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I'm Lori Siegel, and on my new podcast, Mostly Human, I'll take you to some wild corners of the tech world. I'm about to go on a date with an AI companion at a real world cafe right here in New York City. There's no playbook for what to do when an AI model hallucinates a story about you. Mostly Human is your playbook for how tech can work for you.
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Anyone can now be an entrepreneur, anyone
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Give me money for cigarettes I'll never
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leave your filthy bed
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I stay the night and one night be came two
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or three years the kids are not alright but that's okay cause no one
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A
here is take me it's once again time for Teen Beat, the podcast where I, Danielle Fishel, sit down with interesting people in an attempt to pry into their awkward teenage years and figure out how they turned into fully functioning adults. It's a bit of a quid pro quo, you see, since my own journey through puberty in the 90s was televised to millions and layered with an oversized leather Planet Hollywood jacket. In a nutshell, I gave you my childhood. It's time we hear yours. And this week, I get to do a little time traveling myself because the guest and I have roots in the glorious frosted tip chaos of the Y2K boy band invasion. And we shared a few days of MTV spring break glory in Cancun together. But more on that later. First, he somehow went from US army combat medic to performing in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans in the band 98 Degrees, alongside his brother Nick and his high school sweetheart, now wife of 25 years, Leah, who doubled as a dancer and choreographer for the group during 98 Degrees run. They sold over 15 million records, notched eight top 40 hits, including a number one that earned a Grammy nomination with Mariah Carey. Recorded with Stevie Wonder, toured with Janet Jackson, and carried on a Motown boy band tradition, following in the footsteps of groups like the Jackson 5, the Four Tops and the Temptations. And 10 years later, in just the second season of Dancing with the Stars ever, he took home the coveted Mirrorball trophy with partner Cheryl Burke, becoming one of the show's most beloved contestants of all time. Throw in stops on Broadway, hosting gigs, comeback tours, a new HGTV competition show, and even a shot on the American Ninja Warrior obstacle course. Almost 30 years after 98 Degrees debut album, he's proof that some 90s heartthrobs never really clock out. But somewhere underneath the white tank top and hair gel, maybe even right next to that tribal armband tattoo, is just a boy in Ohio going through all the same weird teenage milestones you did. And today, we're gonna find that kid. Welcome to Teen Beat. My guest this week, pop star champion, ballroom dancer, host and home renovation goo guru, Drew Lachey.
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B
Hello.
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A
Hello.
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B
That was. I'm like, I'm over here laughing. You know, there's bringing myself to tears. That was, that was quite the introduction. I forgot I did some of that stuff.
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A
Right. Isn't it so nice to get to hear all the accomplishments you've had, or at least some of them read back to you?
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B
Yeah. It makes it sound like my life's been somewhat successful.
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A
It really has. You've lived a very successful life, both professionally and personally. But I want to know about maybe the less stellar stuff, some of the awkward, embarrassing, worst moments of teenagehood. Thank you for doing the show. I think this is now, at least the second time you've been forced to hang out with me. The first time being in Cancun when I went to visit Lance. And then the minute I got there, Lance and the rest of the NSync boys left to do a random new opportunity to perform a show somewhere. And I was basically solo in Cancun, and Lance said, here, it's. No, I'll just set you up with the 98 Degrees guys. They're the greatest, and you'll just hang out with them. And I literally just followed you guys around for, like, at least 48 hours.
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B
Yeah, there was some random booze cruise in there somewhere. And so there was. I don't. I don't even remember what we were down there for, but, yeah, those were.
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A
It was spring break.
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B
Well, yes. We weren't supposed to remember it. Yeah, no, it was a. It was a blast. You know, those. Those opportunities, so many of them came along, and it's. When you look back on it, like, there are. So. There was so much that was just condensed into those, you know, couple years. It's. It's really kind of this crazy whirlwind of a ride.
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A
It really is. Every time I think back to it, I'm like, man, even when I would just pop in, because I would, you know, go on tour for a couple of days here and there with Lance, and I would pop in for a few days, and when I think about the things we did on those few days, I'm like. And that's kind of the stuff they were doing for the entire length of the tour. Like every new city, there's a new adventure people want you to go on. And when you're young, you say yes to everything because you're like, you've got the energy. You're not exhausted. Touring doesn't weigh on your body the same way as it does when you're a little older.
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B
And also, you're just. You're scared that if you say no, that's going to be the. The one opportunity that you should have done or, you know, it's there's almost like a FOMO of. Of, you know, you were always taught, like, oh, you got to keep doing this. You got to say yes. You got to. You got to be out there. You got to pound the pavement. So if you said no to something, it was like, oh, the world is going to end.
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A
That's right. That's right. Yeah. That feeling of like, oh, no, this is all going to collapse if I say no to this. Do you remember that week we were talking about the spring break week? Do you remember then ever feeling like, why did Lance just pawn this girl off on us?
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B
Did you.
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A
Did you ever. Did you ever wonder that, you guys. If so, you never let on. I have told everyone I've ever spoken to about you guys, about how incredibly kind and nice you were because you just took me in like I was one of your family members. And you made sure I never walked back to my hotel alone. You made sure I always had plans for dinner. Like, anything you guys were doing, you guys just made sure I knew I was invited.
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B
Well, it was either stare at the other three schmucks that are in the group or look at you. So it was like, what was. I mean, you. You were an upgrade to the other three guys. And I'm sure me, me as well, you know. No, I think we just, you know, we're. We're guys from Ohio. So.
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A
Yeah, you're. You're gentlemen.
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B
Yeah. You want to take. Make sure everybody's taken care of. Especially if a friend says, hey, you know, yeah, this is somebody that's important to me. Look, look out for. Then you're going to look out for, you know?
