Fox TV's 'Bachelor of the Year,' Mycoskie is simply sexy

By Nichole Zangara

Beauty, boldness, brains and blessed is Blake Mycoskie. A former SMU student, Mycoskie will represent Tennessee in Fox TV's 'Sexiest Bachelor in America Pageant' scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Oct. 2.

Stephen Patak, 23 and friend of seven years, joked about his concern for Mycoskie.

"He might tell you it's a competition, but it's a beauty pageant," Patak said. "So he has to show a talent, and I was thinking, 'What talent does he have?'"

Being the good sport that he is, Mycoskie accepted a tennis scholarship at SMU. In the fall of '95 he left his home in Arlington, Texas and received more than an education at SMU.

As a sophomore, Mycoskie injured himself in a tennis match.

One Sunday morning he and his roommate Eric Hause were laying around hung over wishing that their laundry would take care of itself.

That day triggered the young entrepreneurs to start E-Z Laundry, a laundry and dry cleaning service for college students.

He still caters to college students' dry cleaning needs but at Vanderbilt. After selling E-Z laundry, he took the proceeds and bought the company that introduced calculators on shopping carts. He said that he hopes to install calculators on all the carts at Home Depot stores in the next year.

Mycoskie's obvious recipe for life is to taste it.

"What gets me going in the morning is creating something new, doing something new, getting out of my comfort zone," Mycoskie said.

The pageant is out of his comfort zone.

Nominated by a female friend, Mycoskie entered into the "competition" after submitting an application, two photographs and a two minute video.

He said that he was one of the 51 bachelors chosen out of over 20,000 videos because of his laid back style and confidence. In his clip he spoke about his double major in philosophy and finance, the places that he has traveled and his passion for fly fishing.

Mycoskie closed with, "All of this is why you may find me sexy."

The 51 state representatives, including the District of Columbia, will be judged based on looks, style, personality and question and answer. The current Miss USA Lynnette Cole and Nicole Eggert of "Baywatch" are among some of the all female panel of judges.

Leading up to the Sept. 12 competition held in Las Vegas, Nev. at the MGM Grand, Mycoskie could be found working out at the YMCA three to four hours a day. The fact that he will be on national television standing in his swimsuit mortified him.

Patak said that Mycoskie has always been interested in buffing up.

"At the tennis academy where I met him we had to take a dorm group picture," Patak said. "We all are dressed casual and Blake comes back from working out, takes off his shirt, rubs baby oil all over and flexes for the camera."

Patak said Blake is Blake; he is humble. Mycoskie is like carpe diem - seize the day.

"He has taught me regardless of whatever happens don't regret what you do today...make the most of everyday you have," Patak said.

Pam Mycoskie, Blake's mother and the author of cookbooks describes him as magnetic.

"Ever since he was a little boy people are just drawn to him and he is so honest," Mrs. Mycoskie said. "There is just something about him."

Mrs. Mycoskie has always supported her son and said she is his biggest cheerleader.

"He has so much drive and is self-motivated," she said.

His days in Las Vegas were hardly filled with parties and gambling. But rather a 9 a.m. to 11p.m. work day.

Patak and Mrs. Mycoskie both agree that he is driven by personal satisfaction. When Mycoskie was in grade school he would wake up early in the morning before school began and practice tennis in the driveway.

"Blake wasn't always the best tennis player," Patak said. "But he was always that guy who worked the hardest; the guy who was the first one to get there, and the last one to leave."

Mycoskie said that if he had the chance to do it all over again he would. Every pageant representative added a different dynamic to the contest that made the experience a once in a lifetime opportunity for him.

Mrs. Mycoskie spoke about the brotherhood and comradeship that was developed during the taping of the show.

"The first thing that I noticed was the guys were genuinely happy for one another," Mrs. Mycoskie said. "There wasn't the competition like there is often times between females."

Mycoskie said it was amazing how many guys were Christian believers. He was honest about his Christian beliefs from day one of the "competition."

"God is going to use this somehow," Mrs. Mycoskie said. "That is the attitude I took with this; there is a reason Blake is in it (pageant)."

He has already reached celebrity status. Mycoskie has appeared in the local Tennessee news on screen and in print. Radio station 107.5 the River in Nashville aired an interview with him Thursday morning. And Planet Hollywood in Nashville is hosting a viewing of the two-hour special Monday night. Future plans include a cell phone commercial contract.

Mycoskie can't wait to tell his future children how he made television history. And that he is one of the sexiest bachelors in America.