1 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: Hey, it's Lance here. For the last few episodes, we've 2 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: been hearing all about Sergei Krekilev, the Soviet space program, 3 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: the space race, Russia's messy transition to capitalism. You know, 4 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: heavy stuff. But now we're going to take a slight 5 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: detour from all of that and talk about me, Lance Vass. 6 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: Are you ready all right? Y'all already know how I 7 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: became obsessed with space as a kid after I saw 8 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: a rocket launch at Cape Carnaval, and how from that 9 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: moment I dreamt that one day I'd put on a 10 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: space suit, squeeze into a teeny tiny shuttle piano funnel, 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: and blast off into the unknown. But what you don't 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: know is some of the crazy things that happened on 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: my trip, like meeting buzz freaking Aldron and a bar 14 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: in Moscow. Yeah. So on this episode of The Last 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: Soviet I sit down with one of my producers, Asia Folks, 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: to talk about how my dream of going to space 17 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: came true. Well almost from Kaleidoscope, iHeart and Exile content. 18 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:19,639 Speaker 1: This is the Last Soviet. We start in the spring 19 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: of two thousand and two. N SYNC was about to 20 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: go on a six month hiatus. I needed that break, 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: but also it was like six months, what the hell 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: am I going to do relax poolside with a Margarita. Well, 23 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: an American TV network had other plans for me. They 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:41,479 Speaker 1: were putting together a reality TV show where contestants would 25 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: compete for a spot on a Russian Soyer's space rocket 26 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: to the International Space Station and they were looking for 27 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: a host, but they wanted that host to go to 28 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: Space two. And then one day, the producer was sitting 29 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: at home with a friend discussing where the hell they 30 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: could find a celebrity interested in space, when suddenly his 31 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: friends nine year old says, Lance Mass wants to go 32 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: to space. Turns out she was a huge InSync fan, 33 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: followed all the interviews we used to do on AOL 34 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: chat rooms. Remember those? Yeah, I'm that old. Anyway, it 35 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: was because of that nine year old that one sunny 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: day in Florida, I get that faithful phone call from 37 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: my manager. And then that's when the phone call happened. 38 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: And I remember I was in my house in Orlando. 39 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: Cindy calls and says, Hey, I have a question, would 40 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: you like to go to space? I'm like, what, okay? 41 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: And as I know, seriously we got a call and 42 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: they want you to be the youngest person to go 43 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: to space. And my first thought was, all right, Cindy, 44 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: this is a joke because Punked was such a huge 45 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: show at the time with Ashton Kutcher. Okay, here's what's 46 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: gonna happen. We're gonna do something. Celebrity's gonna get pissed, 47 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: and then we're gonna laugh at them. I'm like, Ashton 48 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: is punking me. This is a total punk, but I'm 49 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: not gonna I'm not gonna bite and so yeah, that 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: was the end of the conversation for a few days 51 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: until Cindy called back again and she's like, so this 52 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: is legit. This is definitely not an Ashton Kutcher. This 53 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: is definitely not a prank. And that's when it just 54 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: hit me that, Wow, am I really going to have 55 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: this opportunity, an opportunity that I dreamt of my whole 56 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: entire life, my first love, my first passion. And it 57 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: just took off from there. I mean, once you realize 58 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: this is the real deal, You're not being punked, Ashton 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: Kutcher is not involved, Like what's going through your head 60 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: when you realize you might actually get to live out 61 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: this thing that you'd been dreaming of since you were 62 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: a little kid. I mean, the thing that was going 63 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: through my head was, you know, it's just it didn't 64 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: seem real. It was definitely surreal. I called my parents first, 65 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: because I just had to tell them. They knew my passion, 66 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: and I also knew that my mom was going to 67 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: be so against it, because you know, sending your son 68 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: into space is not the best thing or a parent. 69 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: I think it's very dangerous and scary. So I think 70 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: her first reaction was like, no, you're not doing this, 71 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: but just kind of like when I joined in sync, 72 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: there was no stop in it. And the other thought 73 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: going through my head was, wow, am I really going 74 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: to be able to live out two of my dreams? 75 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: My two biggest dreams in the world, music and space? 76 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: And how am I lucky enough to be able to 77 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: do both of those weird, very opposite things. There was 78 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: no thought that I was going to turn this down 79 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: at all, and I was just so excited. And I remember, 80 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: you know, going back on tour just a couple of 81 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: days later and telling the guys, and I mean I was, like, 82 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: you know, a kid on Christmas morning, just so excited, 83 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: and they were so confused, like what, Like they couldn't 84 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: even be happy for me because they were just so 85 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: confused on what was going on. Everything starts slowly coming together. 