From Scrubs to Screens: A Nurse's Reality TV experience

Heyyyyy! I'm Knicki j (with a k), your new go-to for all things nursing, and recently Yours truly ended up on a reality TV show!!!! The show was aimed at helping entrepreneurs (that’s me!) grow in life and business while participating in a gameshow style competition. Buckle up, 'cause I'm spillin' all the tea on this rollercoaster ride. From the highs to the hilarious mishaps, join me and let’s dive headfirst into this whirlwind adventure together.

How did this even come about? social media of course! There I was Scrolling through Facebook and eating Cheez-its one day, and an ad caught my eye – aimed at entrepreneurs like me. Intrigued, I clicked and stumbled upon BetaBlox, a reality TV show I'd never heard of. After watching a teaser, I was like…. Why not give it a shot! I had just started a business designing t-shirts and hoodies for nurses but was looking to push further into something more meaningful. so, I was interested Not just for the competition, but for the chance to learn and grow. The teaser said the judges in this show were millionaires themselves! When would I get another chance for such a successful baller to sit down with me personally to critique and mentor me in my ambitious dreams? Plus, the show's host? None other than Wes Bergmann, a reality TV veteran (big brother on CBS and the challenge on MTV, pluuus the upcoming e’s house of villains!). I applied in secret initially. I didn’t want anyone to know about my failure if I didn’t get picked. However, surprisingly I made it through three rounds of interviews, securing a spot on the show! Never would I have thought that a girl with my background would be able to afford such an opportunity. after losing both parents by the age of 13, living in homes with people just looking to take advantage of the system by housing me, and emancipating myself at 16… no one could have ever told me that this could be a part of my future. (but all of that is a story for another day!)

Fast forward to travel day – I couldn’t have been sicker! I felt like two trains rolled over me and backed up twice! But again, this was the chance of a lifetime for me, and I would not be missing it! opportunities like this do not come my way every day. So, me and my Dayquil, NyQuil, and Alka seltzer plus packed up to board the plane. landing in Tulsa, I was greeted by the beautiful Maddie who assured me that I was in the right place. breathing easy and feeling more secure that I was not going to be kidnapped, I started to take note of the people joining the group around me. Everyone was so nice! then this super fly chick walks up all guccied down. I’m like, well looks like my competition already has it all together, while I sat in my $20 Shein outfit! I had to compliment her immediately because this girl just radiated beauty from the inside out and you have to recognize good style! She ended up being super nice as well and we rode the shuttle over to the casino together. Everyone on the shuttle was talking shop. how intimidating to hear some of the other great ideas and already successful businesses in the “room”. not to mention miss superfly tells me that she has won multiple pitch competitions before and loves to do them as a hobby!!! already I knew I was going to have to step the game I didn’t even have alll the way up!

Finally, at the casino/ hotel we would be filming at and it was time to check into the game! Everyone had their pictures taken while meeting the cast and crew. smiles were all around as we were all excited to get started. Everyone had a 1:1 introduction interview to talk about themselves and their business followed by a quick sit down dinner (where I met the coolest magician!) before it was time to gather and meet the judges!!! nerves were all over as we filed into the large stadium room that would become our everyday home for the rest of the week. sitting right near the front row, we finally met the host and creator extraordinaire of the show, mr Wes Bergmann himself. quite funny and self-deprecating, he was the perfect entertainment to end the night. with a drumroll he finally brought out the judges. 10 in total and wouldn’t you know…. miss superfly herself was a judge!!!!! in all her gucci glory was melissa. a successful coffee shop owner with her own unique story and fingers crossed soon to be one of my mentors! …