New 'Bachelor' Is All Business - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brett Ferino · 03-25-2003, 03:22 PM

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Andrew Firestone may be a Californian, but he's no laid-back surfer dude.

He makes his debut Wednesday, March 26, at 9 p.m. ET, as the centerpiece of ABC's third installment of "The Bachelor." From the beginning, the goal-oriented Firestone had a plan for the series that introduces him to 25 women, then allows him (and them) opportunities to get to know each other on a gradual process of elimination that, if successful, produces a happy couple at the other end.

"A lot of people that I know have been introduced to their girlfriends, boyfriends, by friends," says the blue-eyed great-grandson of tire entrepreneur Harvey Firestone, over lobster and chardonnay at a seaside Santa Monica restaurant.

"Imagine having a friend like I have in ABC, who knows millions of people, who says, 'I have 25 ladies that I think you would be interested in meeting.' I think I'd be foolish to turn down an opportunity to meet 25 amazing ladies that are maybe compatible, looking for the same things I'm looking for, have the same sort of goals, the same sort of outlook."

"But at the same time, by their own admission none of these ladies are supermodels, none of them are actresses. These are all educated, career-driven ladies, that are smart, driven, confident and here for the same reason I'm here -- to find somebody. That was the outline I believed in."

After spending his childhood at the winery founded by his father and grandfather in Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley -- where he was both an athlete and a musician in high school -- Firestone went on to sell insurance while in college, backpacked across Europe after graduation, and worked in institutional finance before returning to the winery.

He now represents the Firestone Family Estates as sales manager, working with his older brother Adam.

"I have these visions of building the same sort of legacy that my father started," he says. "My brother and I have put a start to that. We opened a brewery; we started a restaurant. It's not tires, and it's not a huge winery, but it's our attempt at reinventing that entrepreneurial spirit."

"I could club around, be a Tommy boy, do nothing and be happy doing it, or I could take the initiative and do something interesting with my life."

"The Bachelor" also gives Firestone the opportunity to meet women who signed up not knowing that the possible object of their affection came from a famous family.

"The first night," he says, "I was a little nervous, thinking, 'They're going to hear Firestone, and it'll be the topic of conversation,' but it wasn't. It did blip on the radar, then it went away. It didn't mean anything to them to know what my grandparents did or my parents did. They wanted to know who was this person who was going to be there with them for this whole journey."

At the age of 28, it seems, Firestone has decided it's time to settle down. "I've had some relationships in the past that didn't work out. It's just been timing, and I think timing plays so huge into everything, especially relationships."

"I feel like there's things in my life that I had to be single to do -- travel, change careers, move. So I made a point of doing all the things I needed to do as an individual, and I've done them. Circa this summer is when I finally said, 'Wait a second, there's a vacancy. There's a gap in my life. I've done all these amazing things, but I'm not enjoying it because I don't have somebody to enjoy it with.'"

"I'm no longer interested in doing a short-term investment. I want a long-term investment. I want to know that what I'm building now is going to pay back 20 years from now. I want to start building 'we' memories as opposed to 'I' memories or 'me' memories."

At some point, Firestone began to wonder about the return on his investment in relationships.

"I don't know if it happened overnight," he says. "I mean, I have opportunities to date women. It's like, how many dinners do I want to go to? How many times do I go to the theater until, third or fourth date down the road, I find out that they want to date me for my last name, or they aren't actually wanting the same things I want, they're not actually serious about me, they just want to have fun?"

"And you start all over. How many times do you want to extend yourself out? So this is a chance for me to meet 25 ladies that have the same intentions I have."

Asked if he ever thought he wasn't worth all this attention, Firestone says, "The first night, the second night, the third night, the fourth night, every night. I was so humbled, just being there."

As to what advice he'd give other guys seeking true love, Firestone says, "I would say, you can't be cautious falling in love. You can't be worried. You can't look at the consequences. You have to go into it headfirst."

"I probably had more the spreadsheet mentality walking into it, but I learned so much, because I had the time to focus on it. I don't know. I came out of this with the best experience because I was going without a safety harness."

"Whatever happened, I had no reservations."

