The fans of Tristan MacManus have long been referred to as MacManiacs, even well before this website was born in November, 2011.  Indeed, we’re a loud, vocal group but we think that we’re also kind of tame - all things considered.

Clearly, Tristan doesn’t think so.  In his radio interview with Andy Steinhauser a few weeks ago, we heard it right from the man himself – the “MacLunatics.”  We’re pretty sure that wasn’t intentional – or maybe it was spot on - but nonetheless, the name has a kind of wacky appeal to it, to the extent that not only is there a Twitter account for @TheMacManiacs, but now there is a gathering place for  @TheMacLunatics.  Ah, you have to love social media.

We decided that there must be some criteria to qualify one as a MacLunatic. After all, being a MacManiac might not be enough to cross that fine line into MacLunacy.  So there’s a checklist.  It’s scientific and all that so give yourself points and see if you’re a MacLunatic, a MacManiac, or both. Lots of "yes" points mean you're definitely a MacLunatic but since our point system is screwy anyway, anything goes.

1.  If you have referred to yourself as a MacManic ten or more times.
Yes: 10 points
No:  5 points just for thinking about it

2.  If you have traveled more than 100 miles or considered traveling more than 100 miles to see Tristan perform live.
Yes:  147 points
No:  Seriously? You’ve never considered it? Dudes and Dudettes, you have to at least thought about it! You might kicked out of the organization, but if you honestly said no, then you give yourself nada.  Deduct 2,000 points.  You’re already behind.

3.  If you’re posted more than 10 times (or 10 times an hour) on the MacManiacs.org forum.
Yes:  5000 points
No:  100 points – Okay, we get that not all MacManiacs post on our forum – but to be a MacLunatic you probably post occasionally. 10 times is nothing. Even my pet fish does that much.

4. If you can easily answer every Tristan Trivia question on the forum, including important stuff like “How many times has Tristan worn suspenders on DWTS” or “Which dance lasted exactly 1:42 and on what date did it happen?” Maybe that last one is an exaggeration.  Maybe not.
Yes:  122 points
No:  Just get a tattoo that says, “Seriously?” and be done with it. Still a MacManiac though. Maybe just not a MacLunatic, but as you can see the criteria aren’t overly logical.

5. If you joined Twitter just to show support for Tristan. 
Yes:  100 points
No : 78 points – we figure just being on Twitter must be worth something, you crazy MacLunatic.

6.  If you think Tristan’s decision to call the MacManiacs MacLunatics is pure genius.
Yes:  1,000 points
No:  500 points. It’s brilliant.  Might as well admit it and rack up some brownie points.

7. If you think MacLoonies is a perfectly acceptable nickname for MacLunatic.
Yes: 100 points
No:  0 points.  Where’s your sense of humor?

8. If you posted on the “You might be a Tristan MacManus fan if….” forum thread more than 5 times and decided not to hog the thread and be greedy by posting another 70 times.
Yes: 10 points
No:  You get nuttin’. 

9. If you now look for Jameson whiskey on trips to the liquor store.
Yes:  20 points
No:  20 points.  Okay. Not everybody drinks.  We’ll give you this freebie.

10. If you would be perfectly willing to make an ass out of yourself by dancing with Tristan should the opportunity arise.
Yes:  1000 points
No:  Sigh. Haven’t we taught  you anything?

11.  If you despise feathers unless they are on a parrot or toucan species type – not on costumes.
Hell yes:  1000 points
A polite yes:  622 points
No, I love feathers: 0 points

12. Sequins on dance costumes for men give you hives.
Yes:  75 points
No:  Grrrrr – 0

13. Spray tans on DWTS make you require sunglasses and have caused you severe vision impairment.
Yes:  612 points
No:  0 points

14. If your outrage about Tristan not being a Season 18 pro has caused an ongoing malady of “Outrage-itis” which has defied medical expertise and treatment.
Yes:  1000 points
No:  You get nothing for saying no to this one.

15. If you have developed an affinity for Irish dancers with a tattoo (or maybe twelve tattoos).
Yes:  672 points
No:  3 points – after all, not everybody likes tattoos, but still….

16. If you think “the chest” is as it should be.  Sure this might be shallow, but so what? That never stopped us before.
Yes:  715 points
No:  3 points – just because we’re being nice.

Have a whole bunch of random points for all of those yes answers? Then you're a MacLunatic MacManiac. Okay, so you’re all MacLunatics.  We’re thinking group tattoos might be in order.

In our last set of questions, we asked you who you would be your first guests if you took over as David Letterman’s replacement.  Let’s keep going on that.  Give us a guest list (other than Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, and Dave Chappell).  It can be musical guests, comedians, etc.

I’m not too sure really. I like talking with comedians and musicians but I feel sometimes when you interview people it can become more like a show than an actual conversation so I would probably get a bunch of people who aren’t so well known who are just normal – ha. I once interviewed somebody - a singer - after a show and it was the worst ever. I had absolutely no interest in one word they had to say, and I was actually really looking forward to it beforehand! Some people are so caught up in performing all the time or trying to portray a reputation that they lose grasp on reality for me!

 We’ve been fascinated with Tahyna’s film project, OREN.  Have you been involved at all so far?  Have you had the opportunity to be on set?

No, I haven’t been on set - right now they have just shot the teasers and Kickstarter campaign and are working on the script changes and promotion day to day so I leave her to it. I help out with suggestions or just an ear now and again when I’m asked, but it’s in great hands where it is. I’ll try get my mug in the there somewhere and of course I’ll be teaching a class somewhere as part of one of the incentives but that’s about it.

Along those same lines, have you ever had the interest in being in on the writing or production end of a film?  Or perhaps if you were involved in a movie project, what aspect of the film might intrigue you the most?

I like writing for sure and producing can be fun.  I’ve done bits and pieces before and may jump into in the future as well but right now it’s a spectator sport for me. I have a lot of ideas I find hard to put down but I try. I love doing re-writes on things and I like interpreting things that other people do so maybe I’m good at assisting more than anything else but that suits me because I only like doing stuff I’m really passionate about or willing to put all my time into and at the minute I get inspiration to do other things.

The Holland America:  DWTS At Sea cruises start up again in June. Are you still scheduled to appear?

At the minute, yeah, I’m due to do the first cruises in June but beyond that I’m not too sure.  I love doing the cruises but things are changing all the time so for now I’m not looking beyond the first one which I had already committed to do. Things are getting to the stage where it’s hard to rely on anything so I just have to keep slugging away and pushing work as much as possible like everyone else. Holland America have always been great with me and the team responsible for the cruises have always been straight as an arrow with me so I really enjoy working there.

You’re scheduled to teach a master class at LA Ballroom in May.  When you’re dealing with proficient dancers as in this situation, how do you structure the class?