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A
Yeah. When I tell people that those 90s boy bands like NSync, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, that they were all friends and that they're still all friends, people just don't believe me. They assume it really had to be, you know, like, gang wars and that you guys all had to hate each other. It just wasn't the case. Did you guys experience that as well?
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B
Yeah, I mean, everybody thinks it was like this really bad version of, like, west side Story, like, doing, like, boy band dances, battles in the streets. No, I mean, we, you know, I think it was 97. We went over to the UK and did a smash hits tour, and NSync was over there. They hadn't come to the States yet. They had done Germany, and then they were kind of making their way from Europe to the States, and we were in the States making our way to Europe, and we kind of met in the middle. And we were the only two American groups on the tour. And you, you know, all the same age, all kind of at the same, you know, level of coming up in the business. And we just hung out, we became friends then, you know, Backstreet. We never had that same kind of experience together. We never were on the road together, but we all. We all walked a similar path, you know, so there is a level of respect and appreciation and for. For whatever way went through the grind, the success. I mean, you look at those two groups and you're like, all right, it's. It's. We're in some good company there.
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A
Yes.
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B
You know, but, yeah, we all. We've all. Especially as time has gone by, like, I'll text Chris and Joey and, you know, it's usually something wildly inappropriate and just, of course, because that's. That's the relate. That's the relationship.
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A
Yep. You're still teenage boys at heart.
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B
We are, we are. We are. Gray hair. But, you know, we still have the same mental capacity that we had as teenagers. Yeah.
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A
Were you guys all being shopped the same songs? Like, were people? Did. Did everyone make the rounds to see who, you know, who was going to get which song?
- [11:06]
B
I'm sure there was an element of it. I think once Insane Backstory kind of got into the Max Martin camp, that was kind of their world. And no songs left that world. We had our own Swedish mastermind, Anders Baggage, you know, who did, like, because of you and no Shame, those songs for us. But I know our first single, Invisible man, that was originally written for Boys to Men, and we stole it before it ever made it to them. So I'm sure there was some sort of like, hey, I'm just gonna send this to all the labels and see which one bites first.
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A
Right.
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B
But once you kind of got your. Your people in. In your pocket and you had this, you know, good working relationship, you didn't. You didn't stray too far from that.
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A
Yeah, that makes sense. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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B
Yeah, I mean, I can tell you for a fact, Bye Bye Bye never came across our CD players, you know, but, you know, I think even if it had, that's not a song that we could have pulled off the same way. I mean, we weren't. Our style was very different from theirs, you know, and, you know, so we just kind of tried to stay in our lane, you know, the harmonies and, you know, things like that, and leave the ones that required dancing to the people that might be a little bit More proficient at the dancing.
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A
Let's talk a little bit about growing up in Ohio. Were you guys raised with music playing in the house? How did you and Nick catch this performing bug?
- [12:35]
B
Yeah, I think, like, a lot of people, you know, you grow up, you know, singing in the church choirs and all that kind of fun stuff. What was different from us is that we went to a performing arts school here in Cincinnati, and it was a public school, you know, just kind of like you had to audition, but if you got in, didn't matter what part of the city since now you lived in, you could go there for free and train and have all these great opportunities. So we shifted to that. Me in the fifth grade, him in the seventh grade. And we just started growing up doing shows and, you know, singing, everything from opera to jazz to R B and, you know, taking acting and all these different classes. So for us, you know, our exposure was young and from our family. But then once we started at that school, it kind of just exploded.
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A
I want to know more about this performing arts school. Was it like fame? Were kids just dancing and singing in the halls?
- [13:27]
B
Yes.
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A
You just.
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B
You see a table, you just get on it and dance. No, I mean, to a certain degree, there. There was an element of that. You walk down the hallway and there would be somebody practicing cello in the stairwell.
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A
Right.
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B
You know, or you be walking, you know, you get the hall pass and be going to the bathroom, and then the dance classes will be open, and you'd see the ballet classes going on or the modern or whatever. So, yeah, there was a definite fame element to it. But, you know, it was. It was this great exposure for me. I mean, I can honestly say that if I hadn't gone there, I never would have probably pursued a career in the arts, you know, so it definitely changed the trajectory of my life.
- [14:08]
A
I feel like I may have wrongly assumed that you and Nick were also jocks. Did your school have sports teams? Because you guys are very athletic.
- [14:19]
B
Well, thank you. We had a soccer team that was miserable, but I did play on the soccer team. I think for us, I think most teenage guys, they try and balance that. That jock hood with who they actually truly are, you know, because there is a. A path to manhood that goes through some sort of athletics. You know, I think we kind of all wrongfully assume that, but, you know, I think we grew up playing soccer and baseball and all those things as little kids. And, you know, I think if you're somewhat coordinated and athletic, you can kind of. Can kind of make. Make your way through it, fake your way through sports. But yeah, I mean, we try and I think, you know, having, you know, a bunch of shirtless photos of you bouncing around out there in all the teen magazines make people think that you're maybe a little bit more fit and athletic than you might actually be.
- [15:19]
A
Oh, man. We just had Brian Austin Green on Pod Meets World and we were talking about Joey Lawrence, his music video where he, I think, throws a football to himself in one of his music videos. Which is, which is pretty great. So did you guys ever contemplate doing that? Did anybody ever talk about just throwing a football to yourself?
- [15:40]
B
No, there were four of us, so there was always somebody to throw it to.
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A
That's one of the greatest thing about having friends. Yeah.
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B
Yeah. You know, you don't have to do interviews by yourself. You know, you're, you're every. There's always strength in numbers.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But they did always in these photo shoots, like, oh, here's a football, you know, throw it around. And Jeff in the group, he actually did play football in college a little bit. And so, you know, we come by it somewhat naturally.
