♪ Been through it all But we came out clean ♪
♪ They said we walked through hell And made it back again ♪
♪ So come on, come on… ♪
-[tablet chiming] -[Antoni] Neon.
-Sit. No, no, no. -Oh.
Hey, guys. We've got a new hero.
Make room for Tanny.
[Karamo] Really?
-Yeah! -[Jonathan] Yay.
-[Antoni] Give Tan space. -[Tan] Come on.
-Come on. Can I sit down? -Good girl.
Thank you, sweetheart.
-Don't bite. -All right, guys.
Our hero this week, his name is Chris Baker.
"He is 36 years old, and he lives here in Austin, Texas."
I would describe myself as a tattooed,
no-good, potty-mouthed humanitarian. [chuckles]
"He is an advocate for the homeless."
-Wow, good. -Yeah.
-[Karamo] Nice. -Such important work.
And we have a little clip.
[woman] The Other Ones Foundation gives the homeless a living wage
to clean various parts of the city.
Chris Baker is the executive director.
The sense of community, the sense of belonging, the sense of dignity
is really where the magic happens.
I am the founder and executive director
of a homelessness service nonprofit called the Other Ones Foundation.
We believe that housing is a human right.
How's the showers going?
This was broken before, but we actually fixed it up,
and now water is flowing smoothly.
We offer hygiene facilities and food access
to help give them a dignified existence
as they sort of make that journey out of homelessness.
You know, to be able to help these people get their dignity back is a huge thing.
I cannot wait to meet Chris.
This is awesome.
[Bobby] All right, peoples.
"Our hero is a dedicated dad. He is married to Elizabeth."
-"They have two children, five and eight." -[Tan] Cute.
[Bobby] "And he was nominated by Liz, Chris' wife."
He is one of the most compassionate and kind people that I know.
At the same time, I don't think he gives himself that same kindness.
"Chris has been insecure about his weight his entire life,
and recently received gastric bypass surgery."
"But hasn't bought clothes to match his new shrinking body."
Okay.
[Chris] It was just four months ago that I was, like, almost 400 pounds.
So, like, nothing I have really fits me.
Hmm.
[Bobby] "Chris spends about 18 hours a day working."
"He never dresses professionally for meetings with investors
and is self-conscious that it prevents him from finding more funds
to help the deprived community he serves."
It's nothing that a French tuck cannot fix.
-[playing rock tune] -Hey… ready. One, two, ready, and… G.
[Bobby] "Chris fears nothing he does is ever enough."
"His wife worries that if he doesn't take better care of himself, he will burn out."
[Liz] He cares so deeply for the organization and the people
that he really struggles to peel himself away.
[Karamo] What I think is important for anybody
who works in any social services-type jobs,
you have to remember that there has to be a work-life balance,
or you're gonna start seeing yourself drifting away
from things that you love outside of work.
My mom, who died about five years ago, said to me,
"The only true measure of a successful person
is how they make the people around them feel."
That really became really deeply ingrained in me.
Chris' mom's passing was extremely difficult.
We had purchased the house, and me, Chris and the kids had moved in,
and then she came home
and was here for five days before she passed.
That was a really difficult way to start out our time here in this house,
and I know that Chris really didn't want to be here.
At the end of the week, Chris has a really big event going on.
He is presenting in front of a bunch of people
to get donations to raise $6 million for his organization.
It'll be a big kickoff with lots of people.
And the goal right now is to get funding
for the 200-unit transitional shelter complex
that we're building at the Esperanza Community.
But if we don't get the funding, then everything falls apart.
[Liz] I think Chris needs help now more than any other time
because there's all of this pressure around this event.
He needs to have that self-confidence and feel good about himself.
So, our mission this week, guys.
-Yep. -Yeah?
"Let's help this unconfident housing advocate
give back to himself for a change."
[all shouting] Yeah!
-Yeah! -Yeah!
[all yelling]
[Bobby screams]
-[Jonathan] Girl. -[Tan laughing]
[theme music playing]
♪ Better All things just keep getting better ♪
[upbeat pop music playing]
You know that building we built, we've been calling it "the kitchen"?
We closed it off so that Free Lunch can start
coming out there and cooking meals every day.
Hearty, healthy meals.
-[Tan] Is this it? -[Bobby] Yeah, this is it.
-Yeah. -Okay. Yay!
So, one of the problems, like, in my opinion,
is that, like, maybe that emergent need has passed.
[Bobby] We're here!
-Hello. -Hello.
-[Bobby] Hey, how's it going, guys? -[cheering]
-Wow. -[Tan] Chris, nice to meet you. I'm Tan.
-Hey! -Lovely to meet you.
-Yeah. -Gimme a hug.
-Hey, great to meet you. -[Jonathan] Oh, my God.
Oh, thank you. What is your name?
Chris literally has absolutely no idea what the hell is going on.
Has no idea how this operates, no clue what we do.
I could tell him that Tan is gonna be remodeling his office.
He would be like, "Great, let's go!"
What are we doing here?
So, this is one of our offices.
This is where we run our Workforce First program out of.
Put about anywhere from, like, 60 to 70 people
that are experiencing homelessness into jobsites every day.
-Wow! -[Chris] So that's what happens here.
You're doing so much good.
-[Chris] Oh, thank you. -Yes.
-Well, we-- -[woman] He is.
One of the things that sticks out about the community space, it's quite empty.
For a space that's welcoming people in every day,
I think it's a little unwelcoming.
I wanna help change that.
We would love to hear from some of you who actually work with Chris.
Why does he deserve our help?
Why do we love Chris, and what he needs help with?