I don’t have too much structure to be honest going in there.  I like to judge it on the attendance and see what we are working with on the night. I will always ask if there are specific things the studios want to work on for their students but generally I’ll judge it on what I see happening and see what I can help most with. Group classes are always difficult in the sense that standards are always different and for sure attitudes as well so it all comes down to what will benefit a 'group' more and then be more specific in private lessons. Again as usual though I’m sure different people have different ways of prepping classes – that’s just me.

You seem to have a lot of friends from SYTYCD. What impresses you most about that show and the dancers who have gotten their big break there?

I know a few people who have been/are on that show yeah and its different but I love how dedicated they all are to their craft and probably how committed they are to learning different styles and improving themselves. When it comes to shows like these dance and singing shows, they can do your nut in because it seems like everyone needs a sob story or flamboyance about them or something other than just being good at dancing when that’s all its about for me. What it comes down to it, on DWTS people want to see you 'learn' to be good and on SYTYCD people want to see you 'be' good because on that show you are expected to be good.  That’s why you are there! It doesn’t matter if mammy and daddy paid for everything or you sold everything you owned to dance, for me the emphasis is always put on that.  It’s funny though for me how happy and full of energy everyone always seems to be on TV - hahaha!

A lot of dancers, actors, athletes, etc. have taken some ballet along the way. How about you? Did any ballet figure into your training?

No, I’ve never done ballet in my life. I think it’s very impressive but I have no interest in it. James Dean used to do ballet. I found that interesting.

One of your supporters on Facebook, Wes, wanted to know that after you were paired with Valerie if you ever went back and watched any of her episodes of Rhoda or The Mary Tyler Moore Show? 

No, I never looked at Rhoda or Mary Tyler Moore. I saw some short You Tube clips just to get a gist of it and I thought maybe we could recreate something from it somewhere but it didn’t work out. I did watch a roast of Valerie Harper and I really liked that - just a bunch of drunks and friends slating her.  That was funny, and you could really see her personality there which I loved and came to realize how genuine it was. Valerie is crazy busy working now so I look forward to seeing all her new projects coming together and be proud of the stuff she is doing now more than what she had done before.

You have visited Australia several times in the last few years.  Which is your favorite of the places you have visited thus far?

Sydney for sure! It’s where I have been going the last few years, and I absolutely love it there. I used to go climbing in the Blue Mountains and by my mates place in the Colo River so I always love going back out camping there when we make it back. I used to love Melbourne a lot but the more time I spend in Sydney, it’s become one of my favourite places to be.

When you were a little guy back in Ireland, what was your favorite subject in school? What was your least favorite?

I wasn’t really one for school to be honest. I loved history and geography and I guess science was alright but that just seemed like somewhere to mess around cutting things up and setting things on fire.  The stuff we used to do when we were kids are ridiculous when you think back on it – crazy, dangerous stuff altogether. I still like history but I’m more skeptical about everything now.  For me history isn’t so much facts all the time but just people’s perspectives of how things happened; you can’t lie with dates and outcomes but I’m interested in different theories and accounts of things that happened. I used to hate French but I don’t know why. I really like languages now - I just don’t have the patience to learn them.  I used to try learn Italian from watching Italian soccer on tv but we didn’t have enough people to sign up for Italian in school so they sacked it off.  We could learn French or German, I think it was. I remember I used to have double French on a Wednesday morning and then a free period so me and my mates used to go play football instead and come into school late. I used to get in awful trouble for that.

Have you ever been tempted to take up a musical instrument?  If so, which one?  Or are you already proficient on, say, the tuba?

Instruments again are like languages for me. I would love to be able to play but I don’t have the patience, and I get frustrated so quickly. I bought a lot of instruments over the years intending on learning but they just sit around and Tahyna plays them. She seems to be able to play anything that’s here. Some people have that knack of being able to pick things up very easily, some have to work real hard and some of us just go do something else.  One day though I’ll learn every instrument and go out as a one man band!

Now for some favorites:

Favorite Irish film (or movie filmed in Ireland)  
The Field is my favourite Irish film of all time no doubt but I love The Quiet Man and The Count Of Monte Cristo that was filmed close to my home in Ireland.

Favorite country music artist and favorite country music song
I like a lot of country music. Garth Brooks is one of my favourites. I don’t care what anyone says he is amazing – haha. I love Kenny Rogers as well and my favourite song - not because it’s the best - I just love it is called “Fishin’ In The Dark” by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. There are for sure better songs and musicians that I know but they come to my head first,

Favorite rock and roll artist – all time and favorite rock and roll song
Too many to choose but I love Bowie and The Rolling Stones and “Bohemian Rhapsody” is still one of my favourite songs of all time.  Freddie Mercury was unbelievable.

                                 “Quickfire Round Questions!!" (Tristan's words)

Favorite TV game show
     Family Feud

Favorite reality show      
     Wife Swap – Haha!            

Favorite TV Western all-time  
     Deadwood

Favorite Saturday Night Live Host
     Christopher Walken

Favorite SNL skit
    Cowbell [Don't Fear the Reaper] or Chippendales Audition

You favorite method of transportation: plane, train, or car
     Walking!

                                                Some “just for fun” questions

Last year in one of our interviews, you mentioned that Val Chmerkovskiy had tried to teach you basketball and that it hadn’t gone particularly well.  We noticed you and Sasha shooting some hoops recently (thanks to Sasha and his Instagram).  How are those skills coming along and who has better skills – you or Sasha?
I’m terrible at basketball. Sasha is better but he is no good either, and I can reach higher than he can........even when he jumps! He loves a bit of social media he does!

Speaking of sports, last year you threw out the first pitch at a couple of baseball games.  Do you have any plans to do something similar again this year?
I had great fun at those baseball games. Of course I’d love to go again if they would have me but at the minute nothing is happening. I’m a lot busier now. I’ve gone back playing football as well.

Do you ever just dance around the house while you’re washing dishes, brushing your teeth, etc?  
No. I barely dance when I’m at work!

Were you ever tempted to try out the Tom Cruise “Old Time Rock and Roll” scene from Risky Business?
Oh, I’ve done that a few times for sure whether I’m on my own or the house is full. I love Bob Seger. I guess I always throw a few moves out to his music. I lose my mind in the car when “Hollywood Nights” comes on!

Finally, what makes you laugh more than anything?
I love laughing! I love people falling over and I love people getting reallyconfused and people getting scared but I love a drink and a story.

We never run out of questions for Tristan, and  he always finds time to answer them. Here is the latest Q and A - a few serious questions with a few of the ridiculous ones. Thanks to all of you for sending them in, and keep them coming!  You never know when we'll do another interview.

You have been traveling quite a bit, and there are a few questions about that.

      If you could travel to one place in the world where you have not yet been, where would it be?