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A
Yeah.
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B
It's not like, oh, we've never, you know, throw the football in our lives. Here you go.
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A
Right.
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B
But yeah, we weren't going to the NFL.
- [16:13]
A
Okay. Your wife Leah, you two are high school sweethearts. Do you remember meeting her?
- [16:21]
B
So I remember the time period because it was the fifth grade when we actually met.
- [16:27]
A
Oh, my gosh. Elementary school.
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B
Yeah. So she went to the performing arts school as well. Okay. So she started in the fourth grade, which is when the school started. I started there in the fifth grade. So there was already like this circle of people, this circle of friends that had already had a year under their belt together.
- [16:44]
A
Yeah.
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B
And me, I roll in, in the fifth grade and, you know, have to, you know, kind of find my way. But I remember, I mean, we grew up classes together. We went out in the sixth grade, we went out in the seventh grade. And then junior year, we, we got together. Got together so that.
- [17:04]
A
It's so funny because my 7 year old or my almost 7 year old, anytime he has little crushes, I always think, what if, what if this is the girl that now if we just stay in the same area, if they, if they keep going to the same schools, what if they Drew and Leah,
- [17:22]
B
it, they could, they could, they could definitely Drew and Liet. Yeah, we always kind of said that to our kids. It was like, hey, you know, it kind of works both ways because you'd be like, oh, don't worry about that kid that's, you know, especially my daughter. That boy that's teasing you or, like, pulling your hair, doing whatever in class. He's. He just likes you, you know. Oh, don't worry. You won't. He won't be around, you know, past this year. What if it's like, you guys that were together forever or, you know, be nice to that person because you never know, you might marry them.
- [17:52]
A
Yeah, exactly.
- [17:54]
B
It's kind of works both ways.
- [17:57]
A
I feel like you must have avoided so much embarrassment by not having to play the field too much as a teenager and young man in your early 20s. Right?
- [18:08]
B
Yeah. Embarrassment, yes. I. I kind of always say that I'm. I'd never dated.
- [18:14]
A
Yeah.
- [18:15]
B
You know, so I can't really give dating advice. I just found somebody that I. That I enjoy being around and loved, and it's just been that way, you know, so I can't really give advice on dating. I can't really, you know, be like, oh, well, you should do this. I don't know, what should you do? You know, just don't make a fool out of yourself and don't screw it up, you know, So I think for me, yeah, there definitely was an element of, you know, I don't have to have who I'm dating in magazines or deal with all that stuff. And it was definitely a weight off my shoulders because I'm not. I'm not that kind of. That's not how I'm wired, you know?
- [18:55]
A
Yeah, no. For as long as you've been in the industry, you've never not been the guy from Ohio. You've never been. You've never been the Hollywood type. So you've really. I say this about Ryder too. You've really managed to create a life for yourself that is as authentic as humanly possible, considering we work in an. In an industry that's not known for its authenticity.
- [19:22]
B
Yeah, well, I live in Ohio again, so, you know, I know it makes it a lot easier when, you know, I don't have to, you know, drive over the hill to go to my general meetings or this, or have the polo lounge club lunch or whatever, you know, all that stuff, you know. You know, when you're just going to the same places you went to as a high schooler and you're still seeing some of the same people that you grew up with, it. It makes it a lot easier to stay grounded in who you want to be versus who people think you should be.
- [19:52]
A
I'd take a meeting at Skyline over the Polar Lounge. Any day.
- [19:57]
B
Yes.
- [19:58]
A
Just any day. For sure.
- [19:59]
B
Skyline is, like, my go to. Like, I had it, like, two days ago.
- [20:03]
A
Oh, it's so good. I feel like when I explained it to people, they're always like, ew. That's. I'm like, no, no, just stop. I'm not gonna explain. You just. You have to try it. Once you try it. That finely shredded cheese is so special. Like, I used to have it shipped to me, the Skyline chili cans, but it's not the same because the. You get, first of all, like, a little baggie of cheese, and I need, you know, a pound of it.
- [20:27]
B
Yes.
- [20:28]
A
And you can't. You can't shred it as finely as they do it. I don't know. I don't know how they do it.
- [20:32]
B
Oh, they do it in bulk. You know, that's how they do it. Because each. Each entree has, like, literally, like, three pounds of cheese on it.
- [20:39]
A
It's so good. I know. I feel like they have to have a special machine that's making it that fine.
- [20:43]
B
And it's great for. It's great for your digestive tract, too, and your. Absolutely. Cholesterol.
- [20:47]
A
Correct. It's very healthy. When I. When I tell you that it's chili on top of pasta with onions and. And truly. Well, you don't need the onions. That's if you want them. I like them, but. And then, like Drew said, somewhere between 1 to 3 pounds of cheese sitting on top, and, boy, is it ever good. But it's not, like, thick chili. It's thin. And I know one of the secret ingredients is, like, dark chocolate, Right.
- [21:11]
B
I don't know. I've never seen the secret recipe, but there is that rumor.
- [21:14]
A
Yeah, I think that's the rumor. They say it's kind of like a mole almost.
- [21:18]
B
Yeah. But it's, like, when you grow up with it, it is, like. Like, it's, like, ingrained into your DNA. It's part of who you are.
- [21:24]
A
Yeah. I. No one ever mentions Ohio to me without me talking about Skyline.
- [21:28]
B
It's.
- [21:29]
A
It's easily in my top three favorite foods of all time.
- [21:31]
B
Nice.
- [21:32]
A
Okay, back to Leah. So she would help choreograph the group's dances, right?