Get him a suit for the fundraising event.
-I like that. -We need this guy looking sharp.
[man] And I think for someone like Chris, like,
we're all here because of this message
that Chris has kind of, like, birthed and started, right?
[Karamo] Yeah.
[Jared] That message is the fact that,
like, we just believe that all persons are inherently valuable.
And for Chris, he deserves and ought to be a person who can step out boldly
with confidence, to be able to share that message.
-Love! Do you wanna join our crew? -[Antoni] So well said.
-[laughs] -[Tan] That's so nice.
Is it hard for you to hear people talking about how amazing you are?
-Uh, yeah. -[all laughing]
All right, I'm gonna, like, fan you off, queen. Is that okay. Oh, my God.
Chris seems nervous because I can tell he is not used to being in the spotlight.
But this week, it is all about Chris,
because Chris is the man in front of it all,
and we want to make Chris think of himself the way everybody else thinks of him.
Shall we get a little tour?
-[Chris] Yeah, so, uh, here's our kitchen. -[Bobby] Kitchen.
-I like the '50s cabinets. [chuckles] -[Chris] Yep.
So, fortunately, we're not, like,
trying to use this place to cook Thanksgiving dinner.
It's really just because we provide lunches.
So, all that's really happening is we're putting together sandwiches, assembling--
So you need easy assembly in here.
-Correct. Yeah. -[Jonathan] Okay.
Is this the coffee maker that makes coffee for all these people?
-Isn't that so crazy? -[Tan] Oh, my God.
I thought I bought another coffee maker.
One of the chief complaints that we get is that there's never enough coffee here.
Can people come donate food if they want?
Like, at locations or… I'm sure we'll talk about…
-Yeah. -[Jonathan] I know we have subjects--
We gotta get to his house.
Yeah, we'd love to see your house next, please, if you could.
-You wanna go to my house? Okay. -[Bobby] Absolutely.
-[Jonathan] Your house is gorgeous. -[Chris] Oh, thank you.
All right. Here it is.
-[Jonathan] Look at this cuteness. -[Bobby laughs] Oh, my--
-[Chris] Liz is home! -[clamoring]
-Hey, hi. -Hi!
-[Tan] Hi! -[Bobby] I'm Bobby. Nice to meet you.
[Jonathan] You are slaying the food prep game.
-That means you're doing really well. -Yes.
-[laughing] -[Tan] How old are you?
Eight. Uh eight. Yeah.
And you're helping Mom prepare dinner?
-[daughter] Mm-hmm. -[Tan] That's nice.
[Jonathan] Oh, my gosh! You guys have such a cute couple cuddle.
I'm sorry. I just had to say it.
You fit in his nook so well, so cute.
Anyway, I'm sorry.
-No, that's okay. -Sorry!
-[laughing] -[Bobby] So, do you wanna show us around?
-[Chris] Sure. Walk… walk this way. -[laughing]
-[Chris] This is our living room. -[Bobby] Nice.
[Chris] We painted this, this color because it was real into the ocean.
[Bobby] So, the focal point of the room is the blue wall.
But the blue has got to go.
-[playing notes] -[Karamo] Wow.
-[Chris] Yeah. -Dad's a musician.
-[Tan] Can I play on this? -[Chris] Sure, no problem.
[Karamo] Wow. So music is a passion outside of the advocacy work that you do.
Yes, but we're so busy with The Other Ones Foundation,
I don't get to spend much time here.
[Jonathan] Cover your ears, queen. It's about to get loud.
-Five, six, five, six, seven, eight. -[scatting]
Girl, the five of us together can do a lot of things.
[scatting continues]
♪ Queer Eye… ♪
But harmonizing is not one of them.
I quit this band.
-[cymbal crashes] -[Chris] Yeah!
-[Jonathan] Let's go upstairs. -[Chris] Are we going?
You cannot have chicken nuggets without ketchup.
[chuckling]
[Bobby] Not afraid of color in this house.
-Okay. -[Tan] It's a massive room. Beautiful.
Bobby is stressed out about-- I feel it. It's fine, Bobby.
Well, because red is a color that actually causes anxiety and stress.
-[imitates whirring, laughs] -Stop.
[Antoni] Oh, my gosh, so many nutrition shakes.
[camera shutter clicks]
We're what my therapist refers to as pathologically codependent.
[boy] Smile.
-Okay. So, what's this story? -[camera shutter clicks]
-Oh, that's from dyeing my hair. -Ooh!
We were adventurous, hunty.
-[Chris] Yeah. -Let's see what's going on.
-Okay. So, there's the whispers. -Yeah.
Are we vibing the bleach and tone? Do you like it?
I'd like for it to go away, probably.
Oh, your hair is quite salt-and-pepper.
Okay. So, show me your stuff. What happened?
-[Tan] Can I intrude? -[screams]
-I will rip your top off you. -I just--
-[laughing] -[Antoni] Thank you so much.
Althea, would you like some ice cream?
I'm surprisingly full, but I can't say no.
I feel you. I understand you. I see you.
So, how has it changed since his procedure, like, having meals?
What do you, like, typically-- I see, like, there are smoothies on the counter.
Is that, like, a big part of his daily diet?
Yeah, breakfast especially has been the protein shakes.
But he's really not eating with, I think, like, the regularity that's recommended,
which is, like, these teeny-tiny meals.
-Which is tough. -[Liz] Yeah.
So, you have lost a lot of weight recently.
Are you feeling more confident in your skin
now you've gotten down to a closer weight that you wanted to be at?
Um, yeah, I mean, I think I still have kind of a long way to go.