I’ve never been to Africa before so I would love to try and get there and see how everything is there.  I’d like to go to South America.  I’ve been to Brazil for two days or something with work but never got to see the place.  I love travelling but I hate going to touristy places so to go to these places [Africa and South America] would be unreal for me to see and explore.  I’m very much the type that sees a hole in a ditch and wants to climb in and see what’s happening!

      With all of your airplane travel, you have probably been in the situation where flights were cancelled and you were stuck.  Do you recall any one flight delay/flight cancellation experience that was particularly difficult, funny, or just aggravating?

Yeah, for sure, planes are forever getting cancelled and delayed especially when you are flying so frequently, but generally it’s only for the odd few minutes or whatever here and there but only last week or the week before we had a show - I always try get the earliest flight home as possible.  So we got picked up from the hotel at 3.30 a.m. or so, and for the first flight we had had engine trouble or something and couldn’t land properly.  After a while it finally came down in Peoria, Illinois which doesn’t have many departing flights and there’s the scramble from everybody else to get home as well.  I ended up being the last person in our company to leave so I didn’t get home until close to midnight.  It was a hassle but at least I made it home.  I don’t mind delays too much, but they only seem to happen when you have to be somewhere else!!

     Have you ever woken up in a city and had no idea which city it was?

 I never know where I am half the time!!

     Is there a city in the United States that reminds you (even a little) or Ireland?

No, not really.  To be honest Ireland is Ireland and America is America to me.

     You've danced in many places all over the world, but where did you have the largest audience? Have you ever performed somewhere where the show or performance was not well received?

I’m not too sure of numbers and things like that but when we used to tour with Burn The Floor the crowds we had in Japan were unbelievable.  The support there was mental.  They used to lose their minds when the shows started and then right until the end.  It would be packed out like crazy and loud as hell. There would be crowds and crowds of people outside afterwards, and you would be standing for hours taking pictures and making peace signs – hahaha! There are always times as well when the show is not received well for different reasons.  Some people can be theatre snobs, some people go to look for mistakes, some like to compare to stuff they know, some only want to see what they want to see, and honestly sometimes the show just isn’t good.  I can’t remember specific places but for sure I have been in shows that haven’t been received well. I think most of us have.

Last week Gleb Savchenko posted lots of photos with you, Kym Johnson, and Witney Carson.  Would you please tell us about that event?

That was just a corporate gig that we did in Monarch Beach.  I hadn’t seen a lot of the guys for a while so was good to catch up but it was an outdoor event we did. Myself and Kym danced, Gleb danced with Wit, and Karina danced with Corbin.  It was a fun gig but it was slippy as ice because it was outside and coming into the evening there was a bit of mist on the makeshift floor.  A few people went down - it was fun to watch – haha!

It has been nice to see you back in Ballroom With A Twist, and it’s been especially fun for so many of your supporters to get the chance to see you dance with Kym Johnson.  You have danced together many times.  Do you have a favorite performance with Kym?

Yeah - myself and Kym have danced a lot together in the past - not so much the last while though. It’s always great dancing with Kym.  We get on real well. We have known each other a while so we can have a laugh and still put the work in.  I don’t have any favourite dances I don’t think - maybe a few from the show but I prefer doing theatre performances and stuff than the actual tv show.  On the show it’s usually 15/20 seconds here and there so it always ends up being just tricks and gimmicks unless we can get a full dance and then it’s fun again.  I like the Kelly Clarkson numbers.  It seemed like Kelly Clarkson was our singer or something for a while.  Haha!

For those who haven’t gotten the chance to see you in the newest BWAT shows, tell us about your performances and how they differ from the BWAT shows last summer? Do you have a personal favorite specific  performance from BWAT?

I don’t remember the shows last summer so I can’t really compare them to be honest but I’m dancing in these ones with Kym and we do a jive to “Dance With Me Tonight” by Olly Murs.  I think we did a number on the show to it as a group and then we do a Waltz to “Say Something” by A Great Big World and then a Tango to “Drunk In Love by Beyonce and then a Foxtrot/Swing to “Fever” by Mickey Bubbles. :)  Then we do the usual Q and A's and teach a bit of dancing and jabber on for a while about nothing and everything. Numbers change all the time on the show but I love a number usually done by Randi Lynn Strong, Legacy and Jonathan Platero from SYTYCD and the song is “Gravity” that Gina Glokson from American Idol performs. There is also a Rumba in the most recent show done by Kiki and his partner Magda (good old Keekster is back!)

You have been teaching a lot over the last few weeks.  Do you have any other teaching commitments coming up? (We did see that you have a master class with LA Ballroom Studio May 3).

Yeah, I have been travelling teaching a lot recently but the next few months I don’t have too much. I have a few other things in the works that I’m working on so I’ll have a bit of teaching in LA Ballroom and maybe a few private lessons around somewhere but at the moment nothing is locked in. 

Speaking of teaching, you have taught a lot of different people during your career.  Who is the youngest person you have ever taught (or what approximate age)? 

I have always taught all ages. There are no limits I don’t know what the youngest is but I would only teach someone who was old enough to pick something up, otherwise you are just throwing money away and sure that doesn’t make any sense.  Some adults lose concentration in twenty minutes let alone a full lesson so why put a kid through that? I know many would have a different opinion but that’s just mine.

Now on to the ridiculous….

So how is the puppy training going? Is Pike behaving? We hear he has a little thing for shoes.

The training is going okay, but the smell of Lemon Pledge in the house is turning my stomach!! He is still pretty young but gets his last shots in a few weeks and then we can start taking him outside and get him used to being around other dogs.  He is finding his voice now but he is a little coward - he likes to think he is brave.  He is getting at a nipping stage because his teeth came through so he is trying to eat everything.  He loves laces and he likes sitting on clothes and nestling into them but he doesn’t behave – no. he is a little s*&# but what can you do? He is only a puppy and is supposed to be like that.  That's why we like him!  

Where did the name Pike come from? We like it.  It’s edgy.  Bad-boyish. :)

We just like the name Pikey/Pike and it’s Irish. It's rough and cheeky which he will end up being - ha ha!

Other than Pike-related incidents, what is your least favorite housekeeping chore?

I don’t mind cleaning.  I like working in the garden but I’m not fond of doing dishes every day but who is!

We are huge fans of Jimmy Fallon – his lip sync competitions with people like John  Krasinski, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Stephen Merchant, and Paul Rudd are legendary.   Then there are his skits….

I love Jimmy Fallon! His show is great and I love his skits.  His #hashtags skits with JT and Jonah Hill are funny because they are so ridiculous but it’s how morons are talking these days!

Justin Timberlake did a killer impression of Jimmy Fallon.  Who does a killer impression of Tristan MacManus? And we imagine you can do some great impressions too.  Is anybody in particular your favorite target?

