The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Kevin Michael Connolly (“Armed & Ready”)
Kevin Michael Connolly first came to prominence as a result of winning a silver medal at the X Games, an impressive achievement in and of itself, but one which was deemed decidedly more media-worthy as a result of Connolly having been born without legs. Using his X Games winnings to fund a trip across 15 countries in 2007, Connolly took photos along the way, publishing the results on a website called The Rolling Exhibition, and he subsequently wrote a memoir entitled “Double Take,” which has been optioned for a possible film. Now, as if the writing-photography combo isn’t enough in and of itself to keep most people busy, the guy’s gonna be hosting his own series on Travel Channel called – wait for it – “Armed & Ready.” Somehow, Connolly found the time in his schedule to chat with Bullz-Eye about what viewers can expect from his show, also filling us in as best he could about the status of the movie adaptation of his book, the wealth of limb-related puns in his repertoire, and how the words “all over the map” in no way come close to clarifying the depth of his tastes in music.
Bullz-Eye: I feel like we’re practically best friends now that we’ve Tweeted back and forth.
Kevin Michael Connolly: I know! Exactly! It’s, like, one step away from exchanging bodily fluids! [Hesitates.] Okay, maybe not that close. But it’s in the ballpark. Six degrees from…
BE: Yeah, we can probably just agree that we’re very close.
KMC: Got it. [Laughs.]
BE: Thanks to the Travel Channel, I’ve been able to check out the advance screeners of the first two episodes of “Armed and Ready.”
KMC: Oh, cool!
BE: I would say the same. So you’re a guy who’s gone from winning a medal in the X Games to being recognized for your photography to writing a book to now hosting a show for Travel Channel. That’d be a pretty amazing road to travel for anybody, let alone somebody who’s had to tackle these things from, shall we say, a different vantage point.
KMC: And to do it all by the time I’m 27! [Laughs.] It’s pretty crazy, man.
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Tags: Alex Clare, Armed and Ready, Beck, Bonnie Prince Billy, Damian Marley, Die Antwoord, Double Take, Double Take: A Memoir, Groundswell Productions, Interpol, Katie Jacobs, Kevin Michael Connolly, Marty Robbins, Michael London, NASA, rally car driving, Royksopp, Skrillex, Sufjan Stevens, The Knife, The Light from the TV Shows, The Rolling Exhibition, Travel Channel, Will Harris, X Games