Okay, so I would like to know, what do you wanna look like?
-I know that's a hard question to answer. -Yeah.
I wanna look like a person who's capable…
and able to do what I do.
Because it's clear you already are that person who's capable,
'cause you are killing shit out there.
-You're doing an incredible job. -Yeah.
But we're launching a fundraising campaign
to build a very innovative shelter complex.
-Great. -And let's just be honest.
Some people are gonna look at me and they're gonna be like,
"Whatever organization that guy runs
is not the organization I'm gonna donate a million dollars to."
So, like, how do we find that balance?
-That's maybe something to think about. -Yeah. Absolutely.
-[rock music playing] -♪ I'm making a change ♪
♪ I send out prayers… ♪
The thing about their house, you can tell it's lacking some TLC.
There's some cabinet doors that are missing.
There's wires hanging out of some appliances.
♪ We're making a change ♪
Who's Chris at work, and who's Chris at home?
I like to think that they're fundamentally the same.
-Mm-hmm. -But it's something that Liz brought up.
I have this big, long list
of important things that need to be taken care of all the time.
And I tend to be the very last thing on that list.
Yeah. So, this week, it's okay for it just to be about you.
[Chris] That's one of the nicest things that anybody's ever said to me.
-Thank you for that. -You're welcome.
So, how long have you been putting yourself at the bottom of your list?
[sighs] You know, there's, like, a point in my history
when I was experiencing, like,
varying degrees of substance use disorder.
-I've had that as a part of my past. -Yeah.
And we naturally, in that condition, put ourselves before everything else.
And so I deal with a lot of, like, shame and regret from that,
and that's very difficult.
Like, just saying that is, like, very hard for me to acknowledge that.
Yeah, I appreciate that vulnerability.
Substance abuse does make you feel inherently
like everything you're doing is selfish.
But what I do also know about, like, addiction is that
it also helps you to escape.
Sure.
If you don't mind sharing,
what were some of the things you were trying to escape?
[chuckles] I feel like I'm belaboring this point every time I talk to somebody,
but, like, this house was the product of my mom being sick.
And so we bought this house with the plan of all of us living together.
Yeah.
But her cancer metastasized into her brain.
She went into the hospital, and then that was it.
The only time then she ever lived in this house was under hospice care,
and she was completely out of it. And then the nurses come and they go,
"Here's a half gallon bottle of liquid morphine. Here you go."
"Then you take this and crush the pills up and then you pour the morphine in,
and then you take that out and you treat those symptoms…"
"Death may be a side effect of that, but you treat those symptoms."
But there's always been this little voice in my head calling me a murderer for it.
-Yeah. -So, I'm going through this process.
As I'm doing it, all of these drugs are getting into my system too.
A little for me, a little for you. A little for me, a little for you.
And that morphine…
the Ativan, the Xanax,
that shit completely came to completely ruin my life…
Yeah.
…for a good period of time after that, man.
So… [clears throat]
-Where the guilt and shame come from. -Yeah.
Yeah, I understand.
There's guilt and shame wrapped around it, just like being a big, fat guy, like…
-It just is. -Yeah.
So…
There's that too.
So, it makes sense to me.
-Yeah. -Like, thank you for sharing that.
It helps me to understand where you are in your life and what you've been through
and also hearing that story about the house that we're in now,
a lot of that is attached to this house.
So, every day you walk in this house,
you feel and experience all those things unconsciously.
-Oh, yeah. -Can I have a hug?
-Oh. I appreciate you. -Thanks, man.
-[Karamo] We're gonna have fun. -Thank you, again.
[Karamo] You're welcome.
-[Chris] I'm glad we're getting to meet. -Yeah, me too.
Chris, thank you so much for spending time with us today.
I think we've all really found an opportunity
to understand what it is that we can help you with.
-All right. -[Bobby] I got a few projects.
-[Tan] Shall we get on with our week? -Yes.
-Wonderful! All right! -[laughing]
Let's get out of here. Let's do this!
[Karamo] I just love that you have no idea what's going on.
I have no… idea. Like…
-[laughing] -That's the best. We love that.
We really do.
-You ready? -[Chris] Let's go do it.
[pop music playing]
♪ Maybe we are just the same… ♪
Unfortunately, we still live in a world where people judge us by the way we look.
So, I wanna empower Chris with different looks, different vibes, like,
level up the style game so that we can also level up our fundraising game.
[Tan] My main goal for Chris is that
I want him to see how his new body looks in clothes that actually fit him.
I want Chris to see himself the way I see him.
Chris doesn't necessarily have the information
as to vitamins and the amount of protein that he should be having.
I wanna make sure that he's getting what his body actually needs right now.
Chris and Liz have spent so much time helping others
that they haven't really had time to make their house a home.
But in order for him to keep helping people,
he needs a place where he can recharge with his amazingly wonderful family.
Chris doesn't think that he's worthy to take the time for himself.
That's why he's always focusing and trying to help everyone else.
But I want Chris to understand, it's okay to take time for you.
That's when you start to get a balanced life.
-[pop music playing] -♪ It's just beginning ♪
♪ A brand-new day ♪
[Bobby] Those tomatoes look delicious.
-What do you want me to do? -You can check on the toaster.
I just want them lightly toasted.
[Bobby] Lightly.
So, I got some deli turkey. We have some provolone.
-I have a bit of pesto and mayo. -Mmm!
And then I got some really nice organic bread. I love a good sandwich.
Me too. It reminds me of home.
Are you gonna bring these to Chris and all of the residents of Esperanza?
I am gonna go help build one of their shelters.
