On this week’s finale of The Biggest Loser, the Germanakos twins took the contest by storm. First, Jim weighed in and won the $100,000 prize for the eliminated contestant that lost the most weight. Then, his brother Bill hit the scale and lost more than any other member of the final four. Together, they left California $350,000 richer. The ironic thing is that even though Bill was a fan of the show, it’s not something he ever envisioned himself doing. With a little twist of the arm from his brother, the two joined season 4 of The Biggest Loser. Left behind in the desert on the very first day, they thought they were doomed and headed home. Jillian Michaels rode up on that motorcycle and rescued them and the black team never looked back. Today, Bill talked to BuddyTV about his incredible weight loss and the amazing season finale.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
Hey everyone, this is Gina from BuddyTV and today, I’m talking to Bill, the winner of The Biggest Loser. I’m wondering what this week has been like for you, because your publicist said you’re doing Larry King, Ellen, and The Today Show. Is this something you could have ever even imagined?
It’s a whirlwind like I never even could have thought of. Being pulled from the stage after doing the finale of one of my favorite shows, and winning it, knowing that my wife and kids were there, all my best friends were there, then being whisked away to a limousine, getting VIP treatment at the airport, just making the plane by a minute and a half, then six hours later you’re speaking with Ann Curry on The Today Show. You can imagine that it’s like a whirlwind.
Did you get too much time to celebrate with your brother at all?
It was great, because by virtue of him winning on the eliminated side, that was the best thing of all. The twin sweep is the most rewarding thing of this entire experience, because I was able to not only experience this whole show, this whole endeavor with my brother, but for the two of us to come away with a one-two was the best possible scenario for us. When the two of us were sitting there in the limousine, finally in the quiet saying “Oh my goodness, can you believe what we just accomplished? How wonderful is this?”
When I first talked to Jim, he said that he was the one who really wanted to go on the show, and you were sort of dragging your feet. Is that really what happened?
It wasn’t even that I was dragging my feet, I had no interest whatsoever. I’m extremely busy. I mean, I love the show, but I knew that hundreds of thousands of people would be trying to get on the show. You know, my brother has such a way about him where nothing is beyond his grasp and his realm. When he finally was told “We really like you a lot Jim, we’re going to consider you for the show, we would like to have you back,” that’s when he said “You know, I have a twin brother.” So I just came right in on his coattails, and that’s what made it especially annoying for him, because I was living the dream that he wanted for himself because he got eliminated. Not until the moment his name was raised as the champion of the eliminated side, where he actually accomplished and was the biggest loser of anyone because he outlost me by a couple of pounds.
When you two were home together getting ready for the finale, how much did you two rely on each other and work together?
I’ll tell you, we really didn’t work out much together because he works nights and I work days. We were able to work out only once every couple of weeks together where we would do a spin class, or we would do some extreme cardio class out in Long Island. But we would speak every day and keep each other pumped up and motivated.
When you were at the finale, how surprised were you to see everyone? From Amy to Kae to Jez to Neil, it was just one surprise after another when people came out.
I’ll have you know that I did not see any of the finale. I still haven’t seen any of the finale. I was sequestered backstage in the green room, I didn’t see any of it. When I was getting ready to break through the paper on my own reveal, that’s when they told me that my brother had won. I was so excited that when I hit the stage the first person I looked at was him and I said “I can’t believe you won,” then I started looking at everybody else, because I didn’t see them until after I was on the stage. I saw them all at the same time and it was surreal, because these are people that last time I’d seen most of them, they were still obese. Especially the finalists, because the three ladies, I shared a room with these ladies for four months, and I did not think that I could be as surprised as I was. They all looked like supermodels.
Oh, they all looked amazing. What do you think the black team did right? You guys totally dominated the second half of the season.
Number one, I think we had vengeance in our souls about being left in the desert, so we had a point to prove. What people did not see in us was our competitive fire and the competitive nature of all of us on the black team. I can tell you, I was most impressed with Jez. No way I ever would have thought that Jez could come in under 200 pounds, because he was just not an athlete growing up. Sometimes it got him upset that he couldn’t do some of the things in the gym that some people were doing already, and he pulled such an unbelievable turnaround. Not only did he lose so much weight, but he was all jacked up too. He had shoulders and arms, he was looking fantastic. I was so thrilled for him. Overall, I think the black team showed that they had the heart.
Do you have anything that you want to say to your fans? You had a lot of them on BuddyTV this season.
Number one, I have to tell everyone, from all of the support that I was receiving from all over the country, and all of these forums, how appreciative that I’ve been to be getting so much support from everyone. It really drove me when things got difficult, to hear about and to read about all of the people that were cheering me on and rooting for me. Especially after my brother got eliminated, everyone said “Now you have to do it for Jim, you have to do it for the twins.” Believe me, I saw and heard every bit of it, and it really drove me and motivated me, so thank you to everyone.
I just wanted to wish you the best. We absolutely loved you and your brother this season, and we’re so happy for you.
Well thank you so much. It’s been a real pleasure, and it’s just the beginning. Extend my best to everyone on BuddyTV.
– Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
