781. Chris Heuisler, Family Feud Contestant!

Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and on every episode I talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond. From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday, amateur, and back of the pack runner, we are here to celebrate everyone and anyone who enjoys a life on the run.

Whether you are running towards something big or away from something that has been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace. My guest today is returning favorite Chris Heisler. Chris is one of my near and dear friends. He was on episode 6 of The Alley on the Run Show way back in February 2017 and he was part of my very first live show in San Diego in 2018.

Many have always known Chris as Weston's Run Concierge. What a fun job. Working for a major hotel chain, helping guests figure out when and where to run, talk about the runner's dream. But I really think most people know Chris as a genuinely awesome guy. I have benefited tremendously from having him as a friend and I love getting to share his words

his stories and his wisdom here on The Alley on the Run Show. First time Chris was on the show, we talked about his running story. We talked about how he and his four siblings celebrated his oldest brother's 40th birthday with a very special marathon. We talked about his acting past, which included a stint on Gilmore Girls, and we talked about Chris's brief romance with Alexis Bladell. Never forget Chris!

Then, in 2020, Chris returned to the show for a very different conversation. He told us about his 40th birthday surprise, planned, of course, by his siblings. But mostly, he talked about addiction and sobriety. Chris very vulnerably and bravely, and these are words I do not use lightly, he shared his story, which he had never done before. He talked about drinking and about when and how he realized he needed to get sober.

He talked about how he did that and about the challenges along the way. I was so proud of him. I always am. And I loved how many of you reached out to Chris after that to offer support. You really are the best community.

Today, long overdue for a catch-up session, don't you think? We had good reason to sit down together because the Heisler siblings just celebrated another 40th in the family, this time for the sole sister of the group, Katie. When Chris told me what they were doing for Katie's 40th, I knew I needed to get him on the show to tell all. I had so many questions and figured, why not record them?

Is there a ton of running talk in this one? Oh, not really. But does everything always kind of tie back to running in one way or another? I think so. Please enjoy this conversation with Chris Heisler.

Chris Heisler, welcome back to the Alley on the Run show. This is my dream right now. We are sitting in my living room because I'm just catching up with a friend and I'm calling this work. Thank you for being here. Welcome back to the show and welcome top continue Hampshire.

Yeah, we are in the middle of it, but it's a beautiful drive. Snow-covered trees, yard, and I'm inside your house, which for the listeners out there, it's beautiful. Thank you. You have a beautiful home. I have a beautiful company right now. Do people know how many hearts are around your house? There are a lot of hearts in this house. That would actually be a fun game with Annie, of like count the hearts or guess how many are here.

It's like when you see the Skittles in a bowl, you got to guess how many Skittles. I would shoot for like just taking the tour of the house. 170. I was going to say 183. There's where we go. Let's see what Andy comes back with. All right. All right. It's been a minute since you've been here on the show. You were guest number six. You were on episode six, which was so fun. I feel like we talked mostly about you being on Gilmore Girls that time.

I remember specifically thinking to myself, wow, because I didn't know you that well. I know. And I think I'd done like one podcast before that one. And you brought that up like somebody did some serious homework. I went to the dark web. I went to Google results like page six. So yes, I was prepared for that. And then you were back in 2020. You were one of very few people that I saw in person. And we sat far away from each other in 2020 and recorded

An important episode for a lot of people and it's one that I still hear from people about where you talked about your is Journey the right word with sobriety and and you shared a lot which I know I've said before but thank you for doing that that stuff's not easy So now we are long overdue for a catch-up. Is it too much to just say how have you been?

I mean, five years later. Sure. Yeah. There's been a minute also five years, but you and I have caught up all the time. Yes. Your phenomenal friend, which I wouldn't have said on episode six. I'm like, yeah, I just talked to somebody named Ali for some podcast. It shows me a lot of personal questions. And now I'll look at you.

Look at you. Hang on a sec. Don't. Sorry. I mean, we did our first live show together in San Diego. Because of you? I helped, but the people weren't there to see me. They were there to see you and Andrea and meb. But I'm just saying, it's been fun as a friend to watch your career become what it is. I don't know. I don't have a lot of people who I'm like,

Yeah, like when I got to know Meb, I got to know Meb after he won Boston. So you could almost call me like a fan. So like I'm more impressive than Meb is how I heard it. I'm just saying how I heard it. Yeah, I'll stand by that. It's been fun to watch your career. It's been fun to watch at first walking through a hotel lobby with you and no one knows who you are. And now I can't walk through a hotel lobby with you without people being like, can I get my picture with you? And you're gracious. You're a very, very gracious person for your success. I'm happy for you, genuinely. Thank you.

I guess I'm fine. You know, I have a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old as of yesterday. Shane's 14, Kiki's 13. 14? It doesn't sound right. I know. Whoa! It's the best. Because they were little kids when we met. Yeah! I didn't even have one when we met.

Bam. I know. But there's nothing better. Like, I love being a dad and just getting to watch them become their own people. It's the best. I'm no longer with Weston, so I was the run concierge. People were always like, oh, it's the coolest job in the world. It's a great job. And then capitalism happened, which has happened to a lot of people where corporations are like, yeah, we don't really need a lot of people.

I don't stand by that. I don't believe in it. I think people are the core of any company. And I believe it's a blessing disguise. I promise myself, I lost this job, I'd go back and acting. And we're getting new headshots next week. I'll send it to you, Ali, because you've got a good eye, so you can let me know what looks good.

I would love to offer my unsolicited feedback. Though if you send them to me, it's solicited feedback. Fair enough. I'll take it. I will take it and we'll see what happens. I'm excited. I'll blow them up. You saw upstairs. I have all giant framed photos of Annie. Do you want me to put your headshot up there? I mean, it would look a little different in your house. People are like, wait, what's this guy? Who's that guy? Yeah, exactly. Is that your husband? Nope. Nope. Just a friend. Episode six, actually. Yeah. Yeah. The famous Chris Eisler. The famous. I will say, though, when you talk about, you know, Run Westin, and that's what you were doing when I met you,

I feel like you were one of the first people. I don't know how to explain this, but like now there's so many people who have jobs in running and are doing things with running, whether it's being some kind of influencer or working with a brand or whatever. You really were one of the pioneers of

Having a job in running that wasn't just for a running brand, right? Like you were at a large corporation bringing running into that. And I just remember thinking that like I was obsessed with the whole like with Run Westin and with what you did. And I mean, for so long, I think that was my dream job of like, I want to do that. That's got to be the coolest thing in the world.

How do you see, and I guess you've kind of navigated over the past few years, something that I think about a lot, which is like, eventually, for whatever reason it is, what I'm doing right now isn't going to be what I'm doing forever. Like, people are gonna get tired of listening to me, or, you know, I hate to say it, but like, I'm gonna age out of this.

People aren't always going to want to hear from me and the landscape is going to change and that terrifies me because that's such an identity shift that I'm never going to be prepared to deal with. How have you dealt with that and navigated that?

Great question. Some days, well, and I'm like, this is great. You know, I'm getting my head shots. I'm gonna get an agent. I'm gonna go audition. I'm not gonna get most parts. But creatively, it really fills me. Just auditioning again feels like I'm tapping into what I've always believed I should be doing since like sixth grade, for real. High school, college, I always knew I was going to wait to L.A. to go be an actor. And I had, you know, moderate success. I was getting some roles. I was bartending and waiting tables. And there's a grind to that that I

I look back and like Dan that was pretty badass that I that I gave it a shot and You know met my wife New York personal trainer stuff and it just it seemed to be the flow like I'm gonna take a pause here Maybe I can go back. It's not like an athlete like I can't yeah I can't run the way I used to when I was 30 years old even though my mind tells me I can it just doesn't do the things I'm supposed to be if anything as an actor though I feel like

I have more experiences now to draw upon that I can leverage to my advantage. And, but that said, there's also some days where I'm like, I have no clue what I'm doing. I am terrified. I is just really the right move. Like I've got two kids. I've got a wife. We've got bills to pay. Is this it? Like, is this smart?

And then I've read enough people who are like, well, if you're not willing to take the shot, then what are you whining about? What are you blaming other people before, frankly? And that motivates the hell out of me. It's like, all right, if not now, then when I'm 50, 55, what am I waiting for?

So I look at this as some type of blessing in disguise. And if a year and a half goes by and I'm not booking anything, I'm not getting callbacks. Cool. At least I tried again. I just don't think that's going to happen. I have to have some inner confidence to step back into this and say, yeah, why not?

What would the dream be? Is it to be like the leading man in a romantic comedy? Is it to be on like a scripted series? What would be the dream? The dream would to sit across from you two years from now. I'm serious. But I like that that's how it started. Yeah. This is it. We did it. And just say I'm working.

I'm an actor. When I was in LA, I had a hard time when I would meet other actors and I was like, what do you do? And they'd say, I'm an actor. And I said, what do you want? Nothing. OK, so what do you do? I'm going to put your bartender. I'm a bartender. I'm a waiter. I'm trying to be an actor. And if I'm ever on something for a consistent period of time, like the soap opera, I got to say, I'm an actor or an off Broadway. I'm an actor. And that felt really cool that I'm making money as an actor. It's like, what, 1% of us?

