January 15, 2003

http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca

Interview with Annie Guillo,
Formerly of The Lofters

Kerry Evans
Culture Editor

 

© page 14

 

Why did you audition for The Lofters show in the first
place?

I remember watching an episode of the Lofters and I
saw that they were holding auditions for the next
group of Lofters in Vancouver and I thought, hey ’'m
in Vancouver, why not? I didn’t really think that I
would do it to become an actor, which is what a lot
of other people's intentions were. I took a week off
work and went down to the auditions but I got there
late. They said too late...no more auditions. But I
waited outside anyways and after a while I saw
Danny Crowder come outside. This was the first
time we would meet, and the producer came out and
said we're taking another few people. I went in and
sat down. Before they had asked me why I wanted to
be'a Lofter, I had already given them. ten good rea-
sons why: Then I got a call back the next day and
they came and filmed me. I began to understand at
that point that it would be controversial because
within minutes I was being asked if I dated guys and
girls.

What do you think their expectations were of you on the
show?

I strongly believe that their expectations were stereo-
typed by me formerly being an exotic dancer. That
was okay because it was my opportunity to let every-
one know that it wasn’t really me. That yes it was a
part I could play in my life but there was more to me.
It's not what I was all about. They thought I would
be the sexy, smutty girl with problems. Not to say
that I don’t have problems but I guess they thought I
might be into drugs, alcohol abuse and promiscuous,
which is the light an exotic dancer is painted in.

Tell me about your move and transition from Toronto to
Vancouver.

The show ended on June 15th and I left the loft hap-
pily. And I also left the loft being not happy with my
roommates. When we knew we were going to be
leaving, everyone got really on edge. People also start-
ed assuming that Kalen [Hayman] and myself would
be helping them move because we had a truck. We
already had our own apartment in Toronto. I did
some modelling in Toronto but I didn’t really like the
city at all. It was like a concrete jungle. So myself and
Kalen flew back to BC in August and we went to
Tofino and drove all around BC. At one point Kalen
said he really liked BC and was willing to make the
move. I was ready to get the hell out of Toronto and
so we paid off our bills and packed up our things. We
bought a trailer to fit all out belongs in and we head-
ed out to BC on September Ist. When we got to BC
we settled in for a month with my sister until we got
on our feet. Then we moved to New Westminster

the other press

and got our own apartment.

What is the biggest thing you took away from this expe-
rience?

Well, reality TV was very strange. For one I got into
a performance-based job where I had to learn how to
work on TV. I was put into a weird situation. On the
other hand I also realized how society judges every-
body on first impressions. I would get upset and even
people would approach me about it on the street.
They would comment on my life. They would be
watching the show and the comment on situations.
But the human side of them also would be identify-
ing with me. Some people would comment on how
aspects of my life that I had experienced were also a
part of their life. If you want to be out there and have
people watch you all the time you have to have a real-
ly thick skin. I thought the people I worked with
were great people but I can't take when people are
fake. I can’t live like that. There is nothing more that
I hate then when someone who is 30 is telling me
that I don’t know anything because I am only 22.
When really I have had some very life altering expe-
riences that probably a 30-year-old hasn't. You can’t
judge someone by his or her age. I got that from a
couple of my roommates. One of the biggest things I
got out of the project was a life-long partner. It took
me to move across Canada and be a part of a TV
show and live in the public, which was very hard to
do, to find true love.

Do you think that through the editing process, the show
depicted your personality in a true-to-life honesty?
I guess there were things I would do on a daily basis
that they would show. I wasn't the one to go though
the tapes and edit it the way that would be most flat-
tering to my personality. My life was in someone
else’s hands. There were times where I would feel that
something wasn't shown as truthfully as it could be
but then I just thought that people will continue to
watch me and begin to understand who I really am
and what I am all about.

Would you do reality TV again?
I would love to do it again but not some sleazy spin
off of some other show. Maybe some sort of travelling}
show but definitely not some scandal or win money|
type of reality marketing campaign. But I wasn’t
embarrassed to show the world who I was, who I am.
I want to be in the public eye again in some other
form.

Do you think you are recognized in Vancouver as much
as you were in Toronto?
I think people in BC are very down to earth and noj