great contestant, and we all loved
him. Well, maybe not Tracee, but [laughter] ...
Mike Verdugo
AE: The people on our site really like him, too. And I’m sad that it
turned out badly for him, but I’m thrilled how it’s turned out for you.
ML:
Oh, I have crazy ambitions! I felt like I should keep it a secret, but
now I’ve just been saying it, and I even said it to Verne after the
finale: I want Philippe Starck's career.
AE: My question to you is the eternal one: what are you doing next?
Matt Locke: Ok, are you ready? It’s a long answer.
AE: [Laughter] Good. Go.
ML: I have the advantage of living in LA, so I’ve already been approached by several people who have contacts with agents and producers, and they want to help me get that set up. So I would love to keep the momentum going and try to put together some sort of pitch or package, and see what happens with that.
AE: To do television, or – ?
ML: Yes. I don’t know exactly what my contract with HGTV says yet, so I’m going to meet with people from HGTV this week, just to clarify, because I think they have right of refusal. I don’t know if that means that I can’t do anything for a year, or if I just have to run it by them first.
So, I’m definitely going to work on that, and I am also ramping up my business – I’ve had a lot of good feedback about that, and lots of nibbles and job prospects for new work. And I’m trying to make some lists of contacts and fans – I got the nicest fan mail – I’m really so humbled by it. So I’m trying to respond to everybody, I just don’t know how to do it.
AE: Well, I hope that we do see you on TV soon, because I think you’d be terrific. I really liked watching the evolution of your hosting segments on the competition. I thought you did start out a little stiff –
ML: [Laughter]
AE: I’m sorry, it’s the truth. [Laughter] But by the end, I thought you had completely come into it. How did that happen? I know we only see a tiny little fragment of what you really went through, but I’m just curious, at least based on what we saw, how you got from point A to point B with the hosting?
ML: I’m going to use my mom’s words for this answer: “Matt, you’re a fast learner." What I did was watch Clive [Pearse], because I think he’s a really good host. I think he’s always kind of smooth and easy to watch. And I thought, “Well, let me just see how he does it, because I have no idea what I’m doing." I’ve never done this before, I’m just a designer, and what I saw with Clive is that it didn’t matter what time they woke him up or took him on set, or where they asked him to show up, he had the same cool, casual demeanor.
And then I figured out, “Oh, being a good host is relaxing, being yourself, but making sure that you’ve got the same kind of portrayal all the time."
So the more I just relaxed and kind of looked into the camera, the easier it got. And it felt like anything I’ve done in the woodshop; the more you do something, the better you get. I certainly wasn’t a good woodworker in junior high when I started it, but there’s an evolution. So I was glad to feel more comfortable, and glad to hear people say they thought I got better, because, you know, I’m new at it. I didn’t feel afraid in front of the camera as the time went on.
AE: So, as I'm always saying, I don’t like the drama, I just wanna see the design. I like it when everyone’s cooperating.
ML: I have a sinking feeling you’re in the minority.
AE: I know. I know. But haven’t you noticed, at least in Design Star, every single winner and the finalists have been the nice ones, or among the nicest ones. You and Jenn, you have such beautiful rapport; she is a lovely person. David Bromstad: if there is anyone nicer in the world, I’m sure I have no idea who it is. Kim Myles seems like a very nice person, too, although I’ve never talked to her.
ML: I have met her, and she is a sweetheart.
AE: So I actually think that people do like nice people.
ML: Oh, absolutely. I think what happens is the nice ones can’t fake it. So I think if you’re just gonna try to act nice, you’re gonna end up under pressure, and you’re gonna crack, and your nice veneer will come off. But the dramatic personalities, the ones that people get so fired up about, they enjoy watching them, they just never want them to win.
AE: Oh, I see what you’re saying, right.
ML: So I think people can get involved in the game, so to speak, and think things like: “That contestant is out of her mind," and want to see what happens. But that’s not going to translate into, “I want that person to be a host of a show every week."
