'Claim to Fame' Winner Adam Discusses the Head Injury That Almost Sent Him Home
At this point in reality TV history, the medical evacuation has become pretty common place. Between people falling in the fire on Survivor, death dropping too hard on RuPaul's Drag Race or the bouts of asthma that impact Omarosa, we've seen it all. However, one does not expect medical issues to come into play on Claim to Fame, a show were the relatives of celebrities sit around in a Hollywood mansion and solve puzzles. However, in the finale of Claim to Fame's Season 3, a medical emergency almost knocked out one of the final three competitors.
In the final challenge of the season, a sort of obstacle course that involved callbacks to previous challenges, finalists Hud, Mackenzie and Adam duked it out for power heading into the final guess off of the season. However, while maneuvering a stanchions in one section of the challenge, Adam knocked the metal pole into his head. Bleeding profusely, he stopped the challenge so that a medical team could take a look at his cut. When they declared he needed stitches, it appeared he might be pulled from the game, forfeiting his chance to win the $100,000.
However, after donning a massive head bandage and promising not to run, Adam not only returned to competition, but won the challenge. Later that night (after a quick trip to the ER), he eliminated both of his competitors in the final guess off. He then revealed his own "claim to fame," his relationship with his uncle, musician Michael Bolton, and nabbed the cash prize.
Adam has been an intriguing figure all season, rubbing his competitors the wrong way and their frequent target. Twice he sent people home when they guessed his relative incorrectly. Twice Adam nearly screwed up the name of the celebrity he was trying to guess, reading Molly Ringwald off his arm and getting Trace Adkins mixed up with Clay Aiken. But he never ceased to keep the audience entertained.
Now, the third winner of Claim to Fame, Adam sat down with Parade to discuss the medical emergency, his win and how he's going to spend the $100,000.
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Matthew Huff: Congratulations on your win! To start out, do you know who Molly Ringwald is yet?
Adam: Oh, yeah. No, I heard it from my wife, definitely. She warned me going in to study the Brad Pack. I studied the Brad Pack, and now I might get my first tattoo, saying "Molly Ringwald."
How does it feel to be the Season 3 winner? At what point during the finale did you think, "Oh, maybe I've got this"?
I actually don't think I had it until I screamed, and all of the fireworks were just going off. And even then, I thought "That just happened?" Really I was just in a trance the entire time, focused on winning. But I had no idea if I would actually pull it off.
At what point did you figure out who Hud and Mackenzie were related to?
I had a pretty good clue after the challenge with the connections [in Episode 6] when I got Hud's clue there. "Small Town" was definitely a confirmation for John Mellencamp.
With Mackenzie, I didn't know she was a country girl until way later. We had a conversation, and she knew some obscure country references, and once Danny said, "six foot six country singer," I narrowed it down to two people. Then I was just having a difficult time figuring out "Trace" versus "Clay." I had so many other first names, but "Trace" was definitely in my mind and in the running.
Do you feel like you had a better grasp on he music celebrities than the actors?
I'd say that's fairly fair. I like obscure music, and I get really focused on certain artists like Bob Dylan. I could go through his discography and his catalog. Movies for me are a time for me to zone out. It's kind of like my way of escaping.
Have you told your uncle about your experience?
I did! I just sat with him at the kitchen table. I didn't tell him I won yet, but I told him about the experiences we had and how grateful I was to him for his DNA. That was a special moment, and hopefully he tunes in to see the result.
Related: 'Claim to Fame' Announces 3 New Twists for Season 3
What are you planning on doing with the $100,000 you've won?
Well, I've already bought my dad a truck, and the rest is going to taxes. So that's it. Game over. I didn't come for the money. I came literally to get enough money to get my father a truck because he deserves a new truck.
How did you end up on Claim to Fame in the first place?
My wife and I were watching Season 2, and the reveal when the celebrity comes out after the guess have the contestants in tears. It's very moving, and it hit me in a profound way. It really resonated with me, and I thought to myself, "It would be really nice to be surrounded by people who have experienced having somebody famous in their family. I applied, and I got a call back. It was crazy.
Are you going to reach out to the winners of the first two seasons?
No. I don't have an iPhone, and I missed out on all these group texts with other seasons and stuff. I'm really looking forward to it though because it seemed like my journey was a little different than theirs as far as having an entire house after you.
In the final challenge, the rest of the contestants weren't really helping you out. Were you surprised by that or did you know you had been rubbing people the wrong way throughout the season?
Yeah, I mean, my whole life I've been rubbing people the wrong way. I'm just trying to be authentically myself. I do struggle with paying attention to things, and I miss out on some things here and there. I'm misunderstood for the most part, but I think what I lack in knowledge, I make up in enthusiasm and caring for people. I really did try my best to have deep conversations with people and see how their celebrity relative impacted their life. Not everybody's had strong relationships with their celebrity relative.
What advice would you have for people coming onto the show for Season 4?
I really just played a game that I've never seen before. I do watch quite a bit of reality challenge TV. I just lived each moment as if it was my last. I knew it was only going to be a short time, so I said, "Trust nobody."
Let's talk about the head injury. Can you walk through that experience? How were you able to finish the challenge? How did you feel going to the hospital?
Yeah, that was pretty traumatic to watch. There was so much adrenaline pumping through my body. I honestly felt like I was 20 years old again. I was going so hard through these challenges and these stations. I'm slipping, sliding, and there's just no stopping, no breaks. I'm just throwing my body, trying to complete the obstacle. I feel a little tap on my head, and I go around. Then I scratched my head, and I had blood on my fingers. I was like, "Oh my gosh, what did I just do?" That's when I stopped. I sat down for a second. They were cleaning my wound. Initially it wasn't clotting, so they were really worried that I needed to go in an ambulance to the hospital, which would disqualify me. I thought of everything I'd worked for. In that moment, it just came to a head, and I just broke down. There's just so much emotion happening in that moment. When I got the okay to complete the challenge and finish that day, it was such a relief. I literally promised everybody that I was not going to run. They agreed to let me finish. At that point I looked up at the leaderboard, and I thought, "Oh my gosh, I think the game is in my hands."
Your celebrity relative was guessed incorrectly twice this season. Were you were worried at all this season that anyone had figured out your relative?
No, I think once I got Bianca out of the house, I don't think anybody had a chance to really get Michael Bolton. However, I must have an acting gene in me somewhere, because they were just stuck on me being related to an actor for so long. It was great, because I was able to have a lot of fun with that and steer people into different directions and act uncomfortable when they were mentioning actors.
Were there any times in the house when you slipped up and said something that you wish you hadn't?
No. I did it on purpose a few times to throw people in different directions. I'd be like, "Oh my gosh, can everybody just forget I just said that?" Everybody thought I was playing pretty dumb, so I was able to just throw those like slip ups in pretty easily.