86 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: The plans for your great space adventure. You've now told 87 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: your family, you've told in Sync boys, it's time to 88 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: get into gear. Yeah, and the plan is this, You're 89 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: going to spend six months of intensive cosmonaut training in 90 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: Russia and then shut off to space in October two 91 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: thousand and two. But before all that, you need to 92 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: pass these very stringent medical tests in Russia. Right, and 93 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: it turns out there's something wrong with your heart. Yeah. 94 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: Before you go into training, everyone has to go through 95 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,559 Speaker 1: medical and it's where they study you for a good week. 96 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: So I had my dad with me and a bodyguard 97 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: with me the whole time I was there. But they 98 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: research everything about you. Every little inch of your body 99 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: is studied, I mean everything. So I mean you're sitting 100 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: there completely naked in front of like eight doctors standing 101 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: on a table as they're like poking you and putting 102 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: fingers where they shouldn't be putting fingers, and they just 103 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that you're as healthy as possible 104 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: because going to space is, you know, quite dangerous and 105 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: it's a different way of living. So one of the 106 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: criteria for a cosmonaut is you have to have a 107 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: regular heartbeat, and for some reason, I had an irregular heartbeat. 108 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: I knew I had an irregular heartbeat. I'd been diagnosed 109 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: without a few years earlier, but was completely benign. But 110 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: that was the one thing that I did not pass. 111 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: So I failed my first medical and it was because 112 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: of the irregular heartbeat. And I was disappointed because I'm like, really, 113 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: this is what's going to stop my dream of going 114 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: to space is an irregular, benign heartbeat. And so we 115 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,919 Speaker 1: found this doctor in Boston that wanted it to do 116 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: an ablation surgery and said he thinks that he could 117 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: fix this and see where it's misfiring. And ablation surgery 118 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: what what is that? It's where they send basically these 119 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: rods up your arteries, about five of them through your 120 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: groin and it goes up to your heart. You're awake 121 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: during the whole thing, so there's all these television screens 122 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: around your head and you're seeing the little cameras inside 123 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 1: you and seeing where everything is, kind of trying to misfire. 124 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: They're studying in it for I felt like hours. I'm 125 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: listening to Harry Potter's book on tape, but I guess 126 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: it was on CD then because it was two. Yes, 127 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: it was the first time I had listened to a 128 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: book before and it was Harry Potter. So I was 129 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: listening to that for quite a few hours. And then 130 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: when they find the spot where it is misfiring, they 131 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: will burn it. It feels like a match, like being 132 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: put out on your heart. It hurt like hell, but 133 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: you know, in the end it worked, and now to 134 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: this day, I have a regular heartbeat. So going to 135 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: space or not, I'm kind of glad I did it. 136 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: You go through the surgery, it's you know, it's quite 137 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: an ordeal. In Sync finally goes on its six month 138 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: hiatus and you fly into Rush or you fly into 139 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: Moscow and you get to Star City. What are your 140 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: first impressions of the place. Well, when I fly on 141 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: to Moscow, it was just an overwhelming feeling because you 142 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: see all the things that you've studied in history books 143 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: and all these gorgeous pictures of Moscow. It was it 144 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: was beautiful, So you know, I was a good tourist 145 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: for good twelve hours when I first landed there. Of course, 146 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: the first thing I tried doing was going to McDonald's 147 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: because I heard that McDonald's was like the crazy thing 148 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: in Moscow, and of course it's stupid America. It's like, 149 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: I want to see this McDonald which I did. So 150 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: that was a fun sight seeing experience. I mean it 151 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: was exactly what they said, completely packed, huge. I mean, 152 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: people were fighting over McDonald's. It was a it's a 153 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: big thing. And then of course seeing the Kremlin and 154 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: all that. I mean, it's just, you know, just history 155 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: right in front of you. I did do Saint Petersburg 156 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: for a weekend and it's gorgeous. But the places that 157 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: I did see outside of those cities could not be 158 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: more opposite of what those main cities were. Like, it's 159 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: a completely different country. The wealth distribution is just insane. 160 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: And then you go to Star City and first time 161 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: I pulled up to is very intimidating. The gates, the walls, 162 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: in the middle of a forest. You've been driving for 163 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: it felt like hours to this just middle of nowhere 164 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: place that looks like it is literally from the sixties. 165 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: And the first thing I noticed is how many guns, 166 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: I mean so many military They always just you know, 167 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: have their guns out, feeling like they're going to just 168 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: pointing out you at any second. And then you get 169 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: into the first gates and you just see this amazing 170 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: city that you feel like, this is exactly what Gagarin saw, right, 171 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: I mean, this is exactly the buildings he saw, This 172 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: is exactly where he walked. If you just took pictures, 173 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: you would never know what decade it was. So just 174 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: stepping back in time was really interesting and I just 175 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: loved it. I thought it was just a beautiful feeling. 