Think beauty pageant meets three ring circus and you’ll have some idea of how the Top Bloke finals went down. The original 10 blokes were whittled down to five for the Friday night shenanigans that took place at The Last Drop.
The final five (and their sponsors) were: Steve Billyard (The Last Drop), Jacob Hanson (Village Idiot), David Lundine (Skookum Cycle & Ski and Benoit’s Wine Bar), Mark Campbell (Powder Springs), and Ryan Hill (Stoked Yoga).
With judges Neills Kristensen, Angela Waterson and Lindsay Roe on deck, the five blokes spent the evening pulling out all the stops – and then some – in an effort to impress.
The evening was broken down into four categories: formal wear, ski/board wear, swimsuit competition, and talent competition.
For the talent competition Bilyard made an attempt at stand-up comedy; Hill performed a medley of Top Gun tunes on the trumpet; Campbell played the guitar and sang; Hanson juggled flaming bottles and; Lundine, whose costume consisted of a pair of butt-less chaps, had the help of audience member Cara as he “sawed” her in half while host and emcee Jean-Marc LaFlamme made fake chain saw noises.
LaFlamme helped keep the evening on a lighter (and, sometimes dirtier) note with his antics and “information-seeking” questions for the guys. Of course, the screaming girls in the bar probably did a lot to egg-on the competitors. Or, the competitors did a lot to incite the screaming and cheering.
While Campbell impressed the judges with his guitar playing to take top spot in the talent competition, it was Hill who walked away with the title of Top Bloke.
“It’s an honour to follow in the footsteps of Jacob Hanson,” said Hill. “It’s something I would have not have aspired to. Revelstoke is by far one of the coolest communities in B.C., if not Canada. The mix of people who have been here a long time and those who have been here just a short time is incredible.”
Part of Revelstoke Spirit Fest, Top Bloke contestants were judged on their participation in a speed dating event, talent, and on their participation in Spirit Fest events throughout the week.