I’m not one for impressions to be honest but if someone does something stupid or says idiot things, I will call them out on it and make fun of them – ha.  I’m sure everyone has an impression of me - maybe we should ask them!?

So David Letterman is stepping down next year, and while we understand that Stephen Colbert is replacing him.  Let’s say you were the replacement.  Who would be the guests on your first show?

If I took over Letterman I’d probably try have him as a guest and Jimmy Fallon.  I’d love to talk to Dave Chappelle.  He is one the funniest guys I have ever seen.


**That's it for this time.  Have questions? Send them to us macmaniacs.org@gmail.com, post them on our forum (MacManiaLand tab at the top of your page), or post them on Twitter to @T_MacManusFocus.

I went to my first Ballroom With a Twist yesterday [Saturday, April 14].  Kym and Tristan were the pros. I wasn't sure what to expect because I read the DWTS pros weren't in it very much. I only watch SYTYCD when Chelsie is a guest and the same for AI (when they have a musical guest I like).  It's a good show and seeing all the dancers in person makes you appreciate their talent and hard work. I was in the pit, center row 1.  Can't get a better seat!

Kym and Tristan's dances were amazing.  I've seen Kym perform 3 other times live but this time was the best.  She and Tristan have chemistry and a lot of fun on stage. I've never seen Kym so happy (there might be a better word) on stage before.  They did 4 or 5 dances, answered questions, and had everyone out of their seat dancing.  I felt funny, but being right there in front of them had to join in. The show lasts 2 hours - after an hour there's a 15 minute intermission.

I arrived early and went to a movie in the afternoon about a block away.  I saw some of the cast arrive but not Kym or Tristan.  I could have met the cast but didn't ask for photos because I didn't know exactly who they were since I don't watch SYCYCD and AI. I should have because who knows - maybe one day they will be on DWTS. The other thing - there are no photos allowed during BWAT.  I can understand why because the dancers dance right to the end of the stage and if there’s a flash, it might make them miss their mark. I have photos of Kym from other times but not Tristan (just wish I could have gotten a few) but maybe another time. Hope my meet and greet photos turn out or I will be very disappointed.

Kym and Tristan were very nice to everyone at the meet and greet.  I think when it was my turn I said, “Hi Tristan, it's so nice to finally meet you” and to Kym, “It's nice seeing you again.”  I asked Tristan if he sang and he said, “Why?”  I said because I have my favorite singers sign this and he said then my answer is, “Yes.”   He asked who my favorite singer was. 

I told him I was afraid I wouldn't meet or see him because I was afraid he might go back to Ireland and he said, “Why would you say that?” Kym said she said the same thing to me when she met me. I think it was because they are both from other countries. The meet and greet photos were taken by the theater and the lady who took them said something -   all I heard was Tristan saying if it didn't turn out, let's just take another. Tristan said to me before I left, “Hope I didn't disappoint you,” and I said, “No but now I miss you both even more on DWTS.”

This website is 2 1/2  years old (Happy Birthday To Us!), and we are picking up new members every day, so we decided it was time to give you a little history of MacManiacs.org along with a guided tour.  

It’s not a long history, and it’s not full of dates and boring stuff and there won’t be a quiz on it later. It’s the history of this website, and it’s actually kind of interesting whether you are a MacManiac or not.  Granted this is a website which focuses primarily on Tristan MacManus, but if you’ve ever had a look around, you would notice that we mix it up a lot.  We’ve interviewed Tristan many times, but we’ve also taken it in a different direction in order to get a lot of different perspectives.  You may think we talk a lot about Tristan, and we do.  Okay, we admit it.  We talk about him a lot, but we also talk about lots of other things.  Our website forum is rapidly closing in on 440,000 views and we can easily hit 1,000 a day when we are feeling particularly chatty.  Or when there is a Tristan MacManus sighting.  We learned a long time ago that sometimes you have to get creative.,and we definitely can do that.  So let’s talk history and let's talk getting around on MacManiacs.org without needed a GPS.

Sometime in the fall of 2011, the ABC message boards were taken over by a lot of people who wanted to talk about Tristan MacManus.  There was something about him that made us all very, very talkative, and we just couldn’t shut up. The problem, however, was that those message boards were a little crazy and a lot brutal and mostly not very nice.  People were downright mean.  So an idea was born to create a website where supporters of Tristan could get together and talk about Tristan’s accomplishments, and the idea was to have it up and running before Season 14 began.

Honestly, we had no idea whatsoever what we were getting into, and yes, there were some rough patches along the way.  We had to figure out what we wanted to do, how to do it, what pages were necessary, what wasn’t, who was going to do what, and then how to make it make sense.  As the process began, we contacted Tristan in the fall of 2011 and he said that we could proceed.  Hmm…. Blame this madness all on him.

It would take pages and pages to explain how we did it all, and we would also bore you to tears. The bottom line is that in a time span that covered a few weeks, several people worked night and day to get the site up and running, and when we launched in late November, 2011, things started to happen immediately.  We began with the basics; Our forum, MacManiaLand, was the focus, but there was a lot of interest in our gallery.  Because we are meticulous about crediting photos, that was a very long and painstaking process to get it set up and to make additions to it.  At that time we also had a video page which has since been discontinued and replaced by links pages, and the page of brief and very silly biographies of our website administrators has since been replaced by something else.  We like to change things around but we don't change just to say we did.  We do what needs to be done to keep things fun and lively.  The one constant has been our blog, MacMusings, which has been in place since Day 1, and every  week or so, we find something new to ramble on about – sometimes the topics are silly, sometimes they are sentimental, and often they are dead serious.  More about that as you go on the guided tour.

The focus of our website has shifted a little and we’ve switched things around, made additions and deletions as necessary, and done whatever we can to promote Tristan as an artist, but we’ve also made regular changes to keep things fresh and reasonably interesting.

Let's start with our interviews, which currently are not in one central location (explanation will follow later).  We love interviews, and we do lots of them. In addition to the 20 or so that we’ve done with Tristan since July, 2012, we’ve also interviewed the following:  Tahyna Tozzi-MacManus, Nikki Lorenzo, Sasha Farber, Emma Slater, Henry Byalikov, Gina Carbone of Wetpaint, Risa Kaplowitz of Princeton Dance and Theatre, Andy Steinhauser of LA Talk Radio, and Jason Leppert of Popular Cruising.  It doesn’t stop there.  We’ve done more and there are more in the works now, so yes, we like to do fun things by talking with a variety of people with a variety of experiences.  We’ve even interviewed some MacManiacs because we are nosy like that.  All interviews are archived within our forum, but we are working on another central location where you can read the hundreds of pages of questions and answers from various fun people.

Now how about a website tour?