-Nice! -And I am gonna bring some sandwiches too.
[Antoni] Who are you gonna tell them made the sandwiches?
[Bobby] Me.
-And Antoni. [laughs] -Yeah.
[Chris] Okay, so right now we're going to the main encampment.
As you can see, lots of services still needed here.
This is where people are mostly tent camping
and living in built structures like these ones you see over here.
Accumulation of garbage is a major issue.
[Bobby] How many people at any given time live here?
It fluctuates between, like, 160 and maybe, like, 190, 200.
[Bobby] What was it that inspired you to do this?
Liz was a social worker, and she worked with this population,
and I brushed up against being a member of this population
at one time in my life.
Same.
I think if more people took the time to actually realize
the problem isn't the people,
the problem is a lot of things in our society.
This is not like, poof, this just happened.
Right.
This is the inevitable result of a great many societal problems.
[Bobby] If this pandemic has taught us anything,
it's that there so many people
that are literally one check away from homelessness.
Oh, 100%.
Here is the beginnings of a shelter complex back here.
[Bobby] This is what you're doing the fundraising for?
[Chris] Yeah, yeah, for 200 of those.
The only work out here that wasn't done by residents was the electrical install.
[Bobby] The residents are actually the ones that are--
They're getting paid to do so, right?
-Correct. -That's awesome.
[Chris] Here we are. Oh, look, everyone's here. This is exciting.
-Hello! -Hey, how's it going?
-Welcome. -[Bobby] Good to see you.
-Welcome to Esperanza. -Hi, guys.
It's good to see you, brother. This is looking good.
[Jared] Our foreman here. Enrique.
Enrique, how long does it take to put one of these together?
About six hours.
That's not bad. Six hours for a house. What can I do to help?
The shelters are not permanent housing.
Like, they were built for, like, refugees,
and this is the first time these shelters have ever been used in America.
Which says a lot about where America is right now.
Got it. Thank you, Enrique.
[Enrique] You gotta put the bracket in there.
[Bobby] But that's why Chris wants to do even more
by raising almost $6 million
to make more permanent structures for this community.
We'll be able to build 200 of those
and then have neighborhoods of 50 shelter units,
and then bathrooms and showers
and a place to prepare food and, like, a gathering space in each node.
A community where they can thrive and that they can raise themselves up.
-There you go. -Gonna take these.
-An Antoni special. -[laughs] Oh, awesome.
For people like Chris out there who have said, "Enough is enough,"
and they're doing whatever they can…
God, we need thousands of Chrises because these people deserve a home.
All right!
-Good job. Look at all those brackets! -[laughs]
-[rock music playing] -♪ You're gonna be all right ♪
-♪ Ooh-hoo! ♪ -♪ Everything is gonna go your way ♪
[Neon barks]
-[Antoni] After you. -[Chris] Ah.
[Antoni] I'm excited. This is a great spot.
[Chris] Let's do it.
-Okay. -Mmm.
[Antoni] The goal is to kind of, like,
figure out how we can get a lot of nutrients
and vitamins and all the stuff that your body actually needs,
but in, like, very compressed, like, concentrated amounts
without irritating your body.
Chris physically can't consume as much food as he used to
because of this procedure.
But right now, liquids are very easy for his body to process.
There are many reasons why I make my own protein drinks.
It's really not that complicated.
So, that's kind of what I'm, like, here to show you.
I wanna teach him new ways of doing the same thing that he's been doing.
[Chris] I've been stuck on one kind of protein shake.
It doesn't start off looking anything like this.
So how do you tolerate nut butters? Do you eat peanut butter or almond butter?
-I love peanut butter. -Oh, great. Let's use peanut butter then.
Yeah, I mean, I would like to try the almond butter.
So, we can try it.
This is your smoothie.
-Let's get crazy. -Let's get crazy!
Um, all the nut butters.
This is literally how I start every single morning.
I start out with a bit of nut milk.
-[Chris] Okay. -This stuff I love to use.
I'm obsessed with pistachio milk.
It's a little salty, a little sweet.
And then a banana.
I use a plant, like, a pea-based protein, as opposed to whey.
And then some kind of a nut butter. So, almond butter.
-And you can scoop all of that in there. -Okay.
It's thick.
[Antoni] Yep. I personally put, um, an offensive amount of cinnamon.
-How do you feel about cinnamon? -Get it.
Okay, let's put a lot.
So, this is protein powder, but it's pea-based protein.
So it's completely vegan, and this is the stuff that I use. I really love it.
-Does it have as much protein? -It really does.
Typically, he uses whey protein, which is milk-derived,
and that can be hard to digest for people who've had gastric sleeve.
This is not your packaged smoothie.
I wanna keep everything as healthy and clean as possible.
Simple as that.
Perfect.
And then we're gonna set this up.
-I start low. -[whirring]
You don't save time by making your own smoothie from scratch,
but the fact is it's a lot less expensive,
and you have an awareness of what you're putting into your body.
Perfect.
And my hope is that once he gets the hang of it, it becomes as automatic
as already grabbing that, like,
prepackaged protein smoothie out of a bottle.
Cheers.
Mmm.
Oh, my God, that is so good.
[Antoni] It's seriously the smoothie I make every single morning.
It's like gingerbread or something.
-It's so good. -Yeah, it's the cinnamon in there.
Oh, my God, it tastes like Christmas.
It's like a nice-- It tastes like Christmas!
[chuckles] So good.
-In the heat of the summer. -You just, like, changed…
-[chuckles] -Oh, my goodness.
[upbeat music playing]
[Tan] Okay, Chris. Ready to shop?