- [21:37]
B
Yeah.
- [21:37]
A
Although I'm not sure any of the four of you really did too much heavy lifting dancing.
- [21:42]
B
Yeah. So we. We started off when we got signed to Motown. Lorianne Gibson, you know, who choreographed for everybody. She was our choreographer, and it was like, all right, this is. She was, like, being pulled in 100 different directions. She did our first set of shows and our first album. And then Leah, who was dancing for Radio City Music hall at the time, you know, went to our manager kind of behind my back and said, look, I know these guys. I want them to succeed. You know, I know what they're capable of. Let me. Let me get like, let me try and figure this out. And he gave. He said he gave her three songs. He was like, all right, you do these three songs, and then we'll go from there. And then she did those three songs. The label loved them. It made us look like we actually know what we were doing, you know, and she's been our choreographer ever since, you know, much to her, you know, frustration, you know, she has to figure out how to. How to polish our dance moves, you know, as much as possible. But, yeah, she's a saint.
- [22:46]
A
Wow. So, okay, do you remember then, the moment when she came to you because you said she went behind your back to try and help you guys out? Do you remember then the moment when she came to you and was like, okay, hi, I'm the new choreographer. I've got these three songs. Do you remember what that moment was like?
- [23:01]
B
Yeah. I mean, so she didn't want to get the job because she was with me. She wanted to get the job on her own merits, which is very respectable, and I appreciate it because it didn't put me in the middle had it not worked out. So I. I do remember her saying, so I called your manager, I talked to him about this, and this is what happened, and I was like, great. Oh, let's. Let's. Let's go for it. All right, let's try it out. And. And she hasn't let us down yet, so, I mean, we constantly let her down, but, you know, she. She definitely carries her. Her side of the bargain.
- [23:38]
A
Well. And I'm sure having known you all for as long as she has, she knows your strengths, she knows your weaknesses. So there's probably quite a shortcut that she takes where she goes. Guess what? Not even going to try this move, because I already know can't do it.
- [23:50]
B
Yeah, very true. And we. We're discovering new weaknesses every time we go into rehearsal. So it's.
- [23:55]
A
You were going to say new strengths.
- [23:56]
B
No, no, we know what those are. And they're diminishing day by day.
- [24:01]
A
Oh, age, Isn't it lovely with city after city, country after country filled with girls in the audience screaming your name. Did she ever deal with any jealousy?
- [24:14]
B
I don't think so. I mean, I think she. I mean, she's grown up in the art. She's been around it the whole time. She's a performer herself, so she understands kind of what it is. So I don't. I don't think there was ever. I mean, there might have been some, like, why can't you say have a girlfriend? Kind of thing.
- [24:35]
A
Right.
- [24:36]
B
You know, like when we first started out, because you couldn't have a girlfriend to be an avoidant. But, you know, once. Once we started being like, look, I have a girlfriend, then it was just like, okay, cool. But she. No, she never. There was never a moment where it was like, why are those girls screaming for you?
- [24:54]
A
Yeah.
- [24:55]
B
You know, I think she was just like, that's great. They're screaming for you. You know, which is a great, you know, situation to be in as opposed to having to try and convince somebody.
- [25:03]
A
Yeah.
- [25:04]
B
That something's okay. They know they're there, you know, proud of your success and happy for your success, not trying to, you know, cater your success to fit around with their, you know, their ego needs.
- [25:15]
A
Yeah, well, it's good on. It kind of goes both ways because she's obviously a confident woman who understood the industry and was proud of your successes. And on the other hand, it doesn't seem like you ever gave her any reasons to feel jealous, so, you know, I tried. Yeah. Those. It goes both ways. It speaks a lot about you two. You guys have been together through so much over the. What is it, 25 years now you've been together?
- [25:41]
B
We've been married for 25. Yeah. We've been together for another eight on top of that. So whatever. Quick math. 30.
- [25:46]
A
33.
- [25:47]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [25:48]
A
What do you think the secret is to having made it 33 years together so far?
- [25:54]
B
Just try not to screw it up. That's the. That's the secret. No, I think the. The biggest thing is just having. Having a level of mutual respect for each other. You know, I think regardless of, you know, who's doing what, working, we're, you know, we're each other's biggest supporters and cheerleaders and, you know, I think that's the biggest thing, you know, remember why you got together.
- [26:18]
A
Yeah.
- [26:19]
B
And stop trying to find reasons why you aren't happy, but remember, like, all the reasons why you are. And, you know. Okay, so I don't always necessarily get my socks in the hamper.
- [26:29]
A
Right.
- [26:30]
B
It might be frustrating, but is it that big of a deal? Apparently it is, but.
- [26:35]
A
Apparently it is. It really is. Socks in the hamper.
- [26:38]
B
They're close. They. They make it close by. But, no, I think it's like, you know, just not sweating the little stuff. Just.
- [26:47]
A
Yeah.
- [26:48]
B
Keep an eye on the prize.
- [26:55]
A
I'm Lori Siegel, a longtime tech journalist, and consider my new podcast, Mostly Human, your bridge to the future. Anyone can now be an entrepreneur.
- [27:04]
B
Anyone can build an app, and it's very empowering.
- [27:06]
A
Each week I'll speak to the people building that future, and we're going to break down what all of this innovation actually means for you.
- [27:14]
B
What I come to realize is that when people think that they're dating this AI companion, they're actually dating the companies that create this.
- [27:22]
A
We're experiencing one of the greatest tech accelerations in human history. And let's be honest, that can be messy. There's no playbook for what to do when an AI model hallucinates a story about you. But it's my belief that we should all benefit from this moment. Mostly Human will show you how. My goal is to give you the playbook so you can benefit.