03-25-2003, 03:22 PM	#1
Brett Ferino Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 18, 2000 Location: PA Posts: 3,782	New 'Bachelor' Is All Business LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Andrew Firestone may be a Californian, but he's no laid-back surfer dude. He makes his debut Wednesday, March 26, at 9 p.m. ET, as the centerpiece of ABC's third installment of "The Bachelor." From the beginning, the goal-oriented Firestone had a plan for the series that introduces him to 25 women, then allows him (and them) opportunities to get to know each other on a gradual process of elimination that, if successful, produces a happy couple at the other end. "A lot of people that I know have been introduced to their girlfriends, boyfriends, by friends," says the blue-eyed great-grandson of tire entrepreneur Harvey Firestone, over lobster and chardonnay at a seaside Santa Monica restaurant. "Imagine having a friend like I have in ABC, who knows millions of people, who says, 'I have 25 ladies that I think you would be interested in meeting.' I think I'd be foolish to turn down an opportunity to meet 25 amazing ladies that are maybe compatible, looking for the same things I'm looking for, have the same sort of goals, the same sort of outlook." "But at the same time, by their own admission none of these ladies are supermodels, none of them are actresses. These are all educated, career-driven ladies, that are smart, driven, confident and here for the same reason I'm here -- to find somebody. That was the outline I believed in." After spending his childhood at the winery founded by his father and grandfather in Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley -- where he was both an athlete and a musician in high school -- Firestone went on to sell insurance while in college, backpacked across Europe after graduation, and worked in institutional finance before returning to the winery. He now represents the Firestone Family Estates as sales manager, working with his older brother Adam. "I have these visions of building the same sort of legacy that my father started," he says. "My brother and I have put a start to that. We opened a brewery; we started a restaurant. It's not tires, and it's not a huge winery, but it's our attempt at reinventing that entrepreneurial spirit." "I could club around, be a Tommy boy, do nothing and be happy doing it, or I could take the initiative and do something interesting with my life." "The Bachelor" also gives Firestone the opportunity to meet women who signed up not knowing that the possible object of their affection came from a famous family. "The first night," he says, "I was a little nervous, thinking, 'They're going to hear Firestone, and it'll be the topic of conversation,' but it wasn't. It did blip on the radar, then it went away. It didn't mean anything to them to know what my grandparents did or my parents did. They wanted to know who was this person who was going to be there with them for this whole journey." At the age of 28, it seems, Firestone has decided it's time to settle down. "I've had some relationships in the past that didn't work out. It's just been timing, and I think timing plays so huge into everything, especially relationships." "I feel like there's things in my life that I had to be single to do -- travel, change careers, move. So I made a point of doing all the things I needed to do as an individual, and I've done them. Circa this summer is when I finally said, 'Wait a second, there's a vacancy. There's a gap in my life. I've done all these amazing things, but I'm not enjoying it because I don't have somebody to enjoy it with.'" "I'm no longer interested in doing a short-term investment. I want a long-term investment. I want to know that what I'm building now is going to pay back 20 years from now. I want to start building 'we' memories as opposed to 'I' memories or 'me' memories." At some point, Firestone began to wonder about the return on his investment in relationships. "I don't know if it happened overnight," he says. "I mean, I have opportunities to date women. It's like, how many dinners do I want to go to? How many times do I go to the theater until, third or fourth date down the road, I find out that they want to date me for my last name, or they aren't actually wanting the same things I want, they're not actually serious about me, they just want to have fun?" "And you start all over. How many times do you want to extend yourself out? So this is a chance for me to meet 25 ladies that have the same intentions I have." Asked if he ever thought he wasn't worth all this attention, Firestone says, "The first night, the second night, the third night, the fourth night, every night. I was so humbled, just being there." As to what advice he'd give other guys seeking true love, Firestone says, "I would say, you can't be cautious falling in love. You can't be worried. You can't look at the consequences. You have to go into it headfirst." "I probably had more the spreadsheet mentality walking into it, but I learned so much, because I had the time to focus on it. I don't know. I came out of this with the best experience because I was going without a safety harness." "Whatever happened, I had no reservations."