EPISODE 5
LIFE AFTER LOVE ISLAND: THE BITTER PILL OF FAME
REALITY TV STAR & MODEL, PAUL KNOPS
Carpenter, budding documentary filmmaker, model, equestrian, actor - Paul Knops has many strings to his bow. However, it only takes 7 weeks in a Love Island villa to change your life and public image, for better or worse…
This week we’re going Off Script with Paul, diving into the reality behind Love Island’s careful cartography of public perception, managing the aftermath of reality TV, life-altering psychedelic experiences, handling opportunistic journalists, and his iconic music video appearance with a global superstar.
This episode covers
The trials of modern day modelling & social media’s impact
Reclaiming your privacy after reality TV
The true Love Island experience
Managing mental struggles amidst vicious media coverage
LA life & what a Playboy party was really like
DMT, psychedelics, and taking the strongest hallucinogen on Earth
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
“There’s just three minutes a day you might be on screen to try and portray yourself, and then afterwards, you’re ‘Paul from Love Island’. I honestly hated it afterwards. I think this idea that what people want is fame - it's not really all it's cracked up to be.”
15:55 - Paul Knops
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“Well I'm a carpenter by trade, but that was years ago. When I tell people what I do, I think I get a rise out of that more than anything, because I think most people are impressed with that. But I was modelling and acting at the time.” - 2:00 - Paul Knops
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“You could be on TV for five minutes, and it can absolutely ruin your career. I was doing modelling, so I didn't want it to have a say on that. I knew that if I went on, it had to be for the right reasons.” - 8:50 - Paul Knops
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“At one point, there was a drama going on. They asked me to get involved and I said, ‘I'm not getting involved in it. I don't care about it. I'm not gonna be this person that comes in and looks like the bad guy. You're not doing it to me.’” - 14:00 - Paul Knops
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“Everyone wants to talk to you about Love Island, and they're having a conversation with you. You're like 5-10 minutes into the conversation and then you're like, ‘I don't have a clue you are’. They're asking you very personal questions, stuff they found about you on the internet or your social media or something like that, so that was a bit off.” - 24:05 - Paul Knops
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“I do overthink things. I think I'm calculated, which is good and bad at the same time. I think it's good because you won't rush into something. But I think it's bad because you can then create a lot more scenarios and really overthink it.” - 33:50 - Paul Knops
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“I think we all need mentors. I think you need someone to speak to who's going to try and help you that way, and not judge your actions or judge what you're doing, and just try to find a way out of it.” - 38:30 - Paul Knops
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“I got on a horse and, honestly, that is my therapy. For an hour or two I go out. It's my therapy. No phone. It sounds cliche, but you are kind of one with the horse and with nature, and you just stop thinking about stuff.” - 48:15 - Paul Knops
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“Don't get me wrong. It was definitely a cool experience to go to the Playboy Mansion. But it was actually a win because it was rumoured to be one of their last parties, because he [Hugh Hefner] wasn't in a very good way.” - 53:40 - Paul Knops
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“Toad is the strongest hallucinogenic you can do. You do it with a Shaman. The whole point of this is not like a drug to get off your head, it's certainly not a sociable drug or anything. It's actually medicine.” - 56:10 - Paul Knops
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“There's no way to describe it. If you believe the world started with the big bang, I was there for the creation. That's where your mind goes, it's insane.” - 1:00:45 - Paul Knops