Q&A with Chase

What’s the most useless talent you have?

Knowing all 50 states in alphabetical order.  My fourth grade elementary music teacher, Mrs. Beaver, taught us “Fifty Nifty United States” for a school concert and I never forgot the song.  Anytime I need to recite the order of the states (a good party trick!) I can do it while singing the song.

What is the dumbest way you’ve been injured?

I once had cat scratch fever. I got scratched by a cat and a few weeks later a gland on the side of my neck started swelling up.  It got to the size of a baseball and then I needed surgery to have it drained. I have a scar across the side of my neck that’s hidden under my beard.

How has the show’s notoriety changed you?

Before the show started I would only cut my hair once a year. Usually in early spring I would shave my head and face, but I only had a set of old dog clippers so I used those. Now I get a haircut and trim the beard every few months. I haven’t decided if I will go back to the old routine once the show ends.  I still have the clippers.

Have you ever won anything?

I once won free beer for a year in  a sculpture contest for Pabst Blue Ribbon. I made a sculpture, only using beer cans, of a guy sitting on a 30 pack drinking a beer and I called it “The Drinker” (Rodin would have been proud). There was also a cash prize, and I used the money to install a septic system in my house.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Every day I am inspired creatively by my family, friends, and the beautiful state of Maine. Some of my greatest influences are Bernard Langlais, a wondrous Maine Sculptor; Jim Henson, whose creative, loving creatures helped raise me and countless “latchkey kids;” and my father, who passed onto me the idea of wastelessness and showed me how to be a loving husband, father, friend and hard worker.