-[Chris] Let's do it. -[Tan] Good.
Okay, when was the last time you came shopping?
Um… it has been years.
Outside of, like, going to Walmart to find the thing
big enough to go on me. [scoffs]
Was that up until the point where you had the gastric sleeve?
-Yes. -Okay.
I wanna explain something quick,
'cause I know that anyone who's actively trying to lose weight
is concerned about buying new clothes when you think, "Well, I might lose more."
-Right. -But you are drowning in your clothes.
It does the opposite of what you probably want your clothes to do.
[Chris] Yeah, right.
So, instead of buying a bunch of new clothes, obviously that's expensive.
I just take it to the tailor, which I know seems bougie. I promise it's not.
But you want your clothes to show off your incredible results.
And right now, it's hiding everything.
Chris is still thinking that he needs to wear
things that are five sizes too big to hide the weight that he no longer has.
So, is there a certain look that you would like?
To be honest, like, what I would really love,
I wanna be able to put on just, like, a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans
and go out in the world like that,
which is something that I've never been able to do.
No, sorry. Why? It's a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
Because it's I don't know, white. It makes me look like a marshmallow,
and, like, it's more of a weight-loss thing than a fashion thing.
It's a terrifying thought to, like, put on a white T-shirt and go out into the world.
Hate the thought of that, that you feel even restricted
to buy the thing that we use as the most basic piece.
So, I'm hoping that by the end of this week,
when you walk into this event and Liz sees you, that she's like,
"We've got ten minutes."
[laughing]
-So, should we try clothes? -Let's do it.
-Good. -I can't promise I'll like it.
But I will try anything.
-I've got some things in the fitting room. -Okay.
I want Chris to understand clothes matter.
The way you style yourself matters.
It really can be the tipping point
of how you view yourself and whether you view yourself kindly.
-Chris, you ready? -Ready.
[Tan] Oi! I don't know who this guy is.
[chuckles] I don't know who this guy is.
Come take a look at yourself in the mirror.
And you'll stop…
Wow!
-[Tan] Um, Chris. -Yes.
[Tan] What do you think?
[Chris] I like it.
It's very different.
-I, uh-- -Different good?
-[Chris] Oh, yeah. I really like this. -Good.
-I thought this would've felt too small. -Yeah.
Now that I'm looking at myself, it looks awesome.
-It's not tight at all. -It looks great.
I like these colors.
-And I like the layered look. -Yeah.
-Can I explain why I've done the layered? -Yes.
When I layer, nobody can really see your shape underneath 'cause this just grazes.
It gives you some shape, but hides a little as well.
So, this is for outside of work.
I'm not saying that this is your look for investors.
It's still very casual.
When you go and meet investors,
I've got other options for you that I'm gonna put in your cl-- [laughs]
-Stare! I want you to look at yourself! -Yeah, yeah.
[Tan] I want you to feel the things that you're feeling.
I don't hate it.
-Is it nice? -It is nice.
-Do you wanna continue to feel like this? -Let's continue to feel like this.
All right.
[Chris] I like it.
It's very rock and roll.
-Yeah, it is! -[laughs]
[Tan] Yes, confidence!
[Chris] Sorry. I've never had, like, a pair of high-topped shoes before.
Yeah. So, it's a jean. It's a T-shirt.
-Mm-hmm. -And it's a shirt.
-Right. -Nothing fancy. So, do you feel sexy?
-I-- [laughs] -[Tan chuckles]
Maybe.
I know you won't say it. You look like a sexy guy. Effortlessly cool.
Wow.
I want you to have the confidence that you seem to be displaying now.
-Right on. -[laughs] Yeah. Yes, please.
-You pose however you wanna pose. -[laughs]
-[rock music playing] -♪ Ooh! ♪
-♪ Ooh! Ooh! ♪ -♪ Hold on! ♪
♪ Ooh… ♪
-[Chris] Oh, my goodness. All right. -[Karamo] You see that?
What are you saying "Oh, my God" for?
[Chris] I just saw him. He was like Spider-Man over there.
-Andy, you scared my friend. -[Andy] Sorry.
-Andy, Chris. Chris, Andy. -[Andy] What's up?
-Nice to meet you. -Welcome.
-Thanks, man. -All right!
-[Karamo] What do you think of this spot? -Wild.
It's like a big jungle gym. My daughter would love it.
[Karamo] Yeah… I'm bringing Chris to this gym to help him to understand
that because of his self-esteem issues and the guilt and shame he's holding onto,
he's afraid to face up to things that are going on in his life.
So, he just focuses on work.
But it's causing him to have a lack of balance.
When we had talked, one of the main things was,
there's no balance happening in your life right now.
-I would largely agree with that, yeah. -Yeah.
Do you think you deserve forgiveness?
I… I don't know. It's hard to say. I mean, I, um…
I… I mean, intellectually, I think so. Emotionally, it's much harder.
I guess maybe I deserve it as much as everybody else does.
[Karamo] You guess?
Yeah, I mean…
I know. It's, like, my mantra in life, is that every person deserves that.
Yeah, you're right. You do deserve that.
Why is it harder for you to forgive yourself emotionally?
[emotional music playing]
What's the guilt you're holding onto?
At the end of my mom's life, I was giving her the medication that we knew
would ultimately lead to her heart stopping.
And then when this really was like, "Oh, this is gonna happen,"
so much family came and stuff and, like, friends.
But I was, like, left to deal with this piece of it,
and I was surrounded by family,
but I was completely alone in dealing with that part of it.
And I fell asleep in the bed.
On the drugs.
