A Blast From The Past - The Soak Files

All writers have certain publications they will never forget writing for. For me, Soak magazine was one of those publications. Soak was a men’s magazine that was in existence from 2003 – 2007. I linked up with them in 2005 and after landing a few music interviews in the mag I made a request of Editor in Chief Dave Chen to let me expand my range and take on an entertainment feature. He said yes, but I had to seek out and get the feature myself. It was a fantastic test and I relished the opportunity. We talked about potential television shows we’d love to get an actor or actress from, agreed on one, Entourage, which was only in its second season at the time, and I made it happen. From that point on I was assigned entertainment features and landed five cover stories for the national mag. It was a time of great growth for me professionally. Soak, in an effort to get some of their archives online, has some of those old features of mine up on their website. Today I want to share a few of my personal faves, my interviews with Jerry Ferrara, Amber Smith, Vanessa Branch and Candice Michelle.

Jerry Ferrara
Soak #15 – September / October 2005
SoakMag.com Interview Link

My interview with Jerry Ferrara, aka Turtle from Entourage, was special for me for a number of reasons. Not only was he my first non-music related entertainment feature, the interview was also my big trial for whether or not entertainment features were going to be in my future with the magazine. Jerry actually called me late for the interview, very apologetic, and we rescheduled for the next day, which was a Saturday. That day he called right on time and we had a great convo that was like new friends talking. Perhaps that came partly from the call the day before, or maybe it was just an NYC thing since we’re both from the area. Whatever it was, he definitely ranks as one of the really good people I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with and I’m always happy when I hear about his accomplishments.

Amber Smith
Soak #18 – April / May 2006
SoakMag.com Interview Link

Amber Smith was my second cover story for Soak (my first was actress Paige Peterson) and interviewing her was awesome for me because I still remember her pictorial in the March ’95 issue of Playboy. Eventual Playmate of the Year Stacy Sanches was also in that issue and if you want some real Soak symmetry, Jerry Ferrara and I actually spoke about Sanches during our interview. That part of the conversation didn’t make it into the final edit, though. Anyway, Amber and I had a great extended convo that led to an equally great feature story. I was saddened to see her on Celebrity Rehab, but if she needed help it’s good to know she recognized that and made it happen.

Vanessa Branch
Soak #19 – June / July 2006
SoakMag.com Interview Link

Vanessa Branch was my third Soak cover story and the Pirates of The Caribbean actress and Orbit gum pitchwoman turned out to be a bright, fun, individual and the eventual feature was a really solid one that I was very happy with. And in keeping with the six degrees of my Soak interviews theme, she also had a guest role on Entourage that we discussed. I actually reconnected with Vanessa earlier this year thanks to an interview I did with actress / singer Gina La Piana that was featured here on Adam’s World. It turns out the two are best friends and when Gina added me on Facebook I immediately saw Vanessa on her page and, much to my surprise, she remembered me! Sometimes people can be pretty awesome.

Candice Michelle
Soak #21 – October / November 2006
SoakMag.com Interview Link

My fourth cover story interview for Soak was with then WWE Diva Candice Michelle. This was one of my all-time favorites. We had a lot of fun on the phone and it was during this interview that I really started to hone my “professional flirting” techniques. That’s what I call it when I have to flirt for a feature (I know, such hardships!). At the end of it all, Candice, who is married, told me how great a time she had. Even though she referred to me as “like a brother” once all was said and done I didn’t hold it against her as I’d be perfectly willing to let her “hook a brotha up” with one of her former in-ring rivals. We actually ended up both being interviewed about the story for the WWE’s website.

Those four features are just a small sampling of my Soak career. I had a lot of fun and grew significantly as a journalist, both from an interviewing and a networking standpoint, during those years. Now my entertainment features have a home here on Adam’s World, and I am extremely proud of that fact.

Well, I hope you dug this trip down memory lane... and I hope you dug the interviews!