Two teas in a pod with Teddy Mellencamp and Cameradge Edge.
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of The Twat Seat with Me and tam Hi.
Tam Hi, It's it's been a little.
Bit, you know.
I'm I'm, I'm here. I'm showing up because I have Captain Jason. I've already texted Andy to ask if I'm going to have a crush on him. Like things are moving, but like I'm slowly but surely.
Recovering from hypothermia from my night last night.
Why didn't you bring like a heating pad or something.
Why would I bring a heating pad. I rented a camper. I would assume that I arrive.
I don't know.
I always we always travel with them, just because of my lower his Eddie's lower back, my shoulder. It's a it's a lot of people think I don't know.
Well, Slat and I were living our best life. We figured out how to set up the warm water.
This time, we've unpacked, I mean, granted, we have to unpack into the pantry because there's no closets in here, and everything's great, and then it starts to.
Get cold and shit is hitting the fan.
I start texting the camper place, I start texting every person I know at the horse show.
Everyone's like, do you have pro pain? I'm like, I don't know. Do I have pro paine?
That's why I need a man sometimes. You know what, I would know how to do any of that stuff. You know who would know how to do that? You know who would That'd be Captain Jason.
Do you think he would know how to change my pro paine?
I think he can do a lot of things with you.
Well, that'll be our first question.
Let's go ahead and bring him in.
We just want to say thank you so much for joining us today. Before we get into it all, let's start with the hard stuff. Are you Are you currently single?
I was gonna ask, do we need to call you? Happen?
You can call me Jason.
Oh, thank thank you.
But if you want to call me Captain, that's fine.
Oh my gosh. So first question everybody wants to know is are you single?
Yes? Very much single? Yes.
Is it hard to have a relationship if you're out at sea?
Definitely, That's probably one of the major things. I had a beautiful daughter ten years ago. Her name is Saska, and you're away all the time, and as a captain, you're probably await ten months of the year, and the two months that you are on you're on the phone as well, so you are detached. As much as this industry is fun when you're young, you don't foresee what it really does bring later in life, and that is a family and away from them.
So do you feel like this is a sustainable job because you don't have much of a personal life?
A good question. A good question is like a lot of those flying flyout jobs in the minds and stuff, I hear a lot of stories, you know, you know, mothers or single parents, you know, trying to raise their children and the other parent coming in and out. You know, But we have to earn a book, you know. Yeah.
Yeah. Do you like forty three year old divorces.
She's speaking for herself, three and a half.
Children who have traumatic divorces in the public eye.
Is that like something you're.
Say, they know, Jason, say no, I think.
I was manifesting that a hot mess?
Yeah, oh yes, well great, jas, let me introduce you to the biggest hot mess, and I know that'd be Teddy Mellencamp.
Timer Judge's co host and pretty much the one that's going to ask all the shitty questions.
I feel like every time I do believe that we met at Bravo Khan briefly, I feel like every time your name is brought up, it's all about how hot you are and what Bravo celebrity you know was going to date you and things like that, like do you ever get sick of it? Like, no, I don't want to date any bravoelebrities.
Look if you if you know who I am, it definitely is not me. And a lot of that was brought on by Asia previous on Watch What Happens Live. She brought up what was that.
Brought that up?
Yeah, oh that he said I don't want to date Bravo celebrities.
No say that I ever said that. I just said, it wasn't It's not me. It's like I wasn't. It was brought up by Asia and a joke, and it kind of just it just went into this big thing and yeah, I'm definitely Yeah, it's cringe worthy sometimes.
Yeah, I was going to ask you if you're doing any of the dating app apps like raya Hinge, but it's kind of hard to get dates out in the middle of the ocean.
Yeah, yeah, well we heard that you went on a date with Luyanne.
How'd that go?
No, I didn't want to that's a ru.
None of all that happened. And oh that's.
Good to know. We'll clear it up here. Jason never dated Luan.
I'm a clean skin, a clean skin, none of I'm fresh. I'm ready to go.
Hold on, So what is the Luanne story?
Now?
There is zero There is zero meta. Once at back of Bravocon I got introduced to and that's it.
Yeah, yeah, I figured it was something like that.
Why are we fighting?
Season three? A blow duck down Under Airs February third. Congratulations you are leading the charge again this season. How are you feeling after filming the season?
Look, I'm excited for this one. It is in the Seychelles, it's in Africa. I know that's a little bit weird because it's down People say what happened to down Under? But Australia hasn't got many cruising grounds and the logistics of the show require certain things like close to a marina. You've got a big support team behind you, so we had to choose somewhere else. And I love being remote. I've spent ten years driving around remote locations and I
actually like diversity. So it's going to give the viewers. Okay, it's not Australia, but it is down Under. It's down under the equator, and I'm down under the water a lot, so it's got a little bit of that and I'm from down Under.