So that's the dream. I'm also realistic to know that that can't be my primary income for the time being. I need to go find other ways to bring income into the family. But that's the dream. And whether that means it's a

a bit part on a series that comes in every now and who knows. But there's so many good shows out there. And I'm also seeing actors that I used to compete against. I'm like, dude, they're still in it? Good for them. You know? So where is your confidence at when you're doing this, whether you're at an audition or even just

day to day. And I ask this because I could never do it. Knowing that it's a subjective thing and you're walking into a room and they're going to decide if you're right for the part, if you're worthy. Had a long talk with a friend yesterday where I was like, my biggest insecurity and my biggest worry and fear is not being enough. And that comes up for me all the time. It's not being enough and not being good enough.

So I could never be in an industry where someone else gets to decide that, right? Yes. You said in your 2024 recap, you said one of your goals for 2025 is I'm going to be the most alley I can be. I'm not going to interview like Chris Chavez or these other people out there doing their thing because you can't.

That's Chris Chavez's, that's how he interviews. This is how this person interviews. And you've gotten to where you are because of how you interview. Right around COVID audition for the Don't Look Up movie on Netflix with the Cabrio and Meryl Streep. Amazing cast. And, you know, I had a few auditions in Boston. I just, I've gotten a point for audition. I have to forget about it. Unfortunately, I have to assume I'm not going to get the part.

which kind of stinks, but that's the only way I could exist. Otherwise, I'm going to overthink the audition that I do it right, blah, blah, blah. I didn't get the part, but I got a note from the casting director, like I already forgot about it four or five months later, COVID's happening. Hey, it's been narrowed down to three of you. Are you able to shoot these dates in Boston?

And they actually put the other two names of the people I was up against on this email. I love that. Okay, and I'm like, whoa, that's maybe I was a mistake. And I, you know, I did my thing, I looked them up. I was like, oh, who's this? One was a 70-year-old dude, and the other was like a 35-year-old woman. Oh. And I'm like, wait a second. The three of us are up for the same part? What the hell?

Well, that means I did the best audition as a middle-aged white dude for that part. And the director's like, if we go with a middle-aged white dude, he's the guy. If we go with a woman, she's the woman. If we go with a older guy, he's the guy. I have we collectively don't know what the producers want or the director, and sometimes maybe they don't. So all I can do

is the best take I, me, third person Chris Heiser can do on this part. If I try to assume I know what the director wants, the producer wants, I've already lost it. Because now I'm overthinking the part, I'm overthinking this.

Just be the best version of myself I can. And I would tell you the same thing as you continue with your career. Just be your authentic self. You do it naturally and forget our own head. No, and that also is going to apply when I interview for new jobs. I don't know what they want. They can put in the job description, but maybe they don't know what they want. So this is me. This is what I'm good at. This is what I'm not good at. And if it works for you guys, cool. If it doesn't, I'm not going to take it personally.

how I take everything personally. So that's very inspiring. Who got the part? The older guy. Oh, good for him. I mean, you know, obviously rooting for you. He was good. And he's 70. I'm assuming he, if you watch the movie, he's in like the war room with John A. Hill on Meryl Streep. He's like a, he was like four or five scenes. Like it was a great part. Don't get me wrong. I was pretty bummed. It was like,

They won with the older guy. Okay, cool. What a good perspective. At 22, there's no chance I had that perspective. And probably at 35 didn't have that perspective. Being a parent and watching kids have a better perspective than me at times, I'll take it. At times. All the time, all the time. That's fair. All right, so as you're embarking on an exciting chapter in your career, what does running look like for you right now? Is running a part of your life?

It is again. I was hurt. I didn't do a marathon for like five years. You know, I was trying to... My brother, John, I was trying to do a marathon. I restate. I had ankle surgery that took like two years to fully recover. It just doesn't... The body doesn't work the way the thing gets supposed to anymore.

Yeah, I'm sitting here with a freaky brace on my foot. So yeah, because I stood up. What a dumb way to get injured, standing. This is what happens. I'm running. So three, four days a week, I get out when I can. It makes me feel really good. I always feel better after a run. My siblings and I did the Tulsa Marathon in November.

Um, I was reminded of how hard 26 is. Um, so for the listeners out there, I went in, I was like, I think I can probably break for like, I think, you know, I can do this.

Okay, it's not all about time, but just to backtrack, because you said break four, remind me your marathon PR is a 256. There it is. And, you know, I worked hard for running for a solid time. And I was like, I can probably go do this race as best training as I can.

I knew around mile 12 not gonna be a good day I had like four weeks off before because my foot was acting up and I was like I can just I wisdom my marathon wisdom is gonna get me through this even close how far did the wisdom get you about mile 14 love it and those last well and I was with John and Katie and right around 12 I was like guys that bathroom over there looks really good so I'm gonna go

Good luck, and I walked shuffled the last 12 miles. I think I finished in like 440. That was easily the hardest marathon I've ever done. By far, and my appreciation for every runner, whether you're doing 256, 330, 450, 530, I don't care. If you finish a marathon, you finish the damn thing. Hard stop.

I felt really good when I finished that thing because there was at least a hundred times like, can I curse? Why the f*** am I doing this? I'm really cursing. Like, what am I doing out here? I am miserable. Okay, that was going to be my question is when after mile 14, when you sort of gave yourself, not that you gave yourself an out, but you said, I got to do this my way, right? You were still miserable. It wasn't like the weight was lifted and you could enjoy those crowds.

Wisdom? Like, dude, what were you thinking? Like, you are old. I mean, every sense of negative talk came through. But at the same time, like, all right, one more mile. Like, you flew to Tulsa. You got to get your medal. Why Tulsa? We're trying to do it in every state. Oh, so that was OK. It's picked Tulsa, Route 66 Marathon that time of year. We're an Airbnb house with my four siblings, sure.

That part was great. Everyone went. Yeah. But you, John and Katie, did the full Timmy did the half and Bill did the supporting and drinking with a scooter. And he's builds an unbelievable spectator. Like everybody deserves that type of spell. Oh, we're going to talk so much about the siblings. Don't even don't even worry. So that's my running right now. And I think it did motivate me to reconsider how I train. I'll be fine, but it's absolutely part of my life. It's not how I identify. I don't identify as a runner. This is part of who I am.

So when you're going out three or four times a week, are you running with a watch? Do you care about distance, pace, time? What's the goal? I'll run with a watch just to monitor my progress. I think if we're going to do a 2025 goal setting here, I really would like to run with more people. I do too much by myself. And there's enough people where I live that I could just join in. But that's, that's the power of it. Did you bring your shoes? No.

But you've got a brace on you. I have a jogging stroller that I could show myself in that I push you in. I push you in a jogging stroller. Yes. I mean, for next time, hopefully not in a brace, but Jesus, that would have been quite the episode. Record live on the run. It'll be so fun. Okay. All right. Since you brought up the siblings. Yes. Here we go. Let's go. Okay.

The first time you were on the show, and I think of all the things you talked about in that episode, which was a lot. It was a wide ranging episode. But I know that what stuck with so many people was the story of John, your oldest brother's 40th birthday, and that you ran this marathon and someone jumped in every mile and surprised him. And it was just absolutely incredible. And of course you are probably the best storyteller I know. And so the way that you told it was awesome. Why are 40th birthday such a big deal in your family?

They aren't, I mean, they become, they are now. It's because, look, hey, listeners, Alex turning 40 this year. Okay. It's a big number. You know this, you're living it. And John, it's in your head. There is. John, not to put him under the throne, under the bus, but he was, it was weighing on him.

And I was running with, like, I've been ran marathons. I love them. I was like, I think it's actually a time to reflect on 40. Like, what have I done? What's good for me? What am I proud of? So as you know, it took like a year to plan. We had a guest per mile. And I think because it was so memorable, not just for him. And it's for everybody. Everybody who ran a mile

the people who participate in the race at the rock and roll rally like people remember it if you're involved in a surprise to that of that level you're going to remember it is going to have an impact on you i think sometimes we put on surprises for people we forget it's not just about the person who's getting the surprises everybody who bears witness to that

is a beneficiary of the work. And that's why I think you should not take it for granted. And whether it's a 40th, whether it's Valentine's Day, something, please don't underestimate the impact you can have by actually putting some serious thought behind what it could be. That's the mentality. So yes, that trickled on to Bill's 40th. So John took Bill's 40th.

And it was, Bill liked to golf, so it was 18 holes of golf, and it was three new people per hole that would just pop up. It was great, you know, and the final hole everyone's walking up the fairway with Bill and his kid, you know, they're there to pup with him, and then there's a party afterwards.

Wait, before we, and then we know who's next. Yeah, because you're in it. But give us the brief reintroduction to the siblings. John's oldest, give us like the one sentence. Who's John? Six foot five, navy, bald, intense. Sorry, big ice goes by big ice. You said, you know, this is perfect. The sort of go to leader of the five, you know, like,

He's a very serious dude and also has our back more than anybody. Bill, number two. Life of any room. Brilliant teacher on the West Coast. Three amazing kids and amazing wife. He moved out there to live with me when I was an actor. He stayed.

Good for him. I know how sunny it is on the west coast. Um, then there's me, middle child, uh, Katie's fourth. You skipped you. Yeah, I'm here. I mean, how would they describe you as the caring one, which is, yeah, maybe that's the one that, yeah, maybe, um, and then Katie's fourth, um, and then Timmy. So Katie's the only girl, uh, easily the most badass. Um, there's, there's an debate of who's the best athlete in the family.