- [27:45]
B
The reason I say agency is because if we can give power back to people, then I think that's probably the best thing we can do for your mental health.
- [27:53]
A
Listen to Mostly human on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. In 2023, former Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens? Correct. I doctored the test once. It took an army of Internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for.
- [28:30]
B
Sunlight's the greatest disinfectant.
- [28:32]
A
They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing.
- [28:37]
B
Greg Gillespie and Michael Maranchini.
- [28:39]
A
My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.
- [28:51]
B
Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Maricopa county as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges.
- [28:57]
A
This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why hasn't a woman formally participated in a Formula One race weekend in over a decade? Think how many skills they have to develop at such a young age. What can we learn from all of the new F1 romance novels suddenly popping up every year?
- [29:24]
B
He still smelled of podium champagne and expensive friction.
- [29:29]
A
And how did a 2023 event called Wagageddon change the paddock forever. That day is just seared into my memory. I'm culture writer and F1 expert Lily Herman and and these are just a few of the questions I'm tackling on no Grip, a Formula One culture podcast that dives into the underexplored pockets of the sport. In each episode, a different guest and I will go deeper into the wacky mishaps, scandals and sagas, both on the track and far away from it, that have made F1 a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [30:12]
B
1010 shots fired city hall building. A silver.40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From iheart podcasts and best Case Studios, this is Rorschach Murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that, Jeffrey.
- [30:28]
A
Who did it?
- [30:30]
B
July 2003. Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City hall with a guest. Both men are carrying concealed weapons and in less than 30 minutes, both of
- [30:42]
A
them will be dead. Everybody in the chambers docked.
- [30:50]
B
A shocking public murder. I scream. Get down. Get down. Those are shots.
- [30:54]
A
Those are shots.
- [30:55]
B
Get down. A charismatic politician.
- [30:57]
A
You know, he just bent a rules
- [30:59]
B
all the time, man. I still have a weapon and I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret he alleged he was a victim of lockdown that may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Rorschach Murder at City hall on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [31:24]
A
If you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, we've got you covered on the podcast. Flagrant and funny. You look at the top four number one seeds, what do you think UCLA is gonna do? Break down that for me, my friend. Obviously, UConn is the overwhelming favorite in this tournament, but I'll be honest, I think people are kind of sleeping on Texas. Experts are suggesting that UCLA is the number one challenger to UConn, and that right after that would be Texas. SEC is so, so deep and so thick in just about everything.
- [31:55]
B
It really is annoying.
- [31:57]
A
So it's UCLA, Texas, South Carolina, LSU,
- [32:00]
B
only ones that could possibly upset UConn
- [32:03]
A
on flagrant and funny. We're giving our unfiltered takes on the biggest moments, the conversations everyone's having. So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the latest on the tournament, we got you listen to Flagrant and Funny with Carrie Champion and Jemele Hill on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
- [32:17]
B
or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [32:19]
A
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Foreign. A lot of the other boy band groups, you who, you know, they were put together in casting calls and auditions by usually some old creepy dude. The four of you were friends from childhood, right? So you guys put yourselves together, three of you. Okay.
- [32:47]
B
Yeah, yeah. So me, me, clearly, I've known Nick my entire life.
- [32:51]
A
Yes.
- [32:52]
B
We went to school with Justin at the performing arts school as well. So me, Nick, Justin and Leo all went to the same school together. And then a guy that we went to school with met Jeff in LA and then introduced Nick to Jeff. Nick brought Justin in. The other guy didn't stick around, and then I came in. So then that's kind of how the four of us got together. But the three of us knew each other. And since, you know, before, you know, before puberty.
- [33:22]
A
Yeah, since elementary school, yeah, you guys actually took a little bit more of a practical route to achieving your musical dreams. You were in the army and then moved to New York and became an emt. Tell me about that decision.
- [33:38]
B
Yeah, well, going to. Going to the performing arts school, you know, it's kind of like, all right, which. Which theater program are you going to go into? What arts are you going to? I was like, I don't want to be a starving artist. I don't want to do that. I want to, like, have a normal life. I want to, like, do these things. I want to have some continuity. And then I. So I joined the army because I saw the movie Cliffhanger. You know, Sylvester Stallone is hanging off the side of a mountain, you know, not dropping her. I was like, I'm going to do that. I'm going to do search and rescue. So I'm going to become an emt. I'm going to go to the army for it. I'm going to get trained, I'm going to do all this stuff, and then I'm going to live on the side of a mountain somewhere and save people that can't read a map or a compass.
- [34:18]
A
Yeah.
- [34:19]
B
And then it's. It's that path started. You know, I went to the army, I became a medic out of. Out of, you know, basic training, medic school. I moved to New York because that's where Leo was. And I started driving ambulance in New York for a private company. So I didn't get the 911 calls. I didn't get those calls. I had, like, strokes and heart attacks, broken hips. You know, a lot of the, A lot of the private nursing home kind of calls. And then, you know, I got a beep on my beeper.
- [34:50]
A
I love a beeper. Oh, yeah, love a beeper story.
- [34:53]
B
It was great right up until I saw that it was an LA number and I had to use a bunch of quarters at the pay phone to call it back, as opposed to just one. But it was Nick, and he beat me to see if I'd be interested in joining the group. So it was. My path was a little bit. Yeah, a little bit different than most people's, but, you know, got to the same destination.
- [35:16]
A
And so what did you say? You get that, you get that page, that beep from Nick, you call him on the pay phone, he asks if you want to join the group. Are you like, well, let me think about it. I gotta talk to Leah. What's, what's the, what's the thought process that runs through your mind?