176 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: So this all sounds really impressive. But what about you? 177 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: Where did you fit into all of this? Tell me 178 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 1: about where you were living. Oh? So, yes, I was 179 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: living in one of the cosmonaut profies. This apartment complex 180 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: again had been there since the sixties, chipped pain everywhere, 181 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,559 Speaker 1: definitely wasn't kept up that great. There was no air conditioning, 182 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: and when I got there, it was just the beginning 183 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: of summer. You know, I'd always thought, oh, Russia's very cold, 184 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: so I bet the summers are really nice. Oh no, 185 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: it is hot as hell and there was no air 186 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: condition and so you'd have to sleep with the windows open. 187 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: But if you slept with the windows open, the mosquitos 188 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: would eat you alive. I mean so many mosquitos. So 189 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: the first few nights I have to sleep with a 190 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: little sheet over me, sweating my butt off and just 191 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: hearing like little thumps and mosquitos trying to get to me. 192 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: And then I'd wake up in the morning and I 193 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: would just see my whole wall was covered in blood 194 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: because of all the little splats that I would you 195 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: try to kill all the mosquitos, And it was miserable, 196 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: absolutely miserable. It sounds like you weren't really given the 197 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: star celebrity treatment, you know, right, So you were training 198 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 1: with the Russians, you were living with the Russians, and 199 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: you were getting ready to fly on a Russian Soyuz capsule. Yeah, 200 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: but as an American, NASA actually also had to approve 201 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: your flight, and there were NASA reps you had to 202 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: meet and impress. How did that go well? I mean, 203 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: especially at the beginning, you know, NASA didn't want me there, 204 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: you know, it was it was ridiculous. Oh my gosh, 205 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: you're gonna get a pop star to come train and 206 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: go to space, you know, that's a slap in so 207 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: many astronaut's faces that have not flown or will never fly. 208 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: So you know, a lot of you know, NASA definitely 209 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: didn't want me there. They thought it was a bad look. 210 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: And I remember the first time that I met with 211 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: NASA officials right before I went into training. They wanted 212 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: to meet with me, need to make sure that I 213 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: had the goods right to do this, and so met 214 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: with them. I thought it was a great meeting, and 215 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: then I find out later that, you know, they thought 216 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: I was like Dama's Rocks, And they also thought that 217 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: I was an alcoholic and drug addict because I was 218 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: a quote unquote rock star, right, yeah, like have you 219 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: seen our group? We're pop stars? Ed? Yeah, far from it. 220 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: Because do you think there are any aspects of being 221 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: a pop star, being a part of in Sync that 222 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: prepared you in any way for being an astronaut? I do. 223 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: It's odd to say that being within Sync and what 224 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: I did and trained within Sync, it really did help 225 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: me with this space training, and I think that was 226 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: started off with work ethic. You know, within Sync, we 227 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: spent hours and hours learning how to dance and singing 228 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 1: at the same time, which took us months to figure 229 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: that out, running on treadmills and trying to sing. So 230 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: conditioning was a huge part of just being an end sync. 231 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: It was almost like a sport just because of the 232 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,720 Speaker 1: way that we performed. So when I went to Russia, 233 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: I was already ready to work hard. You weren't going 234 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: to see me not paying attention and being exactly what 235 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: they thought. I was going to be, this stupid little 236 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: pop star that is an alcoholic. It's just too dumb 237 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: to learn anything, you know. I was there to work 238 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,719 Speaker 1: and work hard, and then it wasn't until the very 239 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: first week of training and all your tests or verbal 240 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: tests and they rate you one to five and I 241 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: forget even what the first classes were. I know there 242 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: was a lot of math involved, and I think it 243 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: was the makeup of the soya is. I took it 244 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 1: very seriously. It's amazing what you can get yourself to 245 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: do when you're putting these situations, and especially if you're 246 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: passionate about it. Yeah, And I feel like, especially if 247 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: you have this sort of motivation of someone saying you 248 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: can't do it, you know, you want to prove them wrong. 249 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, exactly. So I mean I was doing rocket sign. 250 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: It's my first week there, and I'm like, I'm going 251 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: to prove you. I want to get to the training 252 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: in just a minute. But before that, what was your 253 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: sort of what was your impression of the Russians that 254 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: you met at Star City? What did you make of them? 255 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: The Russians that I met in Star City? The first 256 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: thing that I thought of is they're just proud, very 257 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: proud people. They're so happy about what they have there 258 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: and what they've developed since the sixties and all their accomplishments. 259 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: I mean, they still talk about Gagarin in almost every sentence. 260 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: That is their man. And I had heard of Gagarin 261 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: obviously the first man in space, but as an American 262 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: you don't really get two in depth with a Russian 263 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: space agency and the whole Gagaran story because you know, 264 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: it's a little embarrassing that they bear our country, so 265 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: we have a little revised history sometimes when we study. 266 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: I got to learn so much about Gagarin those first 267 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: couple of weeks, and I was super impressed and became 268 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: a huge fan. And I felt that I felt just 269 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 1: as proud as they did. But I loved it because 270 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: they you know, I would say probably half the Russian 271 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: Space Agency didn't want me there either. I don't know 272 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: if they thought it might be a bad look. It 273 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: could be something you can make fun of and make 274 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: it the space program look a little less than that. 275 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: They're allowing me to do this, but they never really 276 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: showed that to me. They treated me like a cosmonaut. 277 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: You know, once you're in cosmaut training, you're a cosmaut, 278 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: and they respect cosmonauts so much, and you felt special. 