Jackie Warner
Photo: David Ross Photographic
Since 2006, Jackie Warner has been a staple television personality on Bravo TV—from her first reality show Work Out, to her new series called Thintervention with Jackie Warner, in which Warner both stars and executive produced. In her new series, she takes on eight clients for a life-changing course that focuses on weight loss, fitness, nutritional counseling, group therapy, and lifestyle changes.
A departure from her new series, Jackie’s first show Work Out chronicled her personal triumphs and challenges while running a multi-media fitness empire. In addition, Jackie is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, This is Why You’re Fat (and How to Get Thin Forever), and stars in the bestselling DVDs, ONE-ON-ONE Training with Jackie, and Personal Training with Jackie: Power Circuit Training. Her third DVD, Personal Training with Jackie: Xtreme Time Saver Training is slated for release on October 5, 2010.
Independent Film Quarterly’s Nicole Holland spoke with Jackie Warner as she took a break from editing to discuss how she inked a deal with Bravo, the challenges of reality TV, and her new series, Thintervention.
IFQ: I want to congratulate you on your new life-changing reality show Thintervention. This is the first project where you have come on board as both executive producer and star. Why did you decide to executive produce this reality show?
Jackie Warner: [Laughs.] It couldn’t have happened any other way. Work Out happened to me and I made Thintervention happen. I’m in a place in my career where I needed to have control over content and what I put out there on television. That meant from creative and initial story pitching, to casting and editing. It was just very important for me to control my image.
IFQ: How did your first reality TV show Work Out lead to Thintervention?
JW: Well, Work Out established a relationship with Bravo. I became a Bravo brand and talent that they obviously value because they wanted to continue working with me. When I finished the fourth season of Work Out, to be honest it wasn’t that the numbers were bad, it was that my life was too calm. There really wasn’t anything of interest for viewers to see. I wasn’t in a relationship and my being in a relationship was a huge component of Work Out.
Everything was smooth sailing so there was no drama at all. That does not make for an interesting docu-drama, does it? So we shot a pilot together called Jackie’s Gym Takeover but that wasn’t the right fit for me. Then, I pitched them what I consider a version of SkyLab, which is a life change camp that I teach in Northern California where we have group therapy, intense training, a 1,200 calorie-a-day restricted diet, no sugar, and seminars. I basically pitched them what I was doing, and they liked it.
IFQ: As a viewer, I’ve learned a lot from Thintervention. No sugar! It stays drilled in my head. [Laughs.]
JW: Good! The other difference between Thintervention and Work Out is there is a very strong takeaway with Thintervention. The viewers really do get to take the tools and tips and apply them to their lives, along with the cast members.
IFQ: Which reality show was more physically and emotionally challenging for you, and how so?
JW: Well, they were equally challenging for me for different reasons. Work Out was really challenging for me because it was so intrusive and I didn’t have any control of the editing and I felt very vulnerable.
IFQ: So you didn’t know what was being aired on TV until you sat down and watched it with the rest of America?
JW: That’s correct. That’s a really crazy burden to put on someone who is used to really controlling their image. I have a lot of pride in what I do and what I’ve always put my hands on. It was very hard for me. Then, of course, Thintervention is difficult because I’m really trying to make an impact on peoples’ lives and more than half of them just weren’t ready. They just didn’t want to change.
So it was very frustrating for me because I expected people to be super positive in this process. Instead, I found that they went through a range of emotions—childlike emotions. One of the emotions was anger and distrust in the process. That was very challenging for me because I don’t run up against that with my natural training. When people train with me, they are more than happy to be there.
IFQ: At one point in your life, you were kind of in the same position as your clients on Thintervention. I read how you moved out to LA, and being slightly overweight, just didn’t cut it and you did something about it. In what ways do you see a reflection of your former self in the eight clients you are training?
JW: I was using food as an addictive substance. I was trying to go to the lesser of all evils. I didn’t want to drink or get into drugs, so I used food to make me feel better. I was going through emotions, extreme loneliness and culture shock, when I first came out here. I turned to overeating and junk food. That’s usually where it starts. Some sort of trauma occurs and you go to the lesser of all evils, but in turn, that lesser of all evils can creep up on you and be very difficult to deal with and to manage, and that’s food addiction.
IFQ: When exactly did you find your calling in the fitness industry?
JW: I started late in the game. I was working at Warner Brothers. I quit my job and went back to school. During that time, I started training clients just for fun. I was 30, and I took on this one client that was an alcoholic. She was a high powered agent. She hated her job. She hated her life. She was in an abusive relationship. Within four months of working with me, she completely changed her life. We got her into AA. She stopped dating abusive men. She changed careers— it was pretty substantial. I thought, “Wow if I can really make a difference in someone’s life, not just their body, that’s what I want to do.” That year, I opened my first gym, Lift, in Beverly Hills, and then from there Sky Sport and the show.
IFQ: How did you initially ink a deal with Bravo back in 2006? Did you approach them, or vice-versa?
JW: One of the producers of the show came looking at Sky Sport for just a location. That’s all she was interested in. She sat down with me for an hour and decided, “Why don’t we shoot a presentation about your life, because your life is interesting, and you are a strong character. Let’s make this show about you.” She shot that presentation, and that’s what sold to Bravo.
http://www.jackiewarner.com/
http://www.bravotv.com/thintervention-with-jackie-warner