Home Page
The home page is just that – a bunch of information about the site that is an overview of what we do. There’s a registration tab on the home page pulldown menu and for those planning to use the website on a regular basis, we ask that you register.  Currently no pages are password protected except for the forum (separate registration), but we occasionally do lock some pages and the only way to access them at that point is by registering so that you receive the password.  A pain in the ass, for sure, but occasionally we get a few troublemakers who like to “borrow” some of our stuff, so we lock things up for a while.

Home Page: http://www.macmaniacs.org/
     Registration: http://www.macmaniacs.org/registration.html

Special Features
New to the site is our Special Features page.  Initially it was the DublinDown330 page which was used exclusively for Tristan's Grassroot Soccer fundraiser in Princeton in January, 2013. After that, we used it as a central location for interviews, but it eventually contained so many that it was not user-friendly.  We wanted a place to focus on special interviews or people so we changed it.  Currently Special Features has a main page which includes interviews with Tahyna Tozzi-MacManus who talks about her film project OREN.  Tahyna's feature is immediately followed by two interviews with Jason Leppert of Popular Cruising.  Both Tahyna and Jason also wrote short blogs after their interviews, and those are posted as well.  The sub-page (on the Special Features pulldown menu) is now “Spotlight” and featured here are two special individuals: Nikki Lorenzo, a brilliant artist who had  the very good taste to use Tristan in her “Work That Charm” and “Be My Man” music videos. and Andy Steinhauser, an amazing talent who is the host of The Story With Andy Steinhauser on LA Talk Radio.

Special Features: http://www.macmaniacs.org/special-feature.html
     Spotlight:  http://www.macmaniacs.org/spotlight.html

Updates
Currently our Updates page (formerly Weekly Updates) receives the most views of any page on the site other than the forum.  It has news, the most recent photos (which constantly switch in and out), links to the Tristan support team, links to current features, etc.  We recently added a sub-page that focuses on Tristan’s scheduled appearances.

Updates:  http://www.macmaniacs.org/updates.html
     Appearances: http://www.macmaniacs.org/appearances.html

MacManiaLand
Moving on to the cleverly titled forum, MacManiaLand.  We’re still not sure where that came from – probably from one of those middle of the night brainstorming sessions as we were planning the site.  We’ve been talking non-stop since the site launched, and we change things around often.  A couple of times a year, we do our “light show” meaning you could potentially go blind as we experiment with different color combinations to get something new and visually appealing.  More often than not, we make you a little nauseous before we get it just right.  Bubble gum pink and olive green stand out as one especially revolting combo.  Fortunately, we fixed it before anyone suffered retinal damage.  To join our forum, a registration is required, and you can easily register in seconds. Once you receive a confirmation email from our server, Nabble, you're ready to read and post.  

MacManiaLand:  http://www.macmaniacs.org/macmanialand.html

MacMusings
That’s our blog.  Since the day this website was launched, we’ve always found something to say, and we never seem to be short on topics.  This may not be a blog in the traditional sense, but it’s a place where a couple of us from the site get to talk about whatever we want to. Sometimes it’s Tristan.  Occasionally it’s the ridiculousness of DWTS.  Every now and then we have guest writers who choose what to write.  When we remember, we post our interviews there as well.  We’re a little behind on that so we plan to go back and fix it and make sure all of our interviews are archived there (in addition to on the forum where each one is available).  Usually MacMusings is password protected, but recently we opened it up because we have stuff to say and we want anybody who wants to read it to have access.  Now you may not agree with us on some things, and that’s okay, but since it’s a blog and not a news article which requires double-checking the facts, we can do what we want.  The posts are archived by month, and trust us, it would take days to get through them all because we love to talk.

MacMusings:  http://www.macmaniacs.org/macmusings.html

Gallery
Our Gallery is pretty darn special.  The photos are arranged chronologically with the most recent first.  The original gallery has photos from the early days until August 2013, and Gallery 2 picks it up then and continues to the present day.  Occasionally photos are on the Updates page a few days before they make it to the gallery, but that’s just how we roll.

Gallery:   http://www.macmaniacs.org/gallery.html
Gallery 2:  http://www.macmaniacs.org/gallery-2.html

More (links)
Finally, under the “More” tab, you will find a wealth of goodies.  We have links.  Lots and lots of links.  Sure we could just post stuff and embed stuff but it’s easier this way.  Everything is catalogued by date, and we add to it constantly.  As we dig up old articles, photo collections, and videos, we simply post the links.  There are 3 pages:  1) Performance video.  Here you will find links to just about any of Tristan’s performances that are available on video. 2) Interviews.  These are links to interviews with Tristan in any form, whether written or on radio or television.  This does not yet include this website’s interviews with Tristan as those are posted on our forum and will remain there permanently.  We are in the process of also getting those all onto our blog page as a separate very special treat and at that time we will link each interview directly to the blog.  3) Miscellaneous.  You will find tons of links here, and this page is in three parts:  Assorted video (all kinds of special clips that just might not always qualify as interviews or performing – promos, AfterBuzzTV, deleted scenes, GMA clips, etc.), Photos/Photo Collections (links to lots of photos of Tristan from many different sources – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Zimbio, etc.) and Articles.  See? Other people like to write about Tristan too.

Links: Performance Video http://www.macmaniacs.org/links-performance-video.html
Links: Interviews http://www.macmaniacs.org/links-interviews.html
Links: Miscellaneous: http://www.macmaniacs.org/links-miscellaneous.html
**Just added April 15, 2014 - Interview with Dancing With the Teachers/Stand Up to Cancer
http://www.macmaniacs.org/dwttsu2c.html

And there you have it.  MacManiacs.org is a very busy and always evolving place.  We couldn’t have done it without all of you, and we hope you will check back often and join in the fun.  

While you're at it, check us out here too. All are great ways to show your support for Tristan.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/T_MacManusFocus
Backup Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TheMacManiacs
Team Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TristansTeam
Facebook Fan Page:  https://www.facebook.com/TristanMacManusFanPage
Tristan's Fan Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tmacmanusfocus/
Tristan's Fan Instagram: http://instagram.com/t_macmanusfocus
Additional Support Twitters:
    https://twitter.com/TMacManusFans
    https://twitter.com/TristansBedhead
    https://twitter.com/TweetForTristan
    https://twitter.com/TeamMacManus
    https://twitter.com/BestOfTristan
    https://twitter.com/Totally_Tristan
    https://twitter.com/VoteTristanDWTS
    https://twitter.com/ProTristanDWTS
    https://twitter.com/TristanDWTS_S19

When I think of Tristan McManus I always have a smile on my face. I remember how happy I was when he became a pro and how much I enjoyed his partnership with Nancy Grace.