279 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: You felt very very special. I mean, the guy who 280 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: made my space suit made gagarin space suit. I mean, 281 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: it was just amazing that the same exact people that 282 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: worked with Gagaron or working with me this many decades later. 283 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: What was a typical day in Star City? Like sort 284 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: of talk me through your day from the moment you 285 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: wake up. I mean every day in Star City, it 286 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: wasn't typical. The only thing typical was you knew you 287 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: were up at five in the morning and you would 288 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: get back to your apartment by ten pm. So the 289 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: days were super long, and you would have at the 290 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: beginning of the week you would get your schedule and 291 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: it always changed, and of course it was all in Russian, 292 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: so I'd have to like figure out what exactly this 293 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: it says because my Russian teacher only spoke French and Russian, 294 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: zero English, and they thought just immersing myself in that 295 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: would make me learn Russian a lot easier, But it's not. 296 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: With zero reference, I had no idea what was going on. 297 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: So I knew how to conjugate everything in Russian, but 298 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: I didn't even know what the word meant. So I 299 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: had to start learning Russian on my own by watching 300 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: you know, the local Sesame Street cartoons and that type 301 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: of stuff. So yeah, so you know, I could conjugate 302 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: and I could read it, but I didn't know what 303 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: I'm saying. But thanks to Sesame Street, I knew the 304 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: certain words, and mainly the things I needed to learn 305 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: were just emergency words like there's a fire, you know, 306 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: things like that. I mean, it was tough. The language 307 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: was definitely tough. Did you eat a lot of Russian 308 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: food while you were over there? I was forced to 309 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: eat a Russian food. I have a very stupid palette, 310 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: I would say, especially twenty years ago. There's many things 311 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: I wouldn't eat, even cucumbers, like that's how bland my 312 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: taste buds were. That was the first time, I had cucumbers, 313 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: and they love cucumbers over in Russian they do, yeah, 314 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: and so there's the only thing I could eat and 315 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: actually enjoy and know what it was. They liked their 316 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: shishka babs for sure, so that was nice. But they 317 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: always made me eat this soup and it was horrible. 318 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: I don't know what kind of soup it was, but 319 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: that was the one thing at lunch they were always 320 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: like forcing me to finish, So that was always strange 321 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: to me. Yea, we get into this a bit in 322 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: some of the other episodes, but I would love to 323 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: hear more about some of the actual training that you 324 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 1: went through. So tell me about survival training. What is that. 325 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: I feel like most of my training was about emergency 326 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: and survival. So you know, when you come down on 327 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: the soyas, sometimes you miss your mark and you don't 328 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: know if you're going to land in the ocean or 329 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: you're in a land in the middle of Siberia. You 330 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: have no idea, one little mistake and you're halfway across 331 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: the world. So you have to learn how to survive 332 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: for at least a day in case they can't find you. 333 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,719 Speaker 1: So one of those if you land in the forest 334 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 1: is learning how to build shelter, make a fire, find food, 335 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: what things are edible and not edible. That was a 336 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: good I would say two week training Right there. I 337 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: felt like I was back in the boy Scouts, which 338 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,199 Speaker 1: was fun. And then the other survival training was they 339 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: drop you in your Soya's capsule into a huge Olympic 340 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: sized pool and you have to in a certain amount 341 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,680 Speaker 1: of time as you're sinking, get out of your skafand 342 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,679 Speaker 1: er your flight suit, which is very hard because you 343 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: have all these bundles and your clothes and everything just 344 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: kind of pressed up against you. Your whole body is 345 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: numb because you're kneesier in your chest. So then they 346 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:55,919 Speaker 1: drop you in this water and you have to get 347 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 1: out in a certain amount of time, and it takes 348 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: a while to get out of that space suit. And 349 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: the first time they did it, I did it in 350 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: a good amount of time, so I was very happy. 351 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 1: They were happy I got out safe and I was 352 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,199 Speaker 1: able to move on to the next emergency train. You 353 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: also flew a fighter plane. Yeah, that was flying the 354 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: Russian MiG was like that was one of the first 355 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: days in Russia, and this was kind of my first 356 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: I don't know, look at what it was like to 357 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 1: be a Russian cosmonaut. They took me to this field 358 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: where they had these fighter jets, and I didn't know 359 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: what we were doing, but every cosmonaut has kind of 360 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: a mentor cosmonaut, and so my mentor cosmonaut took me there. 361 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: And we first go to this airfield and we have 362 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: a nice little lunch with some sandwiches and lots of vodka. 363 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 1: And I did come to find out that the vodka 364 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,400 Speaker 1: thing is real in Russia. They drink it all day long, 365 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: and they do it to celebrate. They do it too, 366 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: oh we finished a class, great? Oh yeah, and they 367 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: do it straight. So I'm having a couple of vodka 368 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,880 Speaker 1: shots and I'm feeling really good and he's like, okay, 369 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: let's go fly. I'm like what You're like, I thought 370 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: we were having a picnic. Oh no, So you know, 371 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,360 Speaker 1: we're pretty drunk, and a commander's drunk, and he's like 372 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: all right. So we take out a little flight plan 373 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: and we're kind of drawing what we're gonna do, and 374 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, this is great. Like I've never flown 375 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: in anything like this, and obviously I have an amazing pilot. 