Craig Slike is officially a mole.
Slike was planted among a group of TV reality show contestants to quietly sabotage their efforts to win the show. Slike's secret role was revealed last week in ABC's final episode of this season's “The Mole.”
After the taping concluded earlier this year, Slike, 30, a graphic designer, threw himself back into his advertising business, The Agency San Diego, which he runs with a business partner.
But the experience has kept him busy. Since the finale, Slike has been spending, on average, four hours an evening responding to fan e-mails, phone calls and MySpace contacts.
“People are so incredibly kind, and I feel bad if I don't e-mail them back,” said Slike, a big teddy bear of a guy at 6 feet 3 and 325 pounds.
Now he is recognized wherever he goes. At a play the other evening, theater-goers asked for his autograph.
For the past several weeks, Slike and friends have watched each episode at the Blarney Stone Pub in Clairemont Mesa. When three contestants remained and the winner was announced, the pub crowd hissed and booed. But when Slike was revealed as “The Mole,” they erupted in cheers; even passers-by outside yelled congratulations.
Since then, Slike's business Web site has received many more hits and a few guest-appearance offers have come his way, but no Hollywood offers yet.
Looking back, Slike said his toughest challenge during the adventure was not letting anything slip that might blow his cover.
“I was even worried about talking in my sleep,” he said.
Slike, a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University who lives in Eastlake, said he was proudest of performing some of the group's hazardous missions in Chile and Argentina. He had to overcome vertigo and a fear of heights to take a 90-foot bungee cord plunge – and he almost hit ground. He also rafted over a 70-foot waterfall.
He hiked a mountain trail from an altitude of 7,000 feet to 10,000 feet carrying 50 pounds in the required 45 minutes. Even though he ended up with hypothermia and altitude sickness and left the mountain in an ambulance, Slike said he laughs about it now. He called the trek his greatest accomplishment.
What's next?
“I would like to have my own travel show,” said Slike, who has a proposal in the works.
Meanwhile, he'll return to the business of advertising.
On the mend
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's emergency knee surgery caused him to cancel appointments last weekend. The injury, suffered in a workout about two weeks ago, did not keep him from attending a belated birthday celebration Aug. 12 at the home of Pamela and Bob Buie in Rancho Santa Fe. Schwarzenegger turned 61 on July 30. . .
Musician Bruce Pictor, a native San Diegan and member of The Association, is recuperating after back surgery. Pictor, a drummer and vocalist, played with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap from 1981 to 1984 before joining The Association, known for such 1960s hits as “Along Comes Mary,” “Cherish” and “Windy.”
Pictor plans to join his bandmates for the 2008 Vocal Group Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. The Association was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
Around town
Aides to Greg Cox, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, have been urging him to take a vacation for months. Finally, he did. Cox and his wife, Cheryl, the mayor of Chula Vista, left on a cruise this week – to Key West, Fla.
“It's rainy,” he told his office by phone yesterday. “We're trying to stay ahead of the hurricane.” . .
It's only been open a year, but Hotel Del Coronado's new Spa at The Del garnered top honors in Travel & Leisure magazine's annual “World's Best Awards” reader survey. In the August issue, Spa at The Del is listed in the top 20 hotel spas in the world.
Diane Bell's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Fax items to (619) 260-5009; call (619) 293-1518; or e-mail to diane.bell@uniontrib.com.