He is such a beautiful person, inside and out, and I am so happy that I had the opportunity to meet him. I live in Germany and usually got to the US for my annual summer vacation. And while being there I read tweets about Ballroom with a Twist (BWAT) and that Tristan, Derek and other pros would be doing shows in Virginia and Massachusetts. And in the moment I decided and booked tickets online. Having the chance to see Derek and Tristan was just too tempting. Instead of flying home from LA I flew to DC and drove to Virginia.

The first show was in a beautiful outdoor theatre - Wolf Trap. I sat in maybe the eleventh row on the far right side. I have been a DWTS fan for so many years and I have to admit that I was exited - even kind of nervous - when I saw those people that I admire so much so close to me. It was a funny feeling actually. The show was awesome. The mixture of ballroom dancing and elements of SYTYCD as well as great singing is genius. Tristan and Anna hosted, and they did it really well. Derek of course was a big star and seeing him live totally proved it. The DWTS pros did several amazing performances. I loved Tristan’s dance with Anna - so romantic, so beautiful, so elegant. I love his frame, his physical support of his partners. I also like the way he talks, even though many I times I don’t really understand him (English is obviously not my first language).

After the show there was a VIP meet and greet. Now I became really nervous. We were let in backstage and I walked in and there he was. Sitting right in front of me on a couch putting his shoes on. Nobody else was there. He greeted us and offered us some fruit - the dancers' snacks actually. “Go ahead, have some. It’s for all of us,” he said. I should have walked up to him because there were only like 50 people in the room and he was graciously taking pics and signing, but I have to admit that in this very moment I was too nervous. After a couple of minutes the other dancers came and we got in line for our photo shoot. It was so much fun to see this friendly bunch greet all the VIPs and talk to them and just have fun. Tristan and Derek did most of the talking, hugging many fans and even adding fun pics. When I walked up I was really jittery and nervous. I have to admit mostly because of Derek. I have admired him since I first saw him on the show and he is just such a big star. He hugged me and Tristan greeted me, as well as Peta. I told them that I came from Germany and was a forever fan, do lots of voting and so on. They were all so nice and friendly. We took a couple of pictures. I told them that I would be in Boston the next evening and that I would be driving. And they all wished me luck and said “until tomorrow”.

After my meet and greet was over I just stood there and watched all of the other VIP meetings. What a treat. Tristan was joking and laughing constantly and such a sight for sore eyes. He is a charmer but still so totally grounded. After the meet and greet they took all their stuff to a van and left, and I hit the road and drove all night to arrive in Boston the next morning.

In Boston two shows were scheduled on two consecutive evening. I had tickets for both -  no VIP tickets though. After the previous night’s experience the first thing I did was buy those VIP tickets. The theatre was very unique with a round stage in the middle. I sat right above the stage entrance the first night. Seeing the show for the second time was such a treat. I know what was coming and enjoyed it even more. They always do a Q&A and it was so funny. Tristan’s dance with Anna on the round stage was just perfectly beautiful, as was Derek’s with Peta.

The VIP meet and greet was very different. The dancers were in an extra room and the “meet and greeters” were let in one by one. The time was very brief. Derek remembered me and came my way to greet me. And Tristan waved to me. They hugged me and asked me how my drive had been. Tristan called me “Wiener Schnitzel” with his big accent and that was just so funny. And I was so happy. What a wonderful time.  

The last night a Friday I had finally the perfect seat - 3rd row, up front near the stage entrance. Another perfect show, mesmerizing especially because I was so close and saw all the movements right before my very eyes. Derek had said on the first night that he wanted me up on stage, which I thought was just kidding. Well, this night it happened. I was pulled up and stage and dancing with Derek, and Tristan stood right behind me cheering me on. To this day I have no idea how I survived that night. This is a blog for Tristan, otherwise I would elaborate on my dancing experience with Derek!! I also got the opportunity to ask a question during Q&A and I asked which of their partners had improved most over the course of their stay on DWTS. Tristan said it was Nancy and how much he enjoyed their journey on the show - the fun, the bickering.

The last VIP meet and greet was basically done the same way it was done the night before - just in another room. I decided to go as late as possible because I hoped that there would be some time to talk towards the end. Everyone greeted me when I came in. We took a couple of photos and I talked to Derek a bit and thanked him. I was permitted to stay in the room which finally gave me the chance to talk to Peta and Tristan. He was so sweet in our conversation (as much as I understood – accent!). We took pictures and talked a bit. Such a sweetheart – but we all do know this, don’t we?

So this is my BWAT experience. Now the cruises…

In December I heard about the DWTS At Sea cruise, and I gave it a thought - or many! Due to personal developments (I had another big surgery coming up and needed something to hang on to) I decided to do it and flew to Florida in January.

It is so special to meet someone that one has admired for so long. But the feeling of seeing someone again who has been so wonderful in the first place – that is really amazing. I did not at all expect that Tristan or Derek would remember my face. They meet fans by the thousands. But I thought they might remember when I told them that I was at the BWAT shows. The ship, the cruise and the whole DWTS At Sea experience were grand. The effort which was put into putting this together is really amazing. There were scheduled events where you could see the pros - like pro shows, the amateur dancer competitions, a photo shoot and an autograph session. Otherwise you could run into them on the ship if you were lucky.

And I was. The second day I was walking on Lido Deck and saw Tristan. He was heading back from the gym and I said (nervous again) hello. And to my surprise he did remember me right away. He is just so easy to talk to, he hugged me and apologized for being all sweaty (as if I cared). We talked about the last season and that I was rooting and voting for Valerie and him and how surprised I was that she left the show quite early. He told me that in his opinion she would not have been able to do another week. He also signed my picture that I coincidentally had with me. I told him I would love to see him again during the cruise and he told me he would hang out in popular places and I should just come up and say hello. He also advised me to get up and ask a question during the Q&A session the following day. And I answered that I probably would be too scared to do this…  

The Q&A took place a day later and I was sitting up front after being there 2 hours prior to the event – that’s how popular it was. Tristan was introduced 5th and he walked in and sat center stage, right in front of me. Almost immediately after taking his seat he saw me and waved down to me. How awesome! I had the pleasure to watch them all so closely. Well, I did not raise my hand for a question but whatever… Again he was oh so charming in all his comments and answers - just like he was in his judging that he did a couple of times during the cruise. He always kept it funny and light but still expressed his opinion. I ended up going to all of the events really early to be able to sit in the first or second row - and to have a good view.  :)

The big show with all the DWTS pros and ship dancers was on Wednesday night and such a blast. Again a first row seat for me. Seeing them dance in almost reaching distance is hard to describe. I admire these people and here they are, in reaching distance, “dancing their magic”. Tristan appeared bare chested (we all have seen that photo) and stood maybe 9 feet away from me. His dancing was superb one more time.

