Piti's Joe Fejeran was on The Weakest Link
My friend John and I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Piti’s Joe Fejeran, a former Academic Challenge Bowl team member and current trivia icon, this week on our podcast.
Joe beat out thousands of people to appear on the revived The Weakest Link game show.1 Joe did extremely well. He definitely put on for his city/village. 2If you want to listen to the podcast, it’ll be at the end of this post.
We had such a fun time speaking with Joe—who also has a podcast with his friend Joshua called Fright School please subscribe—about Joe’s experience on the show. We also talk about so much more.
Joe’s episode aired on Feb. 1, 2021.
Here are parts of our conversation transcribed and edited lightly. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of jokes in this episode.
Don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Joe and Joshua’s podcast, Fright School! Actually, do that now before proceeding with reading this newsletter.
A Conversation with Joe Fejeran
From the
We Got Out of Bed Today
podcast
On his journey to The Weakest Link
Joe: (being on Jose Rios’ Academic Challenge Bowl team) We weren't the best but we did okay, we did well enough. We still did it. Then when I moved here (California) in high school I joined, and they were like, “Oh my god, you're the captain now.” And I was like, “Okay.…” I was like, “I just know things. I watch a lot of TV.”
I love game shows, I love trivia, I auditioned for Teen Jeopardy in high school and didn't make it because I was playing the Guam card but I didn't play it hard enough.
There was this one girl who was like, “My parents are unemployed horse trainers.”
I was like, “I'm from Guam!” Apparently, I wasn't interesting enough. So ever since then, like in college, I take the Jeopardy test every year just to see what happens. And this year I was like well, pandemic, I got nothing to do. I was actually temporarily laid off from my job at the time. And so I was like, I'm just gonna apply to a bunch of stuff.
I got three gameshow auditions that summer. I got Jeopardy, which didn't make it. I got one game show that was on the Game Show Network that I have no idea what the name of it was. The last one was, it was so interesting. They couldn't tell me the name of the game show yet. They were just like, "We can't tell you the name, it hasn't been formally announced but we just want you to know that it's really good.”
I'm like, “Okay, Hollywood people lie.”
I declined that (second) opportunity in order to see what the third one was. I didn't even know if I was going to be chosen to be on that one.
Then, come to find out, it is The Weakest Link with Jane Lynch.
This is literally a childhood dream come true. When the first Weakest Link happened it was Spring 2001. So April 2001, cut to me a little boy living on Guam. This angry British lady is making fun of people and me as a little secretly gay boy being like, “Yes girl, live, live, give it to them, drag them, drag them.”
I told them in my audition video (that) being on The Weakest Link would be like the fulfillment of a childhood wish. I thought then that I would eventually make it to the show and then when it got canceled I didn't think it would happen. So if you choose me, you're fulfilling a wish.
Advice to the aspiring trivia/game show contestants
John: What advice do you want to give to those who want to be as successful as you are?
Joe: If you're an aspiring Academic Challenge Bowl person or you’re thinking about going on a game show later, I think you just have to really be aware of what it is that you don't know. So for me, I am fully aware that I don't know about these things and these are not my topics. For example, sports.
Sports is not my category but I know…particular things and just hold on to that. I don't study for it but I'm aware.
And then, and just be humble. Allow yourself to be humbled by that.
As far as game shows go and like getting on, if you want to be on Jeopardy, The Weakest Link whatever, just don't put limits (on yourself).
Look at me. It took 20 years for me to realize this dream. So you never know what's going to happen, you can always put it out there.
Don't think that because 'I'm a little brown kid from an island, running around barefoot on the street, picking up the frogs in the village with a stick,’ don't think that just because that's where you come from doesn't mean that like you can't eventually get there.
It can happen. It does happen, Not to sound all like super inspirational or anything because I'm definitely not, but you don't want to put limits on yourself in that way. If you're able to get yourself in the rooms with those people, acknowledge what got you there.
Know that (and) represent us well. And always, always be available if anybody has questions moving forward. We lift as we climb. When one of us climbs we all do.
Being smart is not a bad thing
Joe: Also, this is probably the most basic thing, don’t let someone calling you smart or anything related to that, be taken in a negative way. I never understood that as a kid.
I was always told that being smart is not a bad thing.
Don't let anyone ever tell you that being smart, knowing too much is a bad thing. There are definitely things that you know that they don't know and they're just afraid of that.
It's like, I’d rather be a smartass than a dumb one.
On his rapport with host Jane Lynch
Jasmine: I felt like she wanted you to win. Did you get that feeling?
Joe: I did and I don't know if Jane Lynch knew right away that I too am a member of the LGBT community. We just looked at each other and we were just like, sis.
I'm a huge fan of Jane Lynch. I watched Glee when it was on and I watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. When she walked out, I was starstruck for like five minutes. I was like, “Oh my gosh, it's Jane Lynch.”
She would do things in between takes, she would just like be singing, she starts singing to herself. There was one question where the answer was a Queen song and she started singing the Queen song after.
I had to remind myself to be present and be in the moment. I wanted to enjoy it while it was happening.
I wanted to show a little bit of my rainbow flag. They cut this out, this is insider knowledge. But when she first says my name in the show, I just said the first thing that came to my mouth which was like, “Hey girl!” and they cut that out but, like, she died. She was like, “Oh, hey girl!”
I want to thank Joe for his time and we hope to talk to him again! Listen to the whole episode here:
And SUBSCRIBE to Joshua and Joe’s podcast Fright School!
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Thank you for reading. Write to you again soon.
Cheers,
Jasmine
Jane Lynch hosts this time around.
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