I have to give it to Katie. I mean, Katie's the only one that went to college for sport. Yeah, how is it a debate? Because Bill's cocky. Bill's like, Bill the golfer. Bill's like, all these marathoners. Wait, is Bill gonna listen to this? Oh, absolutely. And he's gonna be like turning it up right now. Like, what's Mitty gonna say? Bill's also the only, well, I guess I've never met Katie in my head. I'm like, Bill's the only one I don't know.

Oh. Yeah, you know Bill. I'm also like, have I met John? Yeah, yeah, I know you met John in a couple of places. Yeah, in my head, I know everyone. Yeah, you do. I know you the best. That's why I was there. Because we're friends. But Bill would argue he's the best athlete. He's also been like, if I ever trained for marathon, maybe I would beat you, which is I'll lose exactly exactly.

He's like the guy at my daughter's gymnastics class that was like, if I wanted to, I could run a marathon tomorrow and I was like, then do it. I will come and watch. They're missing the point. Do the work and then show me. That said, Bill's a phenomenal athlete. Bill, we love you. He's a very good athlete. Yes.

And if he's he's also would want me to tell you that we have once raised a hundred meter at like midnight Christmas Eve fight Both pretty hammered and he smoked me and and it lives on like you're a marathoner Yeah, but it was just you know anyway. All right. I'm sorry for your loss and me too But Katie's Katie's that person and which is where we're gonna get to the episode of why we did for her and then Sammy's the last and he's the black sheep and Why because

I mean, there was a pretty big gap between him and Katie. I mean, it wasn't. I don't think intentional. Oh, Timmy. But he's the glue. Like, they give me the title, the caring one. Timmy's just, he's so careful. He's so thoughtful. And like, you wouldn't think though, because he's got tats all over. He's got people who's tattoos can be thoughtful.

But he's got the beard if you see him you might be somewhat intimidated in Tim Yeah, but you know Tim he's yeah, he's the best and he lives in Brooklyn every good time He's always having good time. I'll call him on a Tuesday. What are you up to? I'm gonna like the Nets game tonight Oh, I've gone out to dinner with some but he's always doing something and I'm just I love him for that. So there you go. There's the five

All right, so for your 40th, it was a feature film starring the cast of your life. Yeah, it was nuts. It was awesome. And we talked about that when you were here last time. We we recapped the movie, the movie nuts and Ali's a great guest star in it alongside Mary Wittenberg.

I was very sweaty. We ran from the finish line at the Mini 10K straight to, I believe it was like your brother's office. We went there and filmed a scene. And it was very fun. And I remember being like, who do I think I am being a part of this? Look at this cast of characters.

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So then that brings us to Katie's. What was the plan for Katie's? Who came up with it? Because that's what we're here to truly talk about. Okay, fine. Katie got married on her 40th, which really throws for her. Literally, literally her birthday, September 24th is her wedding anniversary.

And was that her thing? She was like, I'm not letting these guys plan my 40th. I'm taking it into my own hands. And this is what I want on my 40th? Was it an avoidance tactic? I don't think it was an avoidance tactic. I actually think it was like, no, her husband, Doug's awesome. It just worked out. But we were definitely thrown off. We also didn't really know what to do with it. It wasn't that one idea. When was it? I know you said September 24th, what year?

I'm just getting mad at me. It would have been two years ago. If I'm wrong, Katie, I'm sorry, about two years ago, maybe three. Are they all going to listen to us? Now I'm getting nervous. Of course. You've got a fan club, Alia. We had an idea, though, that we carried out at our wedding.

Which was, for anybody, also this is a great party idea. We've done it from my parents, it's called the Come as You Were Party, where you get the invitation. So, Ali, if I were to have a party called Come as You Were Right Now, and I give you the invitation right now, you have to wear exactly what you're wearing, right now. Headphones, the microphone, the brace, no shoes, that's how you show up to the party. Wait, I'm wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt, that's my dream.

You would show up to the party just like this, but we might have someone show up in the Halloween costume and someone else shows up in black tie. And it's the best. It's so much fun. So that was the original idea and we invited Katie in her wedding dress. Like that's what she was going to show up in. Does that make sense?

You invited her to what? To her own 40th birthday party. Oh, so this was separate from the wedding. I thought you met her wedding? Was it coming? No, no, no. Oh, sorry. No, no, no, no. We were like, hey, we had these little cards made and we invited like three of her guests in these like nice and she was cracking up. And then it was just too hard. Like to actually logistically plan it to get people to fly in and they're like, it's just kind of fizzled out.

That wasn't the idea. It couldn't. It wasn't the one. It wasn't the one because something didn't work. It's like a few months go by. Actually, I know the exact. So this is around December, January and like our the brothers text chain picked up like, yo, what do we get? We got this on for Katie and no one had and we just didn't have it. We're like throwing stuff around. And then I think she was sad this whole time of like they didn't do anything.

Well, she thought we're going to have that come as you were part. Okay. Oh, she didn't know that was off the table. It just, it's something wasn't land. Yeah. And April, I forget, it would have been two years ago, I guess, April 2023. I'm in my kitchen on a Sunday night. And the kids are in the living room and in the background as a making dinner is the family feud. Great show. Amazing show. And I'm like, Oh, shit.

That's it. Katie, the most competitive in the group, is the captain of our team. She and her four idiot brothers are going to be on stage with Steve Harvey. That's got to be it. That is the perfect 40th for her. There's nothing better.

I looked to Rachel and I'm like, oh my God, I just got it. Rachel, your wife. My wife. We're going to go. Katie's fourth is the family feud. And Shane hears me and Shane's like, oh my God, we're totally, we're going to go. I'm going to be in the audience. So Shane was like, believe to me from day one, believed in this happening. Rachel, you know, she's married to someone has ideas all the time. And she's like, great idea. Let me know how that works out for you.

So I apply that night. Okay, what do you do to apply? Well, first I text my brothers. Okay, that was gonna be my next question. Actually text them afterwards. I went right online that night. Just I put together a headshot for each one of us just pulled in from like random photos. You go online, like you go to family feud.com, you can apply. There's like a questionnaire, ages, relationships, everybody. Why should we pick you?

And I wrote probably like 500 words. I forget there's a limit. But I linked John's 40th. I mentioned, put a picture of Bill's 40th. We didn't make a video.

It was solid. And I was like, I just have to believe that somebody in their casting, I was going to read this, like, this is good. Like, we don't get five siblings too often for family feud. There's always, like, a hodgepodge of ants. And I was like, this is going to work. To a text of my brothers, I was like, dude, it's just applied for the family feud. Moonshot idea, but let's do it. And I think quickly, like, that's hilarious, midi, like, right line of thinking. What else can we think about? So I think three months went by.

Nothing. Were you thinking about it that whole time? Yeah, I was. I was like, yeah, I know this has to be it. So then I think around June, Timmy's like, I'm going to apply too. Like if we have two of us apply, maybe our chances go up. So we made a video in Philadelphia of the five of us. Katie's in. Wait. Okay. So this is a surprise for her. She doesn't know you're trying to get out. No clue. So what's this video?

We made it so we told Katie we're gonna make a video for our mom's birthday. So Katie's in this video. Unbeknownst to her. Unbeknownst to her. This is all about her.

That video turns out was not even part of the application. So my original application is the reason we got on. Because when we actually talked to the customer, I was like, did you like the video? I'm like, what are video you talking about? So Timmy's application is not poor, Timmy. It doesn't matter. The video comes into play. We make this video, and like two weeks later, I get a name of a family feud. Hey, we'd like to meet you guys at a version call. Our original plan was, assuming we're going to get on, we're going to kidnap Katie, who's a high school teacher.

Love it already. And fly to Atlanta and just be on the family feud. But they have to interview each one of them. So we have a Zoom call. We have to schedule a Zoom call. So now we're like, well, we have to bring Katie into this. She has to be on the Zoom call. We can't just kidnap her. How do we do this? So I'll do this thing. We have this thing where what's called the bat call, like Batman bat call. So if it could be used if I want to go drink or something's not going right for any of us, it's the bat call. We all get on a call.

So I texted my siblings on like a Tuesday. Hey, guys, everything's fine. But can everybody be on a call with me tomorrow night at six? And I did not tell my brothers, like, how we're going to do it? And I said, I was like, we got this. We'll play the video or something. Katie's husband texted me. Hey, just, you know, Katie. And he knows what's happening. He's been looped in. Katie thinks that you, me, got accepted to some reality show. And that's what you're going to tell them. I was like, this is gold.

So when's the night we got on a call? And I'm like, hey, guys, I want you to know that I've been accepted to a reality show. And Katie has this look on her face like I knew it. And my brothers are kind of like, where's Mitty going with this? I was like, anyway, it's a little bit different, though, because this reality should have to be naked the whole time.

And my brothers are trying not to laugh and Katie's face kind of goes a little white. Like what? I'm like, I have to show you my application video. No! If my brother called me, I'm sorry, if my brother on Zoom was like, I'm going to be naked, watch this. I'm hanging up so fast. Yeah, she stayed on. She stayed on, thankfully. And we played the application video that we made for Timmy's application for Family Feud. And within 10 seconds, Katie's just bawling. How did it start? Was it like, we're the high slurs and we want to be on Family Feud.

