A Conversation with The Chain Game’s Wade Holland

By: Jacob Elyachar

While I was studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I had the chance to follow a video series called: the Adventurous 500.

One of the co-hosts of the series was University of Colorado alum Wade Holland.   He teamed up with Adventurous 500 founder Ryan Park to document all of their adventures all throughout the Centennial State in 500 days.

This year, Holland returned to YouTube with his latest video series: the Chain Game. 

While it is not your normal game show, The Chain Game’s main contestants are rising artists and celebrities whom tackle in-depth personal questions and trivia challenges in order to win small incomprehensible prizes before they have the chance to the series’ grand prize…W’s golden chain!

In addition, Wade also had the opportunity to compete on the new TNT competitive reality TV series: 72 Hours, where he was paired with two complete strangers to search for the show’s ultimate reward: $100,000 cash prize.

I had the chance to Skype with Wade as we talked about the origin and the challenges that he faces on the Chain Game, his time on 72 Hours and his thoughts on social media.

Jacob Elyachar: How did you get interested in the entertainment industry?

Wade Holland: I became interested in the entertainment industry because I am a character myself and I would love to express that anywhere possible.   I like to make people smile and laugh when I do my job.   I was first introduced to that when I teamed up with Ryan for The Adventurous 500.   My background at CU was more based in marketing and advertising, but once we combined that with the entertainment side of The Adventurous 500, I became passionate about entertainment, being on-camera and the adventure of it all too!

Entertainment is an adventure in itself because it is not linear at all.  There is always something that is around the corner to discover and I like that kind of lifestyle and I found that passion through The Adventurous 500.  Just the idea of constantly creating new content and making someone’s day a little bit better by making something they have not seen before, puts a smile on my face.

 

JE: Could you please describe the Adventurous 500’s concept to my readers…who did not have the chance to watch one of your videos?

WH: The concept of The Adventurous 500 was to embody the adventurous lifestyle that is really self-prevalent in Colorado.   We went around the state for 500 days, where we showcased something new everyday!   We also promoted our features to not only to Colorado but also to the entire world.   Our marketing strategy was highlighting the local businesses and attractions that were in the state.  For the entertainment portion of the site featured us going out there and doing the adventures.   We wrestled alligators, freestyled rapped with Jack-Ass’s Steve-O and went on a paragliding adventure…we literally did everything that you could think off and showcased all of that on a video platform.

JE: What were some of the lessons that you learned from “The Adventurous 500” that helped prepare you for the next chapter in your career?

WH: I think that a lot of the lessons I learned while working on The Adventurous 500 was that not everyone is going to like what you are doing especially if you are doing it online.   There are a lot of videos on YouTube and when you are dealing with the online community, there is an element of zero or little accountability.  Anyone can say whatever they want to online and you cannot let that get to you!

I remember when we first started doing these videos; Ryan and I had a great time putting together the videos.  But, a lot of haters criticized or chastised us for doing what we were doing, and that is going to happen with anything that you do.  There will be a few people that will be critical of you especially in the entertainment field.  You are putting yourself out there to the world and saying: “Hey! Here is something that we are doing! You should check it out.”   There are a lot of comments on YouTube that are pretty harsh sometimes and you cannot let that get to you.

JE: Let’s talk about “The Chain Game.” How did this project come about?

WH: After The Adventurous 500 ended, I had this time period where I created zero content because The Adventurous 500 transitioned into an agency.  I got very stale creatively and wanted to be able to not only produce content but also get out there and talk to people in the music industry, because I have a huge passion for that industry.

I talked to one of my friends, Nic Davis, who is a documentary film producer in Colorado and I pitched my idea to him.   We did not know what The Chain Game was going to be at the time and I suggested that we go around and interview all of these artists that were visiting Colorado, because the state has grown very rapidly in the music industry.    I wanted to do something totally different like mess with them by asking them ridiculous questions and see how well they take that (Laughs).   

Nic and I knew that I would be dressed as this wacky host, but Nic wanted to make it a game.  Originally, it was going to be a game show, where I was going to put them on the spot with these strange questions.   Then, I remembered one of these rap shows I went to a while back that I had this crazy 90s outfit complete with this obnoxious gold chain and we decided to bring this style back!   Nic thought of this terrific idea of making the gold chain…the grand prize.

We did not test the idea out, so we did not know how it was going to go.  I still had some contacts that I made from The Adventurous 500, who knew the artists that were coming in town.   The pilot that we did was with Kreayshawn. I contacted her and asked if she wanted to be on the premiere episode  and she was all for it.  There are a lot of younger musicians that are open to new ideas and could really go for this.   I think that they are tired of getting the traditional interview questions and they want to do something a little bit different.  The element of surprise plays a huge role with The Chain Game’s success.  If you give them the questions in advance, it defeats the whole purpose of The Chain Game.  We want them to think on their feet and entertain viewers.

 

JE: What were some of the challenges that you faced while filming “The Chain Game” and how did you overcome them?