And slept probably six hours…
[scoffs] …next to a dead body.
This shit is… up, man.
-None of that was your fault. -Yep.
And I know you keep saying "yep" intellectually.
Yeah, yeah.
[Karamo] But you have to start receiving this.
It wasn't your fault.
So you need to accept and forgive your past
so that you can be joyful and present right now.
Because connection with your wife and your family
and with yourself is what's most important.
-It's time. -It's time.
It's time that's gonna take.
This is the first step.
Well done.
But with me, I also like to have a little fun.
-So… -Yeah.
-I invited somebody here. -Oh, gosh.
-I'm gonna be right back. -Oh, no.
[Karamo] What? Don't feel bad.
It's good.
[hums fanfare]
-It's your baby mama! -Hey!
Hello!
Oh!
-How are you? -[Liz] I'm good. How are you?
-It's good to see you. Good. -You too.
-So, you still gotta have fun. -[Chris] Yeah.
And you've taken the time out of your day.
So, I was like, why don't you two get to spend some time here together?
Finding balance, but having fun.
Let's have a good time.
-So we'll start with this one. -All right.
I'm here. In case you need it. Ready?
-Nice. You're doing it. -No.
[grunts]
[Karamo] None of us are our worst decisions.
We all have the opportunity to grow and be better
and to create a life that we're happy with.
-[all shouting] -[Chris] Oh, hey!
[laughing]
I want Chris to understand that he is worthy of taking time for himself
so that he can get the balance in his life
and start to connect with the people he loves.
-[Liz] Love you. -[kisses] I love you too.
[Bobby] I can tell that Chris feels guilty getting any help from us
or any love from us because of what he sees on a daily basis.
Chris deserves a wonderful, happy home
because he gives back so, so much.
This week, it's all about Chris.
[rock music playing]
♪ Better than ever, never the same… ♪
[Jonathan] You having a fun day?
[Chris] So far, this has been the best day yet. This is so fun.
-Come on in. -[Chris] All right.
-Hi, Aroutin, Santiago. How are you? -How are you?
Welcome to Shed.
-[Chris] Thanks. -Yeah, definitely.
[Jonathan] Yes, yes, yes!
-Can I take your hat off? -[Chris] You may.
-Okay. -[Chris] There's a lot going on, huh?
-There's just a couple things. -[Chris laughs]
Not that much stuff.
[Chris] After all the conversations I had today,
I think what I've realized is that, like, the bleaching and the dyeing and the blue
was all, like, part of an attempt to pull focus away from other things.
-I think I'm over it. -Me too!
So what my goal is today
is to land the hair color correction triple Axel that is
making someone's hair look salt-and-pepper
that has, like, done this sort of thing to their hair.
I'm ready to single-foot this landing. I think it's gonna be really fun.
And we're gonna make your hair look natural and gorg.
-Give you salt-and-pepper zaddy realness. -Nice.
Chris just needs to have the confidence that says,
"Yeah, I know how to deal with housing insecurity."
"I know how to deal with advocating for folks
in a gorgeous, confident, kind way."
So, we're gonna help him do that.
What do you do after, like, a really hard week?
Is it fair to say that you have a hard time,
like, stopping to take care of yourself?
Yeah. It's so funny 'cause I'm like, even doing this,
I'm still trying to, like, coordinate things.
"Can I help? Is there something I can do?"
Right. I do think when you see so much suffering,
it makes you constantly feel guilty.
Like, there's so much violence against the trans non-binary community.
And so, because I am aware of this,
it makes me feel like I could always be doing more.
A lot of times when you're really rooted in advocacy,
all of the things that you get to enjoy in your life,
it has a different impact when you realize
that so many other people don't have those joys.
But I think that at some point, like, you have to turn off.
Because if you expect yourself to, like, cure, like, the systemic issues,
you're gonna be in a world of hurt,
not able to keep doing what you're so passionate about.
-You're gonna burn out. -Yeah.
If you don't take care of yourself, you can't show up for other people
as much as you want to.
I definitely have felt moments of compassion fatigue.
I wonder if that's 'cause you don't feel like you have compassion for yourself.
[Chris] Ha ha!
-You okay? -I'm okay.
[Jonathan] Why are you looking at your hands?
Honestly, I'm trying to, like, make sure that I'm not just,
like, in a dream, kind of, like…
-Aww, hunty, it's real. -It's just-- This is so…
-I'm your fairy godparent. -[laughs]
And I'm here to tell you, you are hot as…
and you deserve your own time and space to nurture yourself.
[humming]
Um, can I just get a slow clap for this hair color?
Like, I opened a can of whoop-ass on this hair color.
-Yay! -[staff shouting]
[laughing]
-Chris, are you ready? -I'm ready.
[Jonathan] Don't look quite yet 'cause I wanna emphasize,
you didn't need to change how you physically look
for people to take you seriously as an activist
and as someone that is really a pillar of their community who is doing good.
So, just know that. The still gorgeous, the still stunning…
Here you are.
What do you think?
-Can't believe how hot you look? -[laughing]
No, it's good. It looks great.
-Doesn't it? -I--
I can't… I don't know.
-Get up in it. You can get all up in it. -All right.
It's… crazy. This is, like, a totally different--
It's like a totally different person.
He's kind of…
-He's pretty good-looking. -Isn't he?
This is the hair that says, "I fundraise $6 million for people who need it."
You're the best.
♪ Here's to the ones That keep the faith ♪
♪ Here's to the ones that never break ♪
♪ Here's to the ones who keep on fighting Even though they are afraid ♪
♪ Here's to the ones That are on the edge ♪
♪ Here's to the ones with no regret ♪
♪ Here's to the ones Who keep their heads up high… ♪
[Tan] Come on, lovely.