- [35:31]
B
Yeah, I, I was, I mean, Leo, Leah was actually, she was on tour working for Radio City at the time, so we weren't together. Wasn't like, oh, let me. It was more like, all right, she's off doing her thing. I'm here in New York doing my thing. Let me call my dad. He's the most practical person I know. So I called my dad and he's like, oh, well, it sounds like a kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. I said, yeah, it probably is. He was like, could you go back to driving an ambulance if it doesn't work out? I was like, yeah. He was like, so once in a lifetime opportunity. Opportunity that'll still be there.
- [36:06]
A
Yeah.
- [36:06]
B
Which one you gonna do? And then two weeks later, I packed up my 1988 Plymouth Sundance and drove from New York to LA, learning my parts along the way. And then two days later, we were opening up for James Brown at the House of Blues. So kind of a. Kind of a crazy little whirlwind of time.
- [36:25]
A
That is so cool. I love that. And, you know, that is something that, that thought process was exactly the thought process I had when I had applied to get my master's degree from Chapman University. I had just been accepted. The same week I was accepted to Chapman for my Masters, I got the call about doing Girl Meets World, and I was like, but I, I, my, I thought I was for sure gonna go forward and get my master's. And now this came up. What should I do? And it was like, like Doing Girl Meets World is never going to come around again. Getting to play Topanga 20 years after the show ended is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can always go back and get my masters at any time. And you. You do you always go for the, The. The once in a lifetime? Not so safe, necessarily, but always take that risk, in my opinion.
- [37:14]
B
Yeah. And for me, I was like, all right. I was kind of laying out this plan, like, all right, I'm gonna either, you know, join like, like, ems, New York City ems, or in the fire department, or maybe even go to, you know, nursing school because I was still, like, doing like, reserve training, so I was like, oh, I can get the army to maybe do my nursing school. And then like, my, My whole head, my whole plan was around, like, first responder, ems, emergency medicine. And then this happened, and then I was just kind of like, what? Wait a second.
- [37:42]
A
Yeah.
- [37:44]
B
But, you know, growing up performing and doing all that stuff, you know, that, that, that itch doesn't really go away. It's kind of like part of. Part of who you are.
- [37:52]
A
Yeah.
- [37:52]
B
So given the opportunity to, you know, scratch that itch a little bit, you know, just kind of had to see what it was about.
- [37:59]
A
Did you ever save any lives?
- [38:04]
B
I. I hope so.
- [38:05]
A
Yeah. Look at you.
- [38:07]
B
My first call on my first day, I lost one, which was a really, really tough way to start my, My, My career as an EMT. Yeah. So 19 years old, you know, first call, still a trainee. Yeah. Lady. Lady coded on my stretcher.
- [38:27]
A
Oh, man. Had. She had a heart attack or a stroke.
- [38:31]
B
She had a long list of, of, you know, medical ailments in history and, and, you know, renal failure and a whole bunch of stuff, but it still doesn't make it. It a whole lot, a whole lot easier. But, you know, you try and, you know, learn from it and, yeah. Move forward, but. Yeah.
- [38:49]
A
Day one.
- [38:50]
B
Well, welcome to adulting.
- [38:51]
A
Welcome. Exactly. Do you remember your first real pinch me moment in la?
- [39:01]
B
Yeah. I mean, there were a couple. A couple big moments. I mean, the first time you hear your. Your song on the radio, that's. That's a monumental one, you know, But I think for me, there were ones that were, you know, leading up to it. You know, you get to get to meet certain people. You don't have to wait in line at a club.
- [39:18]
A
Yeah.
- [39:19]
B
You know, those, those, those little things that you're like, oh, I'm gonna be standing outside like everybody else. And then you walk up and then it's like, hey, come on in.
- [39:27]
A
Yeah. You walk up Pantera. Sarah is there. You're like, whoa, Sarah.
- [39:33]
B
Yeah. And then you become friends with the people, and then, you know, it's, you know, just kind of goes from there. But, yeah, I mean, I think, you know, clearly getting to do a duet with Stevie Wonder.
- [39:42]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [39:43]
B
That's a moment. Meeting boys to men for the first time, you know, another one of those moments, and then you become friends and you tour together, and, you know, those. Those kind of things that you never could have dreamed of when you were listening to, you know, Cooley High Harmony and learning all the words to Motown, Philly. And next thing you know, you know, Sean's on one side of you is on the other, and you're just like, like, oh, man, this is my life.
- [40:07]
A
How did this happen?
- [40:08]
B
Yeah, I mean, so it doesn't. To me, it was always kind of, like, I was always the guy that never wanted to introduce myself to anybody. I never wanted to be, like, hey, I'm drew from 98 degrees. Or, like, doing, like, because I didn't want to deal with. I'm sorry, who.
- [40:25]
A
Right?
- [40:26]
B
Like, oh, we're. We're. We're signed to Motown. And then, you know, my. My frail little ego couldn't have handled that, you know, So I just kind of, like, sat back and watched a little bit more. But luckily, we had some. Some people around us that they didn't subscribe to that same thing, and they would just be like, hey, this is 98 degrees. And then. Yeah, so I got. I got the benefit of their. Their balls.
- [40:48]
A
I love that. That's, like, one of the best parts about having people on your team is that they can do the awkward, uncomfortable stuff so that you don't have to do it.
- [40:57]
B
Exactly, exactly. Everybody needs one of those people. People in their lives, for sure.
- [41:12]
A
I'd like to talk for a second about tribal arm tattoos. You and Nick have absolutely legendary ones, arguably the best of the decade, if you don't count Pamela Anderson's Barbed Wire. Where did you get them? And were your parents ever against tattoos?
- [41:31]
B
Oh, yeah, I think my parents are still against tattoos.
- [41:33]
A
So are mine.
