2020 has been rough, with everything that the world is currently facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic it’s important to focus on the things that make us happy. One of the silver linings of what the world is going through has been the ability to connect with our favourite celebrities in a way we haven’t before.
Instagram & Facebook LIVE has allowed us to watch and interact with stars, but some celebs have taken it to the next level offering opportunities to interact one on one with them. Through platforms like Cameo and Pickstar you can pay to get a personal shout out from a huge array of stars, but Cameo have now taken it to another level – ZOOM calls. There are a large array of celebs on Cameo that offer the chance to ZOOM with them, you can check them out here.
One of the stars offering their own private ZOOM experience is Boston Rob Mariano from Survivor. I have been a massive fan of the show and of Boston Rob since his first appearance on Survivor Marquesas in 2002. From those early days in Marquesas to All Stars in Panama and his EPIC win on Redemption Island in 2011, Rob returned to our Survivor screens almost a decade later by featuring on Season 39 “Islands of the Idols”. He teamed up with two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine to mentor and help the contestants through the season, this was followed up by returning for the ultimate Survivor competition “Winners at War” which brought together 20 former winners over the last 20 years.
When I saw the opportunity to ZOOM with Boston Rob was available, I jumped at it! How often do you get to have a one on one chat with one of your favourite celebs? Of course, there was a cost involved to participate, but I can tell you it was well worth it. When I weighed up the money, I usually spend on concerts including travel, accommodation and merch this was actually pretty reasonable. The whole process itself was easy, managed by Rob’s Seattle based agency “The Actors Group”, suddenly it was paid for, locked in and I had my ZOOM meeting login details – now it was a reality and honestly, I got nervous. I started racking my brain about what to ask him. I prepared a list of questions and re-read ‘The Rule Book’, started binging YouTube interviews and watched my favourite Boston Rob Survivor episodes.
Once we were connected and I saw Boston Rob’s iconic cheeky smile staring back at me, I immediately felt calm. The very first thing that struck me was how kind and comforting he was. We chatted about the weather in our respective locations and how COVID has affected our hometowns and our personal lives. We discussed our favourite wines and chatted about his time in both Australia and New Zealand. Then we got to Survivor, and almost instantly it was like a fire was lit inside of Rob – you could see the respect and the passion he has for this game in every expression on his face.
I asked my burning questions and he answered all of them with that trademark charisma, where you feel as though he’s holding back just enough to keep you curious. Checking the time, I had already gone five minutes over my ten minute allocation. The cherry on top was when his wife Amber appeared on the screen to say hello and express her love for Australia. A little starstruck all I could reply was “Australia loves you too!”. A few last words to wrap up our call and we said our goodbyes. Not a few seconds after the ZOOM ending, I was ready to do it again. It was a very special and unique experience, one that I haven’t stopped talking about since. I would highly recommend it, or another like it.
We are all trying to make sense of our current predicament due to the pandemic, as fans we will constantly be looking for opportunities to connect with our favourite stars, and in turn they will be looking at ways to continue to connect with us. With the uncertainty surrounding the near future, it is experiences like this that will keep the industry going until we can return to some normalcy. I for one am ready and willing to embrace these new chances to engage and support artists in this forum until we can get back to in person live events.
There are several platforms offering a whole bunch of ways for you to connect with your fav stars and you can check them out below:
Cameo: https://www.cameo.com/
Cameo Zoom: https://www.cameo.com/tags/zoom-calls
Pickstar.com.au Sports Personalities – Video Shout Outs https://pickstar.com.au/video-shoutouts/
Looped: https://loopedlive.com/about
VIP Game Nights https://vipgamenights.com/
Stage-It: https://www.stageit.com/site/landing
Be sure to be following your favourite stars on social media platforms as they will also advertise these kinds of one on one and special events there as well.