Oh, they're here!
[Tan] Ready?
[Bobby] You look really good, man.
[Karamo] Oh, my gosh!
You look so handsome and sexy! Oh, my gosh!
-[gasps] -I was in complete shock.
-[laughing] -There we go!
[Jonathan] Yes, you better give a good warrior one pose.
I just knew it. Don't you love? Look at this place.
[Chris] This is so beautiful.
[Bobby] We got you new furniture. We got you new computers, workstations.
[Chris] That's just so nice.
[Karamo] Aww, you saw the quote?
-Aww, it's okay. -[Tan] Aww.
[Jonathan] Aww.
[Antoni] We know. We know.
-Yas, queen. -[Fab Five laughing]
[Bobby] On lighter notes, industrial coffee maker.
[Chris] Yes! Coffee!
They were making coffee for, like, 70 people in one little pot.
What kind of computers are those?
-Those are new Macs from Apple. -No way!
[Bobby] Yeah.
-Those are the new iMacs. -Holy… Oh, my gosh!
[Bobby] And there's still more.
-[Chris] Oh, look at this! -[Bobby] Look at that!
[Jonathan] Oh, my God, we need to surround you in our gorgeous LGBTQ love.
So, I thought that I'd invite some friends over to enjoy this with you.
-Stay behind us. -Back there. Yeah.
[Bobby] Come on in.
-What? -I know, right?
[Max] Is it a spa or something in here?
Oh, my gosh.
[Karamo] If you think it's beautiful in here,
let me show you something else that's beautiful.
[all shouting]
Holy crap!
Wow, you look amazing!
-[Chris] Thanks you. That's so nice. -[woman] Wow, look at you!
Can we handle? Give me your hand.
Look, look, look!
-You look incredible. -You're so much more relaxed.
-Aww. -Like, you just seem chill.
Well, the biggest thing is that they made me decide
that it's time to start caring about myself.
It's not the haircut or the clothes. It's that.
-[Jonathan] Yeah. -Absolutely.
Can you say "I deserve it" in front of people?
-I deserve it. -Good job.
-[people shouting] -[Chris] I love it.
[Jonathan] Yes!
-[Chris] I earned it. -[Karamo] Yes, you did!
[all cheering]
Speaking of things you deserve, are you ready to go see your house?
-Hell, yeah. I'm ready. -[Bobby] All right.
Let's do it.
♪ Every day is a new way To find my way again ♪
[Tan] Get excited, my love, because you're about to see something epic.
[Bobby] Fully close your eyes. Come on. Yep. Step.
-Don't peek. -[Tan laughs]
[Chris sighing] Okay.
And look.
You live in a designer home now.
-Is he gonna pass out? -[Tan laughing]
[Chris] This is sick. I am stoked!
[Bobby] And then a new chandelier up there.
[Chris] I live here? Is this where I live?
Is this my…
[Jonathan] Aww.
[Bobby] Whole new island. Whole new island!
[Chris] Oh, my God. Okay. This is a new house.
[Bobby] It kind of is.
-This is so sick! -[laughs]
Look, you have a new hood. There's no more bare wires.
What's that?
-[Bobby] Juicer. -Oh, yes!
-My guy! -[laughs]
[Chris] Oh, my God! This is so amazing!
Where's Karamo? I deserve this, don't I?
Yes, you do deserve this.
You do deserve this! Yes, you do!
[Chris] I get to live here now.
-[Bobby] Ready? -[Antoni] Ooh, I like this bench.
Whoa!
-[Bobby] Right? -[Jonathan] Romance!
This is a story of texture.
[Chris] Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh!
[Jonathan] It's like a full-on proper adult home, queen.
These are the most beautiful nightstand side tables I've ever seen.
[Chris] Oh, my God! Look at those!
See some cute pictures I found?
[Fab Five laughing] Aww.
[Chris] I'm sorry, this is so beautiful.
-[Tan] Yeah, we'll take that. -[Bobby] That's nice.
[Jonathan] Yeah, queen.
[Chris] Look at this place that we're in.
[Karamo] You talked to me a bit about the trauma that this house held.
The house is different.
I want you to purposefully make new memories in those spaces
to remind yourself that those things weren't your fault.
Don't hold guilt around it. That's part of the practice of knowing what you deserve.
But you have to do the work to love yourself more and heal yourself.
I don't know that I've ever had such a profound moment
of celebration of self ever before in my life.
-Yeah, it's gonna take practice. -I know.
That's what's gonna change you from having unhealthy boundaries and connections
to having really healthy ones, because you know what you deserve.
I believe in you.
So do I.
-[scoffs] -I believe in me.
-My guy. -We can do this.
We're gonna take a quick look…
-Oh, my God. -…in your closet.
I want you to still feel a little bit rocker.
That is your vibe that I don't wanna take away from you.
So, we got you a gorgeous leather.
Something that's gonna make you feel like the real you. Isn't that nice?
Oh, that is nice.
I just want you to see the version of you that I see
when you're asking for donations.
-And so, I wanna see you in a suit. -All right.
We're gonna start with a white tee.
This has been almost like a nemesis for you. [chuckles]
-Yeah. -So…
I'm going to get you to wear this, please.
Okay.
We got you a beautiful blue suit,
and I'm just gonna to give you a sneaker.
-That's it. -Okay, sounds great.
Okay, kids. Are we all ready?
-Yeah! -Okay, great. Come on out, Chris.
-Oh! -Handsome!