376 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,959 Speaker 1: So let's do this. So we get in, we you know, 377 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: take off, and then I realized that, no, he wants 378 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: me to do the flight path. I've never I've never 379 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: flown a plane before. You know, he does it first, 380 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,640 Speaker 1: and we're doing circles and flips. It's everything you see 381 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: in Top Gun. And now I realize, he's probably seeing 382 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: how I can handle this, to see how I would 383 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: freak out if I was calm enough to do this, 384 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: and I was. I was not worried at all. Never 385 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,479 Speaker 1: dawned on me that this could be dangerous at all 386 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: because I thought I was in great hands, which I was. 387 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: But then when I took over, it was amazing. I mean, 388 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: I was doing all these flips and you know, you 389 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: see in the movie where they go all the way up, 390 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: then they cut the engine and then you fall down, 391 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 1: and then they cut it back on and then just 392 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: pull it up right above the tree line. We were 393 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:04,840 Speaker 1: doing all of that and it was amazing, absolutely amazing. 394 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: But then you realize, wait a minute, he's drunk. This 395 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: guy is drunk, So you know, I definitely you know, 396 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: I knew the lever that I needed to pull in 397 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: case I needed to eject out of that thing. Let's 398 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: just say that. So you're getting closer and closer to 399 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: that October launch date. It's going to be you and 400 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: two other cosmonauts packed into this tiny soy Use capsule 401 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: and you were set to spend ten days in space 402 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: at the International Space Station. Yeah, what was your role 403 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: on the mission going to be? Although I was a 404 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: quote unquote space tourist, it wasn't tourism like we think today. 405 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 1: You know, when you go up, you float around, you 406 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 1: come back. Every cosmonaut on the soy is has a 407 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 1: job because there's no room for anything else. So me, 408 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 1: being in the left seat, I could reach buttons that 409 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: they couldn't reach. So I was in charge of a 410 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 1: lot of things that could easily ruin the mission or 411 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: kill my crew members. So you had to take it 412 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: very very seriously. And I could understand, coming from their 413 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: view if you thought that, oh my god, a freaking 414 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: pop star that's dumb as hell like is now in 415 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: charge of my oxygen like that, that can't feel very safe. 416 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:13,400 Speaker 1: It was your job to be the oxygen guy. Yeah, yeah, 417 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: So part of my job was making sure that the 418 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: oxygen was working right. You know. That was a lot 419 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,120 Speaker 1: to put on your shoulders, because that's very very important. 420 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: Oxygen is very important for a mission like that. But 421 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: I think once we had trained together, they saw how 422 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: serious I was about all of this, and I learned 423 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: very quickly. What was that like for you? Kind of 424 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: knowing that all these people underestimated you, you know they 425 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,640 Speaker 1: were they were kind of going like, ah, this guy, 426 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: we gotta go with the Like how did that feel? 427 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: It didn't feel much different from my real life. I've 428 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: always been underestimated my entire life. I was always the 429 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: shortest kid. I was always like the low, total pole person. 430 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: So I always loved proving people wrong and I got 431 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,160 Speaker 1: that a lot within sync. When we came out. We 432 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,199 Speaker 1: were so underestimated and made fun of and no one 433 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: took a seriously and we just had to prove ourselves 434 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: by being who we were. I want to shift gears 435 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,719 Speaker 1: a little bit. At this point two thousand and two, 436 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,760 Speaker 1: you were not out of the closet yet you were 437 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: hiding your sexuality even in the States. Yeah, and now 438 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 1: you're you were in Russia, where attitudes are you know, 439 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: a lot more conservative and where being gay could be 440 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,040 Speaker 1: potentially quite dangerous, and to dial back a little bit. 441 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: I want to talk about an experience that you had 442 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 1: before the training began as part of the medical tests. Yeah, 443 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: you flew to Russia and you had to have a colonoscopy. 444 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: What happened? How did that go? Yeah? That was an 445 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,120 Speaker 1: eye opening moment. You know, I'd been used to hide 446 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: myself my whole life, right, I mean, being gay in 447 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 1: the States still was not accepted very well, even in 448 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 1: two thousand and two. So my whole life, since I 449 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: was five, I knew I was gay, and I knew 450 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 1: I had to hide it, and very conflicted because I 451 00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: grew up very religious, so I always thought there was 452 00:22:57,880 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: something wrong with me, and you know, I would never 453 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: act on it. But when I went to Russia, it 454 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: didn't even I didn't even think about that because I'd 455 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: already been living such a hidden life that I was 456 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: an expert at it, so there was no way they 457 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: were going to figure it out. But when I get 458 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: there and it's medical training towards the end, you have 459 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: to do a colonoscophy, and I didn't even know I 460 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 1: was going in for this procedure because they didn't tell 461 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: you anything. So they did the colonoscophy in front of 462 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: many people. My dad was there. Zero sedation. You just 463 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: kind of laid down, went to your side, and they 464 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: did it, and it hurt so much. You know, they 465 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: were pumping the air into your stomach and it felt 466 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: like there was someone like with a knife trying to 467 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,680 Speaker 1: stab outside, you know, to get out of your stomach. 