Later in the evening he hung out at the bar/disco and I talked to him again. A wonderful talk and again I have to point out how warm, nice and down to earth he is. Which by the way goes for all of the dancers. Considering how big stars they became through DWTS this is one of the most amazing and surprising things for me. Kym, for example, has been on this show forever and is very much a star in my eyes and she is just the loveliest person. She told me a funny story and made me pinky swear. :) Tristan is basically a very private person and that was just the way on the cruise ship. He would talk to everyone and do pics but then he just sat there, hung out in the bar and had a good time with his friends. He was the only pro that I never saw on the dance floor during the whole week. All the others put in a few moves every now and then.

Tristan was at the bar/disco on a couple of nights. I usually greeted him and he waved back but I did not talk to him every single time. During the week meeting the pros became very casual. The big excitement/nervousness was gone for me and so I was just hanging there too with my friends. We saw the stars, talked to them occasionally but not every time.

Two more things I want to mention. There was a photo shoot scheduled and group pictures were taken with all of the pros. I waited around because I was hoping for individual photos after the shoot, and I got sent away by the lady in charge (who did an awesome job with it all, no critique here). Anyway Tristan saw this and made a gesture to just wait and he would come out. And of course he did. As soon as the photo shoot was over he came over and took an individual pic with me.

During the last night there was only a small group of dancers and ship guests at another bar. The dancers had lots of time to talk and we did just that, and I got into a longer conversation with Tristan which was so amazing. I told him that I made a friend during the cruise and that he had designed and drawn amazing costumes for theme dances. And Tristan was interested and talked about this with my friend, who of course was exited. Later I witnessed a few surprises for Tristan as a bachelor party but I want to respect his privacy and not tell more. It was really funny as you can imagine.    

From all I have experienced I can say that he is such a wonderful human being. And again I want to mention that this is the case for all of these people. Emma, Sharna, Kym and Derek are all wonderful, so down to earth, so personable. Tristan to me is that guy next door, easy to talk to, always a joke on his mind, but still always a gentleman. And when he dances he is nothing but a gentleman and adorable and supporting and so much more...

Hope you enjoy my notes. Let’s all keep supporting our favorite Irishman, Tristan.   

Thanks for reading!

Andrea 

Andy Steinhauser is currently based in Los Angeles and, among other things, is the host of LA Talk Radio’s “The Story With Andy Steinhauser.”  Originally from Columbus, Georgia, he received his B.A. in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston in 2002 and then turned what was supposed to be a brief stint with the cruise lines into a career as an executive. We are very fortunate that Andy turned his attentions to the entertainment industry.  Tristan was a guest on Andy's show in March of this year, and we have since become big fans.  He  graciously agreed to talk with us about his career, his show, and yes, his opinion of the MacManiacs.

(This interview is also posted on our forum, MacManiaLand, as well as on our Special Features - Spotlight page.  Feel free to leave comments for Andy below or within our forum).

Since graduating with a degree in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston your career has taken you on a very diverse path including several years with the cruise lines.  Please share some of that with us, how you started, how long it took you to work your way up to Cruise Director, and what made you decide to branch out into a new field.

My cruise ship career was a 5 month adventure turned into a full blown executive level career.  I had no idea when I started back in 2003 what would eventually unfold. Being a Cruise Director was at that time a seemingly far-fetched idea, however, as I grew up and continued to work hard, it all the sudden became a possibility.  Well, that spurred my already high work ethic and then it became an obsession and through a lot of hard work an eventual reality.  Making people happy for a living actually comes with a good amount of pressure, but I loved every second of it.  Also one of the most satisfying aspects of the job was creating original programming, theme parties, game shows, videos - you name it - we were basically a production company.  More than just getting to create was the instant satisfaction of seeing these wild ideas and concepts turn into joyful events for our guests.  I also got to work so closely with so many people from all over the world, and seeing my staff grow up and become such pros was a feeling I can only imagine a parent can relate to.  As amazing an experience as that journey was, eventually I really started to feel that there was a larger scope and calling for me, so I made the tough decision to walk away at the peak of my career and just go for it and move to LA.  While I was very passionate about my Cruise Director job, I had accomplished all my goals and I just felt the need to go for something bigger, expand my reach and see what was possible.  After all I’ve risen to the top once before who’s to say I can’t do it again? 

In your years in the cruise industry, you no doubt faced many challenges.  If we put you on the spot and asked you for one particularly challenging moment, what would it be?

Oh, so many!!! One experience I’ll never forget is a 3 day cruise that was the biggest disaster.  We had a terrible storm and missed both ports.  Basically, we took guests into a storm and drove them back. No matter how entertaining your onboard programming is, nothing can recover you from that. Needless to say the guests were furious the entire time.  However I try to learn from those experiences and I think it’s times like those that taught me to be more understanding of employees and business challenges.  It also taught me to always take a moment and think about being in their shoes.  Working so long in the hospitality industry has made me a very understanding and patient person and I’m forever thankful for that.

As host of The Story With Andy Steinhauser, you have interviewed many people in the entertainment industry.  Do you have a favorite interview or interview subject? Thinking back to those people (or anyone else you have met in the entertainment industry) who would you most like to sit down to dinner with, talking further for a few hours?

Great question! I’m by nature a very curious person and I love hearing everyone’s story. Even when I was a bartender I used to basically interview every guest that sat at the bar, haha! My radio show has most of all inspired me to believe in myself and know that with determination and perseverance anything is possible. The underlying theme of every episode seems to be a lot of hard work will always get you where you want to go.  I’ve always believed that and operated under that principle but it’s so re-assuring having that theory confirmed by so many people I admire.  As far as a favorite, that’s like asking which is your favorite child.  My ADD and ever evolving interests inspired me to create a show that would allow me to interview not just celebrities, but entrepreneurs, business owners, you name it.  I’m fascinated by all the various subjects and I would love to carry on the conversation with all my guests.  I know that’s not a direct answer but it’s the truth.

Going back over your list of guests on TSWAS, Anna Trebunskaya, one of our favorite Dancing With the Stars pros and Ballroom With A Twist performers, was on your show back in May, 2013. What impressed you most about Anna?

I love Anna.  She’s so determined, talented and humble.  I think what impressed me most about her was that she kept constantly crediting any success she achieved on being prepared for whatever opportunities came her way through hard work and preparation.  I also admire that even though she’s so accomplished, she’s already planning the next chapter with developing her acting skills.  However she didn’t even realize she was pregnant when we did our interview, so now it’ll just be a slightly different version of the journey, but I love seeing her flourishing and loving being a mother and knowing her I know the next great adventure is just around the corner. 

For those who might not be familiar with TSWAS, would you please share a little bit about how it originated, how you developed the show, how you decide on your guests, etc.