Kind of, I'll send it to you, but I edited it, and it has like the Family Feud soundtrack under it, and it introduces each of us, and it's fun. But again, that wasn't the reason we got on. So then we have a Zoom call with the casting director like a month after that, and I was in Seattle at the time, so we all died in from different places. The Zoom call is great. You have like a minute to introduce each one of you, they make you go through a round, like an actual, like a fake round, and you have to cheer for everybody.

Good answer, good answer. So that's part of it. Okay, I joke about this on this podcast all the time, especially when I'm doing the sprint to the finish, and someone says an answer that's not so good, and I'll be like, good answer. And I always joke that they do that on family feud, so it's the rule. Yeah, but they want that. Yeah. Even if it's a bad answer. Unfortunately, yeah. And then everyone looks stupid.

Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I mean, you know where this is going like we end up on the show and that My first 30 seconds on national TV on the family feud is not my finest. It's not a good answer. It's I'm just terrified Honestly, I'm glad you give me this platform to address it before it comes out. Yeah

But anybody who's listening, please know, it's a lot different on that stage in the lights with Steve Harvey in your face. And I also blame my brother John partly for what happened. Me too. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So you go through this phase round. Were you prepared for that? No. So it's like over Zoom. Yeah.

And I got to tell you, the casting director was awesome. She was so great and we had so much fun. We had so much fun. I can't emphasize this enough. The whole experience from start to finish was the best, the best. So at this point, does Katie know, like, we're trying to get on this before you're 40? Oh, yeah. 100%. She's moved in. After we play the videos, like, Katie, you know, this is what's going to happen, we're going to get on. And there was still, like,

I mean, Bill was kind of like, this is such a long shot. I'm like, will you just believe? Like, we are putting this into the universe. And if you don't, you have no shot.

It's going to happen. You miss 100% of the shots. You don't take Wayne Gretzky, Michael Scott. Boom. Chris Heisler. There you go. Like, why not? Why not? Bill. Crushed the Zoom. About 10 days later, we find out we get or accepted. And we enter into a pool. How do you find out? Do you get an email? Yeah, congratulations. That was an exciting day, I bet. And all the emails, by the way, we're only coming to the personal applies.

So I'm getting, I'm going to get to like text my siblings. So like anything yet, anything yet. And then you just enter pool. Like you're in this pool of accepted families for the next three years. Three years? So at any point, they can just call you and say, hey,

Well, they'll let you know, hey, for this season, what, these are the dates we're filming, which dates can you make? Okay. And we were, you know, we gave, and they tell you, like, is the more dates you give us, the more likely you are going to be picked. Like that you will come down. And then I think it was like December of 2020.

Three, we got the dates of the next season they were filming. Season 26, there's our 26 number. Oh my god! Full circle right there. Pity, and imagine if you were episode two. Season 26, episode two. We're definitely not, we're definitely not episode two. Okay. No spoilers. And next thing you know, fast forward to April 2024, we're flying down Atlanta.

And I think when we found out we got accepted, and we wouldn't tell a ton of people, but I think there's two stories that summarize the, I don't know what it is about families feel like. Is it getting your suit? The suit's wonderful. And Katie's a high school math teacher. It has surprised me how excited people are for us. All right, tell us about Katie.

Katie's a high school math teacher. And I guess once a month or once every two weeks, the math department, on like a Friday, will go around. Anybody have any news to share? Katie rarely speaks. Is this just with faculty or kids? Just faculty. OK. Just faculty, like the math department at her school. And she rarely speaks. And one of her colleagues announced that she's getting engaged. And the room's like, cool. That was great. You know, clap, clap, clap.

And then Katie's like, I mean, sure, I guess, you know, I found out my four brothers and I were going to be on the family feud. And the room exploded. Went bananas. What? Are you serious? And she's like, I didn't mean to steal her thunder. I didn't realize I was going to get this type of reaction. They went bonkers. Like, we're going to have a party. We're going to the whole school is going to view party. Like she was generally shocked at how receptive people were to this information.

So I went to Men's Warehouse. We had to pick our color scheme. There's a color scheme? Well, you want to look nice. If you watch the show. Do they tell you that? Do they say pick your out? Because people don't wear costumes. It's not a cut. Well, tell Bill that. Bill wanted to look crazy. I'll fill it off your gear. And we're like, dude. Well, that I feel like is a thing of whatever you're into. But I feel like for the most part, families aren't super out there with what they wear on the show. People dress like you're going to church.

Yeah, like they dress nice. Yeah, you got to look nice, but people are weird about it. I all we knew was you're going to bring down like three outfits for us to like bring your best. No sneakers like you got no sneakers. No, no, no. No, you got like it's formal.

I only own sneakers. Sorry. Shout out New Balance. Yeah, New Balance, like if you want to put some like formal New Balance shoes out there, go right ahead. So we came up with the color scheme with help from my sister-in-law, Carrie, Rachel, have like, it was awesome. Like everyone's getting in like, but at the end of the day was what does Katie want?

She's the captain. This is her 40th. What does she feel most comfortable in? She's got a boss suit on like I will tell you Katie Katie's gonna Dom Katie dominates She's just the best on the show couldn't be happier. I got a men's warehouse to get a suit

And I wanted a nice new suit. I walk in, I'm like, hey, and these guys were not. When I walked into the store, just another person walked in to get a suit. What's up, dude? And I go, can somebody help me find, I'm looking for a bluish suit? Yeah, sure. I'm going to be on TV, so I want to look nice. And now the eyes look up a little bit from the desk. And they're like, what are you going to be on TV for?

Actually, it's going to be on the family feud. And you would have thought, I just said, I'm going to pay you each $5 million to help me buy my suit. They stop. They stand up from their desk. They bring in their assistant. They're like, they got the tape. They're measuring my arms and they're like walking me all around. I ended up getting a three piece suit with a vest and then a nice pink tie. If one of the pink tie to go with it, it was awesome. And Timmy had that experience in New York. Like it was just, it was fascinating how excited people got for us. It was awesome.

Okay, so you fly to Atlanta. How are the vibes? I was the last one I get in, and by the time I got to the restaurant, the four of them were already drinking and having the time of their lives. Like, you know, I'm looking for them and they was just giving me the middle finger from a distance. I'm like, just, just cuz? That's how we just, just banter. I mean, that's how we interact. It was awesome. Like, we were having so much fun. John, out of the five of us, studied.

like he went all in. He had an Excel sheet. He bought the game. There's a game? You can buy it. He was studying, do you pass, do you play? Are there certain strategies that we should take with how we answer? For instance, Mitty, you're in the third spot.

You got to think outside the box. And Bill and Tim, you guys got it all literal. Just take the question at face value. It was very strategic. It sounded good at the time. You're all competitive. Yes. How much was this? Let's go have fun. And how much was it? Let's go win.

I think there was a discrepancy. Like, I think John was win-win. Clearly. Win. Bill, Tim and I were like, and even Katie's like, wait, this is it. Like, I can't believe this is happening. This is unbelievable. Although I could. What's the price? Huh? $20,000. So the most you can win is five. You can win five shows.

But per show, isn't the price $20,000? Oh, fast money. Yeah. But split between five. Yeah. I think it's cool. I mean, I think it's $20,000. I think it's $20,000. OK.

But also, yeah, we wanted to win. I will say though, the other families, once you get there with the other, I think it was like eight or so families, everybody's cool. The whole crew from Family Feud, the producers, the stage, every single person is kind from top to bottom.

And there's a live audience. Yes. OK. So you get there. Yeah. Walk me through what happens. We get there. We get in a van from our hotel with another family in the van that we're going to potentially compete against. And they drive us. Was there trash talking? No, they were so kind. Like Timmy made a friend in about 30 seconds because they realized they're both like metal music. I mean, it was like, wow, this is instant.

It's like a 20-minute drive to tie the pair of studios. You have about an hour and a half of learning the rules, like actual rules, like when you hit the buzzer where your hand has to be. Or in fact, you can't talk to each other once a round starts. But you can at certain points, but that's just to like deliberate, right? If the other team is playing,

and they don't get all the answers on the board, you huddle up like, what's your answer, what's your answer? But if you're playing, you cannot, I cannot look to John, but like, yo, save it, save it, no. Okay, so I've always wondered why people don't do that. You can't. Look, why did you let your siblings say that? There are some rules that we like, yeah, it was, it was cool. It was really, but you also, so you get the rules, then you have your final quote unquote audition where they just put you up on the stage against another family.

Are you loud enough? Are you projecting? You go through around. It's fun.

Okay, when they say we surveyed 100 people, who are the 100 people? No clue. So it's not the 100 people in the audience. Not that I'm aware of. I've always wondered that. No idea. Do you think they really survey 100 people? Yes. I do. Dying to know about that process. Yeah, they absolutely do. But then there's also, as John pointed out, once you get to when it's like triple, there's only four ants on the board. You've got to be dialed in. Kind of, which is nerve wracking. Yeah.

But if there's like seven S on the board, there's going to be some random answers up there. And as the third person, your job was to get to the right. And you nailed it. I know we can't talk about that because no spoilers. Did I nail it? What's the opposite of nailing it?