- [41:34]
B
No, I. We got them in Atlanta.
- [41:36]
A
Okay.
- [41:37]
B
Yeah, I actually. In a box somewhere. I still have, like, the business card of the tattoo parlor we went to. Yeah, we were recording in Atlanta for our first record, and, you know, I don't. It was kind of like this thing. Like, it wasn't, like. It wasn't, like, cliche at the time.
- [41:54]
A
No, of course not.
- [41:56]
B
It was, like, cutting edge at the time. Like, people weren't getting tattoos so we were badasses for getting tattoos.
- [42:01]
A
Totally.
- [42:02]
B
You know, and then, you know, you're like, we don't want to, like, get, like, matching. So we got similar. But then the L for our last name, the brothers is the same, you know, because just kind of us together.
- [42:15]
A
Yes.
- [42:16]
B
Yeah. So, yeah, it was. It was a place in Atlanta and Jeff got. Jeff got some sort of writing on. In. On his. On his chest, and he thought it meant one thing, and then he's not sure it means. That depends on where you are in the world. It could be something else. Yeah, it's, you know, it's all just stories, life.
- [42:40]
A
Will, my pod meets World co host and boy meets World co star, had. But I think Japanese. I think Japanese symbols. But one of them is he had war on one ankle and peace on the other ankle. And he was walking on a beach somewhere and someone stopped him and said, huh, your tattoos war? And why this one? And Will said, well, it's war and Peace. And he said, no, that's war, but that's to eat. And Will was like, what? And the guy was like, I'm just kidding, it's peace. But it was just so funny because, you know. Yeah. When you don't speak the language, but you get the symbols, you don't necessarily
- [43:28]
B
know, oh, this symbol means daughter. And it doesn't mean daughter, just means girl.
- [43:32]
A
Right.
- [43:33]
B
You know, it's like you're just a girl. Just a girl. Yeah, little things like that. Yeah.
- [43:40]
A
You had a number one hit and Grammy nomination with Mariah Carey, an icon, especially of the time. Did you get to interact a lot with her?
- [43:48]
B
Yeah. So at the time, we didn't. Like, when we recorded, she wasn't in the studio. We recorded Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. We were on tour. She was on tour. You know, it's like two ships passing in the night.
- [43:59]
A
Right.
- [44:00]
B
But when we shot the video for it, she did, you know, come out to our tour stop because we were literally like six days a week. We have no time to travel somewhere, shoot a video. So, you know, the thank God I found you'd video was basically on our, you know, yellow and black, you know, like bumblebee looking, you know, tour set in the middle of somewhere in, you know, the middle of America. And it was just kind of like, all right, let's just make a video for it. And then we did like a Christmas special. And, you know, if we're talking about, like, not wanting to, like, put yourself out there, I actually. So I consult on some movies that film here in Cincinnati. And she came in here and did a. A Hallmark movie, and she directed it and starred in it. And I was, you know, one of the, you know, consultants for. For some of the performances. And we're at the first table read, and she was sitting there, like, with her. Her sunglasses on. And we're like. She was sitting across the table from me, and it gets to me. We're, like, introducing ourselves, and she literally, like, pulls her sunglasses down and looks at me. She's like, I know you. I was like, thank God. Because it would have been really embarrassing had you, like, hey, I'm Drew, blah, blah, blah. And she like, okay. Like, just.
- [45:16]
A
Just for. Yeah. Hello. Nice to meet you, sir.
- [45:18]
B
So at least she acknowledged that we had worked together and, you know, we had a number one together. And so that was. That was good because that would have been really embarrassing.
- [45:24]
A
Yeah, that would have been tough to be like, I have to say hello again and reintroduce myself. You also survived reality tv well, before it be. It was a way to become famous. The Nick and Jessica era was very much in the spotlight, and that always kind of seemed uncomfortable for the lach. Was that a lot to deal with at the time?
- [45:47]
B
I think, you know, everybody that gets into reality now knows what they're getting into.
- [45:52]
A
Yeah.
- [45:53]
B
At that time, it was the Osbournes and that show.
- [45:57]
A
Yeah.
- [45:57]
B
So it was, you know, the kind of, you know, beginning the incubation period of what reality was going to become. I think early on, it was, for the most part, reality. Like, we just kind of lived our lives. We had cameras following us pretty much 24 hours a day, and, you know, they got their stuff and then they edited it together. As the show, you know, progressed and as reality TV progressed, they figured, oh, well, let's kind of shape our storylines, you know, shoot what we need to shoot, you know, and then, you know, save a bunch of money and not worry about it. And that's when stuff kind of got a little bit more, you know, a little more annoying, a little more difficult. You know, you're living somebody else's story, living somebody else's life. But, you know, as things progress, you realize you're like, all right, well, in order to control this, we need to get, you know, executive producer credit on it so we can be there for the editing and we can do all that stuff. So you learn as it goes.
- [46:56]
A
Right.
- [46:57]
B
But it was. It was always something that was a bit of a something. It was just kind of always a little bit weird.
- [47:03]
A
Yeah.
- [47:03]
B
Why? Why?
- [47:05]
A
Right. Yeah, it seems like an Uncomfortable way to live.
- [47:09]
B
For sure it was.
- [47:10]
A
Yeah. Have you been watching the rebirth of Dancing with the Stars at all?
- [47:15]
B
So the strange part for me is that my daughter, who was not even born yet, my wife was pregnant when I was on the show. She is now a big fan of Dancing with the Stars. So for me, like, this little nugget who was born two weeks after I won, you know, is now watching the show that, you know.
- [47:38]
A
Yeah. You helped pioneer.
