Bravo has a new program that proves everything is bigger in Texas, including the drama. Most Eligible Dallas follows the movers and shakers from the Lone Star State. Drew Ginsberg is one of the cast who is rich, successful and looking for the man of his dreams. Find out the behind-the-scenes of Dallas with Drew in this interview.
Windy City Times: Hello, Drew. I'm calling you from Chicago. Do you ever come up here?
Drew Ginsberg: I used to all the time. My dad has done WLUP and The Loop a long time ago. He was the one that put Danny Bonaduce and Steve Dahl on the air.
WCT: Did you have a big party to kick off the season of this new Bravo show?
DG: Yes, there was a big party with family that flew in.
WCT: You all knew each other before the show, correct?
DG: Yes, everyone but Neill [Skylar] until she was introduced to me. Everyone else I had known socially for a pretty long period of time. In fact Tara [Harper] and I had friends in common for a very long time. Tara has a friend named Greg that I have known since I was 16 years old. My sister and I called him our fairy godfather and this was way before I came to grips with being gay. There is a long history between us.
WCT: She seems like a good friend on the show. What's your dog's name?
DG: Coco. People think I named her after Coco Chanel but what happened was Coco was a rescue from a mutual acquaintance. He would leave the dog at his friend's house that didn't work out. I just took Coco under my wing and she has been with me ever since.
WCT: You lost over 200 pounds in the past, I heard.
DG: I lost so much that I am actually skinnier now then when I was on camera. I am about 15 pounds lighter now. The weight loss has been slowly occurring over the last nine years.
WCT: So taking pregnant female hormones works?
DG: They do work as long as you follow what the doctor says.
WCT: This is doctor recommended, then.
DG: It has been totally under the care of a doctor. I was under a program. They come in once a week. They give me 12 injections, ask me how I feel and have been eating. They monitor a lot of things.
WCT: You mention surfers are your type on the show.
DG: I developed the taste for surfers living in California.
WCT: People tend to like to date a type distant from where they are from.
DG: Right, kind of an exotic oddity.
WCT: How is the dating scene in Texas? Do you go out to the gay bars?
DG: On the weekends I go out to the gay bars. The Round-Up Saloon is a stop also the Grapevine. The Round-Up is a country western bar but after midnight the tone of the evening changes. It becomes more up a Lady Gaga type of club. Every time Lady Gaga is in Dallas she performs there. She will do a small free concert. She came last time and performed "Born This Way" a couple of months ago. I go out to the bars from time to time.
WCT: Do people meet online there?
DG: I have a lot of friends online but I prefer to meet people in person. Occasionally there is that person that you get that Facebook suggestion for and you become intrigued to get to know them better. I have gone on a couple of dates online. It turned out pretty well. But some have turned out to be complete nutcases. With the good comes the bad.
WCT: What happens on the show when someone meets a partner? Then they couldn't be on the show any longer…
DG: That's a good question. [Laughs] That's someone else's call!
WCT: How did you get involved in this series?
DG: I was approached on Facebook by the production company. They sent me a message asking if I would do the show for Bravo. It was so funny—24 hours before a friend of mine that was helping out the casting for the A-List: Dallas on Logo asked me to audition for that show, too. I looked at both of them and decided to go with Bravo. I did an audition in a group and small interviews. It was put together after two auditions. It all happened within a 60-day period. I was confirmed as a cast member then did a negotiation to put a contract together.
WCT: I heard they are doing an A-List down there.
DG: They are doing a lot of reality shows in Dallas.
WCT: What is going on with Dallas? It's hopping!!!
DG: I don't know. Since the time when I first moved here when I was kid everyone has been interested in this town. The first time I left Dallas when I was 7 in the airport everyone was asking my dad if there really is a Sue Ellen and J.R. [from the classic TV show Dallas] there. The funniest is that those are the names of gay bars!
WCT: Would you ever want to move away from Dallas?
DG: I left and moved back to Dallas about three years ago. California is still a place that is fond in my heart. I would love to move back to California if I could but the opportunities in life are in Dallas right now.
"T" is for Texas and Thursday nights on the Bravo Channel every week with Most Eligible Dallas. Visit www.bravotv.com for listings and details.