Owing your wife in apology after. That's correct. 100% cool. It's really, I guess I can, Katie, Katie looked at me after I said it and there was a tear coming out of her eye from laughter. And she said that she thought in her head, does Christopher still think we're in a rehearsal? Oh my God. Yeah. Time of our lives. Okay.

Like if you're listening to this and you've ever thought about applying to be on the family feud, just do it. Like at the very least, go through the application process. Like get your four people. It was so much fun. Steve Harvey is way funnier in person than I would have imagined to the point where like our faces hurt. The episode took 90 minutes to film.

Okay, and they tell you that, I'm sure, of like, it's obviously not live. We know it's pre-taped, because it hasn't come out yet. But do they tell you, like, hey, if you make a mistake, you can redo it, or... Not really? And is the buzzer, like, all that's happening in real time? Like, you're saying your answer, and right away, you're seeing if it's on the board. What you don't see, and what I thought was one of the funniest parts, so we watched an episode film.

like from the audience. Like you're in the audience if you're not filming. And there's a blue line that's behind the cameras. So you got the cameras filming you.

And then behind the cameras is a blue line. Does that make sense? Sure. Okay. One Steve, if Steve talks to you right now and he's like, Ali, what do you do for a living? I host the Ali on the run. I talk about running for a living, Steve, and I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having us. That was very good, Ali. Thank you. Now, if Steve, who's as witty as they come, feels like there's some jokes to have right now.

He will turn, walk to the audience, get to that blue line, and just rip on you. Unlike a podcaster. How do you out here have a podcaster? What is this? How many more podcasts can there be? You don't have to do the roast, I get it. But he's so funny. Did he do that to you? Yeah. You specifically?

Oh my god, I'm so excited. But I don't know if it's gonna air. Once he goes beyond the blue line, that's not on air. Oh, that's like to keep the audience jazzed. The audience is watching, essentially, a 90-minute stand-up hour with Steve Harvey in the middle of a game show. He's that funny. He's that engaged, I don't think the guy sleeps, because he's got a podcast every morning himself. He's on two other shows.

He, it's not fake. Like he's looking you in the eye and he cares about you. He's genuine. He's down to earth. He wants you to win. He really wants you to win. It's awesome. Okay. So I know there's so much you can't tell us since this episode or episodes we'll find out have not aired.

But what can you tell us about the dynamics of you and your siblings and how things played out? Katie was the team captain. So she's the person who goes up there and hands behind the back and then hits the buzzer and has her hand. First. She goes first. OK. And then so we were to Timmy's second. OK. Why? I decided the order. I think we kind of collectively did. OK. There was some debate. Like I

I mean, you were obviously going to be in the middle. There was no like your place in the family is the middle. The middle. I think that one made the most sense. I can't exactly recall where there was some hiccup about like where people go, but it worked. Like where we were, it works.

OK, so when the audience is watching this. Yeah. And if they were to have to pick a favorite member of the family based on the episode. It ain't going to be me or Timmy. Like no shot in hell. Unless you like derelicts. Like if you're like, every family has to have one or two people who are like, that person is an idiot. I mean, Katie's a baller. And your audience is mostly women. They're going to love Katie. Yeah. She just crushes it.

Timmy and I, in my opinion, are the weak links. We do not have our finest moment. John, the Navy guy, dialed in. Katie believes that Steve and John had the best connection. I thought Steve and Bill had the best connection. So my prediction is that the viewers, generally speaking, are going to respect Katie

They're going to think me and Timmy are total nut jobs and not appropriate for TV. John's the leader of the group. He's the Navy's serious. And Bill is as smooth and charismatic and hilarious as they come. I looked over him a couple of times and I'm like, how is he so chill up here?

On shows, I've been on TV before, and I'm terrified right now. Because he stayed in LA. He's around it. That's a good perspective. He just breathed that energy. You could be totally right. Like he's at the grocery store with these people, you know? Yeah.

Bill, like, when Steve would talk to me and to ask for an answer, I would just say the word. I'd say the answer. You know, like, name of, uh, article of pants. And that would be my answer. Yeah. He'd get the bill and he'd be like, name of the article of the, you know, Steve, when I play golf, I always take pride in my jacket.

You know, I like to have a good jacket. So I'm going to go with jacket and then show enough jackets on the board. But it's like, bro, so good at not saying too much, but just given a good little context behind the answer, I thought. Okay. Yeah. I would have thought that'd be you, if I'm being honest. I would have pooped.

I don't know if it's because I honestly, when Steve walked out, I was like teary-eyed. Just like I was with John at the start line. Like when you have an idea, when you have an idea and it's a dream and it happens, it's one of the most insane feelings there is because when it exceeds the expectation,

forget about it. And I think I was just so happy that it happened that I'm on a stage with my four siblings for the first time ever. And it's not like acting. I wasn't pretending to be somebody else. I was like, there I am. Not really good at trivia.

The what? Okay. I mean, it was bad. Had you studied it all? Like no, about questions you might get. They don't ever repeat categories ever. That's insane. I know. So many categories. But there are themes like, you know, it's mostly, yeah, stuff in the bedroom. It's become way more risky. Like some questions you're like,

If a dog and an elephant were to make out, what would they say they don't like about the other person? You're like, what? Who thought of this? And then 100 people filled out that question. That's the show.

Well, what is it if a dog and an elephant made out with each other? I just made that up. I'm just making that up. Yeah, I'm picturing it. It's weird. And sometimes you're like, wait, is that a question? What are you asking? Thank you. Are you worried about having like a viral moment? Yes. Are you? Yeah. OK.

But those are funny. I watch those like my Instagram shows those to me all the time. Usually it's real fortune. I mean the sausage one recently. I don't want to admit how many times I've watched those because I get it now. I'm like, yeah, dude, you froze up. I hear you. And the good thing is that in those clips, we watch them and we laugh at them. No one knows who the people are. No. Right?

Yeah, but unfortunately with the family feud, it's our last name right behind our head. Yeah, and this episode's coming out. We're going to hype it as much as possible. We are having a viewing party in Philly. OK, so that'll be like the culmination of everything to really. Hey, Katie, this is the end of it.

Yeah. Yeah. So is she feeling pretty good about her 40th celebration? Yeah. And she's 42 now, but right? It was all. I mean, then again, we we partied like we went out and we party that night with families from the show at the hotel till 2 a.m. Because they put you all at the same place. They do. Yeah. And the families were so kind like as much as we are competitive. You kind of want the other family to win too. Like they're nice people. We did not meet a single person. I was up with that person.

No, really good, solid humans. I think maybe on Jeopardy! might be a bit more cutthroat. Yeah, I heard Jeopardy! is just a bunch of assholes. Yeah, there you go. I all think they're smarter than the rest, compared to SAT scores. Maybe I should apply, oh no, because I'm like, maybe I should apply. No, I wouldn't even get past. I probably couldn't even figure out how to apply for Jeopardy! Yeah. I can't even do the kids Jeopardy! Yeah. But I get really proud. Me too. When I get one right. That's why I can watch Wheel of Fortune.

I know what this is. Oh, my mom. See, that's what I want to do for my mom for one of her birthdays is get her on Wheel of Fortune. My mom is freakishly good at Wheel of Fortune. So we grew up, I told my dad this recently, I was like, did you know that when my dad used to travel a lot for work? I was like, did you know that when you would go to town, mom would let us watch Wheel of Fortune during dinner? Like she would let us have the living room TV on. We had to sit at the table, but we could watch Wheel of Fortune because she loved it. And it was the best.

Did you ever want to host Wheel of Fortune, Ellie? I wanted to be Vanna because I wanted to wear the pretty dresses and just walk around and I don't know, flipp- remember she used to like flip the letters? I always wondered how heavy they were. Now she just touches them. The question that we get asked now, having been on a game show, is if you could you, Ellie, could be on one reality show.

Reality show are game show. I'm gonna well. Let's start with reality the bachelor I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Oh wait. No, I'm serious. Just what I mean the bachelor at

Which one is- The Bachelor is, I believe- I don't want to compete with other girls. Oh, then that- Parade the men for me. You want to be the bachelorette then, I believe. I think so. Okay, so that's- How about if you wanted to be- And no, that's not my actual answer. I would never want to be on a reality dating show. No, why are you making that face? I think you'd be good on them. Thank you. I've had a weird number of people be like, you should apply to be on the Bachelor of Bachelorette.

And I think it's because it's mostly just like influencers and aspiring influencers that go on those shows now. But no, absolutely not. I wouldn't be shocked if Timmy, after all of this, gets asked to be on. Is that how they do it? I don't think they scout from other games. I don't know if they scout from other game shows, but like he'd be great on a show like that. He would be great. Is he single? Yes. As of today, I believe you. Sorry, Tim.

Um, okay. What show would I actually reality show? I feel like I don't know enough reality shows. I just want to. Okay. How about a game show? Cause I hear survivor, amazing race all the time. Nope. Nope. You would not do amazing race. Me? Yeah. Like you and Annie on the amazing race and no, a show where there's like skill and travel, competitive. No, I don't want anything that's a competition. I want something where we all win and we hold hands and there's snacks. I got it. I know what yours is. You should be on dance with the stars.

Yes. Done. Dancing with the stars. Yeah. There you go. I'm dancing with the stars. Would you be the celebrity? Yes. And then who's your partner? I don't watch the show, but I know there's like other staples.