WH: Number one…it is a new concept! We do not have a name at all in the industry.  The musicians that we want to target already work with groups that not only an established brand but also have established a relationship with them.    Another problem that The Chain Game experience was that several artists denied our interview requests.   However, once we got a couple of artists under our belt and the artists saw what we were doing, they decided to come on board.

Some of the artists when they got interviewed were surprised by our approach.  Either they loved it and were all for it.   However, we had to be careful because we had some artists that were completely thrown off and uncomfortable with the format.   I learned that lesson the hard way when I interviewed Talib Kweli.  I said some things that I thought would make him laugh…but he did not find it too amusing and the rest of the interview was a little bit awkward…to say the least.

I have to figure out how to balance making it special for them and that it is also entertaining and puts them in some strange but enjoyable situations.  My crew and I want to bring that emotion out of them but we definitely do not want to see anger and unfortunately, that is what we saw with Talib Kweli.

 

JE: Who were some of your favorite artists that you interviewed for “The Chain Game”?

WH: Usually, the best artists for The Chain Game are artists that do not take themselves seriously 100-percent of the time.  The problem that we encountered with Talib Kweli was that he is very politically and socially conscious artist.   He is very serious about what he is doing.   When we worked with him, it was hard for him to let his guard down.   When he saw this dude in this most ridiculous suit come up to him with this long gold chain asking him questions, he did not take it too well.

However, I got to say the Flobots and hip-hop artist Dizzy Wright were fun to interview.  Dizzy was totally down with the idea of playing these games and winning these prizes that were connected with his past.   I also think that because the Flobots were from Denver, they were really supportive of local and creative ideas.  Plus, the Flobots had not seen anything like this before.

Carnage and Zion I were two other acts that I enjoyed working with.  I previously worked with Zion I when I was with The Adventurous 500 and they remembered me, plus they REALLY LOVED the new idea.  They asked me if this was a sequel to The Adventurous 500?  I told them that I was doing a different route and they signed on.  You have to have people that are good sports when you are working on a project like this.

JE: Why should my readers watch “The Chain Game”?

WH: They should watch The Chain Game because if you follow all of these musicians that we interview, I guarantee you that you will learn something about them that you did not know already.   This is a huge part to Chain Game’s success because no one will know the stuff the artists will spill on the show.   A lot of viewers do not realize that there are hours upon hours of research that we do before we interview the artist.  We literally spent days or a week or two to uncover some of these strange facts about the artists.   We contact family members and whomever we can get this information from because the show likes to incorporate the element of surprise into each episode.

I also want to take a moment to say “Thank You!” to the incredible Chain Game crew: Nic Davis, Dan Glock, Erik Heinz, Will Golde, Olivia Scarborough, and Hank “The Tank” Smith.  If it was not for these guys, The Chain Game would not be where it is at now.

 

JE: In addition to your work with “The Chain Game,” you went on TNT’s “72 Hours.” What makes “72 Hours” different from shows like “the Amazing Race” and “Survivor”?

WH: 72 Hours is unique because you have people from a diverse group of backgrounds and you put them together in the last second before they get stranded in the wild.  The concept of this show I think is seeing these people cope with these differences.   On my team, I had two very high maintenance city women.   When you put those differences together and put them in an environment that they never been around and watch what happens.  Amazing Race contestants know each other before they go on the show and Survivor has a long process of whittling people out of the game.

72 Hours is about how well three people come together as a team and over the course of three days, complete is a goal which is find the $100,000 cash prize before any of the other teams.   What makes the show so unique is that the show is jammed packed with in your face action and we were out there for three days, you are not going to see an hour of what we were doing…because the show’s footage was divided into 20-minutes so everyone could see what all three teams were up too.

JE: How has your career been impacted by social media?

WH: If you are trying to get your work out to the world in the year 2013, you ABSOLUTETLY have to be on top of social media.  While TNT has a huge social media team for 72 Hours, I do not have a huge agency or a giant team behind me with my activities for The Chain Game.   Social media has played an integral role since The Chain Game’s launch.   Our generation uses social media to communicate with each other.   If you are not using social media, I do not know how you have the chance to evolve your career in the year 2013.

JE: If you had the chance to meet any entrepreneur or aspiring entertainers who want to work in the industry, what advice would you give them?

WH: First, I would tell them that they have to understand there are going to be critics left and right.  They cannot let these critics deter you from what you really like to do!  At the end of the day, if you are happy and proud of what you are doing…that is what it really matters!   Of course, it is awesome to receive incredible feedback and be recognized by what you do and validates what you are going for.  But I think that you have to be comfortable with yourself and happy that you are doing your job.   If you are unhappy doing what you are doing, how are you going to expect people to believe in you and get behind you.

Second, I would also say that they need to do something everyday! That is one thing that I really try to stand behind.  Do one thing everyday that some how benefits your career.  Whether it is sending a tweet out or writing a list down of things that you want to do, you should constantly engage yourself and increase your boundaries.   This job is not linear because you do not apply for it and you do not move up to another level, but there is no set path to become an entertainer.   You have to do it yourself and whatever opportunities you create…the better you will be further down the road.

You can connect with Wade on his personal Twitter and connect with “The Chain Game” on their Facebook, Twitter & YouTube channel!