468 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: And I had some tears going down my face because 469 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: it was just it hurts so badly. And they were 470 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: just laughing, like the doctors were laughing, My translator was laughing, 471 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: and I'm looking at my dad. I'm like, so, what's funny? 472 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,159 Speaker 1: And then finally someone's like, oh, They're like, well, we 473 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: now know that you're not gay, and I was like, oh, okay. 474 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: And it was just such a joke, right, And and 475 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: I'd heard several things throughout my training about gay people, 476 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 1: right and making fun of gay people because it was 477 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: such a macho atmosphere in this Cosmaut training, and you 478 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:13,719 Speaker 1: just kind of had to laugh along with them. But 479 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: I knew then, like, WHOA, I need to really watch 480 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: what I say. So I was very quiet the rest 481 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: of that training that that sounds awful, and it gives 482 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: you kind of some insight into how pervasive and casual 483 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,919 Speaker 1: homophobia was in Russia, I mean is even more so 484 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: probably today. But did that experience with the kolonoscopy did 485 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: that put you off going? Did it make you reconsider? No, 486 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 1: it never made me reconsider. I just thought, I mean, 487 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: that's that's just part of it, and that's just what 488 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: you had to do. You had to sacrifice a lot, 489 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,719 Speaker 1: and I was I was ready for that sacrifice. And 490 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: so this this obviously happened before before the training, before 491 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: you moved to Russia, right you once you'd arrived, once 492 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: you were living in Russia. How much was the kind 493 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: of homophobia and hiding your sexuality, how much was that 494 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: part of your day to day? How much were you 495 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: thinking about that? You know, it definitely ran through my 496 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: mind every day I was there. I in fact had 497 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: been you know, it was the first time that I 498 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: had met someone, so I had already kind of started 499 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 1: talking to someone and having a little relationship. So this 500 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: is the first time I'd ever acted on something like this, 501 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,920 Speaker 1: and I knew that couldn't be found out. And I thought, Okay, 502 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: can't call this guy, can't email this guy nothing. As 503 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: long as I'm there, there's no way I can communicate 504 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: because they're going to be watching what I write and 505 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: listening to every phone call that I have. But other 506 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 1: than that, I didn't feel in danger at all because 507 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: one I was stuck on a military base, so there's 508 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 1: no way they were going to find out that I 509 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: was gay. I didn't have any information out there that 510 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: you could find to confirm that. And throughout the training, 511 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 1: you know, it's just it's a boys club, it really is. 512 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 1: At the end of certain classes and you have like 513 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 1: an hour you would go sit in the big sauna 514 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: where they kind of take branches and kind of beat 515 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: each other. They're with and you're drinking vodka, and it's 516 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: just kind of this it's a it's a bonding time 517 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 1: with your crew, with your professors. It's just the time 518 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:10,920 Speaker 1: that the boys bond. And in those bonding times, people 519 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: are telling jokes and stories and laughing, and a lot 520 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,399 Speaker 1: of the times the butt of the joke would be 521 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: being gay, you know, and I haven't just have to 522 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:36,399 Speaker 1: laugh along with it. So Lance, you're in the middle 523 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: of this very hectic training schedule, You're you're hyper focused, 524 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 1: you're eating too many cucumbers than you'd like to be eating. 525 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 1: But kind of in the background, of all of this, 526 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: there are some financial issues with the project. What was 527 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: going on behind the scenes. What was going on behind 528 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: the scenes is still somewhat a mystery to me because 529 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: I don't know how much truth I was being told. 530 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 1: But what I from my view, this is what happened. 531 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: So I went there with this company that wanted to, 532 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: you know, send the youngest person to space. And it 533 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: was going to be a part of this television show 534 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 1: called Mission Space. And they wanted their host, which I 535 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: was going to host the show, to have gone through 536 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: the training and gone to space because the winner of 537 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: the show does the exact same thing, goes into Russian 538 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: training and gets sent off to the ISS. And it 539 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: was going to be a CBS show in America. And 540 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: then that's when they shipped me to Russia. And I 541 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: just started training and again cut off from the world. 542 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: So I was, you know, I was doing the cosmonaut thing, 543 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 1: but entertainment they were doing their own thing. And I 544 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 1: guess Russia and Hollywood don't really get along because Russia 545 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:40,920 Speaker 1: is all about the contract. You know, It's like this 546 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,679 Speaker 1: is how it is and this is how it's going 547 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: to go. And you know, Hollywood can be just very wishy, 548 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,640 Speaker 1: washy and shady, and I think that's what went down 549 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: because Alexander Duretchen, who was the head of Anergia, which 550 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: is you know, their Boeing and basically runs the Russian 551 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: Space Agency, brought me into his office and he said, look, 552 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,040 Speaker 1: your name is not in this track at all with 553 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,199 Speaker 1: CBS or anything. And that was the first Time'm like, well, 554 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: well then why am I here then? And I just 555 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: I still couldn't figure out why they would send me there, 556 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,159 Speaker 1: knowing that they were going to sandbag my flight anyway. 