Oh, yeah. I mean, obviously I would want to be with a guy because I watch all those lifts and I'm desperate to try them. But I mean, the first person who came to mind is I love Whitney. I mean, Whitney's a stud. Who of the guys are on it now?

I don't know. I need to line them up and which wow, what a hard task for me to take on. All right. So yeah, I guess dancing with the stars is my answer and that's a reality competition. So it covers both. But family feud would be fun and whenever I'm with my family and this is fun. It wouldn't work for you guys because you have your answer. But a really fun game to play when you're with a lot of family is you put everyone on the spot and you say, Hey, if we were cast on family feud, who would you pick?

out of all of us and you just watch people look around the room and they're always like, well, I'm not picking Allison because loose cannon. But you need a loose cannon. Oh, no, I usually get picked. Okay. Yeah, like when my cousin Jackie and I talk about this, we always pick each other. So I would love to do family feud with and I can tell you exactly which family members but do it. I'm telling you, it's so worth it. It's so much fun. What's your answer now?

Uh, if I were to go to like a game show or like a reality show, let's do both. I would like another shot. I like to redeem myself too soon. Uh, I think I would try the amazing race. I mean, with job of traveling, I feel like I've become a bit more resourceful, like how to navigate new places. Okay. Yeah. Something like that. Okay. And who would your teammate be?

I mean, if we want the drama, I'd probably go like Bill, you know, because we probably butt heads a decent amount. Or if I could take, Shane would be fun. If I could take a kid, I would actually add a bit. Oh my God, you chose between your kids. Shane, I don't feel like Kiki would be too young. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. That's a tough one. Yeah.

I mean, I just love that while recording, when given the chance to choose a child, you did it. I just went for it. You went for it. Ouch. That's going to come back to bite me. So now I owe my daughter a apology after this day. It's OK. You bought her flowers today. So I did. She'll be fine. OK. So Timmy's next. And I know you can't come on here and say it because part of what makes these so great in my understanding is that they are a well thought out surprise. When does Timmy turn 40 and has the planning begun?

Timmy turns 40 in 2026.

coming out? Yes. I know he's listening. And it's not like he knows he knows something will happen. It's just a matter of how and when. But I can't wait. Are you allowed to make suggestions? Is he allowed to be like, hey, guys, it'd be sick if you did? Absolutely not. Awesome. Not even close. If he said something, it'd be like, great, that's never going to happen. Thanks. You just killed that idea.

I honestly what I would encourage your listeners to if there's one thing to take away and like this is Potentially like my next business to creative endeavor put on a good party like put on a proper surprise if you're gonna go propose if you're gonna go

If you're going to an anniversary, put some thought behind it. And it doesn't just impact that person. I can't state this enough. You said it yourself with John's 40th. What is astounding me is the amount of people that have, I bumped into, I heard that and I wanted to do something more for my sibling. It's like, great, we need more of that. Right now in this world where we need to get out of our shell a little bit,

Post COVID, I feel like I'm at home, I'm like by myself more often. Why not go do something really, it doesn't take a ton. It doesn't. It could be a, a flower. It could be giving somebody flowers on a random Thursday because something they said a month ago meant something to you. Why not? Like I really, I stand behind that more than anything. And Timmy's is gonna light the roof on fire.

It has to. It's the final of the five. Yeah. No pressure. I don't know how we top them if you, but to be honest. Really? Family view was so, so much fun.

I mean, as in as someone on the outside, it's super cool and it's awesome. But I would argue that each of them have been so special in their own way. But they absolutely are. I think the family food one for us and maybe it's just where we are in life with kids and everything to put the five of us in an environment like that.

for a couple days in Atlanta where it's just you guys. And you get to go be idiots together and have fun and try to win. It was just so special. And I mean this, I can't state this enough just how kind the show was. And I don't know if there's a perception of game shows where it's like cutthroat. No, family feuds fun and silly and everyone's just laughing. You're laughing at yourselves. I always wonder how many of the families fight after.

Those are the stupid answer, why'd you do that? You blew it for us. I wish everyone saw your face right now. Yeah, there's, I mean, the amount of inside jokes that have come from being on the family feud is just comical. Is there a group tax for the spouses of each of you?

Ooh, like Rachel, Rachel, Victoria, Kelly, is it, and Doug? Yeah. I mean, if Doug's on that, that's amazing. Because Rachel, Kelly, I was like, yeah, sure, come on in Doug. Probably. You know what? They should, because... A support group. Kind of like, what the hell we marry into? Like, what's wrong with it? Yes, why are they like this? Somebody... What have we done? Somebody called somebody.

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All right. I've got like three months. What should I do for my 40th? There we go. I have I have Oh my gosh, you're good. I have some ideas. Let me hear. There's nothing. Wait, hang on a second. Hang on.

Are you trying to, and maybe you would like to, plan your own 40th? Yes. Okay. Well, I'm trying to, I was going to, one of the options is just not do anything. Yeah, I mean, I speak for everybody who's listening right now, that ain't happened.

Talking to a cancer survivor. I'm not okay fine. I won't go. I won't I won't lay it on but you have to I Have a lot of I haven't really started thinking about the fact that I'm turning 40 because my whole life like I've not cared about my age I've not cared about the number of

But I think because growing up 40 was a big deal like we still have hanging at my parents house My mom threw a big surprise party for my dad's 40th and I made this huge poster and it says Lordy Lordy look who's 40 and there's a picture of a mountain with a cane on it Yeah, like we're used to say like you're over the hill 40

And I don't believe that, like 40 now is so different than 40 then, right? So who cares? But I think it is like, I look at these past few years and I'm like, ooh, not where I thought I'd be at 40 in summer guards. In summer guards, I'm far beyond wherever I thought I would be. But I think in the more traditional sense, I'm like, cool, divorced and financially rebuilding. That's fun. You like surprises.

I like surprises that are a sure thing. What does that mean? Like if I know that it's gonna be a, if it's gonna be awesome, great. Okay. But you can't rely on, like so John, for instance, actually planned his own 40th. Do you know that? The marathon? No, no, no. He wanted to do a wine tour on bikes. And he, we let him, we let him plan it. Like go ahead, you plan that buddy. Meanwhile, we were planning his 40th. But did you do the wine on the bike? I think he did. There was like t-shirts made.

Right. But that's what he wanted. We just gave him something a lot better that he didn't know he wanted. So I asked you. Okay. Like, go ahead. Like, put it out there. And I'm like, what would name some things that would mean a lot that happen around your birthday? All right. So one of the dial-in listeners. All right.

One of the ideas is I do nothing. It's a normal day. I don't acknowledge it. Annie and I and my parents have a cupcake and it's fine and it's chill because I am with the person I love more than anyone in the world and that is enough and that is true. And Ellie.

Another option is that there is a race that happens internationally the week before my birthday that I may or may not be attending, cannot confirm nor deny right now. And if I go to that, that leads right into the week that is Annie's April vacation. She will be with her dad for April vacation.

So I have a whole week where I don't really need to be anywhere. So what if I go to that international thing and I extend that trip and I do some solo international exploring. I have also pitched that idea to two of my friends, Kira DiMato and Jess Movald, both of whom were like, I could be convinced. Actually Kira was like, I'm fully in. I don't even need to be convinced.

So that's like a potential option of just like a go somewhere, but I'm not like, I don't know. Clearly I'm not in love with that idea. I'm in love with my friends, but another idea that I had was the weekend, so the weekend before my birthday is like May 2nd, 3rd, 4th, whatever that is.

And so I was in talks with a certain brand that we all know and love about like, hey, what if there's this thing that I've always wanted to do? What if we call it my birthday party? And it's basically like a big Taylor Swift dance party. I have all the ideas. They love the idea. The date doesn't work. So we are going to be doing that at a later date. And it's not much later.

It's a couple weeks later. I'm probably sharing more than they would like me to share right now, but I think it's fine. You can always cut it out. Yeah, it's my podcast because I make the rules.

I don't know, whatever. Here's my thing too, with throwing a party, because I love having parties at my house. My concern is, I want Annie to be there, because she is my daughter. But if you invite kids, then it's a kid party. But if I invite grown-ups, then Annie's not here, and everyone has to get babysitters. And I don't want to, that's an annoying inconvenience. So do I have it as a kid party, and I hire babysitters at the party?

I'm like already losing interest in myself. I hear you. So what if you are someone who takes so much pride in your friends? I do. I love them. I know you do. My hunch is you probably have a short list of 100 people, maybe a little bit longer.

I did make a list. I was going to have a party last summer and we were calling it feller fest because it was going to be my taking back summer, cancer free. I made it through a divorce. And then we pushed it because one of those things is still not final. So we're waiting on having the fully taking back summer party, which is fine.

And it's a long list, which is how lucky am I that it's a long list. Great. Yeah. You won Rachel turned 40. So Rachel's not, doesn't like it surprises at all. She specifically told me, do not.

I will kill you if you throw me a spell. They for sure have a side group text. Okay. Go on. So I was like, crap, like, what am I supposed to do here? Rachel's also a brilliant writer and appreciates the written word. So what we did was, what we did, what I did was, I reached out to like her 40 closest people and each one of them had to write her a letter. It could be a poem. I'm gonna cry. Oh, and then on her 40th,

I set up a spot with like a reading light and a couple candles, and the 40 letters were there. And I just said, I'm taking the kids. This is your room. Because you didn't want to read these in peace, like feel the words, feel what people are telling you.

