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| 7/27/2010 8:06:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | "Moose' wants a shot at 'Biggest Loser'
Stephanie Ludwig
Reporter
For years, Kris "Moose" Orr has sacrificed himself for other people.
Hopefully soon, he'll literally be sacrificing his body for himself.
Orr, a Blair resident, is on the fast-track to be a contestant on the hit NBC TV show "The Biggest Loser." At 6 feet 6 inches and 480 pounds, Orr thinks he has a good chance to be on the show that helps obese people, like himself, lose enormous amounts of weight through strict diets and exercise programs, and the tough love of weight loss coaches like Jillian Michaels.
"I would honestly like to be 250 or less," he said. "But if I don't get on, I'm OK with it."
At least Orr had a guaranteed audition to the show. "The Biggest Loser" held an open casting call in Omaha this past Saturday, where more than 600 people showed up to have their shot at a public weight loss. After talking about his desire to lose weight to an Omaha radio station last week, Orr was given one of 15 special VIP passes that guaranteed him a spot in front of the show's producers.
"It went pretty good," Orr said of the audition. "I got to meet one of the former contestants. We had some one-on-one time, and he was very inspiring. He gave me a focus to try working on my own."
Orr said that those trying out for the show had only two minutes to tell a panel of judges who they were and why they wanted to be on the show. Each panel saw a group of eight people at a time.
"You literally only had two minutes of talk time. It's hard to get to know someone in that time," Orr said.
Casting agents called back certain contestants later that night for one-on-one meetings, but Orr was not among them. However, the show still has three more weekends of casting calls in cities around the nation, and contestants can still submit new audition videos, which Orr says he will do.
Kris Orr graduated high school in 1995, weighing in at 250 pounds. Always one to help others, he let his body slip to the background as he took care of his family, became an active member of the Millard Jaycees and danced on the Omaha Beef football team boosters.
"Between things that have happened and some personal events, I went into a stage where I didn't care about myself," he said. "I tried to take care of other people and put myself in the backseat. I finally need to do something."
Orr said he realized that he wants to lose the weight for himself, not because someone else is telling him to.
"I've seen friends, older people, die because of weight. Both my sisters have two kids and I want to be around for them," he said, also stating that he'd like to have children with his wife, Diane, but his weight is a factor. "I still need to help others but how much better can I help others if I'm in shape myself? Otherwise, I'm not going to be here."
To push himself toward a "Biggest Loser" opportunity, Orr made a video audition that he put on YouTube, and has a Facebook "Moose for Biggest Loser!" fan page that reached over 1,200 supporters in four days.
Orr said he found the support encouraging and a little overwhelming.
"A lot of the comments are phenomenal. There are people on here that I don't even know," he said. "It's a huge worldwide cheering group that's showing support and that's amazing."
Orr should find out if he qualified for the TV show soon. Until then, he's thankful for the support and is hopeful he made an impact on the producers by speaking from his heart.
"I'm sitting here looking at Facebook and I've got to have faith and believe it will be," he said. "I'm still going to be submitting a video. I'm going to try. I'm not done yet."
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