Top Affiliate Challenge Review Part 1

Ok! I was thinking about procrastinating this since I’m sweating in 100% humidity thanks to monsoon season in India, but then I realized I was spending more time thinking about doing it than it would actually take to write it.

Since I love to blabber on, I’m making it into multiple parts. So Top Affiliate Challenge, where do I start?

The Set

Coming from India, I was just absorbing the American atmosphere again, which was an experience in itself. Just the fact I could walk into a super large grocery store and pretty much get anything I wanted (especially organic produce) made me happy and realize how amazing it is to live in America. However, there is also a sort of distance in America that you don’t get in India. There are literally people everywhere here in India, but in America, it seems strangely desolate.

In terms of the hotel, I really liked it because it had brand new furniture and beds and it was really clean. Many people ragged on it because it wasn’t the Ritz Carlton, but I thought it was exceptional for the level of hotel it was. And no, I’m not getting paid to say this.

Obviously, this was a low budget production, so there wasn’t a really nice stage for the filming but the fact that Thor pulled together this show is amazing in itself so I wasn’t complaining. I mean we had free food from all sorts of local restaurants which was awesome even though I don’t prefer to eat catered foods.

Contestants and Gurus

It was really awesome to see such a diverse group of contestants and interacting with them in my native land (America). In India, I can’t really be myself because there is so much I don’t understand yet about the culture. In America, I can just really be myself and have fun interacting with everyone. Even though some people really didn’t come in with much affiliate marketing experience, everyone was really cool.

For me personally, meeting Jonathan Van Clute was huge. We share a similar mindset on many different topics and we’re both passionate about working hard building our businesses. We both share a lot of similar beliefs which keeps us both weird and successful :).

Another person I really liked was Collin LaHay. He was a bit quiet at first, but who wouldn’t be at 18 years of age. From early on, I had a gut feeling he knew what he was doing or at least had a lot of potential. This turned out to be true. Expect big things out of Collin.

It was also cool to meet Ian Fernando since I had met him a year ago while I was still a complete newbie. The fact I was meeting him a year later on a reality show is just cool. He definitely embraces his east coast style and loves to really part. Even though we’re not exactly similar, he’s a fun guy to talk with.

I didn’t get to spend alot of time with Ronda Del Boccio, but from the little time I did spend with her, she really was the real deal. I can tell she is a type I would really enjoy hanging around with and even working with. She has that positive mindset that makes her easily overcome obstacle.

Tom the Furry Hat guy is quite a character. I really like people who don’t conform to standards set by society. He has no fear, which ultimately makes him quite good with the ladies. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Tom since I was so focused on doing well in the competition, but I would have enjoyed hanging out with him in a less serious atmosphere.

Collin De Ruyck was also a unqiue character that added flavor to the show. He can get very intense on issues he really cares about which is cool as long as I’m not on the other end. But he’s an incredibly nice guy and really wants to be successful in affiliate marketing so I am looking forward to his progress.

Meeting Big Jason Henderson was quite an experience to say the least. I had gotten a rough impression of him from watching Next Internet Millionaire, but I really didn’t know too much. For most of the show, all I heard were all the weird things he did to grab attention. I wasn’t too fond of that. I then ended up being on the same team as him. He talked big, but didn’t really deliver. However, I’m pretty damn impressed by his persistance because he goes after what he wants and even though he might be turned down alot, he also gets a lot. You can learn a lot by paying attention to Big Jason.

Devin Hunter was a very cool guy. He has the maturity of someone who is older, yet still has the spirit of the young, which is an amazing combination. Just an overall solid guy. He’s someone I think will really benefit from being on the show, so I’m looking forward to see how he does in the future.

Chad Van Norman has got some interesting quirks like having to drink to work, but he does work hard though. At times, he got very intense just like Collin DeRuyck. I often times linked the two in my mind since they seem to get along with each other. I am very interested in seeing what Chad does in the future with what he learned on the show. He’s an e-mail marketer, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he shifts more into affiliate marketing.

Jonathan Ryan has a huge heart and spirit, so I’m not surprised he’s beaten cancer before. I really enjoyed talking to him about non-affiliate marketing topics. Even though he has his beliefs, he is extremely open minded, so I threw him all sorts of crazy ideas. He’s also amazing in front of the camera.

Jani Ghaffor was the laid back Brit who found himself in funny situations like his 3 hour haircut and strip club experience. He’s the same age as me and really dedicated towards being successful. I heard he really knows his stuff. It just didn’t translate well into a 2 week competition. He did pull it through on the last time though.

The Hosts

Monica Durazo is an incredibly sweet girl with a big heart. That big heart was really obvious when she would just break out crying. She also seems to be quite mature, but also has a very youthful side of her as well. Even though guys like Tom were pulling her to have more fun, she stuck to her responsibilities as a host. Now she’s even getting into the Internet Marketing world, which I think is awesome. I’ll be sure to check her blog to see what she’s up to.

Wes Wyatt is such a cool guy, so it was a shame that I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. He come across a lot better to me in real life than how he did in his audition video, which I thought was interesting. He can’t not like him in real life! He also does a great job of speaking as well which is a combination of knowing a bit about internet marketing and just being Wes.

The Gurus

Ken McArthur has really gotten all the fundamentals of a well lived life down. He’s more akin to an internet marketing monk if there ever was such a thing. I think out of all of the contestants, hosts, and gurus, he is the one I share the most common with. I realized this after reading the first part of his book. He also lives with a purpose of ultimately making the world a better place. It’s really rare to find someone like this, and I’m glad to have met him and look forward to hanging out with him again.

John Chow was something else! I didn’t expect him to such a huge jokester. I really wish he tried harder during the show, but he took a different approach which doesn’t really bother me personally, but I know it affected others. He definitely is a clever fellow, and he obviously works hard to be as successful as he is. I just wish I saw more of the serious side of him. Other than that, John Chow is an incredibly fun guy, so I’m sure he’s a blast to hang around at conferences where it is more about play than work.

Shoemoney was someone who I didn’t get to interact much with, but from the little I saw, he was the person I expected him to be. He definitely takes his business serious and I like his competitiveness. However, he had to leave the show early which really sucked for many reasons. The show would have been a lot more interesting with him in the game. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to interact him more later on.

Stay tuned for part 2 which I’ll hopefully post tomorrow. I’m currently extremely busy with setting up office space in India, hiring employees, and just getting myself situated over here. Pile that on with trying to get my new paid campaigns going and maintaining my existing websites. The good thing is that it definitely keeps my energy flowing.