Really, I would have never known.
Who would have thought thought, what is your favorite part about about doing this entire experience? Like is it connecting with the people on the yacht or is it about like just being in the water.
What is it for you?
That's a that's a great question. I My favorite bit is how much it is hard. A lot of people don't understand that how hard this job is. Not just being a captain, but to put all these elements together, walking up to a boat that you don't know and being introduced to crew that you've never met, and the food coming on the next day, and then the charter gets going on for six or six weeks straight. That's
nine charters we do in six weeks. We usually only do probably a maximum of eight charters per season over five months. We're doing nine charters in six weeks. It is a pressure cooker and for what I've got out of it. I've actually had to bring in every tool that I've got to try and get through it mentally and for me to actually come out at the end and maintain my composure, and also the friendships that I've got out of the crew, but also the people behind
the scenes too. I've actually fallen in love with a lot of people that work behind the scenes. They are very supportive. They've got my back, they've got the crewise back, and they're just like us too. The film crew, the sound crew, the producers. They're working hard, they're working away from home. They're doing a lot of things that I relate to. They're away from their homes. They're trying to create something for an end for someone else to actually to see. And that's what I do for a living.
How long How long does it take to film a season?
Nine weeks? We do six weeks, We do well pretty quick. Yeah. Yeah, it's not it's back to back. That's the ingredients of this show. It's it's hard work, fatigue, and that's the pressure cooker that gets the results to bring out the show. The cracks of the crew, you know, the people come in with the facade. This is how I'm going to behave,
This is what I'm going to perceive myself as. And then they put about a week's worth of work in and they're fatigued and they can't hide it, and they're real person comes out or something that comes out that they look back at and go, well, I'm glad I can change on that. And that's another good question to
add to the question you want. The best thing that's come out of it is my parents, who have watched me crew around the world for two and a half decades, never really know what I've done now actually watched me on TV.
Yeah, and your daughter as well.
Yeah, yeah, she's getting glimpses on YouTube. But yeah, does did.
Your daughter ever go out to see with you?
She has back in the past when she was younger, she can't really remember that I have taken her places when she was a little baby, or the crew used to grab her. And that's kind of why I fell in love with the Philippines and move there as well, because I had some booking her crew, and as soon as I had my daughter on board when she was a baby, they just stole her and took her away and and then just looked after it.
I've never been to Philippines. I'd love to we hear that. This season has a lot of first a first time destination for the franchise, as well as traveling on the largest vessel in the below Deck franchise. How big is this vessel and how much does it cost?
Look, this is one of the biggest A sixty and sixty meters, So what's that in feet times by three? So two hundred and ninety foot and it's it's it's a big boat. It's a big boat interior wise as well. It's not just the decks. It's got a lot of interiors. So it's a lot of work for the internet.
Can you compare it to like Jeff Bezos what we're seeing when he is like pictured by pop arazzi liket like this?
Yeah? Like that? Like that?
Okay, I needed the comparison.
Yeah, probably where he's flag pole is. That's about the size all.
You talked about Ayesha? How is it without her this season?
That's obviously I miss her. We got on so well, We had a great couple of years together and but she had a story to tell. She started in the Mediterranean as a steward s She came to me as a chief stewardess. This is an opportunity for her to go back to the Mediterranean where she started and prove herself as a chief stewardess. And she gets on very well, Sandy, and that's a that's a great opportunity for her to crew move on. So this is a great opportunity.
Tell us about selling around the Africa. What was your favorite part of it.
I'm an avid diver. I love diving. I'm a Paddy Dive Ambassador for Paddy which is a certificate we use, so I love getting under the water as much as I can. And this was a unique place to go. I was just in the Maldives diving with tiger sharks, facing one of my fears not long ago. So I love being in unique places and that's what I've spent ten years being in remote places, really doing some great stuff. And this is just another like it's a buck up this thing for me, and I loved every minute of it.
There's one hundred and fifteen islands there. This show got to take me there and for free, I got paid and I had a great time there, so it was really good.
How do you maintain your cool when the pressure gets extreme in these situations.
I think my age has done that. I think confidence and experience does that. Trust me, I had a decade of not being that. You know, we all are, and we you know, when I was I was a captain at a young age, at twenty eight of a big boat, one hundred and ten foot boat, and I really didn't know what I was doing for a long time and
had to train myself and through those times. My lack of confidence experience does come out in blaming other people or or you know, a high vocal tone towards things, you know, to try and project my dominance or you know, my captain you know, assertion. But then when you get you get older and you've gone through experience and you've got confidence, then you realize that, okay, a lot more empathy comes through. Yeah, I can just wait for things like the world's not going to change if we don't.