- [47:40]
B
Yeah, I was. I was part of the beginning of, you know, so I. I definitely do follow it, you know, because, you know, you can't be a part of it and then not get asked about it or. Or not, you know, have some sort of connection to it.
- [47:53]
A
Of course.
- [47:54]
B
I mean, my. The people that I came up with, none of them are really there anymore or they're judges.
- [48:01]
A
Yeah.
- [48:02]
B
On the panel now, you know, so it's. It's. It's a little different. But, you know, I definitely appreciate that that show is still on and that, you know, it kind of like went to. Went to the streaming world, you know, was able to come back because, you know, the arts and dancing and the. The joy that that show kind of has. Deserves a place on network TV for everybody to see it. It.
- [48:28]
A
Yes.
- [48:28]
B
And I do enjoy the fact that it's. It's back and. And people are still enjoying it and new people have discovered it, even though those new people don't know who I am.
- [48:38]
A
Not true.
- [48:39]
B
That's. Well, that's true. They do show. They do show clips sometimes in my
- [48:43]
A
freestyle, so they sure do. Well, now you have also become a home remodel expert. Were you always handy? Have you and Leah flipped properties before? Have you done renovations?
- [48:56]
B
A little bit. So I think, like, most people, like, if you redo your house and you hire a contractor, you have some sort of nightmare story, you know, I have one of those. I got taken advantage of and, you know, my. My pride couldn't handle the fact that I got bamboozled and I couldn't. I didn't know it. So I started trying to learn everything I could about how houses work and, you know, what I could do myself. And then you start, you know, expanding on those skills and, you know, like, literally, as soon as we're done here, I'm redoing a friend's bathroom. So I'm going over there to, you know, finish the drywall and start laying the. The tile, you know, so it's. It's just kind of become part of who I am. And I do find, like, there's a. There's, like, a grounding to it, like doing. Being able to do something with your hands versus, like, everything else that I do. It's. You know, there's something tangible about it.
- [49:47]
A
Yeah.
- [49:48]
B
A lot of everything else I do is like, oh, I'm writing this song, and it's.
- [49:51]
A
It's.
- [49:52]
B
I can't hold it, you know, So I think, like, home renovation number one, there's a sense of pride. Number two, it saves yourself a fortune. And number three, there is this, you know, actual, you know, before and after moment that you can kind of appreciate. But, yeah, we did a little bit of flipping, but clearly my skills have improved over the last, you know, 15 years.
- [50:15]
A
I also love about a home renovation that you can every day set goals that then at the end of the day, you. You're like, there. I accomplished those. Go. Like, today you're gonna do the drywall. You're. You know what? And that's the. Maybe the goal for the day is just finish the drywall before or lay whatever you need to lay in order to put the tile down. Whereas you're right. Like, in the creative arts, there's like, we're gonna record this part of the song, but it still doesn't, like, get you to. You know, you don't. Yeah, it's not tangible. It's very exciting.
- [50:44]
B
Even though I'm supposed to finish the drywall three days ago, and I just keep, you know, I just keep sanding, and it's not right. So I keep redoing, doing it and keep sanding.
- [50:51]
A
Yeah, that's ok. You know what? I'd ra. I want a perfectionist doing my home remodel. That's for sure.
- [50:56]
B
As you should. As you should.
- [50:58]
A
We're about ready to do a home remodel, so I'm very, very interested in this journey. So the new show is called Rock the block, and it's celebrities competing against each other who are paired with experts.
- [51:09]
B
Yes.
- [51:09]
A
And building in Las Vegas. Right.
- [51:13]
B
Yeah. So it's, you know, four. Four very familiar HGTV faces. You know, so it's Mina and Kim, Scott and Tanya. Me and Tanya were paired up, and then Brooke Hogan, Vernon Davis, Chelsea Meisner, and me. So you got, you know, reality star, NFL player, southern charm, survivor, and then me. Whichever category you want to toss me into. But all four of us also have, you know, either design experience or construction experience or things like that. So it was a lot of fun to kind of get in there. And you're literally given a. The shell of a house. We're all have matching shells, and we had to design and build out these houses, like, each. Each week, you're like this new, new section of the house. And this show has been around. This is the seventh season. It's been the number one show for HGTV for. For a while. But this is just a new twist on it in Vegas, you know, like doing construction on the dusty moon. You know, I guess dusty sun is a better comparison. But it was. It was a lot of fun, and I'm excited for people to finally see.
- [52:16]
A
Wow, I can't wait to watch. What is the most difficult thing you've done so far when it comes to a remodel?
- [52:24]
B
I mean, I think the things that people find the least sexy are the most difficult. You know, like, oh, I'm. I'm running new electric. You know, people are. People don't care about that. They just want to know it's done right. They want to know that the tile is pretty and this the right. Like, yeah, oh, let's take this wall down. I'm more intrigued by, like, the guts of the house. Like, oh, today's plumbing pipes. Yes. Yes. Let's make sure the toilet doesn't overflow. You know, things like that. But, you know, I've done. I've kind of messed with everything, you know, from, you know, pouring foundations to throwing a roof on. So it's kind of like, you know, from the ground up to the. To the top to, you know, you just learn as you go and you find the right people to teach you and. And it's kind of like anything.
- [53:11]
A
We kept this little Cancun reunion going as Drew stuck around for our bonus episode coming out this Friday on the dedicated Teen Beat feed. Make sure to check that out and watch Drew on the new season of Rock the Block on hgtv. Teen Beat is an I heart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production, Danielle Roman, producer and editor Tara Subaksh. The theme song is by Mark Hoppus. Yes, that Mark Hoppus. Follow us on Instagram @teenbeatpod. This is an iHeart podcast.
- [53:50]
B
Guaranteed human.