I got chills. That's so nice. For her. Yeah. That's right. For her. Yeah. I need a soundtrack. I need Taylor Swift. So exactly what I'm trying to get out of you. I want a private jet going to the air. Now we're getting somewhere. Like, what do you value? You value your friends the most. You value human connection the most. You value Taylor Swift a ton. So much.

This could be, it can't be the Annie show. It can't. And that's where you would gravitate towards. So it has to be for you, but Annie has to be involved. So I'm going to say nothing else, honestly. I have to decide what I want to do. No, I don't know if you do. Just give me some time. Your face. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

And I'll, I'll, I'll drive back pondering over this up at that. Okay. I can't let you drive back before I put you through the sprint to the finish round, because I don't even know if this existed the first time we did it. And then the second time, okay, not to make this, I was going to take this on like a serious detour for a second.

if you're up for it, which is, you know, the last time you were here, you were very much just four and a half years ago. And when you shared about sobriety and what that looked for you at the time, like many things in life, that is not always a linear path. Is there any, you know, I hesitate to say give advice, but for people listening who are on their own similar journey.

or know someone who is. Is there something that you could or would want to say? And it doesn't have to be like uplifting and comforting. Like what comes to mind for you and what might have you wanted to hear?

I mean, the best thing someone told me when I first started was you don't have to be alone anymore. And as an addict, that's where my brain wants me to go. You are alone, nobody's ever gonna get you. This is the track that you're meant to be on. Like my natural brain wants me to think that I'm better off alone.

Even though I'm an extrovert, I actually derive energy from other people. But when my addiction kicks in, it's like isolate, isolate, isolate. And honestly, since we've last spoken about this though on the podcast, sobriety's become significantly more prominent. I actually like, oh yeah, I mean, Gen Z does not drink a lot. Yeah. Athletic brewing is a huge, successful, non-alcoholic beer.

Alcohol as an entity is now being looked at differently like is it really good for you? I Don't I don't think I have advice other than if you are in a position that you're listening and you are struggling yourself It's you do not have to be alone

That is you can choose not to. You do have a choice in it as much as being an alcoholic. The brain wants to say that you don't. You do. Every single day you have a choice. Even if you drank yesterday and you just had 90 days of sobriety.

Okay, that doesn't go away. It's not like you're starting over. It's not like you just lost your sobriety. It's that, okay, today's a new day. Can I not drink today? Can I not use today? 24 hours. And I, so much of what I'm saying right now is not my own, to be fair. Like I leaned heavily into AA for a solid three, four years.

And the connections in that room saved me. Like I think all of us benefit from human connection. Like that is the underlying epidemic right now is how lonely we all are and believe that we're supposed to be or we've normalized working from home, sitting in front of our screens, not calling people back, living over text, living over scrolling as if it's normal and healthy. And are we connected just by having followers and friends on social?

I argue no. And since being let go from Weston, I'm leaning into just having coffee with people I've been meaning to have coffee with. One hour here, one hour, almost every day, actually. I just want to listen. I want to get to know people. And it fills my soul. It reminds me that I'm not alone, that my problems are just like everybody else is just in a different, it just sounds different.

It's cliche, but we don't know what anybody's going through. You've said this, I've said this, and I would just like to believe, particularly in the culture we're in right now, and the direction our country's in right now, I would hope that we can all just get people to benefit the doubt.

as best we can. I do it really well in situations like this when I'm driving my car, no. That dude cut me off, screw you. Or you didn't say thank you and I let you go, what's your problem? Like, that's my weak spot. But outside of that, I don't know what people are going through. I don't...

I think we can all just give each other a little bit of leeway. And I mean, I don't even know if that made any sense whatsoever. It did make sense. Your face says it does. Yeah, I liked all of that. OK. But I will say to your fan base, your listeners, when we talked last time four years ago, I got some of the nicest notes. And I was terrified coming onto the show to talk about it. Terrified. Terrified of what?

Saying I'm an alcoholic For a long time. I was really scared about that statement that would put me in a box that professionally would hurt me Who knows? I just didn't know what would come from it, but I also knew that I felt obligated to to put it out there just because of

how people look to me as like this wellness expert, I'm like, yeah, and guess what? I'm also an alcoholic. I think the stigma of it is shifting, and I'm glad to be a part of that, and it's not perfect. Like you said, it's not linear, and it's okay. The greatest gift of it, though, has been the relationships at home.

You know like Kiki we were at a baseball game once and somebody spilled a beer behind us and she looked at me She goes is that hard for you to smell that?

Wow. And I'm like, damn, it's so perceptive of her. So kind of her to ask that it didn't trigger me. And what a wonderful discussion and honest discussion I can have with her about, look, people can drink all they want. I don't know their stories. I'm not, I don't dismiss it. I don't condone it, whatever they want. That's a wonderful openness to have with my kids because of it. Wow.

Good kids. Good dad. Sure. All right. Should we sprint? Yeah, I do want to pick the last thing I'll say, if people listen to that and you have questions, hit me up. They did. They did the last time. And in ways I didn't imagine really unbelievable, thoughtful notes. Um, and once I had to like pause on, so reach out. Maybe that's what it comes down. Maybe that's the advice.

Connection. It's out there. You don't have to reach out and be like, hey, I know you're struggling. You don't drink today. You could just be like, hey, I'm thinking of you. That's it. Tell me you've ever gotten a text and someone said I don't think of you. It made you feel bad. It's the best. It's the best. I did it to Mike Summers the other day from New York. Mike and I had a text going back to September. He was supposed to send me a schedule to catch up. He never did. I hope he listens to this. When I texted me, I was like, hey, I've been waiting every day since September.

Feed a schedule, our call hasn't happened. Just laid it in. And now we're talking next week. And like, he's like, why do my head even pop in your face? I was like, because you're a friend. Like, it feels good to connect to people. I think we owe it to ourselves tomorrow. Sorry. Trying to think. I feel like I did that yesterday since I'm on a text that was like, hey, just thinking of you. Do you want to catch up? Yeah. They don't get back. Yeah, it's OK. You never know what someone's going through. Just don't. I love it. All right.

All right, we did take a brief break. It's like a battery break. I had to change batteries and we chatted for 15 minutes offline during which I decided what my new dream job is. And that is being the surveyor for family. Yes. I want to be the person who stops people on the street and asks them these insane questions and gets their answers. Maybe that's also the job. You have to come up with the questions.

I don't know if I could come up with questions that have not been asked in 26 seasons of this show. You're a good writer. I don't know. Oh my God. Thank you for believing in me. All right, Chris. This is the sprint to the finish round. This is where we bring things home here on the alley on the run show. Are you ready for some rapid fire? Actually, now I'm nerve. Right. Based on my family feud experience, I just don't know how this is going to go. Okay. What would your last meal on Earth be? Pizza. Favorite movie?

usual suspects. Favorite TV show? I'm going to put a plug in right now for a show called Patriot. Are you going to say family feud? No, no. On Prime 2017, 2018, if you've never heard of it, it's okay. No one has it. It's the best show I've ever seen. Why?

The storytelling, the acting, no one's ever heard of it. It all has two seasons on prime. It's brilliant. Did you ever see so little time with Mary Kate and Ashley Olson? It was only one season, but like honestly, beat that. You're kidding right now. I love that show. Okay fine, I'll go check it out, but Patriot on prime. If you like Wes Anderson and the Calm Brothers,

You're shaking your head no? No your audience Chris. Are you asking my opinion? Yeah, yeah. Oh my god. That's a good point. Maybe your audience wouldn't like patriot. Then I'll go severance is pretty prominent. Okay, I just wrote about how everyone's telling me now that I finished. Did you watch shrinking? You would love shrinking. Didn't watch me like the eighth person. So let me finish severance. Then I'll go to that.

Well, that's everyone now is telling me I should watch severance. And then I shared that publicly and everyone in the alley on the run show community was like, don't watch severance, it's not for you. They just think it's not for me. I love it. I love a cheeky love story. Yeah, not for you.

Yeah, exactly. What was one of that in Brody and Kristen Bell? Stop. Nobody wants this. Yeah, that was good. And the fact that we're sitting on my couch right now recording a podcast, I feel like we are the main characters in that show. That show is good. I felt like the main character the whole time I watched that show, which I understand that makes me very unlikable. And I would argue that I don't think Kristen Bell was very likable. So, well...

I thought the acting was phenomenal. Me too. Like I believed both their chemistry was off the charts, Adam Brody's timing is on him for another. He was just phenomenal. He was my biggest crush growing up and now he is my biggest crush now. I auditioned against him once. Against him? Yeah. What was he like? Couldn't be nicer.

Oh my god, wait, did you audition for the OC? No. I was, for some, like, independent. Thank you for smoking. That was one of the movies he was in. It was like... Oh, really? Yeah, he did all this, like, indie stuff. Yeah, it was an independent film, but he was super chill. Oh my god. Was he a good kisser? I wouldn't know. Yeah. Neither were I, unfortunately. Great question. Really solid. Thank you. What's your favorite cereal?

Honey Nut Cheerios. Me too. I have some. Really? Yes. All right, we'll do that next. It's karaoke night. What are you singing? Probably brown-eyed girl. What food reminds you of your childhood? Girl Scout cookies, samales.