You know, I've got the ability, and that's Look, that's a big thing us captains or crew, mainly captains, if we don't jump up and down, you know, rub our stomach and pad our head. You know, there's two three hundred captains waiting for your job and they do have us on a on a tight string like puppets, and it takes a while to get to that point. There you go, well, there's better things in life than saying yes all the time for things that just can't happen.
So as time goes on, you get to that point that you know the world's going to turn with or without you.
How do you and new chiefs do Lara get along?
Look, she was a great addition. As I said, I miss Asia. They're two different, two different people, and no one's the same Asia Asia. Lara has a lot of experience as a chief stewardess. She brought that into it. I was excited for to bring that level of service up. But she didn't know the environment like Asia did too.
And Asia knows her boundaries as well. She knows her flaws and and and like like most like when you go when you go to a restaurant, you know and some is not that great, but they've got that persona and they've got that ability and then you connect with them. That's Asha. So she knows her boundaries and when she doesn't, she beats it with her charisma, and that is more valuable in most points than anything else. And when Lara came in and she wanted to get she wants to
give her one hundred percent. I think you'll see in the episodes coming up that she really wants to try hard. She doesn't know the environment and she's a fish out of water. And good luck to casting because they've done a great job. It's it's gonna get a good stuff.
Now, you described the season as dramatic, wet, and emotional. Can you further explain?
Well, I think when you see episode one, you're going to see how the drama's going to unfold, and it's not it's genuine drama. It's work relation drama. It's actually real what we want below the deck, the crew they're working together so that it's going to be genuine people trying to work together in these pressure cooker cooker environments. Wet is me under the water, I suppose, because I won't go anywhere else in that.
It's Bravo And.
Yeah, what was that one? What else?
Did I You said? Dramatic, wet and emotional, emotional?
Yeah, look, there's always a few tears. There's always a few tears throughout the season.
Now do you cry?
Yeah? I have one every year. I let it out. There's a moment that I am.
Oh you're emotional. I love that.
You can't keep it up all the time. You've got to give it to some You've got to let it out and then you can move on with it. I can't, you know. I have my little internal thing going on every season. It's like it's a pressure cooker job. So yeah, I have my little moment. Was usually every season I've had a little cabin moment And yep, Okay.
As a boss, are you more diragged or are you more passive aggressive?
I would rather it's easier. It's easier in my life now too. I can see the train wreck happening, you know, I can see it happening very early, and it's easier for me to sit back and let people be themselves and give them advice. Look, they're all adults, and one thing I've learned about being a captain is try try not to be their father, you know, father all the time, you know, all their boss all the time. Be their friend as well. And I work on that manner and
try and support. Look, I can't get there without them, you know, and me trying to actually me trying to actually say this is what you have to do. Rather than let people bring something to the table, it just takes away anyone's ability to grow. So it's actually see what people see what people can bring to the table. And I say that with a lot of crew too, Like someone might be unique, you might not get on well with them, But why are they unique? And learn
out where they're from and get to know them. We're living in this environment where people don't have to be like what you think. You know, everyone's different, find out why they're unique and and and find that in enduring, admirable and get to know them and you might be friends. And that's what I want at the end of the year, is everyone at the end of the season, everyone just to you know, walk away from this and have a good time, because it's a moment in life that you should cherish.
And the trailer we see romantic relationships farming, even referring to the ship as love boat. How do you feel about the crew dating each other?
Look at they're they're long seasons in our industry. Also, people have to you know, you have to have those relationships. You know, why not if if they're if if two people can understand that this may not work out, but we still have to work together. That's that's a life
lesson too. So you know, if they can work that out, then you know, you can probably learn to be friends with your exes later on in life, you know, or you know, if you have something with someone else that you can actually you don't have to, you know, dismiss them from your life. You know, you should be able to work in environment. And these things happened, and they happened genuinely, and if they don't work out, then we still move on as workmates and.
Friends, but it could cause problems. Have you ever caught a crew member being intimate?
Have I, evern caught one being intimate? No? No, I think, yeah, I don't need to see that.
Is it hard to have sex on a boat?
Well, there's a you don't have to do much work the boat.
It's a motion of the ocean.
Right.
How are your guests this season? Any like difficult ones, anyones you want to throw overboard?
We we had some We had some guests come in at that at the right time. We had some drama coming up throughout the season. We had to get through that you'll be looking forward to and then bang out of nowhere, just I remember this group came in and it was exactly what we needed at the right time, just to pick everyone else up. And that's I can't wait for that season. But look, I'm in touch with a lot of the charter guests still that have been on.
They've really enjoyed their moment, they appreciate it, they're looking forward to it. Yeah, we generally had some wonderful people that brought a lot to the party.
Well, we heard you're having some drama with the Sioux chef, Anthony. What's the deal with that?
