It all started with cheerleading and a kick-line.
Then the 1998 Mr. Messiah contest was underway.
People might remember ballots for the Mr. Messiah contest flooding their mailboxes so they could vote for their classmates as nominees. After selecting the top fifty males, ballots were sent out again to reduce the number to the final ten Mr. Messiah pageant contestants.
The Chairpersons, Erika Keeler and Kristen Schwieters, started preparing for the Mr. Messiah event, which took place on April 5, before spring break. They really enjoyed putting the contest together despite the hard work involved. They stress, though, that the Mr. Messiah contest is a spoof on beauty pageants. Apparently, some Messiah students attended, expecting something different. Mr. Messiah 1998, Ryan Swain, agrees. “It's a mock beauty pageant. It's funny because of the people in it. No one knows how to accept it. The object is to see who can be the biggest [fool] on stage -- who can be as stupid as possible.” Swain is a veteran to the contest having come in First Runner-Up the last two years. With his experience came a feeling of relief this year. In past years, it seemed as if some contestants did not want to be there. “This year everyone was encouraging. We all helped each other out,” says Swain.
The ten contestants were judged in the following areas: Legs, Physique, Talent, and Interview. The judging panel consisted of six students, faculty and staff members. Each category was scored from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
For the Legs Competition, as usual, some men shaved their legs and dressed in nylons. This year's category also included a garter (which an audience member removed), Swain dressed as a robot, and a challenge for a wrestling match between Troy Hummel and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The Best Legs award went to Ed Stockton.
The next area was Physique. There were shirts ripping, bags tearing, royal rumbles . . . the works. And a few nice bodies to go along with it. Hummel pummeled the competition in this area and walked away with the Best Physique award.
The third area of competition was talent. This part of the show allowed the contestants to really show their creativity. Keeler says, “The guys get to choose everything they do. They have to run it past a committee of ten girls first, but we don't help them with any ideas.” And creative they were. People were even jumping through hoops for points (hula hoops, that is). For the ladies, John Battersby did a reverse strip-tease. Theron “Stop Starin'” Perez belted “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” with the Pips backing him up. The patriotic Ashley Moyse sang his national anthem, “O, Canada,” in nothing but a towel. But the Best Talent award went to Ezra Strickhouser for his rap duet with Swain, “It Takes Two.”
Last came the interviews. The contestants were asked an unrehearsed question and had to answer spontaneously. Questions came from all over the spectrum, from what breed of dog or cartoon character would you be, to what supernatural ability would you want. Perez was asked, if he had to drown, what would he like to be drowned in. He gave the non-alcoholic answer of sparkling grape juice. The winner for Best Interview was Moyse. When asked who he would want to trade derrieres with, he chose Bill Stevens’, the co-host of Mr. Messiah 1998, because “it's firm.”
Other awards were given to: Jeremy Peachey, Mr. Congeniality; Perez, Most Photogenic; Battersby, Best Dressed; Mike King, Second Runner-Up; and First Runner-Up went to Larry Johnson. Mr. Messiah 1997, Basom Abdelnour, presented the Mr. Messiah 1998 award to Swain and gave these words of advice: “Don't let the girls attack you too much.”
On being Mr. Messiah 1998, Swain comments, “It feels good. A lot of people, even Profs., have congratulated me.” He says he's still getting used to the fame.