I knew I wanted to do an interview show of some sort.  I’m inspired by people’s journey and have grown really tired of the standard “celebrity interview”:  Who are you dating, what are you wearing, blah, blah, blah and oh yea, tell me two seconds about your movie.  I’m not sure about you, but that format to me seems completely backwards and borderline insulting to all the artists and team members who work so hard to create entertainment.  I wanted a show that would let people tell their stories in their own words, unedited and really give people a chance to get to know what makes them tick and more importantly WHY they have chosen to do what they do. That to me is the interesting part of getting to know someone who’s work you admire.  I thought about just doing a podcast and putting it out myself but then I stumbled upon LA Talk Radio and their format was exactly what I was looking for and it just worked out. I love long form interviews and hope to continue doing them throughout my career in some form.  In regards to my guests, I seek out celebrities, interesting people, business, and charities, really anyone that’s accomplished something that I feel others would love to hear more about. I find my guests in all different ways. Referrals and connections are probably most common, some come to me, others I seek out.  I work with a producer to help filter my ideas and assist in booking.  What’s been most inspiring to me is everyone I’ve ever interviewed has had an enjoyable experience and their fans and friends have seemed to back my theory that the general public is much more intelligent than traditional media gives them credit for.  All the various artists and entrepreneurs have been very appreciative of being able to communicate with a large audience in this type of format. 

After listening to your show the last few weeks and going back and listening to previous episodes, we noticed that you are incredibly well-prepared for each show. What kind of preparation is involved? Do you have a time estimate on prep time each week?

Well thank you! I actually put a lot of prep into each show.  I basically become an internet stalker on whoever I’m interviewing and pull out all the information I can on them and from that I format the interview to a nice flow to make sure we cover the most important topics. Then I have a brief 15-20 minute pre-interview with the guest on the day of or right before where I review what I’ve found and want to discuss, but I also do this so I ensure I cover anything the guest wants promoted.  Whether be it a charity, future project, shout out to the fans, etc. I want to make sure the guest gets a chance to share what they feel is important.  All in all I spend about 5 hours of prep for each interview.  I must give credit to my amazing host coach (former MTV VJ iDalis DeLeon) - she’s fully schooled me in the “art of the interview” so many of the tactics I apply are directly from her. 

Obviously you find it easy to talk to people but was there ever a time when you didn’t?

Haha, actually no. I’ve always been quite a talker, when I was in 4th grade I got my desk moved to a special island so I couldn’t talk to anyone around me and stay more focused.  I guess it’s just born in me.  I like to say I was born with a microphone in my throat.

With live shows, you have to expect the unexpected.  Has anyone ever said something so surprising that you weren’t quite sure how to respond?

All the time, but I love those moments.  I structure my interview so I’m ready to take it wherever it needs to go, when a guest drops a surprise I always run with that.  You can only hope those moments happen. Now when people are quiet and offer a short non-opened response, that’s the real challenge.  Luckily I always prepare some back up questions. 

In your recent show which featured Tristan MacManus as your guest, you picked up a lot of new loyal listeners – not just because of Tristan being your guest but because of the casual format which made it seem like two old friends chatting.   We do admit to loving that particular show, and we apologize for blowing up your Twitter – although we can’t promise that we won’t do it again.  How about those MacManiacs?

I want to go on record and state (again) how amazing Tristan’s fans are! Also you are always welcome and encouraged to tweet away with me. What I love so much about Tristan’s fans is that they are just plain good people.  I feel like a great community developed out of support for someone that a lot of people believed in and that is truly beautiful.  You can see right away how humbled, appreciative and aware of this Tristan is.  It also feels like the MacManiacs are not just here as fans, they are supporters of: art, culture, good positive people, living with passion and purpose, and they seek to stay connected to that.  I have great instincts and I truly feel that something bigger will develop from this amazing community.  So I can only hope that the community continues to evolve and support each other because when great people come together anything is possible. 

Tell us your impressions of Tristan.  Had you met him prior to your show?

Tristan and I have a mutual friend, SYTYCD Season 5 dancer Randi Strong.  Randi is one of my closest friends and she performs with Tristan in BWAT.  She recommended I profile him as I mentioned to her that Anna’s fans were hoping I get another DWTS pro on, and the timing worked out great with the Season 18 launch.  Randi had told me how amazing Tristan is and everyone I met that knew him had all told me the same thing - nicest guy, fantastic, etc.  So I had a positive impression going in and high expectations based what I had known. However, Tristan exceeded those high expectations right away.  I had no idea just how cool he was.  I mean he is seriously one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, and people would be surprised to know there are actually a lot of nice people here in LA.  However with Tristan, maybe because he’s Irish, but there is just this quality that he has that lets you know there is zero BS ever coming out of his mouth.  He is just so honest and I totally get and support the fandom, because I want people to get behind and support good people and Tristan and his wife are honestly just great people. 

On March 25, 2014, Tahyna Tozzi-MacManus, Kai Lillie, and Tabrett Bethell were your guests as they discussed the OREN film and the Kickstarter campaign . That was a fascinating hour, and as we listened, it was easy to see that the conversation could easily have continued another hour or more.  What about their work most impressed/fascinated you?

I was so impressed by that whole group.  They are very established and there are much easier ways to go about your life in LA when you are at their level, but they just seriously want to make great art.  I think I loved most that they just wanted to create great work.  I fully realize and support that what we do here in LA is first and foremost a business, but I love being able to lend a voice to real artists, who do this not just for money, but also for something more.  I truly hope to be at this level of success in the very near future and I intend to do just what they do.  Make great content, support a bigger cause and purpose and do work that I feel contributes somehow to a greater good.  I can’t wait to see what they produce, as I know this project will be realized and from there very exciting things will continue to happen.

A  few months ago we asked Tristan to describe the MacManiacs in five words.  Now we’ll ask you to do the same. 

Supportive, Caring, Creative, Passionate, & Smart

Now for a fun twist.  Think of a question or two that you would like to ask us – Tristan’s supporters.  We’ll post all the answers as they come in. 

If you were a famous and or influential person, what would you want the masses to hear more about?  It could be art, charity, a cause, etc. - I want to know what people are passionate enough about to speak out on. 

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***Please send us your answer to Andy’s question – either by email (macmaniacs.org@gmail.com), Twitter (https://twitter.com/T_MacManusFocus) or by posting it on Andy’s thread on the forum or just below in the "comments" section.

For more on Andy:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andysteinhauser
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andysteinhauserhost
Instagram: http://instagram.com/andysteinhauser
LA Talk Radio: http://latalkradio.com and  http://latalkradio.com/Andy.php
Website: http://andysteinhauser.com/
Feature on Andy from The College of Charleston Magazine:
http://magazine.cofc.edu/2014/03/21/one-thing-leads-to-another/