This? Look, first time Below Decks had a sous chef. It's a big boat. It could afford to have another crew member. It's just another added drama to bring into the scene. Boats that size do have sous chefs. There's a lot of work for the chef, and it gives the chef an opportunity to manage someone. And now Serena's a great chef, She's always in her own head a lot, so this was just another added fuel to the fire
down there. It's for her to manage and and look, I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out.
He was.
Look, as you've seen, you've probably seen episode one and all you will see in episode one. Yeah, he's probably got he's got a lot of talent. Well, he thinks he does. And there's more to being.
Oh he thinks he does. The shade.
Well, there's a lot to learn. There's a lot to learn about this, about this, about this franchise, I'm sorry about blow be working on blow Deck itself. It's it's your own unique environment as well, and it's it's it's different, very much like Lara coming in and giving her usual requirements of how things would be set out this this franchise or below deck, this show. Nothing set out. You're you're you're gonna You're on the fly, and and that
upsets you because you've got to put it together. Me as a captain, I'm going to put the crew in the boat together, chef. They have to actually put the provisions the food coming in and then the next minute they get the provision sheets on what to eat and the guests change it up and everything's on the fly. Not many people are used to that, and that is part of the ingredient that actually makes it a good shot.
Without giving anything away, what the audience be most shocked by this season?
Oh, good question, shocked. Well, I think you've seen one of the trailers Attender attended being beached on an island, and one of the support vessel that we use, it's on one of the trailers and it's actually beached on an island. And that was one of the probably the biggest moments where I'm just like, what the hell? This could not happen. So I won't go into the actual episode.
And how many seasons have you been on Bravo?
This is the third one. This is the third one.
So and you're enjoying it.
I love it. I wasn't even thinking I'd get to three. I was in Australia. I was on my way to South America on a boat. I had a wonderful time working for an American family. I can't mention that I wish I could, because we did some wonderful work. They could not come to the boat through logistic reasons and political reasons. But we actually cruised around Papua New Guinea and we found some hospitals. We rebuilt those hospitals with water and lighting. We found schools. We go back all
with these people's money, and they loved it. They wanted us to keep doing more and that's what I did for many years. And then I was on my way to South America. I got car to Australia. Then COVID happened and I was stuck in Australia for two years. I didn't see my daughter. And then after two years, I was trying to get out. I was trying to leave the boat. I need to go home and see
my daughter. And then this came up at the end of the COVID and I thought, okay, I'll do it, and I did it, didn't think anything of it, went to see my daughter, spent a year with her. They asked me to come back. I did another one. I thought, okay, I'm going to spend more time with my daughter, and I did another season and next minute we did a third season. So if anything, I missed out of my daughter's life from six to eight, but I've been with her from eight till ten, and that's what it's and
I'm just taking every day as it comes. This moment, I'm taking every season as it comes, because you know what young girls are like. They're going to they're going to leave at one stage.
Where are you right now?
I'm in La I live in they live in Bali. There she goes to school in Bali and she grew up in the Philippines. She has this like very Filipino empathetic heart. She wants to get and look after people. She's such a gorgeous little girl and she's very unique. She wants to be herself and she doesn't. She cares about.
Everything and super sweet. Okay, Captain Jason, thank you so much. Where can people find you on social media?
On my Instagram obviously, Captain j Chambers. I have a website coming up, the Captain's Lounge that'll be out. I got a freightagrance which is being launched next month as well.
And where can we get that.
It's Captain j And it's me in a bottle, really my my travels and everything, and it really it's got. It's got a woody smell, it's gender neutral, it's it's got that. It's to me. It's the the ocean and it's the waterfalls, and it's nature and it's me and and I get our great reviews of it, and I'm looking forward to it and a lot of things that I'll be doing online will be and selling online in the future. We'll be going back to a project that I work with, which is the Classic Room of Hope
and stuff like that. We build, we rebuild schools. We're working with another foundation. I took my daughter up there. We give rise to the elderly in in Indonesia. We're doing things with English tuition in Indonesia. I'll be moving that to the Philippines at some stage. So a lot of my everything I do on my platform, if you look at it, is me just sounding out things that for us to give back. I'm not trying to sell sell much at all. I don't try and sell much
at all. It's it's my life and my appreciation for this platform to help other people. And you look at it and you'll see that you're.
Amazing your fragrance.
I love you too. You've got nice a nice little test. I thought I was going to going to see you in person today, so I bought you a nice little five mil time.
Oh we should.
Oh no, I'm in a camper and palm springs and camera.
I'm at home.
But below.
Doc Under Season three premieres on Monday, February third at eight pm. So guys, make sure you tune in. We appreciate you.
If I don't see you soon. I'll see you at Bravo Con.
You are Bravo Con.
Okay by appreciate it.
Thank you, Jason.
You Bye.