557 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 1: But it pissed off a Nargia so much that they 558 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,399 Speaker 1: ripped the contract up and said, we're not working with y'all. 559 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: And that's when they kicked me out of my first time. 560 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: They kicked me out of the training facility and I 561 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: had to go to Moscow. So you got kicked out 562 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: and you just went to Moscow? Yeah, I had to 563 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:33,879 Speaker 1: sit in Moscow for a weekend until they figured something 564 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,679 Speaker 1: out because they ripped the contract out and there was 565 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: no reason I should be there because without that contract, 566 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: no one was paying for me to be there. I mean, 567 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,280 Speaker 1: I was pissed. I was pissed at my agents. I 568 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,200 Speaker 1: was pissed at CBS. I mean, I'm here in good 569 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: faith doing this and putting my ass on the line, 570 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: being tortured every day, and here you are kind of 571 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: like playing with my life. And again, I don't know 572 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: exactly what went down, but all I know is that 573 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 1: part of the mission was canceled. It was done, and 574 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: there was no TV show that I was hosting and 575 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: all that. But immediately MTV popped on board and they 576 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: knew it. We had already been shooting some stuff, so 577 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: they're like, well, we'll just do an MTV doc on 578 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: this because it's still the youngest person to go to 579 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 1: space as a musician. So they kind of picked it 580 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 1: up immediately and we just continued that next week and 581 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: they were on the line to pay for this. But 582 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: then I went in for a few more months, finishing 583 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: the training, and then it was I guess September, right 584 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: before my launch or maybe early October, and apparently they 585 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: couldn't get the funding they needed right before the mission 586 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: because no one would cover a cosmonaut with insurance. That's 587 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: crazy that that wasn't sorted out before ying. Yeah, yeah, 588 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: so you know, no one would fund a mission that 589 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: can't be insured. No production can go ahead without it 590 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: being insured. So that was the reasoning they said, we 591 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: can't go further because we can't ensure you. And that 592 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: was two or three weeks before my launch, and that's 593 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: when I found out that my mission was canceled because 594 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: of insurance. And it broke my heart. You know, I 595 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: couldn't believe that I was two weeks short of getting 596 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,960 Speaker 1: my certification. I had gone this far, and I'm like, 597 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,720 Speaker 1: are you kidding me? Like I did all this for nothing? Yeah, 598 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: but how did it feel for you? Like the moment 599 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: you found out it definitely wasn't happening. It was a 600 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: dark moment in my life. You know, it was very depressing, 601 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: and I feel like I feel like I still have 602 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,719 Speaker 1: a lot of depression over it because you worked so 603 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,400 Speaker 1: hard on something and just because of, you know, a 604 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: couple of stupid people, it's just kind of pulled away 605 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 1: from you and they don't even care. They're like, oh, well, 606 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: that's not my problem anymore. Next you just kind of 607 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: felt thrown away. But then Russia said, well, if you 608 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: want to finish the course, which is two more weeks, 609 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: we'll let you finish it so you can get certified. 610 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: So that you can go in case you can work 611 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 1: this out in the future. You know, you can finish 612 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: out this training, but you'd have to pay a million dollars. 613 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,880 Speaker 1: A million dollars. Yeah, so I had to decide if 614 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: I was going to pay a million dollars out of 615 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: my own pocket to finish the damn two weeks training 616 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: just so I can be certified, just in case I 617 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: want to use it to fly to space in the future. 618 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: And I did, and I'm glad I did. I mean, 619 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: it sucked, but I needed that certification. You know, I 620 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: had to leave there with something positive. But yeah, a 621 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: million dollars to finish two weeks was a lot, but 622 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: you know, I cherished that certificate and maybe I will 623 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 1: go one day. What was it like for you to 624 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,440 Speaker 1: go back to the US after all that training. I 625 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: had so many emotions about it. One, I couldn't wait 626 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: to get back to my home, my own bed, my family, 627 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: you know, my friends. You know. That excited me. I 628 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 1: needed that normalcy again. But then the other side of 629 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: me was embarrassed, embarrassed that I wasn't able to finish 630 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,880 Speaker 1: this mission that I was so excited about that I 631 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 1: had completely stopped my life for that, I felt I 632 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: stopped my whole business for once I got back to America, 633 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: That's when I saw all the press about it. As 634 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: long as I was in Russia, I didn't see the news. 635 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: I didn't have a TV, I didn't read the papers, 636 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,520 Speaker 1: so I didn't know it was such a big deal 637 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: me being over there in such a news story. So 638 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: I started seeing all the news stories about like how 639 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 1: it was a PR stunt, and then I wasn't really 640 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:19,120 Speaker 1: over there, and then I get kicked out of Star 641 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,040 Speaker 1: City and I mean, just really making me look like 642 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: an idiot. So you know, going back to that kind 643 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: of darkness, and it was very confusing time, but it 644 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: was life changing. How had you changed kind of physically 645 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 1: and emotionally after the training? How had it changed you? 646 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:39,160 Speaker 1: I think it changed me a lot. I had the 647 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: best time. I would do it all over again, but 648 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: I definitely came back a little I don't know, just scared. 