-[Bobby] I want to give you my money! -[Antoni] A suit!
Love!
-Oh, my! -[Jonathan] Wow!
So handsome! So dapper!
-[Antoni] Yep. -[Bobby] It's just perfect for you.
He's never been able to wear a white T-shirt because he sees that as
not looking right on a person of his size.
And so, I wanted you to see that you can wear this and feel comfortable
and not see it as a challenge anymore, 'cause there's no reason for it to be.
-[Antoni] Yeah. -Yeah! How do you feel?
[Chris] I feel like
my sexy ass is about to be, like, a world leader, darling.
-[Karamo cheering] -[Tan laughing]
[Jonathan] That came out of left field, but I'm into it.
Oh, my God.
[Antoni] Your hair looks killer.
You have been one of the most receptive heroes I've ever worked with…
-Yes, agree. -…quite honestly, on our show.
And that's because you trusted us immediately.
And the way you're carrying yourself is beautiful.
And so from the bottom of my heart, I wanna say thank you, truly thank you.
Aww, thank you. Aww.
-We love you. -Oh, love you.
[Jonathan] It's your house, and you live here.
-[Chris] I live in this place. -Yes, you do.
I live in this resort, queen.
-You really do. It is a resort, queen. -Love you. Enjoy.
-Thanks, brother. Had a great time. -[Bobby] Me too.
-[Jonathan] Love you. -Thank you.
Bye! Yas, queen!
-Yas, queen! -Bye!
-[rock music playing] -♪ Whoa-oh-oh-oh! ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm about to go down swinging ♪
♪ Won't hit the ground Till the bell stops ringing ♪
♪ And you can try to make my day ♪
♪ Doesn't matter what you say ♪
[Althea shouts]
Yes! You ready to see how our house has totally crazy changed?
Oh, my God. You look amazing.
So do you.
[Althea] Oh!
[laughs] Children got ahead a little. Wait, Althea, wait, wait, wait.
All right, here we go.
-[son grunting] -Whoa!
Whoa! Yeah!
-[Liz] Oh, my God. -[son] This is amazing!
-[Chris] Come see. -[Liz] Oh, my God!
[son] The living room.
-[Chris] Look at the size of this island. -[Liz] Oh, my God!
Come up here! Look at your room!
-So cool, right? -[son] In here! In here! In here!
Holy smokes! Oh!
[Althea] Oh, my gosh!
This week was in the top three most intense weeks of my entire life.
To bed! [grunts]
It was worth every second of it.
-I have some nice fresh basil here too. -I would love some basil.
I'm gonna give you some basil.
All of a sudden, I feel as valuable as anyone else, and it's just such a joy.
I feel very happy and confident.
-Your new look is super, super sweet. -Nice.
Chris is an angel.
People look up to him. People respect him.
And moving forward, I want him to respect and look up to himself too.
[Fab Five] Hey!
How's it going?
-Do you miss us? -Yeah!
'Cause we miss you!
Who do you miss the most?
-Tan. -Yeah! That makes me so happy!
I hope Chris can really see how amazing he is
and what a difference he is making in so many people's lives.
Chris, how you feel about your event? You think you're gonna reach your goal?
-I know we're gonna reach the goal. -Yeah! There you go.
[Bobby] Confidence, I love it.
[Jonathan] Yes.
Oh, my God. I've heard so much about you. It's so nice to meet you. Yeah.
-Hey, Alex, Chris Baker. Nice to meet you. -[Alex] Nice to meet you.
-You're awesome. [laughs] -Oh, thanks, brother.
Tonight, it's my pleasure to introduce you to my friend,
the executive director of The Other Ones Foundation, Chris Baker.
[crowd cheering]
The thing that I love the most about this evolution of Chris is that
you can finally see that his inside,
the beauty, the love, matches what's going on, on the outside.
I'm so grateful and so happy to be here with all of you.
He looks like a new man.
This is the first day of the rest of his life.
We here in Austin, Texas, we are going to continue to be part of a solution
to get people off of the street.
Next Wednesday, we're gonna go
and sign the state of Texas to take full control of the property.
[crowd cheering]
He truly sees every single person as equal, and he's helping his community.
He's a true hero.
Thank you, everybody, for being here
and for your willingness to contribute to solutions.
-I love you. -[crowd cheering]
[Tan] He's such a good guy.
-I like him so much. -So cute!
Can we just give it up one more time for Chris?
Cheers to Chris!
[all] To Chris!
Found an item of clothing that you absolutely love, but don't love the fit?
Alter it yourself.
If you can learn one simple stitch, the running stitch,
you can make your own alterations.
A sewing machine will set you back around about $100.
But it will save you hundreds, if not thousands on alterations.
I'm gonna snip it.
See? Alterations made easy.
-[Chris] Yes. -[strumming folk tune]
♪ We made a whole lot of friends ♪
-♪ Key grips and cameramen ♪ -[Karamo laughs]
♪ Steady, friends We got an awful lofty goal ♪
♪ Take a whole lot of magic ♪
♪ A couple pieces of fabric ♪
[laughing]
♪ Pair of scissors And a ride around town ♪
♪ To make a man feel wanted Like he's not forgotten ♪
♪ But there's some value left In that old one-track soul ♪
♪ And when it's all been done And seamed ♪
♪ There's one phrase that it all mean ♪
♪ Yas, queen ♪
-[Tan] Oh! -[laughs]
♪ Yaaassss, queen! ♪
-[Tan] Oh! -[Jonathan] That was amazing!
-[applauding] -[Karamo] Oh!
[Jonathan] Honey, your next show's gonna be The Voice after that.