Oh, I have some of those too, but they're from last year, but they're fine. And peanut butter crackers like Ritz crackers. Oh my God. I have everything you're naming, which is amazing because I'm not the best at grocery shopping. There we go. But I kill it in the non-perishable department. What was your first job? Paper boy. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Originally a baseball player, but then the curveball came in and then I couldn't hit a baseball. And then I found acting. I was going to be an actor.

When you said the curveball came in, I thought you meant like literally someone threw you a curveball one time. Is that what happened? And you couldn't hit it. I was like, what? I kept moving. Oh, I also didn't know if you meant that the curveball had just been invented or like the curveball in the story is I went a lot of times. No, literally a pitcher through a curveball. And I was like, whoa, like, and I just couldn't hit the curveball.

Oh, man. I'm sorry. Oh, it's OK. Been dealt a tough hand. No, not in that regard. Favorite ice cream flavor? Vanilla. First concert, best concert. First concert, boys to men. Stop. Pause. How old were you? Duffy in high school. Was this by choice? It was with my bill and two girls.

Oh, it was like a double date situation. You guys were like, yeah. It was at the Camden Art Center. And yeah, that was, that's, I just know, because it's a question we ask, right? Like what's your first concert? And best concert? Radiohead of Coachella. Oh, okay. Not policeman. When did you go to Coachella? A few years in LA. Oh, okay. So not recently. No. Okay.

We were like there when radio was there. We saw chili peppers there. We rented a house like we had like 20 months from LA. I went to Bonnaroo in 2004. Really? It was like the second year of Bonnaroo. Drove down in my boyfriend's yellow forward focus hatchback. Four of us crammed in there, camped.

Probably about as much as I can share. Yeah, I kind of had to stop myself too. But I, yeah, yeah, it was unbelievable. Oh, I had an awesome time. For what I remember. Awesome time. I had the best time ever. Yeah. Oh, okay. Biggest pet peeve. People are not saying thank you if you let them go when you're driving. It's the simplest thing. Just wave your hand. Just say, cool. Thanks. Yep. If you could take a class in anything, what would it be?

I wish I could take a class on how to be more handy around the house. I can't hang a picture. Like I'm like, am I gonna put a hole in the wall? Like is it gonna, I don't, I'm just comically unhandy. And it's tough. I agree. So if I can have a class for like two or three hours with someone who would not make me feel... Stupid. Yes. And just walk me through it. Dad.

My dad comes over to hang pictures for me, but it always comes with a lecture. See, I don't want the lecture. I don't either. I don't want the lecture. I let him know. One thing I've gotten better at, though, is when he's holding it and I'm holding the level, is I've gotten better at knowing which way to tilt the level to get that little bubble to move in the middle. That's fun. And he's always impressed by that. He's like, oh, you moved it the right way. I'm like, the bar is low. Thank you. Exactly.

I would also want to take that class, which I bet they do at like Home Depot. There's prop like this exists. I know it's intimidating. Like how do I raise my hand? Oh, because you're okay. I feel like it's different. Like if I'm just being very stereotypical now, because this is a safe space, it's literally my house. I feel like I could walk into that class at Home Depot and they're like, okay, yeah, this like this chick doesn't know what she's doing. We're going to help her. I feel like you walk in a very like you look like you should be handy.

Correct. I can play a handyman on TV. Yes. Yeah. I actually can't. Yes. You're like, look at me holding this. I got a little bit of a, you know, five o'clock shadow going on. Exactly. You're scruffy. Yeah. There might be a cut on my hand or like an Alice from Rowan using the row, but they think it's from like using a drill. It's like, no, no, no. I don't know what these aisles mean at Home Depot. Okay. Yeah. Let's start there. Yeah.

I don't know the difference between a nut and a bolt. I kind of do, but I don't like this one. I'm not as a screw and a bolt is the little outfit that goes around it. Yeah, I'm adding myself right now. And I just said outfit and describing tools. So we're out. We can take the class together. Also, I know that right before we started the sprint, Chris was like, you know, send me a message, reach out, not about this. Yeah, no. Don't correct us on nuts and bolts. Okay. We're not interested unless you're coming to our house to teach us.

if either one of us gets a link of like a YouTube like I won't watch it. That's the thing. I won't do it. I will not watch. I am a hands on learner. The only way I can learn how to do stuff is by actually doing it. Yeah. Like people say it all the time. They're like, you can learn anything on YouTube. I'm like, watch how quickly I can learn nothing on YouTube and how quickly I will turn that off and watch the surprise songs from the last Aristotle. It's just not happening. Dido except for the surprise, like the Aristotle. I wouldn't go there, but where would you go? What's your YouTube rabbit hole?

I'll probably go watch sport highlights. It's like from stuff you've already seen. Oh, yeah, like Eagles or Phillies. Yeah. Yeah. Or I actually don't mind. I actually would like to watch like funny content. Like, sorry, people falling. I don't know. I feel so bad when I laugh, but it's so funny. I have physical comedy is funny. It's the best. I have five of the best falls I've ever witnessed lodged in my brain and I could just pull them out.

was one of a me on Wednesday night at my house when my foot was asleep and I stood up and now I'm in a brace. If I saw that live, it would move up. I think I made a noise too. Oh yeah, forget about it. I had to walk out of the room before I can check on you.

Mine, which I would understand. I love the newscaster fails. Oh, absolutely. I've gotten rid of those. Those are hilarious. Yeah. Okay. Couple more of these. Man, this is becoming more of a slog jog as far as sprint. It's fine. Favorite candy? Swedish fish. Have it. If you could go for a run with anyone, who would it be? Eminem.

I am on an Eminem kick right now. I love him. I like this weekend was just like, wow, I still know all the words to without me. 10 years sober, respect his career. I think he's a what he's come from. Give me any miles I can get with that guy. What would your first question be? How you doing? Yeah.

Love it. I wouldn't say I'm a fan. You wouldn't say that you're. No, I wouldn't want to change the hierarchy. It's like, hey, man, thanks for doing this. Yeah, nice to meet you. I respect you. I respect you. Yeah, how you doing today? Yeah, you don't want to zautograph. You just want a conversation. I don't correct. What's your favorite pasta shape? Oh, the regga Tony have it.

I know. But I bought the market basket brand for like 89 cents and they don't call it rigatoni. They call it, um, what do they call it? Like pasta with lines or something. And I'm like, just as they named it in Italy, you know, what's like, what, what could I have said there that would make you go, wait, what? Like what type of pasta shapes would somebody say that makes you like turn your head like you're like spaghetti? Like what? Like,

I don't know. I'm not looking to be surprised with that answer. I think it's I don't even know. Like what am I doing? That's what I'm saying. I haven't thought about it specifically, but if I have to pick one past is probably the rigaton. So and that's what I like the best about that question is most people you're not like, you know, you think about what your favorite movie is or you think about like what you'd sing at karaoke. But everyone has a favorite pasta shape, whether you realize it or not. That's right. That's fair. I like elbows. Okay. Oh, nice. Yeah. In one word, how does running make you feel empowered?

Give everyone listening a reason to go for a run. You'll never regret it. Just get out the door. That's all I got. Me too. You sprinted. Yeah. Well, our sprint was 11 minutes and 43 seconds. So.

Yeah, it sounds like my Tulsa marathon right there. Yeah, that was the bathroom stop alone. Oh, God. Oh, I will tell you, I am a fan of yours. Oh, come on. I have no problem saying that. I've always been a fan of yours since you were run Westin and I was just like a little dance writer in my cubicle in New York City. You are someone who just has the best energy and you're the caring one.

You are. I didn't even do that on purpose. You care so much about people and you're so thoughtful and I would never in a million years rank the Heisler siblings. Don't do that. But if I were forced to, you would be in my top five. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Before you go, tell everyone when and where they can watch your episode of Family Feud. Tuesday, February 11th. Check your local listings. It's on cable. And typically, there's like two shows back to back. It's the first episode. Okay. Have fun. And February 11th, also the alley on the run shows birthday.

I know that, and it's also leading up to Ali's favorite holiday, which is Valentine's Day. So make sure that's a week of love. OK, that is the plan. Thank you so much for coming all the way to New Hampshire to hang out with me. You're the best right back at you.

Thank you so much for being here for this episode of The Alley on the Run Show with my guest, my friend, Chris Heisler. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did and make sure you tune in on February 11th to watch Chris and the Heisler siblings on Family Feud. I will absolutely be catching this live and I can't wait

It's also the alley on the run shows birthday that day, so I will be hopefully kicking back, relaxing, and watching with one or several of the Trader Joe's heart-shaped chocolate mousse cakes. What can I say? I love a tradition.

Thanks for being here. I appreciate you. Thank you to YouCan and thank you to Lagoon for continuing to support The Alley on the Run show in 2025 and beyond. As always, the discounts, offers, and links that I mention are always in the show notes for every episode. So check those out. My newsletter is alleyontherun.substack.com or you can support me on Patreon. That's patreon.com slash alley on the run. Chris.

You're the best. And of course, shout out to John, to Bill, to Katie, and to Tim. I love those Heisler kids. They're such a good time. All right. I think that's it. You got this. You're doing great. Thank you for joining me on The Run.