649 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 1: I guess. I don't know what it was, but I 650 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,720 Speaker 1: definitely had changed. I got quieter, and I was already 651 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: a quiet guy, but I felt like I really kind 652 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: of stood back and I'm like, okay, everyone's really kind 653 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: of judging me at all times watching me at all times, 654 00:32:58,040 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: like I just felt like the Russians were always watching. 655 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: How do you feel now when you look back at 656 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: those crazy six months in Russia? I think it is 657 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 1: one of the best times I've ever had in my life. 658 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: Also one of the most devastating times of my life. 659 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: Every emotion comes out. It was just no one will 660 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: understand it, no one unless you went through it. You 661 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: just don't get it. You don't get the pressure that 662 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: was on you. You're raised thinking about a country a 663 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: certain way, with all the relations between both countries. Your 664 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 1: team America, right, and the Russians were the bad guys 665 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 1: for so long. But when you're there and you work 666 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 1: with these guys, it was amazing to see all these 667 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 1: countries working together, and all the bullshit that I had 668 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: always heard just kind of washed away, you know, And 669 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: I started understanding the Russians much better, and how they 670 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 1: looked at everything in their beliefs, and to see how 671 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: everyone really worked together and was such a team was 672 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: a beautiful thing. Space really brought so many people together. 673 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 1: So Putin invaded Ukraine last February. Relations between the West 674 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,080 Speaker 1: and Russia are at their lowest since the Cold War. 675 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,360 Speaker 1: At this point. Do you think you'll ever go back? 676 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: What would you like to I would love to go 677 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:14,120 Speaker 1: back to Russia. I would love to finally get on 678 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 1: a mission, Soyer's mission, so I could go and train 679 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,239 Speaker 1: a little bit more for that see a lot of 680 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,479 Speaker 1: I'm sure there's so many of the same people still 681 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:23,960 Speaker 1: working there. It was a special place for me and 682 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 1: I was so young, so I feel very connected to 683 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: Star City and everyone I worked with. I hope relations 684 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: get better. A lot of people that know that I'm 685 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,279 Speaker 1: doing the last Soviet or like, are you sure this 686 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 1: is the right time to, you know, do a Russian story. 687 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,120 Speaker 1: I'm like, well, this is the best time to do it. 688 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: It shows you a slice of life from Russia and 689 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:47,239 Speaker 1: especially a time period where communism was falling. It's the 690 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: perfect time to relive that and study that and educate 691 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,880 Speaker 1: yourself because what's going on now is not too different 692 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 1: from what is going on back then. And do you 693 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: think you'll still go to space someday? I don't know 694 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,720 Speaker 1: if I'll ever end up in space, but I pray 695 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: that I do. I really do. I just think it's 696 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,759 Speaker 1: one of those things that, you know, if I could 697 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 1: cross that off the list, I would feel very accomplished. 698 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,799 Speaker 1: You know. I spent a lot of time training and 699 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: putting myself through a lot of misery to you know, 700 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 1: to get to the point where I could actually go, 701 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: and I am coming so close you just taste it. 702 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: I won't be fulfilled unless I'm able to make it. 703 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 1: It would be nice to just make it to Space. Fine, 704 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,480 Speaker 1: but my goal I want to live on the ISS. 705 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: I want my ten days up there. I want to 706 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,279 Speaker 1: do my studies. You know. I don't want to just 707 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: go up there and play around and float around and 708 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 1: oh this was fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just I 709 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,239 Speaker 1: want to do something important and I want to, you know, 710 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:48,959 Speaker 1: take it seriously. And so my hopes are still there 711 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: that one day this will happen. I can't believe it's 712 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: been over twenty years since those crazy six months and 713 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:05,480 Speaker 1: I still can't get them out of my head. I mean, 714 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,400 Speaker 1: Space just got under my skin and stayed there. No 715 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,359 Speaker 1: matter what I get up to in life or where 716 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 1: I go, I can't shake its siren call. I mean, here, 717 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 1: I am hosting a whole podcast about it, and on that. 718 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: We're gonna leave my story for a bit now, and 719 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:26,560 Speaker 1: we're back next week with Sarah Gays, So I'll talk 720 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: to you then. The Last Soviet is a Kaleidoscope production 721 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,399 Speaker 1: in partnership with iHeart Podcast and Exile Media. Produced by 722 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:58,040 Speaker 1: Sama's Dad Audio and hosted by Me Lance Bass Executive 723 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:02,320 Speaker 1: produced by Kate Osborne and Mangesh Hada Kador with Oz 724 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:07,720 Speaker 1: Wallisham and Kostas Linos from iHeart Executive Produced by Katrina 725 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 1: Norville and Nikki Ettore from Sama's Dad Audio our executive 726 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: producers or Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitzina. Produced by Asia Fuchs, 727 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:22,760 Speaker 1: Dasha Litzitzina and Joe Sykes. Writing by Lydia Marchant, Research 728 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:27,760 Speaker 1: by Mika Golubovski and Molly Schwartz, Music by Will Epstein, 729 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:31,799 Speaker 1: Themed by Martin or String mixing and sound design by 730 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:36,120 Speaker 1: Richard Ward and special thanks to Nando via Well, Lissa Pollock, 731 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 1: Will Pearson, Connel Byrne, Bob Pittman, and Isaac Lee. If 732 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:43,600 Speaker 1: you want to hear more shows like this, nothing is 733 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:47,520 Speaker 1: more important to the creators here at Kaleidoscope than subscribers, ratings, 734 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: and reviews, so please spread the love wherever you listen.